Trump tries To Bully Pelosi And Fails Miserably (Again)

Donald Trump simply doesn't know how to deal with a strong and smart woman. Throughout his business career, he has had money and an army of lawyers, and he's been able to bully and intimidate any woman who dared to question him. He thought he could repeat that same misogynistic behavior into the political world, and he is now learning that is just not going to happen. He has come up against a strong woman in Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- and she is smarter than him and understands politics better.

Yesterday, He thought he could intimidate Speaker Pelosi. He sent her a letter saying, despite her wishes, he was going to give his State of the Union speech in the House of Representatives on January 29th. How could she disagree, since he was a man (and president of the most powerful nation on Earth).

But Speaker Pelosi wasn't having any of his bullying. About an hour later, she responded with her own letter. She made it clear that, until the government was opened, he was not welcome in the House of Representatives.

Only members of Congress can enter the House of Representatives without permission. And for a president to give a speech in the House, he must be invited to do so by a majority vote of the House. Pelosi made it clear in her letter that no such vote would take place until the government has been fully reopened.

Trump can give his SOTU in writing, or televised from the Oval Office, or at one of his rallies, but he is NOT going to give it from the House of Representatives until the government is opened. Speaker Pelosi has spoken, and that's just the way it is.

Democrats Have Much Better Net Favorable Rating

The chart above uses information in the new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between January 12th and 15th of a national sample of 1,500 adults, with a 3 point margin of error.

It shows the net favorability rating of the two parties and their leaders. Net favorability is determined by subtracting unfavorable percentage from the favorable percentage.

Both parties and all their leaders are in negative numbers (meaning more view them unfavorably than favorably), but Democrats are viewed more favorably than Republicans. The Democratic Party has a negative 3 net favorability, while the Republican Party has a negative 26.

The same is true of their leaders. Pelosi and Schumer both have a negative 12. McCarthy has a negative 10, but that is because twice as many people don't know enough about him to rate him than know about Pelosi. The two most unfavorable are McConnell (negative 26) and Trump (negative 17).

And McConnell, Trump, and the Republican Party are not doing themselves any good by maintaining the government shutdown.

Pelosi Outmaneuvers Trump -- Again

If Trump was counting on a national-televised speech before the entire government (and the nation) to tell more lies to get his wall, it looks like he will be very disappointed. He can't go to the House of Representatives to speak (even for a State of the Union speech) without an invitation from the House (which would be done by a vote of House members). That invitation has not been offered yet, and it looks like it won't be extended.

The letter above is from Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Donald Trump. In it, she suggests the speech be postponed until the government is opened, or that Trump deliver his speech in writing (as all presidents prior to Woodrow Wilson did). In other words, Trump won't get his moment in the spotlight as long as he keeps the government shut down!

Trump needs to realize that he is just outclassed by Pelosi. In a battle of wits with her, Trump is defenseless.

House Of Representatives Of The 116th Congress

The 55th Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California).

The House of Representatives of the 116th Congress has 235 Democrats and 199 Republicans. There is one open seat -- the 9th District of North Carolina. This gives the Democrats a current advantage of 36 seats (votes).

From Vox.com, here are 10 new Democratic committee chairs who will provide oversight of the Trump administration:

Intelligence Committee — Adam Schiff (D-California)

Oversight Committee — Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland)

Judiciary Committee — Jerry Nadler (D-New York)

Ways and Means Committee — Richard Neal (D-Massachusetts)

Financial Services — Maxine Waters (D-California)

Foreign Affairs Committee — Eliot Engel (D-New York)

Energy and Commerce — Frank Pallone (D-New Jersey)

Natural Resources — Raúl Grijalva (D-Arizona)

Veterans’ Affairs — Mark Takano (D-California)

Science, Space, and Technology — Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas)

Trump Attacks Pelosi/Schumer On TV - And Loses (Bigly)

Donald Trump tried to pull a fast one on Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. After inviting them to the White House to discuss the budget, he turned a photo-op into a debate on his border wall. He thought he could pressure Pelosi and Schumer on national TV into giving him what he wanted (funding for the wall). He was convinced he could out debate them. HE WAS WRONG!

Schumer goaded Trump into losing his cool and taking complete credit for any government shutdown.

Pelosi tried to be the voice of reason. But after Trump refused, she told him to his face that he was not telling the truth. She demonstrated exactly why she scares Republicans, and why she is the perfect choice to be the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.

And Democrats loved watching their congressional leaders school Trump. Here are a sample of the memes be traded among Democrats on Facebook:

Thoughts On Pelosi Becoming The Next Speaker

Much has been made of opposition to Nancy Pelosi becoming the next Speaker of the House on cable news programs. Those talking heads and pundits would have you believe this is a divisive issue among Democrats, and that Pelosi may not be able to get the votes to become Speaker. That's nonsense.

The truth is that Pelosi has strong support among the Democratic base. The Quinnipiac University Poll, the Politico / Morning Consult Poll, and the CBS News / SSRS Poll all show that the Democratic base supports Pelosi -- with many more supporting her than opposing her. Democrats like Pelosi, and respect her service to the party and the country. Her election to the speakership is not going to split the party.

There seems to be a feeling among some that the argument about Pelosi is between the progressive and the moderate/conservative Democrats -- with progressives being the ones wanting a Speaker other than Pelosi. Not true. Pelosi is a progressive, and many of those opposing her are not.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York) is one of the most progressive members of the new Congress, and she campaigned saying she would support someone other than Pelosi for speaker. But after talking with Pelosi and those who oppose her, she has realized that Pelosi is the progressive choice for speaker. She wrote this to her supporters:

“Right now, out of the field, I would say that [Pelosi] is the most progressive candidate. All of the rebellion for the Speakership are challenges to her right, and so I think it's important to communicate that. My standard in this is: I'm going to support the most progressive candidate that's leading the party, and right now, that is Nancy Pelosi, in terms of the running. I would like to see new, younger leadership, but I don't want new leadership that's more conservative.”

As of today, there is no one running against Pelosi for Speaker. There was some talk that Marcia L. Fudge (Ohio) was thinking about running against Pelosi, but after talking with Pelosi she changed her mind. She is now supporting Pelosi.

One reason there is no candidate that has come forth is that Pelosi has the votes in the Democratic caucus to be the caucus nominee on the House floor. The best another candidate could do would be to force the Speaker vote to a second round. That would be pointless.

While saying he would stay out of the race for Speaker, President Obama called Pelosi one of the most effective legislative leaders the country has ever seen, and said:

“Nancy is not always the best on a cable show or with a quick sound bite or what have you. But her skill, tenacity, toughness, vision, is remarkable. Her stamina, her ability to see around corners, her ability to stand her ground and do hard things and to suffer unpopularity to get the right thing done I think stands up against any person that I’ve observed or worked directly with in Washington during my lifetime.”

It's time to stop the nonsense arguments against Pelosi. She will be the next Speaker of the House -- and that's a very good thing for Democrats.

Would Anti-Pelosi Dem Faction Help Elect A GOP Speaker ?

It is now known that the Democrats will have a significant majority in the next House of Representatives (that will be seated in early January of 2019). That would normally mean the next Speaker of the House would be a Democrat.

But there is a small group of anti-Pelosi Democrats that are trying to force the party to bend to their will. They remind me of the "freedom caucus" that caused so much trouble for Republicans in the 115th Congress? Is this group going to keep Democrats from accomplishing anything in the 116th Congress. Maybe. They are certainly sounding like they could be troublemakers who will divide the House Democrats.

They are now claiming they will vote against Nancy Pelosi when the Speaker election is held on the floor of the Senate, and they claim they have enough votes to prevent her from winning the Speaker election.

These Democrats (?) don't have enough votes to keep Pelosi from becoming the Speaker nominee of the House Democratic Caucus. She will be the nominee of the party. The Republicans will put their own nominee up -- and the one with the most votes will be Speaker.

Understand that the anti-Pelosi Dems are not saying they will abstain from the vote. That would just reduce the number of votes needed to become Speaker. They are saying they would actually vote against Pelosi -- and the only way to do that is to vote for the Republican candidate. Even if the faction put up their own candidate, it would just require a second vote (after their candidate was eliminated), and would once again come down to Pelosi or the Republican.

Are these people really willing to vote for the Republican? Is their misogyny so strong they would put a Republican in as Speaker of the Democratically-controlled House? I'm wondering if they have thought their ridiculous threat through. The folks who elected them did not do so to get another right-wing Republican Speaker. Some of them might even face a recall, and all of them would have a real Democrat opposing them in 2020.

I suspect this is just a lot of huffing and puffing, and most will fall in line on Speaker election day (while a few will vote present). They are trying to force their minority view on the majority. It won't work. Nancy Pelosi is going to be the next Speaker of the House -- and any Democrat that votes against her will only be hurting themselves. No real Democrat would vote to install a Republican as Speaker.

Democrats Need To Stop Trying To Demonize Pelosi

Nancy Pelosi has always been a good Democrat. She supports the liberal agenda. She is intelligent, knows the House rules better than anyone, and is not afraid to stand up to Donald Trump. She played a critical role in getting Obamacare passed. She is also the only woman in House Democratic leadership.

Those are facts.

I understand why the Republicans tried to demonize her in the 2018 election campaign. They didn't have Hillary Clinton to attack anymore, and they needed a Democratic woman to attack to please their misogynistic base. Pelosi was the obvious choice.

But I do not understand why some Democrats (mostly my fellow progressives) want to also demonize her. Do you not realize that you are playing into the Republicans' hands? Don't you realize that with the White House and the Senate in GOP control, the House Democrats need to be unified? Don't you understand that the women of America (who are largely responsible for the new Democratic control of the House) will not be happy with an all-male House leadership?

I understand the call for younger Democrats to take more leadership positions in the party. That will come. Nancy Pelosi is 78 years old (and will turn 79 in March). She is not going to be Speaker for very long. But we need her experience and leadership for the next couple of years -- while younger women and minorities get the experience needed to assume leadership. Their time will come, but this is not that time.

The whole thing smells of misogyny to me. Stop it! Don't play the Republicans' game and do their dirty work for them.

Should Pelosi Be Speaker If Dems Take The House ?

The latest squabble from left-wing Democrats is that Rep. Nancy Pelosi should be replaced as Speaker of the House if Democrats regain control in the coming election. Is that a good idea?

The Republicans are trying to use Pelosi as a scare tactic to get out their voters. That's because they have no real issues to run on, because they made a real mess of the 115th Congress. Everything they tried to do (including passing a budget) has flopped -- and the one thing they accomplished, tax reform, has been exposed as a huge giveaway to the rich and to corporations. They are left with nothing but to demonize Pelosi to try and get out their voters.

Sadly though, it seems the GOP scare tactic is not just affecting their own voters, but also some Democratic candidates. At last count, about 51 Democratic House candidates have said they would not support Pelosi for Speaker. I think they're making a mistake. The Pelosi-haters are not going to vote for them regardless of which Democrat they support for Speaker, and not supporting Pelosi is not a big vote-getter among Independents.

These candidates say it's time for younger people to take over the party leadership. I'm not opposed to passing the torch, but is this next Congress the time to do that? Here are some things Democrats need to consider.

1. There's a reason that Republicans hate Nancy Pelosi. It's because she is smart, tough, and knows how to use the rules against them. She's also a good negotiator, who won't be run over by right-wing Republicans. With Trump still in the White House, we will need a tough and smart Speaker to stand up to him.

2. Pelosi id the only woman among the Democratic House leadership. If she is replaced, it will be by a man, and once again the party in the House will be ruled by an all-male leadership team. Is that what we want? Is that fair, considering that Democrats are running more female candidates than ever before?

3. Pelosi is the biggest fundraiser of all. She has raised about $91 million for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee through July (more than twice what anyone else has done) -- money badly needed if the Democrats are to flip Congress. If the Democrats are successful, it will be largely due to Pelosi's remarkable fund-raising.

I think Pelosi should be elected Speaker for the 116th Congress. At her age, she won't hold the position too long, and it would give Democrats some time to groom younger people to assume leadership positions -- and there should be some women among those being groomed to take over.

Replacing Pelosi right now would be like Democrats shooting themselves in the foot -- and borrowing a gun from Republicans to do it.

Is Nancy Pelosi Really A Problem For Democrats ?

I'm not surprised that the Republicans are trying to demonize Rep. Nancy Pelosi. She used to be the Speaker, and Republicans want to convince Americans that somehow she would be terrible for the nation if the Democrats regain the House majority and she were to again become Speaker. That's to be expected, and Democrats return the favor by doing their best to demonize Paul Ryan (the current Republican Speaker).

But I'm hearing more and more from Democrats (mainly those in the party's left wing) that Pelosi is somehow hurting the party and should be replaced if Democrats regain the majority. Is that true? Is Pelosi a drag on the Democratic ticket this year?

For an answer I went to the new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between March 10th and 13th of a national sample of 1,500 adults, with a margin of error of 3.1 points.

The charts show that Pelosi is no more unpopular with all adults and with Independents than Paul Ryan is, and both are equally popular within their own parties. If Pelosi is a drag on the Democratic ticket, then Ryan is equally a drag on the Republican ticket. And both are more popular than their counterparts in the Senate.

The upshot of this is that those who would vote against a Democrat because of Pelosi is probably a Republican, and wouldn't vote for a Democrat no matter who the prospective Speaker could be. This election is not about Pelosi or Ryan. It is about the direction that Trump and the Republicans are taking this country.

I can understand that the party's leftists would like to see a leftist as Speaker. I wouldn't mind seeing that myself. But the attacks on Pelosi coming from members of her own party are out-of-place at this time. The only important thing right now is for Democrats to unite and unseat as many Republicans as possible -- for the good of the country.

Nancy Pelosi is not the devil incarnate. She actually did a credible job the last time she was Speaker (and was largely responsible for shepherding Obamacare through the House).

If the Democrats elected to the House want to replace Pelosi next January, I don't have a problem with that. If they want to make her Speaker again, I don't mind that either. She has been a loyal Democrat for a long time. But either way, this is not the time to be squabbling over her. This is the time to unite to create a blue wave this November.

Democrats Should Stop Attacking Nancy Pelosi

(This caricature of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is by DonkeyHotey.)

During the Georgia special election, Republicans ran an ad saying the Democratic candidate supported the liberal Nancy Pelosi and her California friends. It was a silly ad that Republicans loved, Democrats hated, and Independents ignored (because they were voting for a House member from Georgia -- not Pelosi).

But some Democrats are now trying to say that the Georgia special election was lost because Pelosi is the House Minority Leader -- and as long as she remains in that position, Democrats will continue to lose elections.

It's hogwash! Georgia's 6th congressional district is a very red district, and Democrats never really had a good chance to win that district. Those in that district were going to elect a Republican to represent them (no matter how bad that Republican was or how good the Democratic opponent was -- or whoever was the House Minority Leader). If you want to blame Pelosi for that loss, then you also must give her credit for the Democrats doing better there than in the last four decades. But neither is true. A safe Republican district elected another Republican, and that's all that happened.

If Pelosi was to be replaced as Minority Leader, how long would it take for the Republicans to start demonizing her replacement (no matter who that replacement was)? Probably less than 24 hours. That's just what Republicans do. They try to demonize their opponents and other Democrats (especially Democratic leaders). Are we going to replace every Democratic leader that is demonized by the right-wing Republicans? If so, then we would be continually replacing our leaders, and our leadership would look like a revolving door.

Democrats need to stop attacking our own party leaders. When we do so, we are just playing into the Republican's hands, and doing their job for them. Nancy Pelosi is an honest, experienced, and competent legislator and party leader -- and we should be grateful to have her leadership. She is also a good progressive, but a realistic one. She knows what can be accomplished and what can't -- and she gets done what she can right now, while never giving up on what else can be accomplished in the future. That's not a bad thing -- but good politics.

Most of the attacks on Pelosi (just like the Democrats attacking Hillary Clinton) are coming from party extremists on the left. They want to replace Pelosi (and other party leaders) with people who will move the party far to the left. While I wouldn't mind seeing this whole country move toward leftist politics, I think moving the Democratic Party to an extreme leftist party will just ensure defeat after defeat -- because most American voters, like it or not, are moderates. They want change, but they want that change to be done in moderate steps.

Some will point to the national polls to say Pelosi is viewed unfavorably by the public. The truth is that ALL congressional leaders of both political parties are viewed unfavorably by the public (see the chart below). That's because the public views Congress unfavorably as a whole. They see Congress as thinking it's more important to argue ideology than to compromise for the good of the country -- and they don't like it. But changing any of the congressional leaders won't improve the public's view of Congress (or either party in Congress). That can only be improved by congressional representatives willing to compromise for the good of the country -- and that's not likely to happen soon.

If you, as a Democrat, feel the need to vilify any politician, then direct that at Republican politicians. They have earned it -- Pelosi hasn't.

Chart is made from information in a new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between June 18th and 20th of a random national sample of 1,500 adults (including 1,277 registered voters), with a 3 point margin of error.

No Honeymoon Period For Republican Leaders

One would have expected after the huge victory they had in this latest election, that Republican leaders would be able to bask in the approval of their own party's base -- at least until the 114th Congress gets down to business next January. But that doesn't seem to be happening.

During only the second week after the election (from November 10th to November 17th), the approval of the Republican congressional leadership has dropped significantly. The approval rating during those seven days for John Boehner has dropped 12 points (while disapproval rose by 10 points). And the numbers for Mitch McConnell were even worse, with approval dropping by 14 points (and disapproval climbing by 12 points).

These numbers are from YouGov Polls taken between November 8th and 10th and between November 15th and 17th (of a random national sample of 1,000 adults, with a margin of error of about 4 points). Note that the shifts in approval and disapproval far exceed the polls' margin of error.

The same is not true for Democrats (see chart below). The approval and disapproval numbers for Democratic leaders by their own base has remained pretty steady.

All 4 Congressional Leaders Very Unpopular

Several polls have shown that Congress as a whole is very unpopular these days. In the last few months, their approval ratings have been below 15% (and the disapproval ratings very high). The folks at Gallup decided to find out if that congressional unpopularity also applied to the leaders of both parties there, and not surprisingly, it does.

The recent Gallup Poll was taken between September 5th and 8th of a nationwide sample of about 794 adults, with a 4 point margin of error. The poll showed that all four congressional leaders, Mitch McConnell & Harry Reid in the Senate and John Boehner & Nancy Pelosi in the House, are not well liked by the general public and all four have upside-down approval ratings -- McConnell (35%-47%), Reid (33%-53%), Boehner (37%-54%), and Pelosi (39%-51%).

The poll also showed that all four were pretty equally disliked by Independent voters. But three of those leaders can at least claim some support from their own political party -- with the numbers for Boehner at 48%-44% among Republicans, while Reid has a rating of 47%-40% & and Pelosi has a rating of 65%-24% among Democrats. It is Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate Minority Leader who has the worst numbers, being upside-down even with the members of his own party at 33%-47%.

This could well show why his poll numbers for his re-election campaign in Kentucky have been so low (showing him trailing his Democratic opponent by a few points). Politics is a lot harder when the voters in your own political party don't like you (by a huge 14 point margin).

Equal Pay Is Still Just A Dream For Women

Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of President John Kennedy signing the Equal Pay Act. It was hoped at that time that by now the women of America would be enjoying pay equal to that of men. Unfortunately that has not happened. Women still get an average of $0.77 for every dollar earned by men -- an inexcusable and shameful statistic for the 21st Century (especially in a country that touts its belief in equality).

Here is what Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-California) has to say about this:

President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act 50 years ago.

President Kennedy called the Equal Pay Act "a first step" to ending the widespread practice of paying women less than men for the same amount of work. And that's exactly what it was: a first step.

50 years later, we're still fighting this fight, and women STILL make 23 cents less on the dollar. House Democrats have proposed a solution -- the Paycheck Fairness Act -- but Republicans voted to block this legislation from even coming to a vote. That's unacceptable.

Our daughters and granddaughters should know that they'll enter the workforce as equals to their male counterparts. But it's going to take a real effort to get this done.

This problem can be solved, but only if the House Republicans are voted out of power in the next election. This is just one reason among many to vote Democratic in the 2014 election.

NOTE -- The young lady pictured above with President Kennedy is Nancy Pelosi, when she was a student at Trinity College.

Perry Gets Zinged By Pelosi

It seems like Rick Perry never tires of showing just how intellectually-challenged he really is. In an effort to bring his presidential bid out of the low single digits, he decided to pick on House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California). After all, other right-wingers take shots at Pelosi all the time and she generally ignores them (probably because their silly remarks don't deserve any reply). I guess Perry thought he could do the same, and appeal to his teabagger base without any embarrassment. He was wrong.

Perry has recently come up with a ridiculous idea of making Congress a part-time institution. The plan didn't get much press, probably because most media outlets thought it was silly. So Perry decided he could get some press by challenging Rep. Pelosi to a debate about his plan. He knew the debate would never happen (and was no doubt counting on that since he could be out-debated by a third-grader). He just wanted some headlines -- and he got them, although not the kind he wanted.

Pelosi answered Perry's debate challenge. Here is what she said:

"He did ask if I could debate here in Washington on Monday. It is my understanding that such a letter has come in. Monday I'm going to be in Portland in the morning and I'm going to be visiting some of our labs in the afternoon, that's two, I can't remember what the third thing is I'm going to be doing."

ZING!! You have to admit that Perry left himself wide open to that one. The only thing that would have made it worse is if she added an "oops". I think it may be time for Perry to get out of this race while he's losing. He sure wouldn't want to accidently become the nominee and then have to debate President Obama. That would be an absolute slaughter.

Pelosi: Where's The Leadership ?

We learned recently that the Justice Department broke the law by using political beliefs as a factor in determining who would be hired, and tried to manipulate the elections by targeting Democrats for prosecution.

Many people, including myself, believe this was done at the request of the Bush administration. The House Judiciary Committee is investigating this, and recently subpoenaed Karl Rove to testify about it.

Of course, in keeping with the established practices of the Bush administration, Rove thumbed his nose at the committee and the law. Instead of testifying, he went to Europe. He claimed he had "executive privilege".

Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee showed some backbone. They voted, along party lines, to cite Rove for Contempt of Congress because he ignored the subpoena. It looked like the Democrats were finally going to hold the Bush administration responsible for their unlawful actions.

But that was before the matter got to Speaker Pelosi. Instead of taking the matter to the full House for a vote, she has decided to play politics with this very serious matter. Her staff says there will be no vote before September, if she even lets it come to a vote then. There is the very real possibility that there will not be a vote at all.

I guess that Pelosi is afraid that it will look like the big bad Democrats are picking on the helpless Republicans. She's afraid that will cost Democrats some votes in the next election. So, once again, she's going to make it look like Democrats are "wussing out" and knuckling under to the Bush administration.

She obviously doesn't realize the Democrats were given a majority so they could rein in the Bush administration. The American people are looking for politicians who will stand up and do the right thing, regardless of the consequences. But instead of showing real leadership, she resorts to political maneuvering.

It was bad enough that she abdicated leadership over the horrible FISA bill, and told each member to vote as he or she saw fit. Now she is doing it again. If she refuses to allow the House to vote on this contempt citation, it will just look to voters like Democrats don't have the courage to stand up for what's right.

This is nothing less than a lack of leadership. Pelosi has shown herself to be a weak Speaker. When the new House convenes early next year, the Democrats should dump her and install a real Democrat who's not afraid to demonstrate some real leadership.

I'm proud of the Democrats for tossing out the old stereotypes and electing a woman to be Speaker. It's just sad that they chose a woman with no leadership qualities or political courage.

Clinton-Backers Try To Pressure Pelosi

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is on record as saying the superdelegates should support the Democratic candidate with the most delegates earned from voters. That didn't make the Clinton people very happy, since it is virtually impossible for their candidate to finish with the most delegates.

A few days ago, 20 of Clinton's top fundraisers decided to try and pressure Pelosi to change her position. They sent her a letter asking her to "clarify your position on superdelegates and reflect in your comments a more open view to the optional independent actions of each of the delegates at the National Convention in August."

It is the view of these Clintonistas that if the voters don't choose the appropriate candidate, then it is up to the superdelegates to step in and fix things by overruling them. That is a ridiculously elitist position for any Democrat to be putting forward.

Do they really think the party insiders know better than the voters? If that was true, then why have the vote at all? We might as well just go back to picking candidates in the smoke-filled backrooms.

But Pelosi wasn't intimidated. Her spokesman said, "The speaker believes it would do great harm to the Democratic Party if superdelegates are perceived to overturn the will of the voters. This has been her position throughout this primary season, regardless of who was ahead at any particular point in delegates or votes."

She is absolutely right.