As someone who’s recently said that Democratic Leadership needs to step up their game in the battle of tactics and messaging with our ruthless Republican opposition, I have been extremely impressed with their exceptional performance in reacting to the events of Jan 6.
Pelosi and other Democratic leaders in Congress have handled the response to Wednesday’s insurrection nearly flawlessly, not only taking swift, strong, decisive actions, but promoting and positioning those actions in the media for maximum effect. Here are just a few examples:
- Immediate Demand for Trump’s Removal
Pelosi quickly came out with a series of clear statements indicating to Trump et al: Step Down via Resignation or the 25th Amendment, or We Will Impeach you. Notably, she did not take the easier (and far less effective) path of Censure that many in the media/punditry were promoting. No, we will not compromise. Bravo!
- Moving with Urgency and Kicking Down Roadblocks
The first question that came to mind regarding Impeachment was how quickly it could be done. The consensus in the media and even on this site, seemed to be “there are rules that must be followed” which would delay things at least a week. I wondered to myself whether the rules couldn’t be changed, given the exceptional threat to the nation? After all, Republicans change the rules all the time, purely for political advantage. It turns out Nancy was one step ahead, and rather than unilaterally disarming in blind deference to past rules, leadership made the unconventional rule modications needed to fast-path the Impeachment vote. To add icing to the cake, a bill by Jamie Raskin that goes above and beyond to make invoking the 25th Amendment easier was brought into the mix.
- Media Blitz with a Clear Message
In addition assuring the media was well aware of the above actions, Pelosi leveraged the media to deliver clear messaging that would support them. In an extremely effective move to send a message about the severity of the threat that Trump poses, Pelosi announced that she had spoken with JCS Chairman Milley, seeking assurance that Trump could not go rogue with the nuclear football — genius!. She then did an interview with 60 minutes and minced zero words in calling out Trump as “a deranged, unhinged, dangerous president” that we need to be protected from. When Leslie Stahl asserted that the 25th amendment was “off the table”, Nancy immediately snapped back with “No it isn’t! Nothing is off the table”. Music to my ears!!
- Biden Speech
Although Joe Biden has, probably wisely, steered clear of the fray with respect to exacting punishment on Trump, in his passionate speech introducing AG Garland, Biden expertly walked the line of making it clear how despicable Trump and his actions have been, while assuring that his words did not appear to be politically motivated. It is one of the better speeches I’ve seen recently, definitely worth watching.
When I criticized House leadership a couple weeks ago regarding the handling of the COVID relief bill, I had real doubts as to whether they possessed the needed heart and skills to execute the strategy and messaging required to prevail in battle with Republicans.
Their performance over the past week has reassured me that they most assuredly do!