Democrats Laud Pelosi's Style

[kskiska]

Soon after Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.) joined eight other House Democrats in voting for a Republican version of a major Medicare bill last summer, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) summoned him to her office.

"She was very clear and very firm in making sure I understood the caucus position on the bill and that unity was very important," Israel recalled. "It was not the happiest conversation I've had in politics."

(snip)

When Pelosi inherited the leadership post from Rep. Richard A .Gephardt (Mo.), some party activists feared her solidly liberal credentials would trigger wariness among the party's conservatives and invite GOP attacks on the "San Francisco liberal."

But Pelosi has largely defied those predictions. She has wooed centrist groups, such as veterans organizations; forged a caucus consensus on education, the budget and other issues; and rebuffed bids to emphasize divisive issues such as gun control.

(snip)

Her best moment, in the eyes of some, came in the pre-dawn hours of Nov. 22, when Hastert had to extend a roll call for nearly three hours to implore enough Republicans to pass the final, negotiated version of the Medicare bill, which Bush wanted. In the end, when passage was inevitable, 16 of the 205 Democrats sided with Hastert -- a significant showing of party loyalty on an issue that divided many constituencies.

This time, Israel -- the recipient of Pelosi's summer lecture -- voted with his party's leader.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21912-2003Nov29.html

[Faygo Kid]

1. Yeah, she and Daschle have done a great job (not!)

We have been beaten to a pulp. And she and Daschle are greatly responsible. Stand for principle. I like her in many ways, but 2002 elections were unforgivable.

[loyalsister]

4. 2002

was Gep. He was minority leader until after then 2002 elections. It was HIS political instincts that were a "miserable failure." He's the one who lined himself up with the "popular" wartime president thinking it would get them a big win in 2002.
OOPS The dems miscalculated in trying to grab onto *'s coat tails. People voted for the Republicans because they knew what they were getting into. That's the crux of Truman's statement (can't remember the exact quote). But it was something about if you have a choice between someone who acts like a Republican but calls themselves a Democrat and an actual Republican they'll go with the real thing.

[SharonAnn]

11. I think she's outstanding, at least lately. At first, while she was

getting her "sea legs", I thought she was "standing shoulder to shoulder with the president on terrorism" a bit too much.

So, I wrote her a fairly long letter explaining that we didn't want to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with * on anything. We didn't even want her to mention his name or his title, that would give him some credit and he deserved none.

If she wanted to say something to emphasize her point about standing strong against terrorism, I suggested she say something like the following: "We stand shoulder to shoulder with every American in our war against terrorism".

I received a brief letter from her office, probably standard type letter, but very nice. Then I noticed that she has changed her public tone in the last 5-6 months.

She's doing so much better than Gephardt ever did. Now, if Daschle were doing as well in the Senate then they could have some influence, even though we're the minority party.

[madfloridian]

2. Huh? How is this being loyal to us?

SNIP..."Her best moment, in the eyes of some, came in the pre-dawn hours of Nov. 22, when Hastert had to extend a roll call for nearly three hours to implore enough Republicans to pass the final, negotiated version of the Medicare bill, which Bush wanted. In the end, when passage was inevitable, 16 of the 205 Democrats sided with Hastert -- a significant showing of party loyalty on an issue that divided many constituencies....."

[NewJerseyDem]

5. 16 isn't very many

That is pretty impressive considering how many voted for it in the Senate. She has done a very good job in keeping the party together. On other bills like the Head Start bill and the Labor, HHS and Education appropriations she got every single Democrat to vote no. That is complete unity.

I've been very impressed by her leadership over the past year.

[dvddrone]

7. Not the 16, the 189...

out of 205 who didn't vote for that piece of shit. The article implies that her leadership helped keep them loyal. (at least I think that's what they meant)

Elizabeth

[madfloridian]

9. Ok, I see what you mean.

:hi:

[MrSoundAndVision]

3. Compromising Core Democratic Principles is no way

to lead the true party of the people, by the people, and for the people... the Democratic party must once again represent the people of this country, by purging big business supporters from it's ranks, or move on and let the real progressives rise up.

[Voltaire99]

12. Exactly. Pelosi's a wash.

The "solidly liberal credentials" turned out to be as solid as manure in a blender.

Pelosi is symptomatic of the surrender of the party to the GOP; can't blame Bush entirely when the putative opposition greases the way for him.

[jab105]

6. uhh, why?

lotta good its done us, huh?

[11cents]

8. Y'all appear to be missing the point

... of the Medicare vote, as recounted here. The point is that Hastert *had* to extend the voting for a precedent-shattering extra three hours because Democrats weren't breaking ranks to vote "yes" on it. Only when Hastert had rounded up enough GOP votes to pass it did a small number of Democrats (16) join in.

FWIW, I've heard from someone who talked recently to Rep. Pete Stark that Stark thinks Pelosi is great, an absolute sea-change from Gephardt, somebody who's decisive and acts "preemtively" instead of, like Gephardt, consulting and consulting and consulting and ending up with a tardy and meaningless"consensus." I have no particular brief for Pelosi, and I'm actually not a big fan of Pete Stark (who represents a district neighboring my own), but he's definitely not a pink tutu guy.

[loyalsister]

10. WTF??????

Soon after Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.) joined eight other House Democrats in voting for a Republican version of a major Medicare bill last summer, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) summoned him to her office.

"She was very clear and very firm in making sure I understood the caucus position on the bill and that unity was very important," Israel recalled. "It was not the happiest conversation I've had in politics."

In the end, however, he did not resent the dressing down. "I didn't leave the room with any questions about where she stood," he said. "It's an extremely refreshing sign of leadership. There's no guesswork."

But even those who stray -- such as Rep. Ralph M. Hall (D-Tex.), usually a reliable GOP vote -- sometimes are invited to leadership meetings with Pelosi.

Pelosi's main focus has been limiting Democratic defections on tough issues, forcing Hastert to fight hard for every GOP vote. On a recent vote involving President Bush's plan to revise overtime pay rules, for example, only two Democrats voted for the administration plan, while 21 Republicans went against Hastert and the White House.

"If the job of a minority leader is to make the majority work harder for every vote, she's doing quite well," said Bruce Reed, president of the Democratic Leadership Council. "At least it's Republican arms that are being broken."

Pelosi also demands loyalty from Democrats outside Congress. Tom Downey, a lobbyist who had served with her in the House, said Pelosi recently chided him for skipping a Democratic fundraiser.

"She said to me in the hallway, 'Well, we missed you at this event,' " Downey said. "In her mind, she knows who's done what."

Why leave this part out??????????????

This time, Israel -- the recipient of Pelosi's summer lecture -- voted with his party's leader.

She's doing her best, and listening to voters. She reacted very quickly to the AARP membership outrage and paid attention to the bill. That can't be said for all of them. Keep in mind, 16 would have been 17 or MORE if not for Pelosi's conversation with Isreal.

I know that this thing was terrible, but why ignore the positive????

[fabius]

13. I think she's doing a better job than Daschle. n/t

[Piperay]

14. Definietly...

she's a whole lot better at hanging onto her people than Daschle, he's a wimp. :argh:

[whirlygigspin]

15. the job of keeping your party inline usually goes to the whip

thank God for Pelosi, Franks and many others who do stand up and fight.

I hope they can join with Dean in trying to take back the house in 2004.