Opinion: Pelosi’s petulance is wearing thin

By Mike Howell | The Daily Signal

We expected all sorts of fits and furies when Democrats took control of the House, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s unprecedented threat to disinvite President Donald Trump to the State of the Union sets the bar surprisingly low.

And it makes Trump’s cancellation of her overseas trip all the more sweet.

On Wednesday, citing disingenuous security concerns, Pelosi sent the president the formal equivalent of a lunchtime high school bully’s “you can’t sit with us anymore.”

The irony of the speaker holding up government funding over border security while simultaneously decrying the lack of security for the speech was apparently lost on CNN, who praised Pelosi’s gambit as “a major power move.”

Public domain

U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Pelosi fails to recognize that in a partial shutdown, essential services remain. Protecting the State of the Union is an essential function, and its execution would be unaffected by the partial lapse in appropriations funding.

Soon after the ink from Pelosi’s letter was dry, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen corrected Pelosi by stating that “the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Secret Service are fully prepared to support and secure the State of the Union.”

Furthermore, Pelosi commands a Capitol Police force with a near half-billion-dollar annual budget. The Capitol Police would play the largest role in securing the event and are completely unaffected by the current lapse in appropriations funding. In fact, Pelosi’s security detail was able to seamlessly accompany her to Hawaii during her vacation in the early days of the shutdown.

In falsely citing—without evidence—security as the reason for the disinvitation, Pelosi failed to address what changed from when she initially invited the president two weeks ago, when the government was in the same funding predicament.

Perhaps with the weakening of her position, and a reminder that Trump’s 2018 speech garnered almost 50 million viewers, she decided to do all she could to deny her political opponent the opportunity to continue to make the case for border security.

That may be why she changed her tune on Thursday, citing federal paychecks—not security per se—as her reason for potentially disinviting the president.

Regardless of the merits of her reasons, she does retain the authority to not host the president. But withdrawing the invite would only reinforce public perceptions of Congress and its abysmal approval rating.

The president can also give his address—which is constitutionally obligated—at another place of his choosing. Perhaps he should consider somewhere Democrats would want to go during this partial lapse in appropriations: like a nice beach in Puerto Rico.

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore and Public domain

6 thoughts on “Opinion: Pelosi’s petulance is wearing thin

  1. Nancy Pelosi doesn’t give a rat butt about American citizens security, she cares about votes and Nancy Pelosi. When will you dems see through this BS? The wall is for our protection. If walls don’t work, why have gated communities, why go to a vacation spot in Mexico that has walls, why is there a fence around the White House, and why is there a wall around the Vatican ? Nancy is worried more about the votes not coming into this country than she is of the drugs, rapist, and murderers making in.

    • President Trump will have the last laugh when the immigrants in this country vote for him. I am so disguised by all the woman who become hysterical and screaming because they do not like him. I am a business woman and I do not have to like someone to do business with them if it is good for both parties the end. There is no place for emotions in business!

  2. It is all politics with Pelosi and the Democrats, they refuse to accept the 2016 results and because of it we all suffer. This president has brought back the rules for congressional business. Negotiations take place with 2 people sit down and hash it out. Nancy has refused and here we are. When her behavior is childish she gets the same in return. It is time to sit and resolve this issue. We the people do not expect anyone to winner take all! No one is being held hostage this is part of the budget plan which the democrats will not negotiate. I really enjoy the folks who say they do not engage in partisan politics, and proceed to do exactly that!

  3. I was always told if you play with fire your going to get burned !!

    Apparently, Speaker Pelosi never heard that phrase, the only problem we have at our fingers this
    day is ” border funding ” or ” no border funding ” ?? or is it you just hate the President and want to prove you can stop him at any cost ……. I’ll go with the later.

    The President wants to fund a wall/fence/barrier, something that was funded before by DemocRATs
    but the Speaker refuses to negotiate on something that she and her party approved in the past.

    The only thing that’s changed is the administration, so Nancy your playing with fire………………

    Hey, Nancy how high is the wall/fence/barrier around your house ??

  4. Holding Americans’ likelihood hostage for a border wall is unconscionable. Americans are unnecessarily suffering. Focusing on, and blaming Pelosi is pure stupidity.

    “And it makes Trump’s cancellation of her overseas trip all the more sweet.” This is really a hugely mean-spirited comment and can only come from someone who loves revenge.

    I don’t engage in partisan politics – it is the ultimate in arrogant stupidity. For the life of me, I don’t understand why anyone would write this piece.

    • “mj” I assume you meant livelihood not “likelihood.” I think you may be mixed up, the insistence on a wall is to keep Americans safe, it’s not to keep government workers from being paid.

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