# Who Should Replace Nancy Pelosi and Her Cronies?//Should Pelosi step aside to let younger leaders in **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 21, 2017, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-replace-nancy-pelosi-and-her-cronies-should-pelosi-step-aside-to-let-younger-leaders-in/789567 "2017-06-21T20:48:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-replace-nancy-pelosi-and-her-cronies-should-pelosi-step-aside-to-let-younger-leaders-in/789567/141 "2017-06-24T03:01:22Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Hillary wouldn’t even join the Fight for 15, and she blames the left for not showing up? > > Nah, man. Build a coalition clearly of the following: > [ul] > [li]poor people who need Medicaid benefits / socialized medicine advocates[/li][li]radical enviros and conservationists / the poor sinking state of Florida[/li][li]Black Lives Matter / minorities concerned about their futures on multiple fronts[/li][li]Fight for 15 / labor / workers[/li][li]immigrants / DREAMers / Christians who believe in the ideals of the Good Samaritan[/li][li]the civil service / government contractors / people who would lose their jobs to any more Reagan-style spending cuts[/li][li]the anti-war, pro-welfare tendency (butter over guns)[/li][li]prisoner’s rights / corrections reform[/li][/ul] > That is definitely a coalition, but they’re all clearly opposed to the fat-cat wing. The trick is to come up with a way to unify all of them beyond, “Trump sucks!” > > There’s one element I feel a little weird about leaving off that list: LGBT as a major category. That wasn’t intentional. LGBT people have to be welcome in the party. But I’m leaving it off the list because, well, rich LGBT people kind of _are_ fat cats. I want to help poor LGBT runaways more than I want to suck up to eccentric LGBT elites. Sorry. > > The one group that _can’t_ lead that coalition? Fat cats like Pelosi and Schumer. They seem like nice people, but their interests are too misaligned for them to be in charge of such a party. Your heart is in the right place – I respect both your soul and your intellect, FG. But I’m not sure that this works in ‘Merikuh’ (maybe I’m wrong). ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-replace-nancy-pelosi-and-her-cronies-should-pelosi-step-aside-to-let-younger-leaders-in/789567/142 "2017-06-24T16:03:59Z")
[QUOTE=foolsguinea] The GOP have become ever less compromising on abortion and on taxes. They will let the world drown rather than betray their donors. They are loyal. [/QUOTE] And yet, what have they accomplished on any of these things? Abortion is still legal and while they have plans to tweak the tax code it hasn’t happened yet, and I doubt it will be a major change. They haven’t gotten rid of Obamacare, which was their big plank. Trump et al hasn’t imposed tariffs on China or sanctions on it’s trade and monetary policy, we haven’t built his stupid wall, his Muslim Ban has been and continues to be a bust. About the only thing of note I can think of that he’s done is to (stupidly IMHO) get us out of the TTP without any sort of plan on what to do next…and, ironically, most of the anti-Clinton types actually support that stupid shit. > [@](#): > > But more to the point is the political science. The Democratic Party “leadership” is still rooted in a pre-1994 non-ideological paradigm. They are a club of professional beggars, little more. This is not managing to compete with the ideological conviction of the Conservative Movement. Republicans keep their promises, however stupid; Democrats don’t make promises. Interesting observation. I see it almost exactly opposite (which shouldn’t be too big a surprise). Republicans make promises but, basically, haven’t followed through on most of them. The Dems under Obama actually DID get Obamacare drafted and ratified. No, it’s not what most of the left wing wanted…but it’s what could politically be done in the real world. Look at how the Republicans have flopped around just trying to put in their own and you’ll see how difficult that is even in your own party. > [@](#): > > Nah, man. Build a coalition clearly of the following: > poor people who need Medicaid benefits / socialized medicine advocates > radical enviros and conservationists / the poor sinking state of Florida > Black Lives Matter / minorities concerned about their futures on multiple fronts > Fight for 15 / labor / workers > immigrants / DREAMers / Christians who believe in the ideals of the Good Samaritan > the civil service / government contractors / people who would lose their jobs to any more Reagan-style spending cuts > the anti-war, pro-welfare tendency (butter over guns) > prisoner’s rights / corrections reform > That is definitely a coalition, but they’re all clearly opposed to the fat-cat wing. The trick is to come up with a way to unify all of them beyond, “Trump sucks!” This isn’t a coalition, it’s a list of mainly fringe groups. You need a platform. Why, for instance, would the BLM folks be on board with the ‘radical enviros and conservationist’? What do they have in common, and what would be their common platform? Why would the BLM folks be on board with the immigrants or prisoner’s rights people? This group has a lot of cross over as well (which means you are going to have a lot of folks who, at least on paper would put themselves in multiple groups), but those who don’t you’d need to find a platform they could get behind. Also, this leaves out most of the middle, which is where the majority of votes come from. Above, you are talking about MAYBE 20% of the population (and this is going to depend on what your platform actually is), and I could see some folks in many of these groups being mutually exclusive…there are immigrants who aren’t going to be behind isolationism (or whatever you mean by anti-war), and civil servants are going to be all over the board, lots of folks aren’t really behind ‘enviros and conservationist’, whatever that means to you, ‘labor/workers’ are going to equally be all over the place and probably no on board with the ‘enviros’ and maybe not the immigrants, possibly the anti-war folks and others. That’s the thing. When you build a REAL coalition you don’t just grab all the radical groups and force them into your tent…you have to entice them, often with promises that could be mutually exclusive to some other group you’ve made promises too. It’s what makes our big tent political system so frustrating, especially for those on the fringe. I do believe that the Dems need to reform themselves, but my vision is a party of the center, socially liberal and fiscally conservative, a party that appeals to moderate Dems and Pubs…cut loose the crazy and fringe groups on both sides, embrace the center. Make healthcare reform the flag ship, rework green energy and cutting carbon emissions a plank, but one that makes it attractive to business, be fiscally balanced and figure out ways to show and demonstrate aggregate costs and ROI that people can understand for these projects, look at tax reform in a way that it’s not the Dems trying to soak the rich but making the system more fair and balanced for everyone, rich and poor alike. Do things that will attract business, especially foreign investment here in the US while having a good and sane environmental plan that doesn’t put too much of a burden on business but still protects the environment. Think big…do some large scale projects that will enhance the country…maybe something like what China is talking about with their one belt one road plan, but use US investment, resources and attitude to do it without the environmental and economic impact China is having, especially in Africa. Push for manned and unmanned space exploration and exploitation and definitely do a manned Mars mission in the 2020’s. Yeah, I know…none of this appeals to you or other fringe Dems (probably not Pubs either, or even centrists ;)), but I think those are the keys to success. Of course, that’s mainly because a party even attempting to do those things is going to get my own vote. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-replace-nancy-pelosi-and-her-cronies-should-pelosi-step-aside-to-let-younger-leaders-in/789567/143 "2017-06-28T16:16:26Z")
Please the linked op-ed from the Miami Herald suggesting that Pelosi and Clinton are selfish losers and that part of the problem with the Democratic party is that long time aging leaders of the party should step aside and let younger people step up. What worse could happen? > **[Pelosi and Clinton are selfish losers, blocking the rise of young Democrats](https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article158531664.html)** > > Without the advantage of the presidential bully pulpit, it falls upon the Democratic congressional leadership and the Democratic National Committee to frame a vision that will attract and motivate voters. At a time when the country desperately needs... The author lays out that Pelosi has been the Democratic leader in Congress for 14 years, but only for 4 years when the party controlled the House. I agree with the writer. The party leadership should turnover and look to fresh new ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-replace-nancy-pelosi-and-her-cronies-should-pelosi-step-aside-to-let-younger-leaders-in/789567/144 "2017-06-28T16:20:42Z")
I suspect that whether Pelosi is effective as a congressional leader is pretty hard to know for people outside the Hill, but that Democrats on the Hill know better than anyone, which is why they keep her on. That said, I don’t think an effective tactician is necessary right now to keep Democrats united. So now would be a good time for fresh blood. The real question is…who? ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-replace-nancy-pelosi-and-her-cronies-should-pelosi-step-aside-to-let-younger-leaders-in/789567/145 "2017-06-28T17:45:01Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Please the linked op-ed from the Miami Herald suggesting that Pelosi and Clinton are selfish losers and that part of the problem with the Democratic party is that long time aging leaders of the party should step aside and let younger people step up. What worse could happen? > > [http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article158531664.html](http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article158531664.html) > > The author lays out that Pelosi has been the Democratic leader in Congress for 14 years, but only for 4 years when the party controlled the House. > > I agree with the writer. The party leadership should turnover and look to fresh new ideas. Yes, but who are the younger leaders? Right now the money, media, and hollywood are backing the selfish losers. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-replace-nancy-pelosi-and-her-cronies-should-pelosi-step-aside-to-let-younger-leaders-in/789567/146 "2017-06-28T20:23:57Z")
Merged near duplicate thread starting at post #143. [/moderating] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-replace-nancy-pelosi-and-her-cronies-should-pelosi-step-aside-to-let-younger-leaders-in/789567.md?page=7)