Andrea Mitchell isn’t just a midday MSNBC host, she is also arguably former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s number one media fan, so naturally she got triggered when former communications advisors to former Speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan, Brendan Buck defended Republicans booting Pelosi out of her office in the Capitol in the aftermath of Democrats joining with eight Republicans to unseat Kevin McCarthy.
Mitchell began, “Let me ask you about the retaliatory action that was taken within an hour or so, taking away the ceremonial rooms of Nancy Pelosi. Speakers need offices in the Capitol and they by-- I think Pelosi let John Boehner –”
Buck interrupted to add some context, “Well, Boehner left, but Denny Hastert had on office in the Capital—”
Not acknowledging that important detail, Mitchell continued, “And also let Paul Ryan keep offices for a while, not sure which happened, but she did not take the rooms away and did that in the past.”
After repeating that Boehner and Ryan did not stay long after their tenures, Buck got to the larger point, “I will confess a, maybe, unpopular opinion. I don't have any problem with Patrick McHenry taking away an office space from Nancy Pelosi. They booted—they just basically worked with Matt Gaetz to construct a coup of the Republican leadership.”
Mitchell did not like that response as she huffed, “Well, the fact is they changed the locks while she was in San Francisco and couldn't –”
Undeterred, Buck doubled down, “I don't think that when you participate in a coup of the Republican leadership that you should expect any professional courtesy at this point. I don’t think any—I think any collegiality goes out the door at that point. So, I know that may be unpopular, but I have absolutely no problem with that.”
Buck is correct. For years, Democrats and their media friends demanded Republicans put the country before party and McCarthy even claimed that Pelosi declared that if a motion to vacate came up, Democrats would do just that. Naturally this did not matter to Mitchell and when given that choice on Tuesday, Democrats put their partisan self-interest first because McCarthy allegedly hurt their feelings and they think Republican dysfunction benefits them at the ballot box.
Here is a transcript for the October 4 show:
MSNBC Andrea Mitchell Reports
10/4/2023
12:12 PM ET
ANDREA MITCHELL: Let me ask you about the retaliatory action that was taken within an hour or so, taking away the ceremonial rooms of Nancy Pelosi. Speakers need offices in the Capitol and they by-- I think Pelosi let John Boehner –
BRENDAN BUCK: Well, Boehner left, but Denny Hastert had on office in the Capital—
MITCHELL: And also let Paul Ryan keep offices for a while, not sure which happened, but she did not take the rooms away and did that in the past.
BUCK: Well, Boehner and Ryan were both gone, sort of, immediately after they left the speakership, so they didn't need any space. I will confess a, maybe, unpopular opinion. I don't have any problem with Patrick McHenry taking away an office space from Nancy Pelosi. They booted—they just basically worked with Matt Gaetz to construct a coup of the Republican leadership.
MITCHELL: Well, the fact is they changed the locks while she was in San Francisco and couldn't –
BUCK: I don't think that when you participate in a coup of the Republican leadership that you should expect any professional courtesy at this point. I don’t think any—I think any collegiality goes out the door at that point. So, I know that may be unpopular, but I have absolutely no problem with that.
