This week we learned (if we didn’t already know) why Republicans worked so hard to keep Nancy Pelosi from becoming Speaker of the House. And in the process of ending the government shutdown Pelosi showed us how to win back our government, and the nature of real power, as opposed to bluster and temper tantrums.
In contrast to Donald Trump, she showed a
devastating talent for keeping to the point and speaking the truth
as Lord Peter Wimsey said of Harriet Vane in “Gaudy Night,” two things he is incapable of. She refused to be distracted from the real goal — reopening the government — keeping it separate from the immigration debate. She was able to keep her party together in spite of their concerns that refusing to compromise would look bad. This was not about a wall, or DACA or TPS or asylum; it was about shutting down the government as a negotiating tool. Trump, the con man and master of distraction, was completely out of his depth. Pelosi managed to keep her party together without threats or publicity while Trump kept losing Republicans. Real power doesn’t need publicity, doesn’t need to gloat. Trump will never be able to understand that, or how he lost this battle to a 78-year-old woman.
But the shutdown also damaged the whole Republican brand, which rests on the idea that government is a negative and that we’d be better off closing much of it down. The shutdown showed how much we depend on government in so many areas. Pelosi showed how important understanding how government works can be. Democrats have to realize and use this in 2020 — and in everything the do before then. It is an essential argument in everything from the investigation into the Trump campaign to dealing with climate change.
And in spite of Will Rogers’ famous line “I don’t belong to an organized party, I’m a Democrat,” if we seriously want to win we will need to join our factions together when it matters. Personally, I think demanding purity is destroying the Republican party, and it could do the same to Democrats. What matters is believing in the same basic principles, knowing when to compromise, and knowing when it matters most not to compromise and to stay together.
And just think of the lessons this can teach the young and activist freshman class in the House. That is the role of leadership as much as anything else. And it’s always a good idea to learn from the best.