Nancy Pelosi has no regrets over helping force Biden's ouster - Los Angeles Times
By: Mark Z. Barabak (Los Angeles Times)
Wow. What a bitch.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, appearing with fellow Rep. Pete Aguilar at the Democratic convention in Chicago, expresses sadness at her strained relationship with President Biden. But she does not regret helping ease him off the ticket. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) By Mark Z. BarabakColumnistFollowAug. 19, 2024 10:55 AM PT
CHICAGO —
Nancy Pelosi, whose fingerprints are all over the defenestration of President Biden, has expressed deep sadness at the rupture in their relationship.
The two go back decades, to a time when a then-young Delaware Sen. Joe Biden was on the rise and Pelosi, a mother of five and devoted Democratic Party volunteer, hosted one of San Francisco's must-stop political salons. (The kids were pressed into duty as waitstaff.)
She now praises Biden as one of the nation's greatest and most consequential presidents, deserving, even, of a place on Mount Rushmore.
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But when it comes to campaigns and elections, the former House speaker has never had much use for sentimentality, priding herself on a reptilian cold-bloodedness.
So when Biden face-planted on the debate stage in Atlanta, spelling disaster for Democrats up and down the ticket, Pelosi quietly went to work. Now just another member of the Democratic House ranks — but still wielding enormous clout — she and other party pillars helped maneuver the president into the corner from whence he abruptly quit the race in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.
It's all just business, of course, though Biden hasn't see it that way. Pelosi has acknowledged as much. The two — once close — haven't spoken since the president grudgingly stepped aside nearly a month ago.
In a recent interview with the New Yorker's David Remnick, Pelosi was asked if she thought the breach could be healed.
"I hope so. I pray so. I cry so," Pelosi told Remnick. "I lose sleep over it."
But regrets? Nah.
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Asked Monday at the Democratic National Convention if she had any second thoughts about nudging Biden aside, Pelosi made no effort to hide her disdain at the very notion.
"Would I do anything differently?" she said, repeating a question posed during a brief session with reporters. "Why would you ask me that question? You know I'm a very deliberate person."
Speaking beforehand, at a California delegation breakfast, Pelosi extolled Biden's selflessness at standing aside and said Monday night's opening programming would "celebrate his greatness."
(After their headlining appearances, Biden and his wife, Jill, planned to leave Chicago and cede the stage and convention spotlight fully to Harris.)
Pelosi continued the rhapsody during the brief media scrum.
"The empathy that is in his heart for the American people [was captured] by his understanding that the baton needed to be passed," Pelosi said, not mentioning the healthy shove needed to move Biden along.
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But, hey, politics is about success at the ballot box, to use a favorite Pelosi exhortation.
Asked about those Democrats upset at that manner of Biden's extraction from atop the November ticket, Pelosi crisply replied, "I just wanted to win this election. So if they're upset, I'm sorry for them. But the country is very happy."
She cited a House member from Illinois who told her Sunday night that immediately after Harris' elevation he had more than 1,000 new volunteers sign up. "And we're seeing that all over the country," she said.
As for those still-grumbling dissenters, "That's their problem," Pelosi said. "Not mine."
Had she any plans to visit with Biden, since they're both in Chicago? "We'll see. We'll see," she said, "We have a lot going."
With that Pelosi turned and was immediately swallowed by a throng of well-wishers, smiling and elbowing for a selfie with the still-formidable ex-speaker.
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Hopefully, Karma will prove its bitch status and come back around to her. She needs to go.
Please explain how she "forced" him out. Did she threaten him with a hammer or something?
Ask her...............
One theory is that Nancy leveraged her power to get the big moneybags to withhold donations. A politician without funding can't hold office.
Many think that Obama, Pelosi, Schumer and Jeffries told Karmala that they would support her and invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him from office if he didn't bow out of the 24 race.
She's not the one claiming that she "forced" him out. She is also not the one seeding an article claiming that she "forced" him out.
The fact that those clowns claimed Biden was "just fine" should lead folks to wonder why they would endorse Harris, and what their endorsement is really worth.
We may never know what was really said to Biden.
"President Joe Biden is frustrated that Barack Obama wouldn’t tell him to his face that he should leave the race. He’s angry with Nancy Pelosi and views her as ruthless for ushering him out the door. And he’s still miffed at the role Chuck Schumer played, too....
Pelosi and Biden have not spoken since he stepped away. And the president’s anger flashed to the surface during a televised interview that aired this weekend when he namechecked the former speaker as he explained why he quit the race.
“And I was concerned if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic,” Biden told CBS. “You’d be interviewing me about why did Nancy Pelosi say, why did so — and — and I thought it’d be a real distraction.”
Biden also harbors some resentment that Obama — his friend and former boss — did not call him directly to voice his concerns about the campaign in the aftermath of the disastrous Atlanta debate in late June."
Given that way of thinking, does that make one dismiss the credibility of the GOP as a whole since it is all in with Trump? The GOP did more than claim Trump to be "just fine" ... they nominated him and continue to defend his nonsense and prop him up. Can these folks be trusted per your way of thinking?
Both parties nominated people unfit, IMO.
One still has the person who won the primaries in the race.
Do you propose the GOP simply strip the nomination from Trump?
Biden was deluding himself. He clearly did not recognize that he is simply too old and frail to be PotUS for another four years and was no longer capable of driving a good campaign. I am sure he truly believed he could beat Trump and serve a full second term and his family (to their discredit) supported that delusion.
There is no doubt in my mind that Biden was pressured to resign. It probably took quite a bit of pressure to get Biden's stubborn Irish blood to recognize reality and give up a chance for a second term.
But in the end, Biden did step aside. To his credit. That had to be difficult and he did a solid for the nation. And then, to his credit, he stepped up with pride to support his party and to support Harris. He shows no signs of animosity but rather comes across as a wise statesman who has recognized that younger blood is better for all concerned.
No, that is (practically speaking) impossible to do at this stage.
And that is not at all the point I made. You quoted my question, but did not answer it:
Both parties still have the person elected by the electors per their party's rules.
The GOP are free to nominate whichever sexual predator they feel the need to.
You have had your answer.
Why, yes, that's right. And that makes my statement --less true somehow?
Yes, they are.
A point seemingly not in contention, but....
By your logic the GOP has lost all credibility.
That's a nice spin.
You wrote:
If claiming that Biden was "just fine" harm's one's credibility then supporting and defending a traitor and a scoundrel who cares only about himself would destroy one's credibility. To wit, your logic means the GOP has lost all credibility.
Ah, I see, you are claiming for me something I never stated. The whole credibility thing is all yours.
You ought to stop doing that and instead read exactly what my posts actually say instead of what you wish to argue.
It makes your statement less relevant. No one cares except the right wing populists trying to score MAGA partisan points.
Funny how Trump supporters find this to be a bad thing after complaining so profusely that Biden was cognitively impaired. If they were sincere then they should be pleased that the DNC fixed its nominee problem.
An objective mind would find the urging of Biden to step aside as a good thing for the nation. It gives the nation the option to vote for a youthful, energetic, experienced, intelligent, presidential candidate. Objectively that is good for the nation.
And this is good for Biden too. He can now retire a hero and a statesman rather than retire by losing the election and being the guy who allowed Trump to gain the power of the presidency.
Of course, from an R partisan perspective this is bad because it makes it far more difficult for Trump to be elected.
Yeah, I found that funny too. I have to conclude they were never sincere about Biden's cognitive status, nor are they now about how and why he stepped aside. It's all about trying to shave a vote or two from Harris by whatever memes necessary.