Dem Congress Makes History

Women and Muslims and Liberals - Oh My!

Yesterday Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was voted in as the first female Speaker for the House of Representatives in American history.



This is no small thing, it is a major step forward in high-kicking your way through the Marble Ceiling into the hallways of power. And we have the Republican Congress to thank for it, not that they and their supporters have shown any grace what-so-ever.

And how do the country's major papers opinion pages handle this historic moment? They don't. No mention at the LA Times, and WaPo features another George Will set of prevarications running the gambit from the New Deal worsening the Depression to the fact that minimum wage workers really aren't poor.

Actually, the NYT does feature a column about Nancy Pelosi, from the always odious David Brooks, this time adding a dash of sexism to his usual drivel.

Some people believe that Pelosi is an airhead, but that is wrong. Some people believe she is a radical San Francisco liberal, but that, too, is wrong. The main fact to know about Pelosi is that she is a creature of the modern fund-raising system. Some politicians rise because they run political machines. Some rise because they are great communicators. Pelosi has risen because she is a master of the thousand-dollar-a-plate fundraising circuit....

She paid her dues selecting party favors, arranging seating charts (after that, legislation is easy), and laying thick dollops of obsequiousness on cranky old moguls and their helmet hair spa-spouses. She has done what all political fund-raisers do: tell rich people things they already believe, demonize the other side, motivate the giving with Manichaean tales of good versus evil.

Airhead? Party planner? Thank you, Mr. Brooks, for so minimizing the achievements of this talented politician. Would David Brooks ever discuss another, male politician in these terms? Would David Brooks ever ask if a prominent Republican, say George Bush, was an airhead?

Yuck it up fuzzballs, Nancy is now the queen of the roost and all your petty back-biting means nothing.

One paper, fittingly Ms. Pelosi's hometown paper, the San Francisco Chronicle rightly recognizes the import:

NANCY PELOSI'S election as speaker of the House will bring a moment of history today, to be followed by 100 hours of furious legislative activity.

First, let's pause to recognize the historic significance of the first woman and first Californian to assume a position that will put her second in succession to the presidency of the United States....

Well, at least someone got it right.

Meanwhile we have another historical first, Rep. Keith Ellison has now joined congress as it's first Muslim member - and has handled the pressure with enormous class as he met Virgle Goode (R) who has echoed Dennis Prager's claim that Ellisons use of the Koran in the after-induction photo-op would somehow damage our nation - even thought the Koran he eventually used had formerly belonged to Thomas Jefferson.




Ellison meeting Goode...



After meeting on the House Floor, showing that he's Mighty Christian- Ellison invited Goode out for coffee (and not in a Mark Foley sort-of way...)

“By reaching out to Congressman Goode I’m not trying to be accepted, I’m trying to build bridges. In this world there are too many misunderstandings. I want to put a human face on things,” explained Ellison.

Meanwhile Virgil seems to have some problems of his own.

It looks as if Virgil Goode's attack on Rep. Keith Ellion's use of the Koran for his swearing in hasn't gone over well with at least one of his constituents: Goode's district office in Charlottesville, Virginia, was vandalized. A local paper called The Hook reports that his office window sported a curious new addition: The word "BIGOT" stenciled on it in gold paint. Interestingly, the word was very carefully stencilled on, just under his name and title and in a similar shade of gold, so as to make the word "BIGOT" look almost like an official part of his job description. Asked by the paper if it might be a reaction to his anti-Muslim comments, a Goode spokesperson declined to comment. View a picture of the vandalized office here.

The graffiti has now been removed, but it does go to show that when liberals use guerilla tactics - they still do it with style.

Vyan