"How Nancy Pelosi Took Control" (American Prospect)

[pnwmom]

"The "here" in question is the House of Representatives, where Pelosi has been the Democratic leader for the past year and a half. What she means is that she heads a party that has lost the capacity to legislate. Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader Tom DeLay have decreed that all significant legislation is to be passed by straight GOP party-line votes. Save on the most trivial issues, no floor amendments are permitted under DeLay's rules, and no Democrats are allowed on conference committees, which frequently rewrite major bills in accord with DeLay's diktats.

"It's not anything to whine about," Pelosi says matter-of-factly. "We just have to win. No whining, just winning."

"That's a formula that the famously fractious Democratic caucus seems to have embraced. Though they have not been this thwarted in their ability to exercise power since the 1920s, and though the conventional wisdom says that they are locked into their minority status at least until the next decennial reapportionment (in 2012), the House Democrats these days are an improbably upbeat bunch.

"Indeed, Democrats of all tendencies sound the same optimistic notes again and again. They are enthused that after years of defections to the Republican position on many key votes, the caucus now displays an almost unprecedented unity in its voting. (Congressional Quarterly found that last year's level of party unity in Democratic voting was the highest since 1960.) They approve of their leaders' consistent attacks on the Bush administration and DeLay's banana Republicans. They feel that all wings of the caucus are getting not only a fair hearing by party leaders but also real input into party positions. They even believe that their leaders' indefatigable fund raising and candidate recruitment have been going so well that they have a shot at retaking the House.

"And when asked why they feel this way, all of them come around to the same answer: Nancy Pelosi."

SNIP

http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=7699


GO, NANCY!!!!! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[aquart]

1. It's so nice feeling the people in charge are rational. Just soooo nice.

[pnwmom]

2. I know exactly what you mean, aquart.

What a relief.

:hi:

[patricia92243]

3. Minority prty until at least 2012 - HAH!

[HawkerHurricane]

4. Gee, great prediction there...

Bad news, freeps: you'll be lucky to hold the Presidency in 2008, and the demographics are against you... the election of 2000 was a fluke, and you needed 9/11 to hold on in 2002 and 2004. The next party to compete against the Democrats will not come from thier right (Republican), but from the LEFT (think Green). We're going to join the rest of the world, where the views of the Right Wing are represented by people farther left than our Democrats.

[Apollo11]

5. Nancy Rocks !!

Great article !!

Thanks! :-)