What do you think about Pelosi planning a large dinner party?

The social distancing was good.
Just glad to see they did cancel in the end though.

I saw that the Republicans have one scheduled for their newly elected officials on Sunday. Did they cancel theirs also?

I’m relieved to finally witness our legislators leading by example.

@stanleybmanly How is it leading by example if she actually planned it? Leading by example after being criticized? If McConnell planned such a thing would you be so forgiving after we have been living with guidelines for months now and the country is bring told to not get together with your friends and family for Thanksgiving?

@chyna No idea, I wasn’t aware of it. That’s a good question. Of course, the difference is the Democrats are the ones who have been preaching about being cautious and criticizing Trump for not leading by example regarding masks.

@ALL A lot of people won’t see the difference between a crowded rally and a dinner party. Trump always said he didn’t wear a mask because he was distanced and tested, isn’t that the same as Pelosi saying, they are distanced?

It was cancelled, that’s what is important now. Do you know anything about the venue? Spacing, staffing, ventilation? Maybe it was planned before the frightening surge? The election wasn’t on an arbitrary date, maybe booking and planning had been happening since summer, before things looked so bad.
The important thing is that it was cancelled. Can you link to the details to show that it was recently and poorly planned?

I’m glad she cancelled it. I don’t have any sympathy for anyone planning parties like that right now. People are postponing their weddings and even skipping funerals. In my opinion, impersonal gatherings like office parties and political celebrations should be the very last events to be reintroduced. They don’t bring anyone joy or a feeling of connection, and could cause so much pain.

The republicans did not cancel their party. When I get home, I will link the article.

What a shock!^^^

@canidmajor I think the big question is when was it cancelled? If it was just a couple of days ago then she was not thinking ahead on the optics, which is what Democrats would be quick to say about the Republicans. I agree it could easily have been planned 4 years ago. The date anyway. I also think it easily is well spaced between tables, no different that going out to dinner at a restaurant that is at 50%. We still are telling people not to be more than 25 people in many states and 10 people in other states. People can’t figure out why one thing is different than another. I personally wouldn’t risk a dinner with other house members unmasked at my table unless we could all be tested.

If the Republican party is well spaced and well planned then are you ok with it? A lot of jellies seem to not be.

I would expect any official gathering would require testing beforehand, and masks required, in addition to tables being apart and seating by couples. The House has some pretty good protocols in place to protect staff and Members.

@zenvelo I read 4 people to a 10 round table. It’s the optics though. No matter how reasonable the plan was to keep people safe. People don’t read details, they just hear a dinner party and think it is hypocritical. They will say for the elite (socialists) it’s ok, but not for anyone else.

@JLeslie It sounds like that’s what you thought but most of the rest of us didn’t. And since we only heard about it after it was canceled because of the upsurge, it’s really not a big deal.

@janbb It sounded that way from my original question? Where I said there would be distancing and it was cancelled? Quite honestly I don’t see how the surge changes anything objectively. I know it probably does to the average person who wants to have Thanksgiving with family, but the risk has never left us.

@JLeslie There’s a lot more to it than simply spacing, as I mentioned. I think the Republicans should cancel theirs, too. You seem to want us to be unfairly outraged at the Republicans, while we give Pelosi a pass for similar behavior, thus proving…what? That we are not as fair and balanced as you perceive yourself to be?

Well, I am tired and horrified at the death toll, and disgusted by many many things, but I simply can’t muster the energy for outrage about a cancelled dinner event that we don’t really know anything about.

Just toss in a Prince Prospero, they’d have a regular Masque of the Red Death. Regardless of which party throws the shin dig.

I am so angry about this dinner that never happened! Clearly Pelosi is a menace and Trump deserves two more terms!!

Oh, wait, sorry. I misspelled “I don’t care at all. We have a country to fix.”

@canidmajor I don’t want anyone to be unfair, I want just the opposite, and I want that from Republicans and Democrats. I want people to be able to imagine the same before from the opposite team, which ever that team is, and be equal in their reaction to whatever it is, not just this.

Regardless, too many people out there in the real world can’t think straight. They think the rules keep changing, but that is because they can’t think for themselves. They can’t be careful without rules and orders.

Anyway, for this Q I was just interested in people’s reactions.

I do think if it was the Republicans making the headlines first about this most jellies would not stop to ask when was it planned and if they were going to distance and saying note they did cancel it. It looks like Pelosi was doing everything to make it as safe as possible, but nothing is 100% and why risk it?

I’ve been saying for two months the holidays are going to be a bunch of superspreaders, I don’t see why anyone is just learning the holidays are risky, with or without the surge going on now.

My two thoughts: It would help if there were a link with more details. I haven’t heard about this anywhere else but here.

Second thought is, it was cancelled, so it’s water under the bridge.

Link. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/pelosi-cancels-capitol-dinner-after-chelsea-clinton-leads-backlash/ar-BB1b0mO7

No, @JLeslie, your call for “fairness” holds no water here. I absolutely cannot appreciate the perspective of people who support a group that condones the forced surgical sterilization of prisoners, the keeping of children in cages, the attempt to harm millions of people by stripping away healthcare during a pandemic, the willful promotion of refusing to support public safety measures (the result being the unnecessary deaths of tens of thousands of Americans), the viewing of literal Nazis as “very fine people”, the racism, the sexism, and so on and so on and so on.

What you refer to as being fair in this context, I see as being an apologist for atrocities.

And I’m out.

^^Support? LMAO. Who is talking about that? I’m talking about not giving them room to call us hypocrites. To market Democrats as elitist socialists. To not give them material.

Your answer is the same parroted answer I hear all the time and I don’t understand why Democrats don’t get it. Megan McCain was crucified half the time on The View for stating how red country thinks to try to help beat Trump! Her mom campaigned against Trump. Most Democrats heard her as defending Trump and Trumpers, which was not what she was doing most of the time at all. There are times she agrees with conservative policy, but mostly she was consistent in disliking Trump.

McCain tried, Michael Moore has tried, many of us try, but a huge portion of Democrats don’t want to listen and we were lucky Biden won. We suffered down ticket though.

I don’t see where I’m defending Republicans, I don’t think there should be a dinner held by either party.

“Some animals are more equal than other animals”. -Animal Farm

Today on the news, they said Trump is still planning the White House’s annual Christmas and Chanukah dinner parties, where usually hundreds attend. Should be interesting.

@jca2 It will be a horrific super spreader.

What if it’s planned how Pelosi was planning hers? 4 to a table of 10 and tables spaced apart? You all give credit to Pelosi for cancelling, but she was planning the details up until that point. Up until the backlash. No matter when the date was first scheduled, the planning was actively being done now in accordance with current health guidelines in her statement.

@JLeslie You have seen the difference between White House events where no masks or distances are observed and Democrats who are always masked and distanced haven’t you? What would ever make you think that the White House was finally observing precautions? Why do you need to insist on false equivalencies? Can’t you just be wrong once in a while?

@janbb If Trump plans his party with everyone squished in it won’t be equivalent. I point out how things aren’t the same all of the time. When Republicans say protests and Biden won celebrations are the same as Trump maskless rallies I’m the first to point out the difference.

I don’t think either political party should have any dinner.

I’m wrong all of the time. I don’t mind being wrong.

@JLeslie to answer your question above: she led by correcting her mistake, accepting it as such, and cancelling the party.