Sunday School Extra Credit 11/17/19

Sunday School was all about the Republicans; Extra Credit is all about the Dems - well, two of them, anyway: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who chatted with Margaret Brennan on Friday for CBS' Face the Nation, and former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, who sat down with Chuck Todd on MTP.  This should be fun, don't you think?

Brennan's conversation started with her asking Pelosi her thoughts on why president Trump was tweeting about Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch as she was testifying before the House Intelligence Committee. Pelosi suggested that  he was trying to undermine Yovanovitch and she also pointed out that,

... the president and perhaps some at the White House have to know the words of the president weigh a ton. They are very significant. And he should not frivolously throw out insults, but that's what he does.

She thinks she knows why Trump does that, too.

I think part of it is his own insecurity as an imposter. I think he knows full well that he's in that office way over his head. And so, he has to diminish everyone. 

I'd say that, while the House Speaker's words may not weigh a ton, they have more weight than say, mine - and as such, the speaker should not frivolously throw out insults.  Unless of course, she didn't think she was being either frivolous or insulting.

The conversation turned to impeachable offenses, and what qualifies as one. Pelosi offered that Trump does a lot of not impeachable things,

But when it comes to violating the Constitution of the United States, as he undermines our national security, jeopardizes the integrity of our elections, dishonors his own oath of office, that's about impeachment.

She wouldn't go out on a limb as to what would be a Trump impeachable offense, pointing out that the inquiry is  about "unfolding the facts." And, as to whether she thinks bribery will be one of the articles of impeachment?

I have no idea. Well, there is not even a decision made to impeach the president. This is a finding of facts, unfolding of the truth. And then a decision will be made and that is a decision that goes beyond me. 

Brennan wondered if it they'd really go through all of this investigating and then not impeach him.

That remains - the facts, if the president has information that demonstrates his innocence, in all of this, which we haven't seen. His transcript of a phone all is tucked away in a highly sensitive, compartmentalized intelligence server so we can't see that... If he has information that is exculpatory, that means 'ex' taking way, 'culpable', blame, then we look forward to seeing it. 

And, she refused to entertain discussion with Brennan about what the Republicans think.

You know what? If - if we could just talk about what we want to do - I really have a real discomfort level of responding to what Republicans say because they are in denial about what has happened in the country. So if you want to ask me about where we're going on this - I"m happy to respond to that.  But I - I find it a waste of my time and yours to be talking about what Republicans say.

She didn't want to respond to what the Rs were saying about the grounds for impeachment.

Let their arguments stand because they are in so much quicksand that I don't even want to have it given any more visibility by my dignifying any of their misrepresentations of what they say... I say to everybody else, I'm not here to talk about what they say because they are not facing the reality of what is happening to our country. And this is about our democracy that is at risk with this president in the White House.

In the rest of the interview, they talked about the timetable for the inquiry and when we might see that conclude (there isn't one);  whether Trump gets to "confront his accuser" (she'll make sure he doesn't intimidate the whistleblower, but he's welcome to come before the committee and tell the truth); that there are still multiple committees looking into things, that "none of us came here to impeach a president."

There's more, too, about the normal day to day stuff we don't hear about, like funding the government, USMCA, and her "being the only woman in the room" with two different presidents.



Now, let's move on to a Democrat who thinks America needs him, because the 18 or so folks still in the race are not enough: Governor Deval Patrick, who, we're told by Chuck Todd, wants to be in the moderate Dem lane, where Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar and others are all fighting for ownership.

So why do we need Patrick? After saying how much he respects the others already in the race,

My entry into the race isn't about them. And I'm not trying to climb on top of them, in order to do what I want to do and what I think I can do. I think that I have a, I have a record of being a bridge-builder. And I think it's pretty important at a time when not just the party, in some respects, but the nation is deeply divided, frankly, around issues that - where we have remarkably, a remarkable amount of overlap, in terms of economic anxiety and social tensions, which we have experienced at different times in our history. I also have a range of life experience and professional experience which enables me to come at problem solving through - from a bunch of different perspectives. And you've been that, And I want to tell the American people about that...

Patrick talked about not entering the race before, including a year ago, when his wife was diagnosed with cancer, and then in June of this year, and August, and October, when he said it was "unlikely." But his wife, it seems, pays a lot of attention, and

...she's also been one of the ones listening closely and responding to folks who have said, "there is a lane for you." More to the point, there's a  - the nation needs experience, not just a sensibility around bridge-building, but actual some results in that respect.  And you know, we are in crisis, in many respects, here, in America. And we used a crisis, in Massachusetts, to come out stronger economically, stronger socially, and more fair. And I'd like to see if those experiences and that aptitude and that skill set can be offered in service of our nation.

Noting that there's already a Massachusetts Democrat in the race, and that he and the other one "don't see eye to eye" on things, Todd wondered how his getting in the race won't be seen as "a bit of a vote of no confidence in Elizabeth Warren?"

Well, I don't want to go there. Senator Warren is a friend of mine. And you know, she and her husband, Bruce, and Diane and I have spent time together privately and socially. And I am enormously fond of her and incredibly proud of the campaign she's run. It's been enormously disciplined, I think. But I think, you know, we have to -- we have to keep our eye on our shared goals and not get so hardened around our means.

Health care is one example, he noted; "you can get there a couple of different ways" - and he prefers a public option, which she doesn't. Basically, it seems, there's more than one way to skin a cat, and more than one moderate who can do it. Or something like that, I guess.

Todd asked about how he's going to finance his campaign, specifically whether he'd accept Super PAC money or support, including some of his Bain Capital partners or friends who might want to put such a funding arrangement to get him caught up on the money end. 

I'm not, I’m not crazy about Super PAC money, either. I'm not sure that I’m -- if I understand the rules correctly, I can even have a say about that...  But look, I think we need to do some catch-up. So I think we've got to follow and find all sorts of above-board strategies to do that.

Todd pinned him down on this, asking "So if there is a Super PAC that supports you, you're not going to tell them to stop?"

No, I'm not. I will say that I would like to see any contributions to such a PAC fully disclosed. I think dark money -- first of all, I think there's too much money in the system. And I'm going to have something to say about that, from a policy point of view, as we get a little further along. But if there is going to be Super PAC money that supports me, it should all be -- the sources of that should be fully disclosed.

So, policies to come, money to come - from somewhere, but here he is, entering the race because some mysterious people think there's room for him.

Got it?  See you around campus.