Nancy Pelosi

The 117th Congress Ends With Major Accomplishments, Despite Small Margins In Both Houses Of Congress!

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The 117th Congress, with razor thin margins in the House of Representatives, and a 50-50 division in the US Senate, only the fourth time ever of an even split in the upper body, can be looked back upon as a Congress which accomplished a great deal, considering the situation.

The Democratic Party accomplished a great deal, and was able to conduct a thorough investigation of Donald Trump and the January 6 Insurrection at the US Capitol, with the great help of two courageous Republican House members, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.

Democracy prevailed, and this Congress did more than any since the 111th Congress (2009-2011) with Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House on her first round in the job, and Barack Obama as President.

And it could be said that the 117th Congress actually accomplished more than the 111th Congress, and that the last Congress to have accomplished more was the 89th Congress (1965-1967) under Lyndon B. Johnson.

Nancy Pelosi: The Difference Between John Boehner And Kevin McCarthy

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This author and blogger was not very pleased with Speaker of the House John Boehner (2011-2015), but in retrospect, he was a much more decent person than the likely next Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy.

Boehner had disputes on policies with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, but he honored her on Thursday when the outgoing Speaker was honored with a ceremony and presentation of her official portrait for the US Capitol building.

Boehner said that the two had always been cordial to each other, while having policy differences, which is what should always be the case, and he teared up, something he was noted for as Speaker, a man who had feelings and emotions.

Meanwhile, Kevin McCarthy failed to show up, as he is fighting to please the most extremist right wing members of the Republican caucus, in his frantic attempt to become Speaker with 218 votes on Janury 3, 2023!

So having already been very nasty and unpleasant toward Pelosi all along, he had no grace to be diplomatic and tactful, a sign of the disaster coming when he, if he does, become Speaker.

It seems certain that he will be the worst Speaker of modern times, while Pelosi was the best Speaker of recent times.

And it seems certain that he will lose the confidence of his caucus, and will have a short, unsuccessful term as Speaker!

From The Greatest Modern Speaker Of The House To A Total Disaster In The Making!

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Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (2007-2011) and (2019-2023) will go down as the greatest modern Speaker of the House, with so much accomplished under her leadership particularly in the first two years of the Barack Obama Presidency (the 111th Congress), and the first two years of the Joe Biden Presidency (the 117th Congress).

The only other Speakers of the previous 20th century who would rank on her level of greatness would be Sam Rayburn (1940-1947, 1949-1953, 1955-1961), and Thomas “Tip” O’Neill (1977-1987).

When Pelosi gives up the gavel on January 3, 2023, she will have been the fifth longest serving Speaker of the 54 individuals who have held that office, only outdone by Rayburn, Henry Clay, O’Neill, and John W. McCormack.

Now, sadly, a Republican will take over the Speakership of the 118th Congress, most likely Kevin McCarthy of California, who is a unmitigated disaster, totally subservient to the evil 45th President, Donald Trump, who is a Fascist authoritarian demagogue, who still threatens the survival of American democracy.

Reality: Donald Trump Wanted To Murder Mike Pence And Nancy Pelosi, Next In Line Of Succession!

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It is time to stop excusing or dismissing the crimes of Donald Trump, most specifically on January 6, 2021!

Reality is that Donald Trump was ready to do ANYTHING to stop the official Electoral vote count that showed that Joe Biden had defeated Donald Trump!

So it is clear, without any shadow of a doubt, that Donald Trump wanted to murder Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the two in line of Presidential succession!

Trump wanted to go to the Capitol, but the Secret Service prevented it, but it is clear that Trump had no scruples, ethics, morals, or conscience on that day, and really, throughout his Presdency, culminating in the plot to overthrow the US government, and install himself as a Fascist dictator!

The answer is to arrest and imprison Donald Trump, as anyone else who was engaged in such dastardly deeds would face that prosecution.

So it is up to Attorney General Merrick Garland to take that action, shortly after the Midterm Elections of 2022 have passed!

There is no alternative, even if Trump provokes violence and bloodshed, and in fact, if that ensues, then no possibility of avoiding pretrial detention, as a threat to the American Republic!

Donald Trump, The Criminal Grifter Of Gullible, Naive Americans!

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In the same vein as yesterday’s post, the second session of the January 6 House Committee hearings demonstrated that Donald Trump is a criminal grifter, appealing to gullible, naive Americans to send him money to fight what he called “The Big Steal”, that he won the Presidential Election of 2020.

Instead, that myth is the “Big Lie”, and it is now clear that people around Trump told him, conclusively, that he had not won the election, but Trump kept on lying, and spread the hysteria that led to the January 6 Insurrection at the US Capitol.

This caused loss of lives of Capitol Police; massive number of injuries among these loyal servants of the Capitol; destruction of the center of American government; and threats to Vice President Mike Pence, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and all of the Congressmen and Senators at the US Capitol that day.

This is clearly the example of Donald Trump, the crooked businessman, making money off the supposed election results, with at least $250 million raised, and no accountability as to what has happened to that illegal fundraising amount.

This is criminal activity, as everything else is regarding Donald Trump, and the Department of Justice and Attorney General Merrick Garland are examining what the January 6 House Committee has gathered as evidence.

Hopefully, this will lead to criminal charges against Donald Trump, as no one, not even a former President, should be immune to prosecution for crimes committed in office or out of office!

The Aging Of Leadership A Major Problem With Presidential Succession And Otherwise!

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The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 has now set up a situation where the present Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Patrick Leahy, are both 82 years old, born five days apart in March 1940.

Next year, Dianne Feinstein could be the President Pro Tempore at past 89, as she was born in June 1933, and there are signs of her seemingly having dementia interfering with her ability to do her work.

This presents the problem of aging leadership, which has to include in discussion President Joe Biden, who will be 80 in November, but also senior Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who will be 89 in September, and would be President Pro Tempore of the Senate, if the Republicans regain control this fall.

We have never had such an aging leadership in American history, as so many others in leadership are in their late 70s or nearing 80 and over.

The second and third House leaders are in their 80s–House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who will be 83 in June, and James Clyburn, the House Majority Whip, who will be 82 in July.

And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is 80 years old.

It is time for a new generation of leadership!

50-50 US Senate Massive Crisis If One Democrat Is Sick Or Were To Pass Away!

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The news that New Mexico freshman Senator Ben Ray Lujan, age 49, one of the 12 youngest Senators, has suffered a stroke and will need to recover, is a shock to the reality of the massive crisis that exists if a Democrat is sick as he is, or were to pass away.

The Senate has become an older body in recent years, and with seven Senators over 80 and 30 Senators in their 70s, it is a very delicate situation if any Senator of either party is indisposed or was to die.

It means, for now, that action on even the Supreme Court nominee will likely have to be delayed as Lujan recovers, with all good wishes from everyone, but the thought that one of the older Senators in the Democratic Party could suddenly die, could lead to Mitch McConnell and the Republicans taking over the Senate before the election results of 2022 are in!

The average age of Senators is about 63 and 58 for the House of Representatives.

And the top three leaders in the House–Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and James Clyburn–are all in their early 80s, as is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is 80 this month of February.

And of course, Joe Biden is 79, and so many other key figures in American national government are in their 70s and 80s!

So the aging of American government is a major threat to stability!

Republican Criticism About Biden, Harris, Pelosi Is So Petty And Infantile!

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The Republican Party and its right wing organs–Fox News Channel, OANN (One America News Network), and Newsmax TV–along with radio and print sites–are going full scale into petty, infantile attacks on the top three people in the American government—President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

For a party that worships obscene wealth, and worships a former President who has no ethical or moral values, witness:

Criticism of Joe Biden spending Thanksgiving in Nantucket at the home of a wealthy supporter.

Criticism of Kamala Harris for purchase of a $375 Cooking Pot on her recent diplomatic trip to Paris.

Criticism of Nancy Pelosi for the false rumor that she is purchasing a $25 million mansion on Jupiter Island, Florida.

It is perfectly fine for Republicans to associate with the wealthy, purchase properties, have vacations at resort locations, and buy whatever pleases them on a trip, but god forbid that the Democratic leaders of the national government have the same rights!

When one compares Joe Biden to Donald Trump; Kamala Harris to Mike Pence; and Kevin McCarthy or Paul Ryan or John Boehner to Nancy Pelosi, one realizes that Republican propaganda is pure stupidity, to be dismissed as ridiculous!

Republicans these days are more petty and infantile than ever, and they do not deserve any control of the national government, and all decent people must work very hard in the next year to insure the Democrats keep control of the future of America!

Adam Kinzinger Second Republican Added To January 6 House Committee Investigation By Nancy Pelosi

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The House Select Committee on the January 6 US Capitol Insurrection has been greatly improved by the announcement of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi that Illinois Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger has agreed to join the investigation.

Kinzinger, like the other House Republican on the committee, Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming, is a solid conservative who does not support most Democratic Party ideas and values, but they are both, ultimately, patriots who understand that what happened on January 6, 2021 was an attack on the Constitution, American democracy, and the rule of law.

Both Kinzinger and Cheney are strong critics of Donald Trump, and make clear that he has hijacked the Republican Party and the conservative movement, and is a threat to the survival of the Republican Party and the conservative ideology, but both are willing to do what is necessary for the betterment of the nation.

Both have, and will continued to experience, bitter and vicious attacks, and will face tough primaries in the Midterm Congressional elections of 2022, and may lose their seats and even membership on committees as a result.

But they are putting the nation ahead of their own personal interests, and one can wish that they will add a great deal to the investigation of January 6, and help to hold those complicit in that attack on the US Capitol, to the full extent of the law.

Since there would be little chance of the Illinois district of Kinzinger going to the Democrats, and likekly, zero chance of the state of Wyoming At Large Congressional district going Democratic, we can all wish that both Kinzinger and Cheney are successful in retaining their seats in the House of Representatives in November 2022.

Even if that does not happen, they will be well remembered in history as “Profiles in Courage”!

Liz Cheney Appointed By Nancy Pelosi To January 6 House Committee

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Wyoming Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, a major critic of Donald Trump and the US Capitol January 6 Insurrection, has agreed to be part of the House Committee being organized by the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives.

A strong conservative, nevertheless, Cheney voted to impeach Donald Trump in the second impeachment, and also supported a January 6 Commission to investigate the treason and sedition of Trump supporters who attacked the US Capitol, caused the deaths of five people, including Brian Sicknick, and injured overall more than 140 Capitol Police on that disgraceful day.

But the Republicans refused to cooperate in the investigation, so Pelosi has gone ahead and formed a Select Committee instead, and Cheney courageously decided to join by appointment of her ideological opponent, the Speaker of the House, because she knows that a full investigation of the tragedy is essential.

Cheney emphasized allegiance to the Constitution and rule of law, and the importance of a peaceful transfer of power between Presidencies, which has been the hallmark of American democracy for nearly 250 years!

With July 4 coming in two days, patriotism is more important than loyalty to a corrupt, authoritarian oriented leader, who wishes to establish a dictatorship, and destroy the American political tradition!