By Colleen O’Connor
Always underestimated. Often belittled. Yet, amazingly powerful.
Tuesday night, Speaker Pelosi will win two election cycles and probably insure an entire decade of Democratic House majorities. Such a victory will seal her place in the History books as the greatest Speaker of the House.
How did she do it?
How did she beat back an ill-fated challenge in 2018 and not only deliver an historical 41- net gain of seats for the Democrats that year, but is now on pace to add to that remarkable feat Tuesday night.
Experience. Massive fundraising. Discipline. And always being underestimated.
According to the Cook Political Report, Pelosi is on track to add anywhere from 5-10 additional seats to her existing hefty majority. She didn’t even need to bolster her 2016 swing-district incumbents this cycle. Instead, she set her sights on taking even more seats from the Republicans.
And those additional House seats might just help to provide the vote margin for Democratic Senate wins in Maine, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina and possibly even two from Georgia.
So, what now?
A defeat for Mitch McConnell?
The White House fall is already a given.
As Pelosi explains it, she is currently “trying to win two elections in one.”
She is going for a cushion that effectively guarantees the Democrats will still hold the House in 2022; even if it is a “change” election. With a conceivable 50-seat advantage, she can afford to lose a seat here or there. Democrats would then also oversee the mandated ten-year census that redraws congressional district lines.
Such an electoral feat (guaranteeing a Democratic House for multiple election cycles) will usher in a massive domino effect.
The stimulus; the U.S. budget items; unspent COVID-19 funds; protections for the environment; funds for states and cities; for health care and education; for all that Trump has decimated; will be controlled and disbursed by Pelosi & Co.
Watch how quickly the 700 bills languishing on McConnell’s desk will get taken up and sped through the Senate after Trump’s defeat.
In short, Pelosi’s victories will help the country to crush the virus, bring back the economy, and strengthen democracy.
Best advice for Tuesday night. Forget the presidential circus. That may take weeks of tantrums, lawsuits, and antics to digest. Watch Pelosi and the congressional races, instead. They will determine the future of the U.S.
Just as intended in the U.S. Constitution. From the ground up.
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