On Seriousness

Another theory on Pelosi’s speech:

The support that the Republican whips had for the bill, slim as it was, hinged on convincing representatives that the bill was desperately needed. This was proven by assuring them that the bill had bipartisan support, was not hostile to the free market and was made in good faith. That is what the President and the Republican whips were trying to convince the conservatives of all day. Pelosi’s speech destroyed all of that work, she made bipartisan statements, slammed the free market and generally blamed conservatives for everything

The one thing I think the Pelosi speech does is call into question the issue of seriousness. If America is truly on the brink of the Great Depression II, than Pelosi’s speech would be as unbecoming as George W. Bush attacking the Clinton Administration the day after 9/11. When something is truly serious is when partisanship gets puts aside. Pelosi didn’t do that. Her leadership has signalled this is just another vote, just another bill. And it wasn’t just her speech on the floor, it was the press conference announcing the deal as well.

When a matter is indisputably serious, politicians wait until after the fact to try and claim political advantage on an issue.

Also, the idea that Congress can take a 2-day break for the Jewish Holidays doesn’t scream “Emergency, we have to get something done!” It says, “Business as usual.” The bottom line here is that the tone taken by Speaker Pelosi doesn’t indicate that she believes this is a true emergency, even though her words at various times, have. The problem is that both she and Senator Reid are acting like this is politics as usual and in that mode, it’s hard to get anything done, particularly when it violates core principles.