The Speaker or Her Leadership

Imagine if King Arthur were to make a major decision, only to have his entire Roundtable vote against him.

That is what happened to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as she saw her entire leadership abandon her on the war spending vote yesterday night. She voted no. The majority leader, majority whip and Democratic Caucus chairman all voted yes.

Sounds like a major disconnect to me. I spent 15 years working in the Republican leadership, and I don’t ever recall having a Speaker be abandoned by every other top leadership member.

It may comfort Pelosi to know that most of her caucus voted with her. But she should be alarmed that she can’t find a unified position in her party on the war.

Weakness now on the war may translate to weakness in the next election. Already, the hard left has taken to viciously attacking any Democrat who wants to provide ammunition to our troops during a war. The left has gone off the deep end, and their ferocity is driving the Democratic Party further and further away from the center.

Remember George McGovern? That is who the Democrats came up with last time they faced this kind emotion in wartime.

Republicans tend to be pretty united when it comes to fighting war. While most Republicans are not necessarily comfortable with the war, they certainly aren’t advocating a complete surrender. The hard left is, and it is dividing the Democrats in ways that should give Republicans great comfort.