The DOMA decisions inspired the House leadership of both parties to hold unusual Wednesday press conferences. I’ve already mentioned that the GOP sort of welshed at the end of its avail and nixed press questions. The Democrats took questions, which led to this nice little moment.
REPORTER: Congresswoman Bachmann put out a statement and she essentially said that the decision today cannot undo God’s word. How do you guys react to that?
NANCY PELOSI: Who cares?
Normally, we shouldn’t applaud pols who blow off questions. Pelosi, doubtlessly, was feeling the rush from one of the most thrilling, where-were-you-when days in recent California history. But this was refreshing anyway, because she refused to play the Game. The Game is getting members of Congress (or really anyone) to dump on one another to turn an issue into a tiff between famous people. In this case, the first player in the game was Michele Bachmann, a retiring member of Congress whose clout is diminishing every day. She’s a lame duck, and she’s never been much of a legislator (apart from quickly authoring repeal bills that don’t make it into law), so her influence is only as real as her enemies make it. Every time a HuffPost reader clicks on a Bachmann story and gets angry, presto—Bachmann has influence.
Pelosi figured out how to make her influence disappear. Pretty easy, once you see it done.
And the other video of the hour is this call from the president to the Prop 8 victors, an amazing TV accident that loses only some of the oomph from how bored the traveling Obama sounds.
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