The closing thoughts from today’s Jolt:
I understand why we on the right hate Nancy Pelosi; she’s haughty, elitist, arrogant, unthinking, tone-deaf, insular, dismissive, San Francisco liberalism incarnate. What I don’t get is why Democrats keep Pelosi as their leader. The Democrats love to argue that the Republicans are “extreme” — check out the butt-kicking NRSC ad on this theme — but their leader is, indisputably, one of the most liberal lawmakers in the chamber. Of course, Congress is full of liberal Democrats who have figured out how to sound centrist and moderate when they need to back home; what’s fascinating is that because of her district, Pelosi either never learned or never cares to sound centrist or moderate.
So you end up with a Speaker of the House who, while citing the First Amendment in defense of the mosque, calls for (apparently government) investigations of people expressing opinions contrary to those of public officials.
Now . . . pretend you’re a mosque supporter. (Maybe you already are.) Would it ever cross your mind that the best way to persuade the 60some percent of New Yorkers and vast majority of Americans who vehemently disagree is to suggest that somebody start going through the finances of those who disagree? Even if you thought the opposition was all being funded by . . . well, Richard Mellon Scaife just isn’t the right wing conspirator he used to be, let’s say the Board of Directors of News Corp. . . . would bringing it up and banging the drum on this issue really be the most effective way to move the numbers on this?
I think the answer’s pretty clearly “no,” meaning that to mosque supporters, Pelosi is the single most ineffective advocate for their cause since Hamas and, of course, the imam, the developer, and whichever intern is manning the Twitter account today.
. . . She’s so far out there that she’s leaving Daily Kos contributors stunned: “So because she got some questions she didn’t like at a press conference, we have to investigate the finances behind people who oppose the mosque? Are you kidding me?” That’s right; chances are, you’re nodding in agreement to Howard Dean and the Daily Kos in the same day. In related news, the forecast is scattered showers of frogs and the Potomac turning to blood.
ADDENDA: Why can’t we put Khalid Sheik Mohammad on trial in Manhattan? Because the holdout juror from the Blagojevich trial might move.