Update: Well, so much for all the speculation here (including mine). Nancy Pelosi endorses Harris for president
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Today, it is with immense pride and limitless optimism for our country’s future that I endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for President of the United States,” she said in a statement. “My enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for President is official, personal and political.”
“Officially, I have seen Kamala Harris’s strength and courage as a champion for working families, notably fighting for a woman’s right to choose. Personally, I have known Kamala Harris for decades as rooted in strong values, faith and a commitment to public service. Politically, make no mistake: Kamala Harris as a woman in politics is brilliantly astute – and I have full confidence that she will lead us to victory in November.”
I think she waited (and given the speed with which politics operates today, this was waiting) until it was clear Harris was being nominated by the majority rather than anointed in a back room.
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It’s becoming increasingly clear that Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi was critical in persuading President Biden to step down from running for re-election. Biden said only the 'Lord Almighty' could get him to exit the presidential race. Then came Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi privately told Biden and several colleagues that she found it incredibly difficult to see a path forward for his candidacy, according to The New York Times. She also reportedly worked behind the scenes to get him to drop out. Her influence has been so significant that Biden himself considered her the "main instigator" of the situation, as The Times put it.
She also went on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" (one of Biden's favorite programs) and said that it was up to him to decide if he wanted to stay in the race, even though he'd already clearly and repeatedly said he was staying in it. Notably, she did not explicitly endorse Biden in the interview and said "time is running short" for him to make a decision, which, again, he'd already made.
(Pelosi also reportedly threatened to go public with her recommendation if Biden didn’t make up his mind by today.) Some here have professed to see evil machinations here. My feeling is that Pelosi, whose ability to count votes — both in the House and in members’ districts — is unmatched, counted the votes and realized that Biden couldn’t beat Trump. The question now is, why hasn’t she — yet — endorsed Harris?
Again, there are conspiracy theories abounding, but, again, I think the reason is simple: She thinks Harris will have a better chance of winning if it doesn’t look like Democratic power brokers engineered her ascent to power.
From July 19: Pelosi Told Colleagues She Would Favor ‘Open’ Nomination Process if Biden Drops Out
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the former speaker, recently told her colleagues in the California delegation that if President Biden were to end his campaign she would favor the “competitive” process of an open primary rather than an anointment of Vice President Kamala Harris as the new Democratic presidential nominee. . . .
Ms Pelosi told them she favored a competitive process. Ms. Pelosi, according to a source familiar with her thinking, is a friend and fan of Ms. Harris, a former senator from California. But she believes even Ms. Harris would be strengthened to win the general election by going through a competitive process at the convention.
And from the UK Independent, shortly before Biden’s announcement: Biden chews over mounting calls for him to quit 2024 race as Pelosi said to be seeking to avoid Harris coronation
The California representative hopes to avoid Kamala Harris automatically becoming the Democratic candidate if Biden drops out, Politico and The New York Times report. Earlier this week, reports emerged that the influential Democrat told Biden privately he can’t beat Donald Trump in November.
Pelosi is not against a Harris-led ticket, according to the Times. Instead, Pelosi is advocating for an open nomination process at next month’s Democratic National Convention, arguing that Harris — or any other potential candidate — would be strengthened by earning the title, the Times reports.
(An interesting side note in the Independent’s article was a quote from AOC: "If you think that there is consensus among the people who want Joe Biden to leave.... that they will support Kamala, Vice President Harris, you would be mistaken.” Also reported here. Then Biden dropped and AOC endorsed Harris almost immediately, along with all but one of “The Squad,” Tlaib.)
In the absence of any statements from the Speaker Emerita, and in the absence even of rumors about her relationship with Harris (though they are known to be friendly; see above), I am left to speculate. And my speculation is that Pelosi does want to see Harris as the nominee and as the next president, but she doesn’t want to be seen as manipulating the process.
How see you?
