But hey, don't just take my word for it! How about Megan McArdle's word?
Pelosi screwed up royally.....Pelosi cut a deal in which, as far as I can tell, every single Republican in a safe seat had to vote yes so that the Democrats could maximize their no votes. Given that the Republican caucus is pretty much in open revolt, this was beyond moronic. She then spent a week openly and repeatedly blaming the Republicans and the Bush administration for the current crisis. The way she set things up, it was "Heads I win, tails you lose": vote for the deal and I'll paint you as heartless reactionaries bailing out your fat cat friends. If you're going to do that, you'd better make sure you have some goddamn margin for error in your own party. She didn't. Then she got up and delivered yet another speech blaming the Republicans for the bailout deal she was about to pass....
From Eric Cantor, my original pick to be McCains #2 (shhhh! Don't tell Sarah) - via Pejman:
And I think that this is a case of a failure of Speaker Pelosi to listen not only to her members, but certainly to our members and the common bonds that brought our members together on this very, very important issue facing the american people. This is not a partisan crisis. This is an economic crisis facing everyone in this country. And to look at the votes today, 94 Democrats voted no. 94. Now, when we were in the Majority, I think we would make a decision that we would be able to come to the floor and bring a solution to the American people and pass it. They made a decision to leave 94 of their votes off the table and, frankly, as you can see, a majority of our votes that wouldn't go along. Clearly this is an instance where you see Speaker Pelosi's failure to listen, failure to lead.
Yup.
Now back to another liberal, Katie Allison Granju, who declares that Pelosi "needs to go":
...the speech was incredibly inappropriate. At a moment when the Speaker should have been rallying the entire membership of the House to pull together as Americans and solve the crisis before them, Pelosi chose instead to use her pulpit to lay blame and point fingers. There is certainly plenty of blame to go around, and some finger pointing is going to have to occur as we decide what specific mistakes were made and how we can avoid repeating them. But yesterday was not the time.
Yesterday was a time for statesmanship and gravitas, qualities that are critical in the individual who is only a few degrees away from the presidency, and who is vested with representing the entire body of the House of Representatives. In our two party system, there is no way to leave partisan politics out of the Speaker's role, but Pelosi acts more like a House majority or minority leader, or a whip - or even like the DNC Chair - than she does like the great Speakers of yore, like Sam Rayburn and Tip O'Neill.
Even over at ABC (Almighty Barack Central), there is some question about Pelosi's leadership:
Yes, House Republicans didn't deliver many votes and 66% of them voted against the bill.
But considering that only a dozen votes needed to switch in order to provide a different outcome, and 95 Democrats in the House voted against it, critics are now wondering why couldn't House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have assured a different outcome considering how important she said its passage was?
Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., told me yesterday that he felt no pressure at all to vote for the bill....
Finally, Amy Holmes speaks to the results of the Democratic party's habit of repeatedly spitting into the well:
After eight years of relentless partisan attacks on George Bush, Democrats have not only succeeded in sowing distrust of the administration, but of their own judgment, as well. So, now, when our leaders tell us that we have a genuine crisis, they have no credibility to lead us out. Such are the wages of blind, partisanship. We don't trust what they tell us they see.
The Democrat's hatred of Bush and their rage at being out of power has come back to harm the entire nation they claim to represent. No suprise here; but how will they govern with either Barack or McCain at the helm in 2008, being that they now have zero credibility?
If Eric Cantor is in fact a kinder, gentler Gingrich, we may see Republican contol - and cleanup - of this messy House within a few years...
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