Why Is Anyone Complaining about Pelosi and Schumer

[MineralMan]

taking a piece out of Trump? I've seen a couple of posts here saying that they should have treated him "more carefully." I think that's nonsense. I was extremely pleased by Pelosi's takedown of Trump yesterday. I hope that attitude continues and gets even more pointed, starting in January.

Trump has gotten too much of a pass for too long. It's time for Democrats in positions of power to speak out and speak up against Trump's childish, ignorant behavior as President.

Call Trump out publicly! Keep it up! Embarrass the crap out of him as often as possible. He's a dangerous fool! Call it out!

[Wounded Bear]

1. They were careful...

they very carefully kicked his ass and made him own his shutdown over his phony wall bullshit.

[MineralMan]

2. Yup. They led him right to the pile of elephant dung

he stepped in. Bravi!

[olegramps]

55. They allowed the jerk to hang himself while the vice watched him do it.

[0rganism]

79. "watched"

i'm not sure how much he saw through his eyelids...

[forgotmylogin]

60. Treating him "carefully" is what everyone else is doing.

And that's not made a difference. The definition of insanity is expecting a different outcome from the same behavior.

[DownriverDem]

62. And

it's only just begun. trump is going to go insane.

[Beartracks]

109. Trumplandians think HE made THEM "own" a supposed lack of caring about national security!

I mean, yeah, of course, these folks are the ones who think Trump's Big Hard Manly Wall is about national security. But still...

If that were so -- if Trump indeed "won" the meeting in the Oval Office -- then why was he so enraged after the meeting, and Pelosi and Schumer so pleased?

Trumpers live in a cave. A "FOX hole mentality," if you will.

===========

[BlueCaliDem]

3. Not everyone at DU is a Democrat or a Liberal. We need to remember that. eom

[MineralMan]

5. Sometimes, they remind us of that.

We should take notice of it when they do. Hence this thread.

[BlueCaliDem]

8. True. But then they get pissy and alert on posts and try to denigrate true Democrats and Liberal.

This site affords these hooligans their shenanigans all the time. It's why I pretty much left it and only come in every now and then. I stayed away during the primaries and midterm elections, and only now have popped my head in.
These non-Dems/non-Liberals infest this site to the point that real Democrats and Liberals have abandoned what used to be our home during the Duhbya years.
I've had my fill of them since the 2016 primaries and election.

[MineralMan]

10. Each of us has to find our own balance in posting.

[Cary]

69. I'll try to remember that

And I'll remind you the next time you ride that high horse of yours.

[MineralMan]

71. OK, then. Real good, then.

[George II]

64. Bazinga!

[oldlibdem]

103. I've already blocked one sock puppert

If I feel that someone has an ulterior motive I'll block them too. I'm not refering to you BlueCalidem, I'm just replying to your post.

[old guy]

49. Oh, I do.

I have a list of suspect posters, and am very careful to treat them that way.

[Hekate]

81. You said it better and more politely than I. Thank you, MM

[brush]

31. Huh? The name of this site is Democratic Underground.

If they are not Dems or liberal/progressive that's their problem.

We're about electing Democrats here.

[IronLionZion]

36. If their goal is to bury Democrats 6 feet Underground,

then we shouldn't fall for it.

[brush]

38. Exactly.

[Caliman73]

97. There are Democrats who hold certain, more conservative positions.

They are Democrats and they typically align with the majority of Democratic positions, but hold some views that are not in the Democratic mainstream for religious or personal reasons.

Then their are those who just come to disrupt or are generally disgruntled but have no other vehicle for political power.

[brush]

100. Your last graph is who I was referring to.

[Honeycombe8]

63. I don't know who did those posts the OP is talking about, but Democrats can disagree.

Even though they are in the same party, they can differ on strategy and such. No reason to call someone a non-Democrat because they don't agree w/the majority.

I think Pelosi & Schumer did great. It was also good fun (for me), and did no damage that I can see. They merely pointed out that he has control of the entire govt right now, so he can get that passed without the Democrats' help. Boom.

[Rorey]

83. I thought they sent an a very clear message

He can't get things done with the republicans in power, and it's only going to get worse. His "presidency" so far has been a complete failure, and now he has zero chance to salvage it.

There is nothing positive in Individual 1's life at this point, and he's going to get what he deserves.

[DownriverDem]

78. They aren't?

Then why are they here?

[INdemo]

107. Well then only Democrats or Liberals should be allowed

any Right Wing sympathizers should find their way over to the Freepers site

[HipChick]

4. He needs to be called out...other world leaders are starting to call him out on his BS

Dems are doing what any Patriot should have been doing...

[Blue Owl]

6. What happens when you don't discipline an out-of-control toddler?

They turn into someone exactly like Donald -- an overgrown, entitled, out-of-control man-child....

Better late than never!

[MineralMan]

7. Well, now that Democrats have won 40 new seats in the House,

it's time to start making demands, I think. Force Trump and the right-wingers to show their colors. That can only help us in 2020.

It's time to take off the gloves.

[spanone]

9. They got him to OWN the shutdown....should it happen.

More than they probably dreamed they could get out of him....

[demmiblue]

13. It was brilliant, really. n/t

[spanone]

21. trump has no filters...his own worse enemy

[demmiblue]

11. I see very little of that.

Mountains out of molehills.

[MineralMan]

12. Oh, OK...

[BlueJac]

14. I like how they stood up to Trump

[underpants]

15. I thought they were very polite while feeding him more rope

Look how composed Chuck remained when Trump busted out his JAZZ HANDS!

[MineralMan]

16. They worked him over, but gently and patiently.

One he said, "I'm proud to shut down the government," it was game over for Donwald.

He owns it now, lock, stock, and barrel.

[littlemissmartypants]

80. Lock, smock and barrel.

Fixed it.

[MineralMan]

86. Brilliant!

[calimary]

108. If our Dems don't use that clip in EVERY campaign commercial possible, from now until the end

of the trump era (and maybe even beyond, for the sake of tarnishing the GOP), then they don't deserve to win any further.

I hope they make MASSIVE use of it. A thoughtful free gift from The Asset!

[Cha]

89. LOL@JazzHands!

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[greatauntoftriplets]

17. Nancy and Chuck were brilliiant at that meeting.

No complaints from me, but there's one in every crowd.

[MineralMan]

20. I agree. They found themselves in front of the camera,

which they didn't expect. So they cleverly winged it and got Trump to look even more stupid than usual. A priceless win for both of them, I think.

And, today, Cohen gets 36 months in the pokey. Couldn't be better!

[brush]

34. Yep, the soon-to-be Speaker and Sen. Schumer tap danced politely on his face.

And now with the Cohen sentencing trump knows what awaits him once he's out of the WH, and that's before whatever Mueller doles out.

Woohoo!

[MineralMan]

35. Yes. The Cohen sentencing today is the icing on this cake.

Trump must be sitting in the West Wing with his head in his hands. His usual strategies are accomplishing nothing, and he has nothing else to offer.

[lilactime]

18. K&R. You put into words exactly how I feel about this.

[Bengus81]

19. More carefully?? I would have asked that Orange POS when the Mexico payment for the wall

That Trump has pimped for about THREE years is hitting the US Treasury coffers.

[Saboburns]

22. Because they have been taught to

Taught with relentless, unavoidable, expensive, and effective programming and propaganda.

And the kicker is that for the most part we do it to ourselves.

It's propaganda that effectively sets the narrative. Short relentless messaging.

Some examples (that I do not agree with!):

Hillary is a Bitch. Reagan won the Cold War. Jimmy Carter was a terrible POTUS, Pelosi a bad choice for Speaker, Bill Clinton should apologize to Monica, military loves the Republican party, tax cuts for rich trickle down, etc.

All this "common knowledge" that gets consumed and broadcast by Democrats as well Republicans. And it works very well. Sadly.

It vexes me greatly, because it's so damn difficult, nigh on impossible for me to counter, counter not just with Republicans but with us Democrats.

Though I try. Lord knows I try.

[TreasonousBastard]

23. Opinions... opinions... If we all agreed, there would be little point in talking, would there?

[MineralMan]

24. Actually, we could be talking about how we can get together

and change DC politics, I think. That would be a refreshing change.

[Paladin]

25. I'm with you. Goody-two-shoes behavior has gotten us nowhere. (nt)

[TexasBushwhacker]

26. Worth noting that Nancy wanted the meeting to be private

She knew it would be embarrassing for Trump (isn't everything?) and out of respect for the office, wanted the meeting to be WITHOUT reporters. Trump said no.

[MineralMan]

27. Well, Trump thought he'd overpower them.

Instead, he Trumped himself.

[TexasBushwhacker]

28. Yup. A reporter said he stormed out of the meeting

and tossed a file folder full of briefings. What a 👶

[MineralMan]

29. Yes. He got PWNed, Bigly.

[BuddhaGirl]

61. I hear George Takei's voice in a thought bubble

above Schumer: "ohhhh myyyyy"

[avebury]

70. Trump has only himself to blame

for his public humiliation.

[RobinA]

30. I Thought Schumer

was hilarious with that grin on his face. Pelosi was a little hard to listen to, but I assume she was checking every word before it left her mouth, which doesn't make for great fluency. Trying to talk sense to the senseless is never easy.

[pazzyanne]

51. I loved the picture of Nancy leaving the White House,

like a boss! They did a great job of working tRump, and then got his admission that he wanted to shut down the government as a bonus! … and they did it with class!

[LuckyLib]

105. Yes. His grins were priceless. Pelosi's voice in a room with multiple mikes is not always easy to

hear. She needs to project it more. But all in all it was a take down -- they both did well. And Pence as a potted plant was the finishing touch.

[GoCubsGo]

32. Maybe they're cowed by fears of retribution?

Some of that is understandable. The man is batshit crazy, along with being mean and stupid. That's a terrible combination, and could potentially wreak all sorts of havoc. But, Pelosi and Schumer were nothing but careful. I mean, Pelosi suggested they have their conversation away from the cameras, in order to keep the world from seeing him make a further ass of himself. She bent over backwards to be nice to that asshole.

I thought they played Trump like a fiddle. It was like watching a duet of Itzhak Perlman and Yo Yo Ma.

[betsuni]

92. "Pelosi suggested they have their conversation away from the cameras"

How do you know that? On the news they said this meeting is traditionally private. Trump broke with tradition.

[GoCubsGo]

93. I know that because I watched the whole thing.

She said right to his face, "I think we should have this conversation away from the cameras..."

[peggysue2]

33. Absolutely agree, MM

It did my soul a world of good to see Trumpski's face redden as he walked into a trap of his own making. He was the one who called for the press in attendance, presumably for transparency. In reality? I think he assumed he'd conjure up a favorable photo-op, try to rake Pelosi and Schumer over the coals, make demands on the WALL because he was holding the 'Shut Down the Government' card.

Turns out he was playing Old Maid while Pelosi & Schumer were playing poker. And then we had Pence's body witnessing the political carnage with nary a comment or sign of life. Except for the ping-pong eyes.

It was a very good day for Democrats and a spectacular day for our Madam Speaker-in-Waiting. She and Schumer took no prisoners while staying above Trumpski's belligerent, arrogant level.

Good day!

[MineralMan]

37. It was a very good day, followed by today, with Cohen going down.

[Cha]

90. LOL@pingpong eyes

peggysue

[calimary]

39. "Concern trolls" maybe?

[SHRED]

40. If you're referring to my post

I have no issues with the on camera meeting.
I appreciate what Chuck and Nancy did.

I think Nancy commenting on his manhood was beneath her.

[MineralMan]

41. Not in particular.

[Pantagruel]

44. With Trump

I think it's almost all about his manhood. Brava, Nancy!

[lunatica]

58. You might be missing the point of her making that comment

Pelosi doesn’t do anything in front of the cameras that isn’t a deliberate and direct message to the President and Congress. She also doesn’t insult people gratuitously. She understands fully how to fight the enemy with their own weaknesses. She knows that Trump in a rage is his own worst enemy. Her ‘manhood’ comment is to feed his rage which is when he cuts off his own nose to spite his face.

She’s not playing checkers.

[Cha]

91. Lawrence Tribe on Nancy's "manhood" comment..

Link to tweet

[tblue37]

98. That was said in a private Dem meeting and then leaked by an aide not authorized to do so.

She didn't say it for public consumption.

[obamanut2012]

110. No, it wasn't

[homegirl]

42. Amen!

I loved the "tinkle" contest with a skunk remark afterwards, should have said it to his face. Trump has to be goaded into a live, on air meltdown.

[MineralMan]

46. I liked that, too. It was a good burn.

[mwooldri]

43. No complaints from me.

Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer totally pwned Donald Trump.

If the USA had UK style "Prime Ministers Question Time" I can definitely see Nancy or Chuck do well (either as PM role or Opposition Leader role). Trump? He couldn't oppose himself out of a wet paper bag IMO.

[MineralMan]

47. I agree. I'd love to see Trump taking questions

from Congress live. I used to watch Parliament do that sometimes. Always entertaining.

[Iggo]

45. You know me. I say ridicule the ridiculous.

Shine a light on that shit.

[WeekiWater]

48. One of the few things Trump understands is basic two and three word slogans.

The look on his face when Pelosi damn near immediately said "Trump Shutdown" was priceless. People think things like that are minor but it's the cornerstone of Trumps "philosophy". It caught him off-guard as few have used it against him well.

[MineralMan]

50. Trump is completely unequipped to go up against those two.

They're masters of such situations. Trump is a bumbler who counts on people deferring to him.

[Gothmog]

52. Pelosi and Schumer did a great job with trump yesterday

[MineralMan]

53. I thought so too, and really liked Pelosi's

comments later in a different venue. Why should Donwald be the only one to ridicule others in Tweets. It's time to turn the tables on Trump and let him take some of his own medicine.

[Gothmog]

87. From my twitter feed

Link to tweet

[MineralMan]

99. Yes. They were having fun, too.

Trump is way out of his league.

[Pisces]

54. I don't know who said that, but I think they should have been more brutal. They let him get awayw

With saying we apprehended 10 terrorist last month implying they came from the caravan. That should have been called a lie and he should have to produce the names and country of origin and where they were apprehended. They should have asked why Mexico was not paying for the wall.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

68. +1

[JCanete]

56. I'd say they were wearing kid gloves. Its somewhat delicate, so I'll take what I can get, but

if I were going to object to anything, it would be to Pelosi and Schumer protesting Trump having this converation with them in public. That makes it look like we're the ones who don't like daylight. In my opinion, they should have said, Mr. President, we advise you against it, but if you would like to have this conversation in the public eye then we welcome it right here, right now.

[MineralMan]

57. They used finesse to PWN Trump.

Later, Nancy Pelosi twisted the knife in her other statements.

[tavernier]

59. They were very quiet and respectful.

Nancy used a silencer when she popped him in the ass. Repeatedly.

Of course there is no way anyone else can get a word in edgewise when he starts pontificating.

[pdsimdars]

65. People who urge "caution" are those who want the left to simply surrender in fear.

[LiberalFighter]

66. Pelosi and Schumer handled Individual 1 appropriately

considering that they had expected the meeting to be away from the media.

Doubt anyone could had done it better.

[patphil]

67. Any compromise with Trump will be seen by him as weekness

Trump is a bully. He will push and push and push to get his way. Democratic leadership has to push back, and keep pushing to let him know we aren't going to take that crap from him.
Look what happened when President Obama tried to work with the Republicans. They refused to work with him.
I'm not saying we can't compromise with the Republicans, but we have to show unity, strength, and determination in the face of Trump's bullying tactics.
We will control the House and we need to make sure Trump understands that he will have to work with the Democratic leadership if he wants to get things done.
That will be a new and painful experience for him.
Why would we want to deprive Trump of a chance to experience this?

Pat Phillips

[C Moon]

72. Nancy Pelosi probably knows some things about Trump that we have yet to hear.

So, I'm betting she has zero respect for Trump.

[PJMcK]

73. Jeez, it took them long enough

Trump's BS has been going on for so long! I've been wondering if our Democratic leaders would show some backbone.

Thankfully, the new year should be good for us.

[marieo1]

74. Extreme Thank You!!

Oh, my, MIneral Man You voiced my sentiments completely. DJT hasn't earned any respect - he should be impeached ASAP. I appreciate any take down of him since they are in position to do it and I am not!! They speak for me - Thank you Mrs. Pelosi and Mr. Schumer and Mineral Man!!!

[The Liberal Lion]

75. I, for one, was quite pleased with how they treated him.

I couldn't imagine any liberal, progressive, or even moderate to centrist democrat being displeased.

[lark]

76. Wow, hard to believe anyone on this board would say be nicer to drumpf.

Not saying I don't believe you, I do, it's just, wow how the trolls have spread. Anyone who is a serious Dem would delight in the chaos Agent Orange heaped on himself yesterday and the damage he did to his own plan. Seriously, he's such a child to be so easily baited by Schumer & Pelosi into doing the exact opposite of what he was trying to accomplish. Such a stupid, ignorant, little man.

[thbobby]

77. Walk softly and carry a big stick

Pelosi and Schumer were polite and respectful as long as trump's conduct made it feasible. Then they used their big stick masterfully. Lawrence O'Donnell said last night that he should have been confronted in a stronger way, asked why Mexico wasn't paying for the wall. I do not agree. Pelosi and Schumer let him be the jerk and then took him apart.

[Mr.Bill]

82. The only thing that was missing in that meeting

is Pelosi and Schumer asking him why Mexico wasn't paying for the wall. He should be asked this every time the subject comes up.

[Power 2 the People]

84. +1000

[mcar]

85. There are those who will never be satisfied

They seem to think if a Democrat does it, there's something wrong with it.

[Caliman73]

88. Responses appear to be all over the place.

I saw some yesterday that were excoriating Pelosi and Schumer for getting manhandled by Trump and not standing up to him. I had not seen anyone saying they were too hard on him. That is interesting.

I think that they were as professional and appropriate as they could be in light of Trump's lying and blustering in front of the national press.

It is easy to think of how to react to a situation when you have seen it and can think through the situation. People think, "I would have told them ...." or something. I am not sure if Pelosi and Schumer knew that they were going to be meeting in front of such a media show yesterday. Perhaps they did, but from the initial reaction it looks as if it were a surprise to them.

They couldn't really be offensive otherwise the media would have covered the meeting from that perspective, "Pelosi and Schumer disrespect the President". It would have been portrayed as the Democrats having no respect for the office. There are some on our side who are upset because Pelosi didn't call Trump a liar and kick him in the balls in front of everyone.

The Democrats seem to always be in a difficult situation because they have to govern. They have to make the best possible choices for all people to keep government working for the majority. Republicans don't seem to think that way. They say that "government doesn't work" so they seem to have no problem with gumming up the works or shutting it down. Everything is always a political calculation with them whereas Democrats have to think about how their political calculations will affect actual people. I think Pelosi and Schumer did a good job yesterday.

[Cha]

95. Good points about the perspective the media

would have covered it. As it happened trump was his own worst enemy and that's how it came out.

Link to tweet

Nancy and Chuck metaphorically kicked him in his butt.

[Cha]

94. The last time I saw a republican get humiliated..

Link to tweet

[tblue37]

96. + a brazillion. nt

[Turbineguy]

101. They were very polite to him.

[oldlibdem]

102. Agree with you 100% MM

I think they were too easy on him myself. If I was senator schumer or Rep. Pelosi I would have chopped him off at the ankles when
he started the Chuck and Nancy Crap! I would have been like "it's Senator Schumer to you, Mr. President"!

[curiouso]

104. Whose side are they on?

My guess is that the complaints about Pelosi and Schumer are being generated by Republic-Cons masquerading as one of us or Russian hacks hoping to sow dissent within our ranks. Ignore 'em and maybe they'll go away...

[JHan]

106. Some will never be satisfied. And some suffer from confirmation bias...

Which motivates them to search for a flaw (in their eyes) to amplify. I don't know if it's ignorance about Politics, irrational discontent with Nancy herself or some people on a hunt to confirm what they believe to be the worst thing about Democrats.

Soon after the mid-terms, I do remember some outrage when Nancy made some boilerplate comments about "common ground" and Trump and based on some comments I read, you'd swear she was the first congressional leader to make empty symbolic statements after Dems took the house. It was bullshit political rhetoric, typical after midterms, which functions as white noise and really not to be taken seriously.. however, this was lost on publications like the Intercept which ran an embarrassing oh-we're-so-outraged column about her remarks.

Now, Nancy's savvy shines even more given how she stuck it to Trump.

[True Blue American]

111. Cocoon of his own mistruths.

Chuck on the Senate floor. Trump twitter gone silent.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/cocoon-his-own-mistruth-schumer-says-s-where-trump-lives-n946971

[usaf-vet]

112. They should call him Donald or Donny! He really hates that.

He shows no one else respect treat him with the same level of disrespect. He hasn't earn the right to be treated like a king and definitely not The President of the United States.

[Bettie]

113. I have criticized both of them in the past

and will probably do so in the future.

But, this meeting with Trump?

Handled perfectly. They went just far enough in helping him make a fool of himself.

[PatrickforO]

114. You bet.

We've had to walk on eggs around this nincompoop for fear of his base for too long. Heck with 'em. The guy's incompetent.

[left-of-center2012]

115. agree 100%