Column: ‘It’s getting worse.’ The sad part of the Pelosi attack is it doesn’t surprise us. In fact it is the predictable outcome of the House Democratic leadership’s “unlimited spending,” borrowing, deficit spending, non-transparent spending and all the other ways they have been willing to use the House to get more of their way for their political agendas.
With the exception of her (as of September 2016) promise to “cut and run” if the House Democratic Leadership cannot work with her to get the legislation through the House, Speaker Pelosi has been a party leader of the Republican Party’s way with a lot of government-spending and borrowing that has done the most to hurt working people, and to cause a massive increase in inequality in America. The leadership of the House Democratic Caucus has been willing to break the rules of the House of Representatives (which are there to ensure a majority for the legislative needs of the House) to get their policies through.
The reality is that the leaders and the Democratic caucus members on the House floor have consistently opposed almost all economic reforms that would have helped working people.
To be sure, Pelosi has gotten her way on some of the issues, as she should. That is why she got onto the House floor. But you can also see that she has not been able to get as much of her agenda through as the leadership of the House has been willing to do. The result is that we have had to suffer through a decade of very significant increases in taxes, more spending, and a huge increase in debt.
As Pelosi said, it’s time to “cut and run.” The Democrats should do just that. There is no point in having a democratic party when a majority of the House of Representatives continues to make decisions in the interests of the rich and powerful.
About the Author
Mark Anderson is a retired teacher who taught for 20 years in the Philadelphia public schools. His writings have appeared in many progressive publications, including Mother Jones magazine, the New York Times, and in the progressive webzine, the Philadelphia Phoenix
