Speeches never matter much, except when they do. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries’ first big speech to Congress as Democratic minority leader, delivered in the wee hours of Saturday morning, went viral over the weekend. Put to hip-hop beats, it has been viewed millions of times.
The ascension of the House minority leader is not generally an occasion for important or memorable rhetoric. Yet this speech seemed to capture the far-flung diversity, ephemeral aspirations and democratic defiance of the Democratic Party like a July 4 firefly trapped in a bottle. It was both a generational and cultural coming out.
Jeffries may never match former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s political dominance of the House. But he has already eclipsed the most glaring and consistent weakness of her leadership: She was rarely a great messenger.
