Cross-posted locally.
Yes, I’m serious.
Given the dynamics of these things, she is unlikely to return as Speaker when Democrats take the House back, even if that happens in just two years.
I would like to note that she served her country and the Democratic Party honorably. She showed toughness when she had to, and she was vital in passing the healthcare law, which remains the signature accomplishment of the last two years.
She defended a couple of people that I would not have defended, but she hasn’t had a personal scandal or even a whiff of one. And frankly, such loyalty (within reason) is the side I’d like to see leaders err on, because too many people in politics are too quick to throw others under the proverbial bus.
There was that awkward moment when she said, “Oh, he [Obama] was for a lot of things on the campaign trail,” but she was hardly the only one who had that type of thought. I’m not going to blame her for saying it out loud.
She “took impeachment off the table” when she took the gavel. This annoyed many people, but I believe it was the right thing to do. It avoided creating a revenge cycle of impeachment proceedings. And it did not exclude other actions taken, say, by the Justice Department. People can say it created a certain climate where that was more difficult, and they may have a point, but let’s not kid ourselves, any such action was always going to be difficult. It should be difficult.
Finally, when the GOP tried to make her a lightning rod — really starting on day one, but especially this year — and some Democratic members distanced themselves to save themselves (see above), she never wavered. She never condemned anyone who did that. Privately, who knows, it had to hurt and maybe that showed. But in public, she held strong.
Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Boy, if I had a quarter for every watercooler comment I had about her that was misogynistic, I’d be a rich man. She’ll go down in history as one of the great speakers of all time.
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p>How an affable grandmother gets turned into a castrating bitch is beyond me.
When women are in the political realm, both sides have no problem with objectifying and humiliating women when they disagree with them.
Yes on Rice. Whatever you think of her decisions and beliefs as Sec. State (and just about everyone on BMG disagrees with them) She is a clearly competent woman who overcame obstacles such as race and gender to become one of the most powerful figures in America. She was also the only member of that administration who could explain what they thought they were doing in a way that made clear coherent sense. It may not have been right but it was clearly rational.
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p>Palin is a blowhard idiot who has made herself into a millionaire by casting stones at anyone who disagrees with her and apparently has exacted revenge against anyone who has ever crossed her. I think the criticisms aimed at her have been wholly legitimate and the accusations of sexism clearly blown out of proportion (mostly by her.)
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p>In other words, I think Rice has been seriously under estimated as a professional person based in part on her gender while Palin has been ridiculously over estimated. In Palin’s case her gender may even have helped her.
… anyone on the left who isn’t a professional comedian who misogynised Rice. My impression of criticism of Palin center around competency issues (legitimate and not misogynistic), issues of her resignation (legitimate and not misogynistic), issues of relationship with the media (legitimate and not misogynistic), and issues of self-promotion of her celebrity (legitimate and not misogynistic).
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p>I know victimhood can be popular, but I’d like to see some cites before conceding the point.
Palin invites contempt on many, many levels. So why Andrew Sullivan (eg) is interested about Trig’s birth (eg), I can’t possibly imagine.
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p>I do seem to remember other instances of misogyny vs. Palin that were unfortunately pretty par for the course, for a female pol. That she is a corrosive, proud ignoramus doesn’t excuse the misogynistic abuse that tends to come along for the ride.
…saying “the truth hurts, but not everything that hurts is the truth” we can also say “misogyny is directed at women, but not everything directed at women is misogyny.”
that a castrating bitch gets turned into an affable grandmother…aka Barbara Bush.
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p>And before the conservatives jump on me, no, that isn’t unfair rhetoric. She really IS a total nightmare, that woman.
When evacuees were relocated from their flooded homes to the Houston astrodome, ole Babs said “so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway,” she said, “so this is working very well for them.”
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p>Some grandmother.
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p>http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09…
2008: Pelosi used her leadership PAC to pay her husband’s real estate business about $100,000.
http://www.washingtontimes.com…
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p>2009: Pelosi foolishly stepped-in to the muck of the “interrogation techiques” issue by essentially claiming that the CIA lied to her:
http://www.boston.com/news/nat…
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p>2009/2010: Right-wing front group Judicial Watch made some considerable hay with the “Air Force” jet issue. They argued that she over-used Air Force aircraft, taking 85 flights from March 2009 through June 2010, costing the taxpayers more than $2 million. Creative spinsters on the right were able to use this “scandal” as justification for opposing efforts to address climate change (cap-and-trade legislation).
http://www.judicialwatch.org/n…
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p>But, really, I agree with you that these are very small potatoes and she actually did a pretty remarkable job as Speaker. In tough times and with little personal scandal.
they lied to her. I think they did but dont have the link
Here’s one.
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p>Here’s another one.
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p>Also, Bob Graham backed Pelosi’s claim.
and has been doing it for years. Carter, William Clinton, Hillary Clinton (heck, Chelsea Clinton), Tom Daschle, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, Barney Frank, Ted Kennedy to name some recent ones.
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p>The public has a high name recognition of Democrats who aren’t presidents — far higher than their Republican counterparts (short of Newt Gingrich). That wouldn’t be so bad for Democrats if it were the case that they had name recognition for their work, instead of simply the repeated, repeated, repeated nasty personal smears the GOP lays out on the Democratic leaders over and over and over until their personal favorabilities tank. It’s ugly but seemingly effective politics.
… like the tactic is to take “leader on the other side that I disagree with” and turn them into “monster that will destroy America if they get their way”. This, of course, plays well to their messaging strategy of stoking the fear within their base.
statement is wrong:
The Republicans have no compunctions about using impeachment on the weakest justification. If they get the chance, they’ll undoubtedly try to do it to Obama. What Pelosi prevented was the best real chance that Bush and Cheney would be held accountable for the needless deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people and the soiling of our nation’s honor. Good job!
…for not securing the border
…for not showing his birth certificate
…for apologizing for American mistakes
etc, etc
The utter disdain and disgust I hear when conservatives say things like “Liberal”, “Nancy Pelosi”, and “Barney Frank” is stunning. Words such as these become as repulsive to right wingers as “child molester” and “cannibalism”. It’s an elegantly simple and horrifyingly brilliant strategy.
Double because I know you and have never me Ms Pelosi.
thank you for doing this.
For the last two years, there has been one person willing to fight hard and fight long to move American forward, not just prevent its moving backward. It wasn’t Harry Reid, and it wasn’t Barack Obama. It was Nancy Pelosi.
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p>She did pretty much anything a realistic liberal could ask for, only to see so much of her work die in the Senate, and wither at the hands of an uninterested president. If Pelosi were president, this country would be in much better shape. My favorite quote of hers as she muscled through health care reform:
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p>
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p>If only other “Democrats” fought like that.
Nancy `nurtchured young talent like Debbie Wassermnn schultze, and kendrick meek
Even amongst conservative independents I know, who refrain from and recognize Republican idiocy (birtherism, claim that the economic doldrums are of Obama’s making)…can even be engaged in a constructive discussion about health care reform…there seems to be this universal line in the sand: “yeah, but Pelosi is just outrageous”. I’ve asked to get one example, and never can, just some generic rubbish about pushing a far left agenda blah blah. There is no supporting example. There seems to be some dog-whistle here about her…is it the same aversion to toughness in a female form that follows Hillary Clinton everywhere?…that eludes any need for factual basis. This syndrome seems to be common to both male and female conservative independents, btw, where Hillary gets more of sympathetic pass from women I find.
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p>Personally, I think Harry Reid could use a hell of a lot more of whatever backbone-enhancing additive Nancy Pelosi is putting in her own tea, thank you.
She’s been a good speaker, and done some very good things, but taking impeachment off the table was not one of them. The tremendous damage that has done to the country may never be undone. But it wasn’t solely her fault and her decision – plenty of political leaders share the blame for that one. And Pelosi deserves a lot of credit for health care reform.
mean she was just telling the truth (like in that it couldnt happen) rather than that she was dictating that impeachment was off the table.
The campaign to vilify her across the airwaves has been nothing short of scandalous,and the many, many candidates who chose to vilify her when they were not running against here are cowards. Sometimes it takes a little character to stand up to a political consultant.
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p>There is also a very strong anti-San Francisco undertone the the garbage spewed out about her.
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p>The Democrats’ problem–they did not stand up to this garbage right at the start, the same way they let Republicans turn the President’s name into a slur for health care: what a great political system.
He merits praise as well.
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p>But I’m not going to miss Blanche Lincoln one bit.
I have never hated Nancy Pelosi, even friends on the left w/ me have dissed her in the past.
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p>I never quite understood why.
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p>Girlfriend gets shit done. She rocks.
scapegoating. She has been often as much an object for distain on lefty blogs as Cheney. Now they seem to be getting it.
In the face of extreme political pressures, an a unwieldy Democratic caucus, and obstructionist Senate and a wavering President she stood her ground and passed an ambitious agenda that the American people voted for in 2008 – namely health care reform, financial system reform and overhaul, and a bailout that actually worked and staved off a depression!
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p>I had the opportunity to meet her and sit in on a meeting with her in 2007, when she was a keynote Speaker at the NCSL Conference in Boston. Just months into her speakership, she was already putting together an agenda for health care and was very interested in the Massachusetts reform – I found her to be charming, honest and knowledgeable – a true leader!
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p>Is she polarizing? Well yes I guess she is – I think a lot has to do with her being the first female Speaker, a San Francisco liberal with tailored designer suits, coiffed hair being a heartbeat from the Presidency. She was an easy target – that took the shots and kept on moving!
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p>As our very own Tip O’Neil was a target and foil for Ronald Reagan and the Republicans in the 80’s – remember they said he was an old, overweight, Northeastern liberal who epitomized what was wrong with Government – he stayed the course took up the banner and saved social security and protected the Roosevelt legacy. Tip is remembered as a great Speaker of the House. I believe Pelosi will be remembered as one also – her legacy will be her own.
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p>Speaker Pelosi told Diane Sawyer that she has no regrets – she shouldn’t!
pushing. She fostered young dems in Congress when they were an embattled minority. When the issue of torture interrogation was being discussed the media turned the conversation around from blaming Cheney to blaming Pelosi — and liberal pundits were all too eager to get sucked in. Of course, she was turned into public enemy #1 by the right-wingers and their media hacks.
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p>Nancy Pelosi must have been doing something right for Republicans to hate her as much as they do.