Really sad when the times pass certain politicians by. Nancy Pelosi has been one of the most
consequential legislators the Democrats have had. Yet, in what can only be seen as an attempt to protect the status quo of the Democratic Party,
Nancy Pelosi Takes a Swipe at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Again.
Nancy Pelosi: "By and large whatever orientation they came to Congress with, they know we have to hold the center. We have to go down the mainstream."
60 Minutes: "You have these wings. @AOC and her group on one side..."
Pelosi: "That's like five people."
Pelosi is delusional if she believes the "mainstream" is the political "center". The majority of this country is liberal and supports liberal policies. The only reason we've moved rightward in our policies over the past few decades is because of Democratic spinelessness and Republican
cheating. Republicans are only getting 30-40% of the votes, yet they are controlling 55-60% of the seats. And, it was, partially, the willingness of Bill Clinton to goosestep along in "compromise" with the Republican agenda that we have this illusion that this
triangulation somehow represents the mainstream of the population.
The majority of Americans support Medicare, Social Security, minimum wage, public schools, public transportation, unemployment insurance, the police and fire departments, 8-hour work days, sick leave, FMLA, overtime pay, labor laws, holiday pay, maternal leave and the many other
liberal policies that were pushed through by left-wingers and unions over the last 100 years.
Now, this isn't to say Democrats should go balls to the wall attempting to implement any and all ideas that we can think of. But many of the ideas (such as the Green New Deal) of the New Democrats are ideas the majority of the country supports - improving public transportation, strengthening and growing renewable energy, greening buildings, getting away from fossil fuels, reinvesting in our educational system, upgrading our water and sewer systems and increasing the minimum wage. These are all policies that, when implemented, benefit all Americans. Broad-based public goods that each and every citizen can use.
Pelosi can couch her elitism as learned pragmatism, but it's really just the old guard holding onto the levers of power. Working at the margins is a necessary part of the political process. But if this is all you've got, you're in a rudderless ship moving in circles within a very limited space. Barack Obama was right when he said we shouldn't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. But we also can't become a nation of small ideas and nostalgia.
The majority of our
infrastructure has a D grade according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. We've fallen behind other advanced industrialized nations in renewable energy and public transportation.
Maybe Pelosi would do better to incorporate the New Democrats' ideas into the Democratic Party platform, rather than to play into the hands of the right-wing, pretending these are pie-in-the-sky wishes that have no place in sensible discourse. In reality, these are the policies and projects the majority of Americans would like to see and have in their cities and states. Not to mention the jobs and prosperity it would create.
Maybe, one of these years, Democrats will learn that ideas and principles matter. Everything can't be negotiable. We have to continue to make sure the mundane day-to-day bureaucratic objectives are performed. But we must not concede BIG IDEAS as being out of the question, too expensive or use some other excuse for inaction. America, itself, was a BIG IDEA. And if we don't start fixing, rebuilding and modernizing America and its workers, our standard of living and our place in the world will only continue to diminish.
Time is of the essence. Go big or go home.
For Further Reading:
It's Time For Nancy Pelosi To Go
Why 63 House Democrats Voted To Oust Nancy Pelosi
After Democrats’ Losses, Nancy Pelosi Becomes a Symbol of What Went Wrong
