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1. What the fuck is Nancy Pelosi doing?
2. The most charitably explanation, offered by @ThePlumLineGS in characteristically thoughtful column, is that she's trying to preserve the 43 seats gained in 2018, which lean Republican (by +2) while the rest of the seat lean Democratic (by +16)
3. By prioritizing those 43 seats that lean Republican, Pelosi is steering the party far to the right of where the average Democratic voter is. @ThePlumLineGS has more here: washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
4. The less charitable explanation, argued by @zachdcarter, is that the old New York machine, still smarting from AOC's win, is seeking payback & also trying, in the words of Mel Brooks, to preserve their phoney-baloney jobs. huffingtonpost.ca/entry/nancy-pe…
5. Another way to look at this is Pelosi is using the old triangulation model: situating herself as the vital center in opposition to the extreme right (Trump) and the supposedly extreme left (the Squad0.
6. Leaving aside whatever ideological objections one might have to triangulation, the problem is Pelosi is pursuing triangulation in an age of polarization. Trump isn't afraid to rile up his side & push extreme policies while triangulation waters down opposition
7. In an age of polarization, triangulation is really self-strangulation. I pursue the argument here: thenation.com/article/pelosi…
