In an conversation with Punchbowl News, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she not only expects the Democrats to hold their currently razor-thin majority in the House after the midterms, but actually expand it, saying “I was just in 12 cities in 12 days. We’re ready. And understand this. Because of the leadership of [Dem House Campaign Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney], we’re ready. So when the Dobbs decision came down, it wasn’t one of those ‘If only we had known.'”
“No. We believed we were going to win from Jan 6 on – well, even November of last year on,” Pelosi continued. “So we’re ready. Mobilizing on the ground… messaging, raising the money. But the biggest factor of all is not only do we believe, the candidates believe. So for a year, 10 months, eight months, terrific people had put themselves out there believing they could win.” Other Dem leaders echoed the Speaker’s sentiment, with former DCCC Chair Congressman John Larson of Connecticut saying “There are a number of factors and they keep helping us out. I mean, Lindsey Graham’s comments today, no way, these are things that we did not have in 2010.”
Of course even when shit looks bad leaders stay outwardly confident to keep their side motivated to fight to the end, but Pelosi’s team are an undeniable contrast to the way Mitch McConnell mumbles dejectedly every time a reporter asks him about his feelings on the GOP’s prospects in the Senate, or how Vladimir Putin has been fucking off from meetings with Russian military leadership since last week’s counteroffensive by Kyiv routed his armies in northeastern Ukraine.
The next item in the Punchbowl morning roundup seems unrelated, but could offer a clue to how the House GOP think what next year will look like: insufferable scumbag Republican Conference chair Elise Stefanik announced Tuesday she’ll run for the same spot next Congress, killing off a not-yet-announced bid by Florida Congressman Byron Donalds, as her support is already locked down.
It raises the question of, since in a GOP majority in 2023, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy will (possibly) be speaker and Minority Whip Steve Scalise would be Majority Leader, then as third in command now, why Stefanik wouldn’t want to move up to Majority Whip to be third in command in a majority. So here she is hedging, happy to stay as Conference chair even though it would mean she’ll be fourth in command in a GOP majority… if there’s a GOP majority. Hard not to think the malevolent gorgon would be running for whip if she thought a majority was a done deal.