This is one of those bizzaro alternate universe situations...

Juan Williams: Pelosi shows her power

If you are betting on politics, here’s my advice — put your money on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Historian Robert Caro famously crowned Lyndon Johnson the “Master of the Senate.” After last week, it’s clear Pelosi is his equal in the House.

In the darkest hours, as House Democrats publicly feuded over two big spending bills, it looked like the Biden presidency and congressional Democrats’ chances in the 2022 midterms were going down in flames.

She began by reminding her razor-thin majority of House Democrats — her party cannot afford to lose more than four votes on any measure — that winning passage of both bills is far more important than the timing of the votes. And, in tandem with President Biden, she kept control by reminding fellow Democrats of the larger political stakes. Both bills are part of Biden’s agenda, an agenda that is supported by both moderates and progressives.

As Democrats struggled through their dark night of turbulence, expressions of dissent about the 81-year-old Pelosi steering the ship were kept to a minimum. Even Senate Democrats treated her with respect.

She pressured Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) to say clearly how big a price tag they will abide for a reconciliation bill. “I would never ever think about telling Nancy how [to run] her operation,” Manchin said. “She knows what she is doing.” Then Manchin went public with a price tag he could accept. That started the real negotiations. That was a win for Pelosi.

Wow, hearing it described like that might make you think that she successfully got something done rather than the reality that the Democrats look like a party in shambles who cannot walk and chew gum at the same time. Juan Williams has always seen the world through Democrat tinted glasses, but this is really a bridge too far. This would be much like me writing an entire article about how well the Minnesota Vikings offense played yesterday, as they only managed to score 7 points against the Cleveland Browns. 

The funny part is not even are these facts correct. Manchin did not go public with a price tag because of Pelosi. Manchin provided that price tag months ago to Senator Schumer and the media reported on it over the weekend. As far as I know, both Manchin and Sinema have made public statements in favor or passing the bipartisan infrastructure bill and dealing with the reconciliation mess at a later time. Manchin has not offered anything new on a price tag and Sinema has never offered anything.

In fact the Manchin/Sinema refusal to go along with the reconciliation and their demand that the House vote on the infrastructure bill is exactly what is riling up Senators like Bernie Sanders, liberal house members like the Squad, and the entire progressive caucus. They are all pissed off at these two Senators even if Juan Williams believes it is coming along swimmingly. So either Democrats in Congress are wrong about how things are going or Juan Williams is. I am betting it's Williams who is wrong.