Taiwan: What Was Pelosi Thinking? -

The American Spectator | USA News and Politics   "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was deliberate act of provocation whose only justification was hubris and personal vanity

"Pelosi knows well the rising anger of the American electorate that has been brought about by many of the current administration’s actions: the incompetent and hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan completed so that President Joe Biden could make a somber announcement last Nov. 11; the raging inflation of over 9 percent and the disingenuous explanation of its full causes; the preposterous effort to differentiate between the technical and common definitions of a recession; the pandering to influential progressives such as Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who would end air travel, replace or upgrade buildings, and protect even those unwilling to work with her “Green New Deal” estimated to “cost between $51 trillion and $93 trillion over ten years”; a distracting obsession with identity politics, including the debate over pronouns and what constitutes gender; the introduction of critical race theory even into the U.S. military; the drive to teach sexual orientation and identity in elementary curricula; an unprecedented wave of unauthorized immigration; the inability of Vice President Kamala Harris to express herself cogently; and questions about the overall ability and stamina of the president.

"This is not a glowing report card, and Pelosi must sense that so many of the American people are now saying, “Enough.” Indeed, many observers are predicting a massive Republican sweep of the House in November.

"Against such an array of negativity, Pelosi must be hoping to protect her legacy as a politician and staunch defender of human rights, especially if she will no longer be speaker of the House come November. Indeed, Pelosi has a history of expressing opposition to Beijing: In 1991, she left her entourage without Chinese escorts and unfurled a banner in Tiananmen Square, supporting those demonstrators killed there.". . .