This Washington Post editorial from yesterday was a gratuitous and stupid slap at Speaker Nancy Pelosi. My response to the Washington Post yesterday:
“This editorial is the worst of DC groupthink. China has been pushing and pushing its neighbors, just like Russia was pushing Ukraine 10 years ago, and we ignored it enough to let Putin nurture his delusions of grandeur.”
“Pelosi was the perfect person to take this trip at the perfect time, contrary to the Thomas Friedmans of the world, who always seems to glow at China’s economic development, pretend to love Taiwan and democratic values, but always pile on anyone challenging China, and jump on Nancy Pelosi now.”
“Now you’ve joined them.”
Thank you Speaker Pelosi. It’s called leadership.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, while standing next to the female president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen:
“They didn’t say anything when the men came.”
President Tsai Ing-wen smiled and nodded her head.
I’m with the Washington Post on this.
The Taiwan visit strikes me as simple grandstanding, and I don’t see how it actually helps anybody.
The most urgent priority for Ms. Pelosi and House Democrats right now is turning back the insurrection.
The ongoing insurrection is the single most immediate and most urgent existential threat to representative democracy in the world and in America. In my view, a strong, healthy, vibrant, free and fair American electoral system is far more important to America and the world than anything that is happening in Taiwan or Hong Kong.
After two years of Democratic control of all three branches of government, our messaging is diffuse at best. I think we Democrats need focus — and this Taiwan trip muddies and blurs that focus.
So, we can’t walk and chew gum at the same time?
No, we cannot — at least not in August of 2022.
We’re doing so many disconnected things badly that we’re failing to do the most important things.
The likelihood that a Democrat will defeat John Gibbs in this bright red Michigan district is vanishingly small.
Ms. Pelosi could have and should have stopped this insanity. She appears to have too busy chewing gum.
How did we get to a Michigan district on this thread?
I think if we really cared about defending democracy we would fix our own at home rather than tilting at windmills abroad.
Both/and (plus I don’t think Taiwan is a windmill)
Agree with Tom. We seem to forget that all the bad actors from the Bush and Trump administrations are praising Pelosi along with Newt Gingrich who’s visit in the 1990’s helped precipitate the last Taiwan Strait Crisis. At least Newt was undermining the foreign policy of a president from the opposing party, why Pelosi is undercutting Biden at this particular moment is beyond me.
It’s really making me question her judgment and priorities. I know I’m the resident ageist on the blog, but I am unsure this is something she would have done even five years ago when she was so tactically brilliant in stopping the Trump administration. Now she is tactically helping the same Republicans she fought against.
I’ve heard it suggested that if Biden really opposed her going he would have told her so and she would have backed off. There may be a bit of good cop/bad cop going on here.
This could very well be true, seems unlikely to me she goes if he really did not want her to. Yet if this is indeed what she did, it does not seem worth the risk.
Other issues must go on too, in part precisely to show that our system can continue to work.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but the DCCC helped defeat Peter Meijer in the Michigan GOP primary this week by its insultingly cynical funding of insurrectionist John Gibbs.
Peter Meijer was a rare example of GOP profile in courage — and the DCCC just helped defeat him.
So much for Democratic Party values and priorities.
Ms. Pelosi should have put a stop to this betrayal rather than seeking headlines and photo-ops in Taiwan.
Dems are learning how to play hardball with PUKES. So now they are poised to flip a red seat blue in November.
This is not “hardball”, it’s bean-ball.
We betrayed one of the few GOP House members who did the right thing.
We should have stayed out of this primary race. This choice disgusts and revolts me. It is worse than an unforced error.
The DCCC betrayed everything I value — and betrayed me and every Democrat like me who values elected officials who feel obligated to do the right thing regardless of party dogma.
It makes me ashamed to be a Democrat.
To be clear. I do not now, nor ever have, supported Democrats funding Republicans period. I was simply pointing out that there are those in the DCCC that disagree with me on this issue by using the “hard ball” rational.
Honestly, I thought every House Republican lost their race the moment they voted to impeach the TRUMPTURD.
Then there was no need to betray Mr. Meijer.
Western Michigan is a culturally unique place that is in some ways becoming more Democratic friendly since it is pro-immigrant, pro-refugee, and surprisingly pro-LGBT. It is also staunchly pro life and is one of the few areas in the country where a middle class lifestyle n still be supported by manufacturing and tradesmen work.
James Fallows has a 10 year old profile of this area that still holds up. Places like Hope College and Calvin College are where you’ll likely find BLM banners or Hate has No Home Here banners in the same windows you’ll see the fetal outlines of a pro-life message. Hillsdale is also around here and is so conservative it refuses all federal funding.
This is why it’s had a remarkable run of electing and re-electing anti Trump Republicans like Fred Upton in an adjacent district, the now capital L Libertarian Justin Amash, and Peter Meijer of the Meijer family (a huge chain of Wal-Mart style superstores throughout the Midwest). It’s also home to the DeVos family which owns AmWay the largest employer.
Two friends of mine grew up here in conservative Calvinist homes which is not uncommon in this most ancestrally Dutch party of the country. They both journeyed to other faith traditions (liberal new agey Protestant and traditionalist Catholic respectively) but have a very nutty crunchy approach to Christianity that would reject Trumps Christian nationalism but still reject the secular agenda of the Democrats. My very new age friend is much more likely to back Bernie typed in the primary but go Green in the general than vote for the Dems and my more conservative friend held his nose for Bush, McCain, and Romney and abstained in 2016 and voted for the Solidarity Party in 2020 (it’s platform is very influenced by Catholic social teaching and is anti war pro labor, pro life, pro immigrant).
So I am confident Peter Meijer would have won the general election, I am not confident the Democrats can, especially in a year where the economy is breaking against them and their unlikely to keep the house. So this was a huge gamble on the part of the DNCC and one that could very well backfire and install a MAGA Republican at the expense of an honorable one.
Your profile in courage Meijer just endorsed MAGAT PUKE nominee at a “unity event” saying it’s “time to come together” against the Democrats. As reported on MSNBC this morning by Bulwork’s Amanda Carpenter.
What did you expect?
This one is on us, my friend.
I expect ALL politicians to put their country before party like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger did.
Mr. Meijer DID put their country before their party like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.
Democrats responded by cynically funding his seditionist primary opponent.
There is no way to defend funding the primary campaign of John Gibbs as putting country before party — it is just the opposite.
I expect Democrats to live by the things they espouse. Funding John Gibbs was a betrayal of everything we say we stand for.
Meijer’s MAGAT PUKE primary opponent winner is a Big Lie election denier so this one is not on us. Meijer should have endorsed the Democratic nominee or stayed out of it.
The world didn’t end.
FWIW a friend from undergrad is living there now with her husband and young son and she shared a CNN article written by someone in Taiwan basically arguing it’s not a big deal either way when it comes to cross strait relations but is a big deal when it comes to signaling to Taiwan that America has its back. I do not agree with this perspective, but do think it’s important to concede that the trip was very well received in Taiwan.
In my view we do not yet know if this was a dodged bullet, called bluff, or the start of something worse.. This could be the apex of tensions over the matter or the start of a new and more dangerous round of escalation. Too early to tell.
It is ALWAYS worth standing up for democracy IMO.
Is that what Biden did in Saudi Arabia?
I think realpolitik has an honestly and consistency to it that blind faith in American exceptionalism does not. We forget that Bush Senior when he urged the Kurds to rise up, Obama when he made the Cairo speech and talked about red lines, or even when we initially backed Myanmar’s democracy these words were undercut by a failure to supply the forces of freedom and have their backs. In the case of Egypt, we have arguably backed a worse regime than what used to be there.
Prioritization is another thing the left and right fail to get about politics and it’s why compromise has become much harder and hard diplomacy like the Iran deal gets undermined by blind idealism. This makes using military force more likely.
So we cannot defend democracy everywhere since we would be at war with half the planet, what we can do is pick and choose our battles. Ukraine, after it was attacked, was worth defending for reasons Georgia and Crimea were not. Taiwan is worth defending but it is also worth using diplomacy to steer China back toward a tacit acknowledgement of the status quo. Constructive engagement like we had during the Clinton and Bush years.
I am happy to shelter any dissident from Hong Kong or the Uighur community, but the reality is, those are states subject to Chinese sovereignty. Just as rolling back authoritarianism in Russia is not a realistic policy goal.
And beating some of these bad actors requires working with other ones. Erdogan, Modi, Maduro, and MBS’ problems with human rights take a backseat to getting Turkey and India to help us block Russia and China, and Maduro and MBS to sell our allies oil we do not want the Russians selling. Frankly a side deal with Iran could ease those oil prices as well, but it seems out of the realm of likelihood due to their rivalry with our other allies in the region.
I hate realpolitik! It’s too transactional and so often betrays our values (and I would argue by extension our true interests). I am absolutely NOT saying we should take the initiative and go in with guns blazing to impose democracy everywhere just cuz. However we should always be prepared to back up the asperations of those who like we did in 1776 took initiative in this direction. Honesty and consistency require always putting these values first. Not doing so is a key reason we are hated in some corners of the world – we preach liberty yet prop up their oppressors. I’d prefer we weren’t as cozy with a kingdom that seems to play both sides and produces too much of our oil, but as a press secretary once said, “That is Saudi Arabia, our partners in peace.”
So here are some realist takes on why Taiwan is worth defending and why this visit actually exposes Americas present weakness at deterring said invasion.
So this visit was all talk. The reality is, simulation after simulation shows that we lose any war over Taiwan. Chinese special forces know exactly where and how to capture Taiwan’s president and this week is showing how vulnerable the island would be to a quickly implemented blockade and missile barrage to destroy their Air Force.
The Chinese military is much more sophisticated than it was in 1997, the last time a U.S. Speaker visited and they have used their soft power to get many states to support them or stay neutral. It would be a lot more difficult to rally nations in an anti-China coalition than it has been for an anti-Russian one. So unless we are willing to back up our words with more weapons, more training, and more coordination with allies to secure this island democracy.
This Taiwan trip was utterly foolish.
Whatever it takes to make the world safe for democracy. I’m no more afraid of Chinese saber-rattling on this than I am of Russia’s if we were to more aggressively assist Ukraine.
Heh — I don’t doubt that.
In my view, you are in utter denial about the risks of each.
I think we can up the ante on Ukraine since Russia is much weaker than we expected them to be. That said, if they are going to be our client state we need to rein in Zelensky and his wild eyed promises or liberating Crimea. I think if we up the aid and their forces can retake Kherson and some of the remaining Black Sea coastline under Russian occupation than that’s a big win. Especially since most people (although not me) thought the Russians would be partying in Kiev by now.
I would agree that our Taiwan policy is a mess, not helped by this visit, and needs to be clarified with actions as well as words. We simply are not making the right kind of defense investments and coalition building diplomacy to prepare for and deter an invasion
I am hopeful Blinken’s presence in the region can help solidify these bonds. Marcos and his family are kleptocratic scumbags, but he’s been much better then the erratic Duterte (so far) on shoring up defense ties to the US and regional partners. So is Australia and NZ. I think the Abe assassination woke Japan out of its 77 year slumber to realize it has to play a part in preventing the next war. South Korea’s conservative president is problematic on social issues but much more clear eyed about working with Japan and the US to deter China and NK.
My wife and I are re-watching the Harry Potter sequence in preparation for our two grandchildren becoming old enough to enjoy them.
I find the “Harry Potter” movies a better metaphor for today’s reality than “West Wing”.
I have trouble reconciling your stated desire to “stand up for democracy” with your tolerance or acceptance of our unholy and immoral long-term alliance with Saudi Arabia.
The Saudis care nothing for democracy, human rights, or anything else besides money, oil, and power. They show utter contempt for what they view as American naivete.
There is a difference between being prepared to back up our our friends when they are challenged and transparently trolling a superpower.
This trip to Taiwan was a pointless and dangerous provocation that accomplished nothing while spurring a Chinese response of still unknown intensity.
I think I said I don’t like how cozy we are with Saudi Arabia. I’m not interested in going to war with them, but they are a key example of regimes we prop up because its supposedly in our interest, yet exposes us to charges of hypocrisy on the democracy question. CJ Cregg’s comment in the West Wing link was dripping with sarcasm and contempt, which is how I meant it as well.
Yet.
From yesterday’s New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/03/us/politics/china-exercises-taiwan-fears.html):
From today’s New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/03/world/asia/taiwan-china-military-exercises.html)”
This visit has kicked a hornet’s nest — and for no discernable gain to anybody.
Yeah these are the kinds of missteps that can escalate to conflict. Unless the US is prepared to back up its words with a much more serious defense commitment to the island, I do not see how war can be avoided. Especially since we continue to isolate them on trade and refuse to trade with regional partners who should be natural allies because of misguided protectionism.
America faces its most urgent existential threat since the mid-19th century. If the GOP takes over control of the House (with or without actual votes), then our own freedom is very much at risk. There is no higher priority than defending America from the insurrection led by the fascist and white-supremacist GOP.
America is closer to violent civil war than we have been since 1861. Some argue that it has already begun.
Nancy Pelosi is the most powerful Democrat in the House.
What did this Taiwan trip do to increase the chances that Democrats preserve or expand our House Majority?
What did this Taiwan trip do to weaken the insurgency?
What did this Taiwan trip do to strengthen the rule of law?
What did this Taiwan trip do to spur the DoJ into action?
What did this Taiwan trip do to help any Democratic candidate in any battleground district in the upcoming midterm?
What did this Taiwan trip do to hurt any GOP candidate in any district in the upcoming midterm?
We all know the answers to these questions.
The only effect of this trip has been to dramatically heighten tension in the region. The risk of military conflict — intentional or accidental — has exploded.
What would any of us say if this had been done by a Republican?
I’m disgusted, ashamed, and appalled by this.
Hmmm…the visit to Taiwan could affect the semiconductor industry, something that her husband, vulture capitalist Paul Pelosi might have significant investments with now or pending. That’s my take on this.
In fact Newt Gingrich did the same thing during the last Taiwan Strait Crisis. He’s praising Pelosi for this, which should be all you need to know it was a dumb egotistical idea.
I for one still like politics stopping at the water’s edge. Plus we should never automatically agree or disagree with someone, but take each case on its merits.
It’s impossible to take anything its merits when you rule out discussion like you did below.
On its merits, this exercise risked everything and has no gain.
I don’t believe I’ve ever ruled out discussion. Isn’t discussion the very reason we all participate on BMG?
I was referring to your characterization of my questions as “frankly pretty silly”.
I’m confident that if you were able to answer any of my questions in any reasonable way, you would have done so.
Those questions trying to connect Pelosi’s trip to midterm politics are frankly pretty silly. Between elections somebody needs to still, you know, GOVERN. There are people working to win in November and there are people working on protecting democracy. That doesn’t mean everything else gets put on hold. In fact, if it did that would be a pretty weak case for keeping Dems in charge.
I see. Connecting a Democratic Speaker of the House to mid-term politics when the Democratic majority and representative democracy itself is at risk is “frankly pretty silly”.
We are not “between elections”, and this has nothing at all to do about governing. There is ZERO nexus between this trip and ANY issue of foreign or domestic policy. NONE.
No changes to the status of Taiwan or our support for Taiwan are even remotely on the agenda.
The only change this trolling could possibly accomplish is to start a second full-scale war — as if the war between Russia and the Ukraine isn’t enough.
This comment is the only thing I see here that is “frankly pretty silly”.
Our interests in this region are ongoing and always on the agenda, but not always directly connected to domestic partisan fortunes.
Perry Mason would say “Unresponsive, immaterial, and irrelevant”.
If not “directly connected to domestic partisan fortunes”, then please share with us what specific gains were accomplished with this trip.
“Ongoing” and “always on the agenda” is just handwaving.
Ms. Pelosi was Speaker from 2007 to 2011, and again since from 2019 to the President. Apparently there were no “ongoing” interests in the region that were “on the agenda” in any of those years, since the summer of 2022 is the first time this has come up since Newt Gingrich visited Taiwan in 1997 (provoking a similar but less intense crisis).
What is different in 2022? Why Taiwan and why now?
I don’t have all your answers, and I’m not convinced all your questions have good answers. I would describe your questions using Perry Mason’s words.
It appears that you in fact have none of the answers. It also appears you feel that my questions are “unresponsive, immaterial, and irrelevant”
This blind loyalty, combined with an absolute refusal to answer or even accept the validity of perfectly reasonable questions, is not going to help increase a Democratic majority in the House and Senate in November.
Speaker Pelosi affirmed on MSNBC this morning that the authoritarian leader of China shouldn’t and doesn’t control the schedule of members of Congress.
Come on, Fred — this is schoolyard stuff.
It appears that the most important mid-term elections in the last century don’t control or influence the schedule of Nancy Pelosi.
I want to know what, if any, national or policy interests were advanced by this trip — beyond simple posturing.
Speaker Pelosi accused Xi of acting like a scared bully. Any time our leaders
defend democracy against authoritarianism our national / policy interests ARE advanced.
I disagree with you about this. Taunting the leader of a nuclear superpower without a clear understanding of why and of what changes are desired does not advance our interests.
Was the behavior of Xi different last year? Why now?
What motivated Ms. Pelosi to make this trip at this time?
The Speaker did not taunt anyone. China did all the taunting. Screw China.
This exchange isn’t constructive.
You seem to be so busy talking that you apparently aren’t hearing — or don’t want to answer — my questions:
I’m not interested in abstract cheerleading.
I’ve asked two specific questions.
I’m done. Time to move on.
Fair enough.
Sometimes the Speaker leads Congressional delegations – that’s all.
In other words, sometimes the Speaker grandstands — and brings a full-scale military conflict with China closer in the meantime.
It is striking that even Ms. Pelosi’s most passionate loyalists are either unable or unwilling to offer even one specific plausible gain resulting from this risk. No national interest, no security gain, no political gain.
No gain. Not one.