Nancy Pelosi comments today

[brooklynite]

Link to tweet

[Emile]

1. I'm worried about Nancy.

[gab13by13]

3. Yes. that response was darned surprising to me.

[Deek1935]

4. Apparently she didn't see that he has already decided. Over, and over,and over again.

[LisaL]

7. Somebody should tell her that Biden has decided.

That somebody could be us.

[Rebl2]

106. Apparently she

didn’t get the memo.

[themaguffin]

107. I'm not worried about her. She's been a great leader

[gab13by13]

2. Oh my, I don't know now.

That wasn't a gung ho response from Nancy, shit. I'm going golfing today.

[Deek1935]

6. This is weird because he already made the decision, over, and over and over again. Did she not get the memo?

[Silent Type]

95. Sounds like she is worried about winning the election. Probably has internal polls that are more predictive.

[ms liberty]

5. I just called her office because the chyron said she said he should step down

So I called her office and let them know how I felt about it. Politely, of course. I also said that I didn't hear her actually say that, and if that isn't what she said then she needed to have words with MSNBC.

[BlueTsunami2018]

9. Christ, is this REALLY going to happen?

That’s not the response I expected from Nancy Pelosi. I expected nothing short of full throated support for the President and a call for the end of this nonsense.

I’m stating to wonder if they’re really going to push Joe out and capitulate to the fascists.

[LisaL]

11. They can't push him out.

He has the delegates.
Which they know full well.

[BlueTsunami2018]

13. Yeah but if the party abandons support for him, he may have no choice but to abdicate.

If the party leaders tell him to quit and the rest of the party abandons him, how can he do anything other than leave?

It’s repulsive what’s happening here.

[LisaL]

14. He can ignore them.

Remember before 2016, republicans briefly turned on Trump over the grabbing women tape? He ignored them, and the rest is history.

[Polybius]

18. That was after the convention

He had the nomination already locked up. It was over.

[LisaL]

21. Doesn't matter.

The same logic applies. Biden has the delegates, and he is not releasing them.

[Polybius]

29. It matters a little

After the convention, there is nothing that they can do. Before it, delegates could change their mind if there's a convention dispute. Not that I think that that will happen of course.

[DiamondShark]

92. The same was said in 2016 RE Hillary Clinton...

And you see how that turned out.

We, all the Democrats, need to get behind and support President Biden NOW.

[Polybius]

116. But there wasn't 9 Congressman saying that Hillary should drop out

This is exploding too fast.

[DiamondShark]

117. In that case, this needs to be restated.

We, all the Democrats, need to get behind and support President Biden NOW.

[Deek1935]

17. Not gonna happen. Way too many have already pledged support and strongly support him. It would be civil war in the party

[LisaL]

19. Sounds like the party is already having a civil war.

NT

[Deek1935]

22. Which is just what the rotten corporate media wants and is fueling. Biden has made the decision. Changing now would be

complete insane chaos and complete POLITICAL suicide.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

88. Repulsive

And terrifying if you ask me.

[Goodheart]

103. Nobody wants to push him out.

Some want him to drop out on his own accord.

[Deek1935]

15. She is acting like she doesn't realize that he has ALREADY "decided". He has said over and over that he is in the race.

[LisaL]

16. Maybe she doesn't.

We should let her know.

[BlueTsunami2018]

25. Yes, not the response I expected.

She must know that he’s said this repeatedly.

[Tom Rinaldo]

94. Nancy never has, nor never will "capitulate to the fascists."

Too many solid Democrats essentially are getting accused of working for the other side if they express anything less than full throated confidence in Biden's ability to lead the nation well for another four years, which is not the same as minimizing his accomplishments during his first term in office.

I remind everyone that virtually none of us here have been in private meetings, phone calls, or discussions with Joe Biden over the last few months. Nancy almost certainly has. I am not in a position to second guess her opinion on this matter. It could be nothing more than her possibly honoring the request of some vulnerable front line Democratic Congress members that she hold off on a definitive endorsement of Biden staying in the race until after he hosts his unscripted press conference tomorrow night. That would mean holding off for less than 24 hours out of a potential abundance of caution. i can wait that long.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

10. Holy shit

I can't believe Nancy is out of the loop on this.

I think there's an internal divide on this, much worse than I thought

[LisaL]

12. Ironically, Nancy is older than Biden.

She is 84.

[marybourg]

53. And voluntarily gave up the speakership

a coupla years ago.

[LisaL]

73. After democrats lost the majority in the House.

NT

[Deminpenn]

85. And running for re-election

nt

[DemocratInPa]

20. I think there is def something going on

In the party and our so called leaders (Chuck and Jeffries) need to fix it now or we need new leaders.

[EarlG]

24. This is baffling in multiple respects:

“Pelosi then says she wants Biden to deal with the NATO conference and then restart the discussion on Biden's future.”

1) So he’s fit to host the NATO conference but not run for president?

2) She wants him to have a chance to change the narrative with a few days of good press dealing with NATO… and then immediately restart the media feeding frenzy over his candidacy?

3) “We’re all encouraging him to make a decision.” What? He made the decision already and announced it multiple times!

Baffling.

Honestly at this point I don’t care if party bosses have some master plan to take out Biden, I just wish they would shit or get off the pot. This daily grind of Dems being coy about Biden is the absolute worst thing that anyone could be doing. Either get behind him, or take him out. And if you’re going to take him out, shut up until it actually happens and then act as one and do it fast.

This wishy washy “maybe if we all stand around gently weakening Biden until he caves” bullshit is what’s going to cost us the election if it continues.

[LisaL]

26. Yes, Trump doesn't even need to try.

Democrats are doing it all for him.

[shrike3]

30. "maybe if we all stand around gently weakening Biden until he caves"

That's the strategy. They're getting help from types like Favreau and Colbert.

[DemocratInPa]

31. They are doing this now, after...

Preaching this is our most important election ever for the last 2 years.. I just don't get it.

The disaster Trump will make for our party even if it exists after this is troublesome.. I just don't understand these people's thinking.

[shrike3]

33. I don't think a lot of them supported Joe in the first place.

In 2020, it was "Well, if we have to." Now they see their chance to get rid of him.

[LisaL]

34. What is their plan if they were to get rid of him?

I am very confused as to what they think they are going to accomplish.

[shrike3]

36. Neither do I. I've even asked people on this site who seem to be on that bandwagon.

What's the plan? Crickets.

[Kaleva]

37. What's the plan if Biden loses to Trump?

[LisaL]

39. What is the plan if they replace Biden with some new candidate and that

candidate loses to Trump?

[Kaleva]

110. I'll go on with my life as I usually do.

[Deek1935]

42. What's the plan if the replacement nominee loses to Trump? We are strongest with an INCUMBENT candidate.

[Deek1935]

43. What fantasy candidate is going to come swooping in to beat Trump in a landslide? Not gonna happen. It will be close no

matter what. The electorate is polarized. What is happening here, over ONE FUCKING DEBATE, is pure SHIT.

Changing now would cause massive chaos and division in the party and make us the laughing stock of the entire world.

This is just sickening.

[Qutzupalotl]

102. Unicorn / Tooth Fairy 2024

That ticket has as many delegates as Newsom / Whitmer, as much money raised, and as much of a chance at beating Trump at this point.

The time to challenge Biden was in the primaries, but serious candidates were afraid to because he would beat them, and they knew it.

I'm going to stick with a proven winner. Biden/Harris all the way, and fuck the backstabbing media.

[Kaleva]

112. That doesn't say what your plan is if Biden loses

[Elessar Zappa]

47. Survive it as best we can.

What else can we do?

[LisaL]

50. Let Joe Biden and Kamala Harris win this election?

NT

[Elessar Zappa]

59. Of course.

I was just answering his theoretical scenario.

[Kaleva]

111. I agree

[wnylib]

44. But then why didn't they act before this in the primaries?

Doing it now is damaging and they must know that.

[LisaL]

48. Good question, indeed.

Biden said the same thing. If they wanted a different candidate, time to act was before the primaries.

[shrike3]

52. I think they live their little lives in their little bubble and don't do much but react to what's in front of them.

[wnylib]

55. I agree regarding most of them. But Pelosi?

[shrike3]

56. She's part of their world.

[Fiendish Thingy]

61. I think tomorrow's press conference could be the turning point

It will be Biden’s first extended, unscripted appearance before the bloodthirsty press mob since the debate.

How he performs will likely determine if these doubts and concerns die down or ramp up.

[Doc Sportello]

64. Tying two threads together to ask Democratic leaders the question: WTF

This thread with Earl's response and this from maxrandb that others have also asked: what is the plan for replacement?
'Detail your "replacement theory" or shut the "eff" up.'
Good question and as others have pointed out here and in this thread, what EXACTLY are the plans for replacement and are they foolproof against ratfuckery? I have seen absolutely no plan with details that can answer that question ensuring that another candidate will be on the ballot in every state. maxrandb points out the logistical problems in detail and asks questions that have to be answered in order to complete this top down coup.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219128611

Just repeating Earl's words because they are the logical follow-up to the above question:
"Honestly at this point I don’t care if party bosses have some master plan to take out Biden, I just wish they would shit or get off the pot. This daily grind of Dems being coy about Biden is the absolute worst thing that anyone could be doing. Either get behind him, or take him out. And if you’re going to take him out, shut up until it actually happens and then act as one and do it fast.

This wishy washy “maybe if we all stand around gently weakening Biden until he caves” bullshit is what’s going to cost us the election if it continues."

Yes, shit or get off the pot. The mealy-mouthed approach undermines Biden and the get out folks need to be transparent. If they have knowledge the rest of us don't then spit it out. Goldwater and other repubs leaders went to Nixon and told him he had to leave. Dem leaders need to do the same if they have the evidence - not polls or pundits ravings - but evidence. Either that or get behind Biden 100 percent.

[Prairie Gates]

66. Dems being "coy" and "wishy washy" is what we've been living with the last 25 years

The only one who had a clue as a campaigner was Obama, and he assumed the usual Dem cautiousness as soon as he took the oath.

[EarlG]

78. Well, yes and no

I think the last decade of Trump has done a lot to focus Democrats. We've seen a relatively long period of "peacetime" on DU as Democrats have been able to put aside their differences and concentrate on the real threat. Which is why what's going on now is even more baffling, frankly. Just when I thought we'd figured out this whole "party unity" thing...

[ClearSky24]

93. She's trying to give Biden an honorable way out.

“I’m running”

he has to decide

“I’m running!”

it will be his decision to make

“I’M RUNNING!”

he needs to choose soon, it’s hurting the party.

She has inside polling and knows what is about to go down.

[Emile]

96. The inside polling (voters) suggest Joe Biden is our nominee!

[ucrdem]

104. Thank you, EarlG. It is indeed a head-scratcher.

Call it heat-induced midsummer madness. One consolation: this too shall pass. In fact, I think it may already have passed, as yesterday was the official end of story as far as Congress is concerned: no one will be ringing Biden's phone to discuss the grave concerns of their fellow Reps or Senators. But we'll see.

[MustLoveBeagles]

105. Thank you EarlG

I find her statement alarming.

[highplainsdem]

118. I agree. We're in limbo.

[shrike3]

27. Old white people are abandoning their own.

[LisaL]

32. Trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

As usual.

[spanone]

28. He said he's running

[LisaL]

35. We know.

Apparently Nancy still doesn't.

[doc03]

38. Well now we know exactly where she stands

[LisaL]

40. On top of the fence.

Lol.

[BeyondGeography]

41. I don't know what exactly what she's doing

But I do know that she knows exactly what she’s doing.

[lark]

45. Deeply and so sadly disappointed in Speaker Emerita Pelosi.

She had a chance to do something good for the party and our country and chose to do something divisive and snarky. Seems like she's butt hurt about something and taking this personally, which I don't understand at all. Deeply, deeply, disappointed. SMH

[ananda]

46. Ermm, he DID decide!

So the matter is already closed.

[LisaL]

49. Sounds like she still doesn't know.

How embarrassing.

[ananda]

89. I know.

The nomination is done and dusted.

Biden is the candidate.

[Jersey Devil]

51. We just don't know enough to interpret some of the moves and statements being made

It seems to me that maybe Pelosi and others are waiting for some event, maybe internal polling or some other indicator, to let them decide whether Joe can realistically come back before they totally commit one way or the other. They keep saying Joe has to decide, but he's already decided over and over again, so that isn't really what they are waiting for. It must be something else that we are not privy to. It could be as simple as waiting to see tomorrow's Biden press conference to see how he performs.

[FloridaBlues]

84. Supposed he does a good solid press event but still doesn't meet their standards?

We will see a howling press corp tomorrow screaming at him. Count on it.
Impossible standards being set.

[Jersey Devil]

87. Joe should come out and disarm them with humor

I wonder what they would do if he came out, faced the cameras and said, "Person, man, woman, camera, tv. Next question."

[onandup]

91. Won't he have more control at a NATO press conference?

Aren't the reporters to call on pre-determined? Aren't questions limited in number?

It's also more likely to have foreign affairs questions.

[Fiendish Thingy]

54. So, she's not throwing Joe under the bus just yet

Just highlighting that the bus is there, and he has a decision to make…

[Emile]

58. He has made the decision. I think maybe she needs to

decide if she is going to support him or not.

[Fiendish Thingy]

65. Until he has been nominated by the party, there are many who don't accept Biden's decision as final.

That much is clear by all of the leaks and comments we have seen.

[LisaL]

68. As Biden already said, they can try during the convention.

NT

[MustLoveBeagles]

113. It's a yes or no question

It shouldn't be this hard

[Fla Dem]

57. You posted this without comment. Did you intend this to cause dissension within the DU community?

You succeeded.

[brooklynite]

60. I posted it because its news.

Perhaps you should ask why a statement by the former House Speaker would cause dissension. Are you uncomfortable hearing something said that you disagree with? Should we only be posting "good news"?

[Emile]

62. Why is voices in Nancy's head news?

[brooklynite]

63. Are you saying that Nancy Pelosi can't express her opinion?

nb: some people might consider "voices in her head" to be insulting.

[Emile]

67. Nope, she can have an opinion. She ignored the fact that President Biden has

made a decision and that's insulting to the millions of Democrats who voted for Joe in the primary!

[brooklynite]

70. You're welcome to disagree with her opinion. Doesn't make it not news.

[Emile]

71. I'm not the one trying to make news out of thin air.

[brooklynite]

74. I'm not making news either. I'm reporting it.

nb: Perhaps you'd like to also convey your ire to the other poster? https://democraticunderground.com/100219128787

[Emile]

76. It's not news!

[farmboy]

77. The news IS that Speaker PELOSI said what she said.

Her knowledge is unmatchable and her words precise. This means something. I’ll follow her lead in any battle with Trump. No one understands his evil more than her. She knows the Democrats must win to save America.

[Emile]

82. Nancy ignores the fact that President Biden repeatedly

has said his decision is to stay in the race. She ignoring that fact is making bullshit news out of thin air!

[LisaL]

69. Biden has repeatedly he made his decision.

She is pretending otherwise.

[MustLoveBeagles]

114. Yes

Surprised at her and disappointed.

[Fla Dem]

79. I totally disagree with her statement.

It just seems a bit odd you would post without any comment.
You leave it to us to decide where you come down on the issue.

Are we to guess whether you disagreed or agreed with her statement? We can assume you also disagree. Yes? No?

It's absolutely OK to post articles/editorials without comment. That's why we have a forum for Editorials and Other Articles. But this is the Discussion Group.

I respect your almost 100,000 posts and being a 22 year DU'er and your many insightful posts.

I'm just bemused that you offered no opinion/remarks for discussion.

[brooklynite]

81. I have stated my opinion frequently over the past week.

I've also stated that I post newsworthy items relating to politics.

FWIW: Why is my opinion important?

[DiamondShark]

97. We all have a short attention span and need to be reminded where/who people support.

That said, how are the big donors feeling about Biden since the phone call? Are they going to donate or have they cut off funding?

[brooklynite]

100. I am hearing that Mega-donors are not returning calls...

pending a Party consensus.

[ClearSky24]

83. They removed my excerpt quoting James Carville's New York Times article.

I thought it was a great article.

They don't want to hear any other strategies on how to move forward.

[BannonsLiver]

99. Part of a long established pattern of posting almost exclusively bad news for Dems

[Autumn]

72. Biden has said over and over he's running. Hell the man is campaigning

constantly. What does he have to say to get these people to understand he's not dropping out.

[Sympthsical]

75. This is so weird

I truly think the leadership are having private conversations that are very different than what gets said publicly.

Schumer had a bit of this as well. When some senators expressed their doubts, his reply wasn't something like, "Well, the President has made his decision, so we should support him." His response was, "If you feel that strongly, why don't you go over there and tell him?"

Which is something a boss would say when they're letting you know, "I'm not going to be the one to do it, but I'm not against it either."

It's like they're trying to finesse his departure from the race, but they think a direct approach would be counterproductive in some way, that the harder they push the more firmly the President will dig in. But, if that's the case, I'm not sure this approach is any more productive. It's as Rep. Ritchie Torres says (my favorite of the representatives):

The drip, drip, drip of public statements of no confidence only serve to weaken a President who has been weakened not only by the debate but also by the debate about the debate.

Weakening a weakened nominee seems like a losing strategy for a presidential election. The piling-on is not so much solving a problem as much as it is creating and compounding one.

The process by which we decide how to move forward matters as much as the decision itself.

If leadership is going to push him, then push him already.

[GusBob]

101. of course

Behind the scenes stuff, internal polling, phone calls from constituents and donors, and maybe some long held doubts and concerns coming to fruition, etc.

And yeah soft shoeing around the issue. Mrs Pelosi's statement "we are all encouraging him" indicates to me there stuff going on behind the curtains

[Jersey Devil]

80. Maybe Nancy is waiting for tomorrow's Biden press conference?

Maybe she is avoiding a full throated endorsement of Joe until she sees how he performs tomorrow. Nancy, and others who have said basically the same thing she has, might not want egg on their faces if Joe comes out and repeats his debate performance. Could be that simple.

[Quiet Em]

90. my take, FWIW

The President wants a chance to reset his campaign and Democrats are supporting him in that.

If the President is successful, terrific, we move on.

If not, the President may reconsider his decision.

[brooklynite]

108. I know plenty of equally dedicated friends and family who remain deeply concerned about Biden staying in.

I'll add that name-calling isn't a solution to bringing them around.

[themaguffin]

109. Yeah, there is way to much hide the bubble action happening.

[H2O Man]

115. Very interesting OP/thread.

Many of the responses illustrate the biggest issue that we face between now and November.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

119. The NYT is lying about Speaker Emerita's comments

Link to tweet