by B. R. GOWANI
PHOTOS/ Digitalvision, via Getty Images/Nolwen Cifuentes/Doug Mills/Sarah Silbiger/Tom Brenner/Anthony Lanzilote/The New York Times
Hizb al-Shaitan
In Nawal El-Saadawi’s memorable novel The Fall of the Imam, the Imam, a brutal phony ruler, permits an official opposition party called “Hizb al-Shaitan” or “Party of Satan” to create an impression he is not an absolute dictator as he allows dissenting voices. As is obvious, God is the property of the Imam who can use/misuse God according to his needs. (Right wingers worldwide claim God to be on their side and are close to religious zealots.)
In the United States, God is in the custody of the Republican Party whereas most Republicans are in the pockets of the multi-millionaires, billionaires, and corporations. It is not much different with the Democratic Party whose sponsors are mostly the same elements from the wealthy class. Democratic Party is the official opposition party or “Hizb al-Shaitan” and the party’s leader in the Congress is Nancy Pelosi.
Official opposition leader
Charges of election rigging are leveled by the opposition at the ruling party, and sometimes vice versa, as an aftermath when an election is held in a polarized environment; thus hindering a smooth transfer of power. This happens all the time in many countries. Depending on circumstances and strength, parties fight tooth and nail to claim power.
But the Unites States is witnessing a diametric situation; Pelosi must be the world’s first politician to concede defeat even before the elections are held. The US elections are almost 16 months away. During an interview with the New York Times in May 2019 she said the following:
“If we [the Democrats] win by four seats, by a thousand votes each, he’s [President Donald Trump running for a second term] not going to respect the election.”
“He would poison the public mind. He would challenge each of the races; he would say you can’t seat these people.”
“Mr. Trump would not give up power voluntarily if he lost re-election.”
Her reasoning: to gain power in 2020, the Democrats should win by a huge margin only then will Trump accept the results. But what if even losing by a great percentage Trump refuses to leave? Trump has tasted power on such humongous scale that he’s not going to abdicate his throne unless he’s dragged out of the White House and thrown into the mental asylum van.
What kind of a leader Pelosi is who, instead of encouraging the Democratic voters/supporters/congresspersons to fight to the end for the victory they have gained, howsoever small it may be, doesn’t think fighting for a victory with tiny margin is worthwhile. So she has a plan ready beforehand to quit the arena.
Pelosi instead should have roared if Trump denies the victorious Democrats to take over power we’ll be out on the streets with our people and force Trump to pack up and go.
But it’s too much to expect even such a reasonable thing from Pelosi who is the establishment person playing the role of a puppy for the extremely wealthy class.
Pelosi’s Hannity
Donald Trump has Fox’s Sean Hannity. So what? Nancy Pelosi has New York Times’ Maureen Dowd. Her interview in the New York Times of July 7, 2019 titled “It’s Nancy’s Parade” is pro-Pelosi/anti-progressive. She doesn’t counter Pelosi on any of the things or accusations she makes against the progressive members, especially “the Squad,” i.e., Democratic freshpersons from the House: Ayanna Pressley (MA), Rashida Tlaib (MI), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or AOC (NY), and Ilhan Omar (MN).
These members voted against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s border bill because there was no guarantee from the Republican Senate that the money allocated won’t be misused by Trump who is totally untrustworthy. Nevertheless, Pelosi went ahead with the bill and it was passed in the House. Pelosi needs any excuse to smear these ladies’ deserved reputation. In an interview with Dowd she denigrated them.
“All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world.” “But they didn’t have any following. They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got.”
(AOC strongly rebuked Pelosi:
“That public ‘whatever’ is called public sentiment. And wielding the power to shift it is how we actually achieve meaningful change in this country.”)
Dowd should have countered Pelosi by informing her that these congresswomen, along with few other congresspersons, are the conscience of the Congress – which is full of mostly corrupt/criminal elements – and they deserve her respect. She should have also questioned her as to what was wrong in getting a surety from Mitch McConnell, because tens of thousands of immigrant lives were in urgent and dire distress. Instead, Dowd is bugling Pelosi’s art of surviving attacks.
“She has withstood attacks from left – and right – before, after all. …”
AOC’s point is valid and humane when she tweeted:
“Under no circumstances should the House vote for a McConnell-only bill w/ no negotiation with Democrats. Hell no. That’s an abdication of power we should refuse to accept. They will keep hurting [immigrant] kids [in detention centers on border] if we do.”
“We offered crucial amendments to protect children and families – none are even being considered.”
Omar expressed similar sentiments:
A vote for Mitch McConnell’s border bill is a vote to keep kids in cages and terrorize immigrant communities. How can we trust Donald Trump won’t turn around and use this to fund his deportation plan or worse?
Pressley described condition in the detention center:
“I held the hand of a woman who heaved sobs as she explained her deep fear that at any moment she could fall to the floor in a seizure.” “She is an epileptic and the medicine she relies on had been confiscated. And in fact she feared that by telling that truth, she would experience retaliation after we left and her medication would continue to be withheld.”
Tlaib had this to say:
“The fear in their eyes won’t be forgotten…the suffering in these illegal camps cannot be forgotten.”
Zach Carter reminds us that while these women were utilizing their congressional recess time by visiting the detention centers, Pelosi was occupied abusing these new congresswomen. It should be remembered that the Squad was not alone in voting against the bill – altogether 95 Democrats voted against the bill.
Dowd defends Pelosi:
“The fracas over the border bill illustrates the treacherous nature of Pelosi’s job. Even with all her remarkable skill, it is a herculean task to weave together her anarchic progressives and the moderates who helped flip the House by winning in districts where Trump won in 2016.”
Why does she have to label progressives as “anarchic?” The Merriam Webster online dictionary defines anarchic as “absence of government” or “a state of lawlessness or political disorder.” None of these descriptions are applicable to the Squad.
The “remarkable skill” Dowd is talking about is nothing but compromises Pelosi makes to save her ass and her congressional seat. One could talk about skill if she had initiated the Trump impeachment proceedings back in January when Democrats entered the new Congress as a House majority; her work would have been “treacherous” if Pelosi would have doggedly demanded and disclosed many, many things about Trump’s business dealings and his taxes. Pelosi’s hypocritical answer to why she is not impeaching Trump is:
“… he every day practically self-impeaches by obstructing justice and ignoring the subpoenas.”
This is the tragedy of the Democratic Party; the most powerful woman in the United States would rather see the removal of the Squad (her own party members) from the House rather than the impeachment of the thug (of the opposite party) in the White House. But then back in December 2016, talking to CBS’s Face the Nation program, when Pelosi was asked “What do you tell Democrats who want a new direction?” her answer was typical Pelosian, i.e, clinging to power and maintaining her position as the Speaker. She replied:
“Well, I don’t think that people want a new direction. Our values unify us.”
Really? Bernie Sanders’ supporters were screaming in the convention center, when the presidential nomination was awarded to Hillary Clinton. (Clinton was selected due to Democratic Party establishment who was against Sanders.) Pelosi is living in her own world. In simple language, Pelosi’s refusal to provide new direction means: “I don’t give a damn. Fuck the people, who cares.” Imagine the anger Millennials must be feeling at this corrupt power-hungry corporate supported millionaire.
Dowd inhabits the same world as Pelosi; she still believes Pelosi is the woman who can fight an “inhumane Trump!” After her election win, Rashida Tlaib called Trump a “motherfucker.” Now here is another motherfucker, Pelosi, who is not transparent like Trump in her cunning moves but, like Trump, is averse to any challenge to the status quo.
Pelosi’s unity
Pelosi’s grudge against the Squad and other Democrats is that they talk publicly, on Twitter, the important issues and differences with the party members; she wants them to deal with the issues privately within the Democratic Party so that she and other party leaders can suppress their voice before it reaches the public. She wants the world to see the party as a united front. But is the party going to listen, and do something, about the changes the progressives want? Hell, no. She talks of unity and then stabs openly the members she wants to stay quiet. On July 10, at a private House Democratic caucus meeting, looking directly at AOC, Pelosi boasted:
“Every time I’m attacked, I raise more money.”
Every good pimp who deceivingly entraps people and sells their honor/labor/rights to the corporate wolves is bound to raise more money. Pelosi should know this fact.
When the meeting was over Nancy wanted a preacher to offer prayers to mend the relation but there was none so Majority Whip James Clyburn (SC) offered the prayer.
One of the Democrat present there described it thus:
“His prayer was brief and powerful and incredibly well received.” “He simply prayed for a spirit of discernment, the spirit of being able to do the right thing and to move forward collectively.”
After all, Satan is God’s creation, too; so Satan should have a right to pray to God.
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com