Jon Stewart gets this one wrong
Jon Stewart is a straight shooter. It is likely his research team failed him here. Worse he played into two narratives. The first, Nancy Pelosi comes across like a hypocrite in defending women’s rights. The second, Nancy Pelosi used unseemly means to get the candidate she wanted for a particular committee.
Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) a disabled veteran and American hero, is in a high risk pregnancy and was advised not to fly. She asked that she be allowed to vote by proxy in the Democratic Caucus. The request was denied as it went against House rules, it was never done before, and it would set a precedent as was revealed in the closed door meeting. ABC News reported about what transpired in the closed door meeting as follows.
The drama played out at a closed-door meeting Thursday, when Duckworth’s request was debated before the caucus.
Democrats like Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the co-chair of the Democrat Steering and Policy Committee, cautioned colleagues against setting new precedent for the secret ballot elections.
But Rep. Jan Schakowsky, vice-chair of the steering and policy committee and one of Duckworth’s colleagues from Illinois, made a motion to permit a concession to Duckworth, whose letter was read to the caucus.
“I write to request your assistance regarding upcoming votes four our Caucus,” her letter stated, according to the National Journal, which first broke the story. “As you are aware, I am in the final weeks of my pregnancy, and have been instructed by my physician not to travel. As a result, I will not be attending the upcoming Caucus meetings in person.”
“I would like to request a proxy vote on the upcoming leadership and ranking member elections that will come before the Caucus in the coming weeks,” she continued.
According to a Democratic aide in the room during the debate, a pivotal moment came when Rep. Gwen Moore spoke out to ask whether she could proxy vote as well because she plans to attend a funeral in Wisconsin next Tuesday.
Moore’s request soured the mood of the room against Duckworth’s motion, the aide said, “with Members realizing the slippery slope argument that others had made.” Schakowsky then pulled her motion for Duckworth.
A Democratic source admitted Duckworth’s situation was “a very meritorious case,” but in the end “the slippery slope argument prevailed” because “there’s no practical way to do secret balloting remotely.”
It is obvious from the meeting that many members other than Nancy Pelosi were concerned about a slippery slope. While it is true that Nancy Pelosi and Democrats consistently support women’s rights, easy and early voting, and many other progressive policies, the accusation that Nancy Pelosi’s action is somehow in conflict with those tenets is incorrect. These are rules among those that govern not rules for the governed.
What is most disconcerting about Jon Stewart’s piece along with many other media reports is that they were so quick to assume that because Nancy Pelosi supports Anna Eshoo (D-CA) for the Energy and Commerce Committee, she would attempt to block Tammy Duckworth’s vote. Why would she do this they say? Because she supports Frank Pellone (D-NJ). Nancy Pelosi’s camp vehemently denies that.
It is ironic that the media jumped all over the Tammy Duckworth vote by proxy issue instead of the one where Nancy Pelosi is supporting the promotion of women and specifically this woman, Anna Eshoo, into leadership.
Nancy Pelosi is a very strong leader. She needs to groom more men and women to have the spine she has for the benefit of the Democratic Party. She is correct that she is judged by a different standard. Jon Stewart simply got this one wrong.