Linda Sánchez Stabbed Pelosi Right In The Back Yesterday

Linda and I

Sánchez (D-CA) is vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, #5 in the House Democratic conference, right under corrupt Wall Street whore Joe Crowley. Yesterday, on C-SPAN's Newsmakers, she called on the 3 top Dems-- Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn (who are all in their late 70s and not as sharp as they once were)-- to start preparing to move on and make room for the next generation of leaders, presumably Crowley and herself.

"I do think it’s time to pass a torch to a new generation of leaders, and I want to be a part of that transition. I want to see that happen. I think we have too many great members here that don’t always get the opportunities that they should. I would like to see that change... They are all of the same generation, and, again, their contributions to the Congress and the caucus are substantial. But I think there comes a time when you need to pass that torch. And I think it’s time."

I reached out to a few members on Congress. No one wanted to go on the record, but one brilliant member told me that "This is the culmination of Rahm Emanuel’s multiprong strategy to drag the caucus to the right, through recruitment, corporate money, Super PACs, emphasis on fundraising and self-funding, and de-emphasis on policy.  Pelosi may feel now that she helped to create Frankenstein’s monster.  Pelosi and Hoyer, though, working together, are almost impossible to beat. The insurgents have made a strategic mistake in going after both of them. Also, given that the average age of a Member of Congress is 57 years, and the enormous perks of seniority, I’m not sure that a 'youth movement' is a very compelling argument. The last thing that a 57-year-old wants to see is a 45-year-old elevated above him."

Tired of waiting

Another smart-as-a-whip member of Congress sent me this note this morning:

Off the record.

Nancy is the hardest-working person I know, and I'll be sad when she leaves. There's no way she leaves before the midterms. If we win the House in the midterms she stays. If not, she will not be able to withstand the pressure for her to step down.

Fair or unfair, over an extended time, sustained attacks have the ability to damage a politician's brand, as Hillary's experience showed. Nancy's is badly damaged. In my own district, she is so far underwater that the attack ads against me will almost certainly just be pictures of me and Nancy, the "tax-and-spend liberal" caption, and whatever percentage figure they choose to say I vote with Nancy. To me, actually, this is sort of a relief, because it means they can't find anything more damning than that, so I might not be screwing this job up too badly.

I am quite friendly with Linda Sánchez but I haven't spoken to her about her statement so I can only speculate that she is just raising her profile for a leadership contest when it eventually comes.