Perhaps I’m missing something here, but should the Republican Party have been in such a tizzy about “saving” the country from Democratic minority leader Nancy Pelosi?
Nancy, after all, is a very attractive, polite (even former House majority leader Dick Armey says so), politically-savvy 66-year-old grandmother who for 10 terms has represented a San Francisco Congressional district where they consider her a national treasure... though too conservative.
How can any change not be an improvement for this do-nothing GOP-controlled Congress that has an embarrassing 13 percent approval rating?
Is this not an institution on cruise control for rehab or Leavenworth? Is this not the Congress that debated gay marriage and flag burning at a time when American families were losing their jobs, pensions and health benefits?
Is this not the Congress of Duke Cunningham and Bob Ney, one in jail and one packing to go there? Is this not the House where former majority leader Tom DeLay and four of his top aides were indicted for money-laundering?
Is this not the House where the current speaker is under attack by his own party for covering up a sex scandal?
Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri calls the prospect of Pelosi becoming speaker “just plain scary” and, horror or horrors, warns us that with her in charge, Democrats just might establish a “Department of Peace.”Apparently, the very thought of peace breaking out is enough to galvanize the GOP base.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist claimed Pelosi will “compromise 100 percent of our National Security.”
Accustomed to such GOP taunts, Pelosi responds that a woman would be tougher on defense than her male colleagues.
“Think of a lioness,” she said. “You come anywhere near our cubs, you’re dead.”
At a time when a “culture of corruption” has engulfed the GOP-controlled Congress, how can their party leaders demonize the squeaky-clean Pelosi, who has zero tolerance for payoffs or shady deals, regardless of party? Republicans were stunned at her quick action removing Rep. William Jefferson from the Ways and Means Committee for allegedly taking bribes.
To the politically paranoid, her San Francisco base is enough to disqualify her from any office higher than school crossing guard. But San Francisco’s only crime is tolerance, and her East Coast upbringing is the stuff of novels, hailing from a strong family tradition of public service.Her father,Thomas D’Alesandro Jr., is her role model and a local legend, serving as the mayor of Baltimore for 12 years after five terms in Congress. This week’s election could prove an historic one, with a result long overdue: As speaker, she will have reached the highest position of power ever achieved by a woman — third in line of Presidential succession. Whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican or an Independent, if you yearn for a return to good, honest government and have a genuine concern for America’s future, what is there not to like about Nancy Pelosi?
FDR had his “first 100 days” that changed America, but everything moves at a faster pace today, so Nancy Pelosi has her first 100 hours. On that lightning pace and with her swinging the gavel, Democrats will drain the swamp of corruption, roll back the subsidies to Big Oil, increase the minimum wage, adopt the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and broaden stem cell research.
Pelosi’s agenda may be scary to the GOP base, but a welcome change of direction for most Americans.
President Bush campaigned as “a uniter, not a divider” and proceeded to become the most polarizing American politician in modern times. Under Pelosi’s leadership in the House, Democrats have their most unified voting record in half a century. If she can bring fractious Democrats together, think what she can do for the country.
Victor Kamber is a consultant to labor unions and president of Carmen Group Communications. His political views are expressed regularly in his blog, accessible at www.victorkamber.com.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 9, 2006. Read the original PDF.