DIRTY DEALS: How Nancy Pelosi Won Progressive Votes For House Speaker Race
When it comes to power politics, nobody does backroom deals better than the corporate darling Nancy Pelosi.

BAILEY T. STEEN | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2018

There is a reason why former House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), despite holding a dismal 29% approval rating among Democrats, continues to hold onto government authority. Her secret is the abuse of power politics, where legislation drafted for âwe the peopleâ is traded for dirty-dealing, smoke-filled backrooms, lobbyist money and loyalty granted to the corrupt politicians, not the citizenry for which they represent.
It wasnât just a coincidence that Rep. Pelosi â despite her controversial record of illiberal positions supporting the Afghanistan war, Syrian intervention, deregulation of Wall Street, her opposition to Medicare-For-All, free college and her laughing in the face of federal minimum wage hikes â secured the support of so-called progressive groups committed to anti-corporate agendas. A signature offence comes from the firebrand single-payer supporter Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), the expected co-chair of 2019âs House Progressive Caucus, who endorsed Pelosi in her bid for House Speaker just hours after their meeting regarding appointments to powerful legislative committees.
âNo one can really doubt Pelosiâs progressive chops,â Jayapal told Politico in a recent interview earlier this week. âAnd I do think, for the next two years, as we lead into 2020, and are coming off this big wave, we need someone who is smart and strategic and has done this before. The [anti-Pelosi] drive is not going to take us in the [progressive] direction that we should go,â she continued. âItâs going to be the opposite of what the election really told us, which is a much more diverse, progressive, bold agenda.â
In August, this united vision behind Pelosiâs leadership was different.
When NBC once asked Democratic politicians if they would support a Pelosi bid for House Majority Speaker, a total of 58 party members, including Rep. Jayapal, refused to endorse her. These bipartisan voices also included rising Justice Democrat progressives such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-IL) and Ayanna Pressley (D-IL), as well as the pro-corporate âblue dogsâ from Republican districts in Reps. Conor Lamb (D-PA), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Jared Golden (D-ME), Gil Cisneros (D-CA) and Max Rose (D-NY). At the time, Pelosi was outweighed by resistance votes. âThere is widespread agreement,â said Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KT) to Vox, âthat we need a rejuvenation of leadership.â
When Pelosi came knocking, however, offering gifts of legislative power or corporate fundraising, the vast majority made the âboldâ decision to support the bleeding heart neo-liberal. Jayapal announced her deal secured more progressive members being seated on the committee for âWays and Means, Energy and Commerce, Appropriations, Financial Services, and Intelligenceâ, granting the left-wing more legislative power in exchange for loyalty to the old-guard establishment.
âSpecifically, we are pleased that Leader Pelosi shares our commitment to ensuring that CPC members are represented proportionally on the key exclusive committees,â said Jayapal and fellow caucus member Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) in a statement. âWe coordinated very closely with them, and they actually told Pelosi that they wonât come out for her until [after] our meeting. So we are leveraging our power in different ways within the caucus but also with our allies on the outside.â
While such a political compromise undermines the narrative of a âforceful revolution within the Democratic partyâ which underlines the appeal behind these progressive movements, from the grassroots of Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress organisations to the Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) founded Our Revolution, there is a silver-lining to this alliance of lawmakers. The question still remains whether theyâve just used their leverage on empty promises which abandon their principles.
Pelosi, demanding loyalty among her party, is savvy in her enabling of progressives to potentially hold key seats on influential committees and subcommittees, which could hold their party leader accountable on policy grounds, in exchange for their vote. Assuming this is a legitimate trade with no crossed fingers behinds backs, Pelosi is allowing progressives to maintain a long-term placement at the tables of power which go beyond the standard preaching to the caucus. Except is this too good to be true? And are the progressives willing to pledge their vote without concrete reassurances?
In the very same article, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) published a list of bills he requested Pelosi to put up for a Congressional vote to help ensure his support. These werenât âbipartisanâ calls to increase funds for the already overblown military budget (currently set at a staggering $590B), but left-wing causes such as âa $15 minimum wage, Medicare-for-all and a âGreen New Dealâ,â (referring to investment in clean, renewable energy jobs).
This would be admirable leverage wielding if it wasnât paired with backhanded backtracking, telling the publication he wouldnât withhold his vote if she broke such promises. âKhanna didnât go so far as saying heâd withhold his own vote for Pelosi to get a promise for votes on progressive bills,â wrote journalist Ella Nilsen. âAfter all, he added, theyâre longtime friends.â
Activists, on the other hand, see the value in withholding their leverage gains more so than their own politicians. These deals follow recent protests in Pelosiâs office where climate change voices, joined by Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, called for more support addressing the issue on a fundamental policy basis. Pelosi later tweeted her support for the protestors with her promise to âaddress the crisisâ once in power. This is consistent with her past rhetoric, though actions speak louder than the words of a politicians. Itâll be a long time before she secures their votes.
On Capital Hill, all that initially stood in her way was Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH) â the only progressive challenger to Pelosiâs speakership â who ultimately endorsed her once she secured a position to restore a defunct subcommittee on elections. Loyalty bought Fudge a position as reigning committee chairwoman. The chance for progressives to lead the fight, forcing Pelosi to move even further to their cause, was given up by the time Pelosi introduced her first compromise. Such weak negotiation would make even the ghostwriter for President Trumpâs famous âArt Of The Dealâ disappointed.
Fudgeâs new committee will reportedly focusing on âthe issue of voting rights which has been a top priority of members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC)â, according to her statement published by The Hill. âLeader Pelosi has granted me the opportunity to create the record necessary to satisfy the 2013 Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder, so that the protections of the Voting Rights Act will be reinstated and improved,â Fudge writes. âShe has also assured me that the most loyal voting bloc in the Democratic party, Black women, will have a seat at the decision-making table.â
Though is this far enough? Sure, Fudgeâs were in the context of a newly legitimate narrative of a âsmall group of white, moderate menâ who are working sabotaging Pelosi from moving to the left. Consider the release of the blue dog Democrat letter from over 16 pro-corporate candidates refusing to endorse her from a right-wing perspective. 13 of those were white males in conservative-leaning states, according to govtrack.us, who would likely take up their own leadership bids to appease Republicans. There is a real danger there, but should progressives automatically concede to their de facto leader based on an elusive âseat at the tableâ pledge? Or could their political deal have gone beyond simple committee appointments?
As also noted by Ocasio-Cortez: âRight now, out of the field, I would say that [Pelosi] is the most progressive candidate,â she posted her Instagram followers. âAll of the rebellion for the Speakership are challenges to her right ⌠My standard in this is: Iâm going to support the most progressive candidate thatâs 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 donât want new leadership thatâs more conservative.â
But would this be the case? Once Fudge, an African American representative, called for âacknowledging the fact that the Democratic Party is becoming more young, more black, and more brown and letting that be reflected in our leadershipâ, she slammed Pelosi as âa very wealthy personâ who âraises a lot of money from a lot of other wealthy peopleâ. It was this statement that, at the time, secured the votes of anti-Pelosi moderates, Reps. Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Seth Moulton (D-MA), telling The Washington Post she was âoverwhelmed by the amount of supportâ she received from such characters. If conservatives vote for progressives, purely based on the optics of resisting Pelosi, how conservative are they really? Talk about a miscalculation from Fudge since now Moulton continues to challenge Pelosi from her right. A key vote wasted.
In decades past, Pelosi was surprisingly among the leading voices in support of left-wing causes. As a early member of the 1990s Congressional Progressive Caucus, formed by Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), she voted against the invasion of Iraq, championed of marriage equality when it was an unpopular stance and secured the passing of the Affordable Care Act. These are peanuts compared to her recent support of candidates such as Clinton â who moderately disagreed with Pelosi on these same key issues â meanwhile her former caucus leader Sanders was still a viable candidate during the 2016 presidential election. She is no progressive hero, which is needed down the line when it comes to Democratic success.
With President Trump occupying the White House and Mitch McConnell controlling the Senate, progressives shouldnât just look to blind obstructionism amongst themselves. Itâs unconscionable delve so deep into puritan politics that one allows the very same opposition policies they were elected to prevent. At the same time, Pelosiâs leadership could also, however, further the perception Democrats are desperately scrapping together their identity in real-time, meanwhile Fudge burned a coalition she barely fostered.
Consider a leadership where the âboldâ ideas of Medicare-For-All, which has bipartisan support among the average voters, are pushed to the side for political theatre investigations into sexual assaults, fake bipartisanship on deregulatory policy or, as her recent speech suggests, maintaining the status quo. Wonât voters see this as Pelosiâs nothingism in 2020?
âLetâs hear more for pre-existing medical conditions,â she rallied the crowd at this so-called victory party. âToday is more than about Democrats and Republicans. Itâs about restoring the Constitution and checks and balances to the Trump administration. Itâs about stopping the GOP and [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnellâs assault on Medicare, Medicaid, affordable health care, and millions of Americans living with pre-existing medical conditions.â
No mention of admired progressive policies were made, no mention of new committees set to reform social and economic justice issues, just standard centrist opinions held universal within each faction. Itâs a safe move which, ironically, is an unsafe vulnerability, showing the pre-established causes for which she rallies. Such is the case with the lesser of two evils, where the bold vision needed to secure a base voters need to retake the White House and Congress could be ignored. The Democrats should hope their captain can potential brave red waves before itâs too late.

Thanks for reading! This article was originally published for TrigTent.com, a bipartisan media platform for political and social commentary, truly diverse viewpoints and facts that donât kowtow to political correctness. Bailey Steen is a journalist, graphic designer and film critic residing in the heart of Australia. You can also find his work right here on Medium and publications such as Janks Reviews. For updates, feel free to follow @atheist_cvnt on his various social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Gab. You can also contact through bsteen85@gmail.com for personal or business reasons. Stay honest and radical. Cheers, darlings. đ