Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/07/27/primary-that-sellout.html
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He doesn’t need to win the primary, just come in the top two. That will change everything in the general election.
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Pelosi has been challenged from the far left progressives before, and she easily defeated them. Democrats make up about 58% of the voters in San Francisco, with the rest being independent or Republican. In the general election, those independents and republicans will overwhelmingly vote for Pelosi over Buttar, or any other far-left progressive. San Francisco isn’t that progressive. Pelosi isn’t going anywhere until she wants to.
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Literally what they said about AOC.
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I respect everything that Nancy Pelosi has done so far, but geez, at 79 it’s time to pass the torch.
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I know it’s a long shot given her big-money donors and general political inertia, but it would be great on a number of levels if Pelosi was out of the House. It’s time CA-12 had a bright and accomplished Representative who’s more focused on the future than on the past and more focused on change than compromising with “free”-market fundies, and it’s time that the House Dems had a real leader again (whomever that might be – Nadler certainly has potential).
[And yes, apologists for the establishment, I’m being very “careful about what I wish for”, so save the finger-wagging for someone else.]
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There is no way San Francisco is going to replace Pelosi, the speaker of the House, with someone who would be be elected as a junior member with no power.
I have never seen so much as a flyer advocating Pelosi’s candidacy for the nearly two decades I’ve lived here because she doesn’t even run re-election campaigns. She doesn’t need to.
Pelosi was already planning to retire, so the seat will open up, but not until then.
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Pelosi is no Crowley. Crowley barely even campaigned. AOC only won with 13% voter turn-out. What works in her Brooklyn district doesn’t translate to SF. Pelosi understands the political environment is SF more than anyone. She’s been challenged from the far left before and has easily defeated any challengers. It remains to be seen whether AOC can even win re-election even once!
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Different coast. Different toast.
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According to @Aloisius above, neither does Pelosi. It’s same smug sense of entitlement borne of inertia and being a member of the establishment.
That said, you’re correct that it’s going to be very tough to oust her. I’m pleased that someone is trying, though. Who knows, maybe Buttar will force her to actually campaign a little for this one.
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Really, I only have one complaint with Nancy Pelosi, and it’s not a very strong one: it’s that with age comes patience, and after a certain point that patience can be a little too much like stasis. Sure, I can see the point of “not firing till you see the whites of their eyes” but right now we feel we can not only see the whites, but even the individual capillaries. It’s maddening.
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Pelosi has never been seriously challenged, and Buttar isn’t any different. Crowly fell asleep with his constituents and frankly didn’t seem all that enthused about being re-elected. Pelosi has not. The progressives only make up about a third of the Democrats. SF is very different than AOC district. Its demographics are different. It’s far whiter (44%) and VERY wealthy, whereas AOC’s is 18% white and not as wealthy. SF does not have strong support for any anti-establishment candidate. Butare doesn’t even have the support of progressive leaders in SF, and they strongly support Pelosi. SF voters are pretty savvy and know that removing Pelosi as Speaker would be a disaster.
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Buttar is not a serious challenge, Pelosi will not have to try very hard to defeat him. SF is not NYC, very different demographics and political environment.
She never met a war she didn’t like, and never missed an opportunity to support warrantless spying and the surveillance state. Truly, a record to be proud of.
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I agree with you that Pelosi can afford the luxury of being complacent when it comes to campaigning – yet another privilege that she and her well-heeled constituency enjoy. I’m just hoping that Buttar makes it less easy for her to take progressive voters and younger voters for granted (or ignore them entirely).
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For some. I know a lot of impatient old people. I agree with what you’re getting at, but would frame it differently. What most of them (but thankfully not all of them) do have in common is a sense that the problems that the world as a whole is facing are not ones that will affect them for very much longer (more so when they’re privileged and are used to things working out for them).
The result of that sense of limited time is that the sense of urgency about fixing the long-term issues fades away while the impatience with the small, personal short-term issues of life and challenges to what one is used to goes up.
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FWIW it’s worth remembering that for all their differences AOC did vote to make Pelosi speaker last January.
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We have to back this fellow if only to put pressure on Pelosi to follow the left’s lead. I write to Pelosi weekly to express my dissatisfaction with her actions. I am going to add my growing support for Buttar to my messages. It would be good if she heard from everyone.
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that’s why Pelosi has to get the idea that she is inspiring a nationwide fundraising response for her opponent.
