House Democrats are in disarray. Members of the ruling party are struggling to negotiate among themselves over how many trillions of dollars the federal government should spend on infrastructure projects and the radical transformation of the American economy.
Left-wing activists led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.), a serial staff abuser, are acting like kindergartners. They're throwing a tantrum because Sens. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D., Ariz.) refuse to give in to their demands—e.g., spend more. As a result, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) has started to treat them like kindergartners.
During a private meeting of House Democrats on Friday, the speaker led the class in an exercise commonly used on large groups of children who are inclined to speak all at once without waiting their turn. Pelosi asked members who support passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill to stand up. (Most of them did.)
The results of the exercise were immediately leaked and reported by Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News. That prompted Pelosi to crack down further by mandating the use of cubbies, a common feature of elementary school classrooms. The cubbies were wheeled into the hallway outside the meeting, and members were forced to place their cell phones inside to prevent additional details from the meeting leaking to reporters.
"That was a private family conversation except for the people who are putting it on Twitter," Rep. Peter DeFazio (D., Ore.) complained as he left the meeting. Things got so bad that President Joe Biden, 78, was summoned to meet with House Democrats later this afternoon. He will presumably sit quietly in the corner while White House chief of staff Ron Klain explains the president's position.
Sinema, meanwhile, left Washington, D.C., earlier this morning like a total boss. One of the last remaining adults in the Democratic Party, the senator from Arizona is presumed to be downing glasses of wine while her colleagues continue to squabble like children.