Yesterday, just before the House vote on the $700 billion bailout, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered a speech in which she essentially called Republicans corrupt and stupid, laid the entire blame for the financial disaster at Bush’s and Republicans’ feet, and told Republicans that they would get all the blame and Democrats would take all the credit. And then she asked Republicans to join her in a bipartisan vote.
In an outcome that was apparently astonishing only to Democrats, Pelosi’s ridiculously partisan approach backfired.
If Nancy Pelosi were a homeless bag lady (one can only dream), her marketing approach would be to slap you in the face, call you a stupid pig, and then ask you for money.
Democrats, partisan ideologues to the core as they are, simply could not admit that “Madam Speaker” said anything that was in any way inappropriate. Barney Frank said:
“We don’t believe they had the votes and I think they are covering up the embarrassment of not having the votes. But think about this: somebody hurt my feelings so I will punish the country. I mean that’s hardly plausible. And there were twelve Republicans who were ready to stand up for the economic interest of America but not if anybody insulted them. I’ll make an offer: Give me those twelve people’s names and I will go talk uncharacteristically nicely to them and tell them what wonderful people they are, and maybe they’ll now think about the country.”
Well, let me just say this:they were 12 votes away from passing this thing, and if there actually were 12 Republicans who WOULD have voted for it if Nancy Pelosi hadn’t opened her big damn mouth – and passing the bill really was a really such a vital thing for the country – then maybe, just maybe, Nancy Pelosi shouldn’t have opened her big damn mouth. Maybe a good leader doesn’t attack the people she needs to come through for her right before a huge vote. I’m just sayin’.
But there’s something else. It turns out that 12 Democrats on Barney Frank’s own Housing Financial Services Committee – of which he is chairman – voted against the bill he chided Republicans for voting against. So I have an idea: maybe, just maybe, if Barney Frank had spent less time being a fat, arrogant, condescending, smarmy-mouthed little pervert ridiculing 12 Republicans after the vote; and more time getting his own damn Democrats on his own damn committee in order before the vote, he would have got his bill passed.
So if someone brings up the “Republicans with hurt feelings” retort, all you need to do – after pointing out the fact that Nancy Pelosi is the worst Speaker in history for smack talking Republicans immediately before a vote she wanted when she knew she needed heavy Republican support – you just bring it back home to Barney Frank and the fact that he really needs to shut his fat mouth about any lack of 12 votes.
Start Thinking Right 