She's the most senior Democrat outside of Biden and Harris. I think she just wanted to shore up the anti-China cred of the Democrats going into the Midterms without actually having to do anything legislatively. Democrats watch polling like hawks, and the polling against China is very strong right now. The Democrats are naturally soft on China so this is an issue that the Republicans can outflank them on and get a lot of advantage.
You're probably right; they're doing it for election-related optics.
As an engineer, I always forget to look at the non-practical angles and forget that for political types, "optics" is about the only thing they consider to be "practical".
I mean, I'm all for Pelosi sticking her neck out. My disappointment will know no (lower) bounds if China actually makes good on their threats.
My question is ... why her? What does the trip actually accomplish?
She's the most senior Democrat outside of Biden and Harris. I think she just wanted to shore up the anti-China cred of the Democrats going into the Midterms without actually having to do anything legislatively. Democrats watch polling like hawks, and the polling against China is very strong right now. The Democrats are naturally soft on China so this is an issue that the Republicans can outflank them on and get a lot of advantage.
You're probably right; they're doing it for election-related optics.
As an engineer, I always forget to look at the non-practical angles and forget that for political types, "optics" is about the only thing they consider to be "practical".