Pelosi optimal House minority leader choice

Finally, a breath of fresh air from a much needed wind of
change.

Last Thursday, House Democrats voted Nancy Pelosi their minority
leader 177-29, after weeks of ridiculous debate over the threat of
her being too liberal to lead the party to a desperately needed
comeback, but I couldn’t imagine a better woman for the
job.

Pelosi, who will be the first woman ever to head a political
party’s caucus in Congress, will certainly have her work cut
out for her in the Republican-controlled, conservative-led, 108th
Congress, which will begin in January.

Pelosi has been noted for her outspokenness, fund-raising
prowess, and reputation as an effective party strategist as well as
a good whip (the person responsible for counting and corralling
votes on the House floor). Representing a strongly liberal district
in San Francisco for 15 years now, Pelosi has led opposition
against the administration on such issues as Iraq, the structure of
the new Homeland Security Department, and trade with China. She is
brave.

In The Weekly Standard, David Brooks called Pelosi “the
most caricatural politician since Newt Gingrich,” while six
years ago, they agreed with Human Rights Watch’s assessment
of her as “the conscience of the Congress.”

But the fear in making Pelosi the minority leader is the
possibility she’ll lose the center votes, which the Democrats
need to win back. Peter Beinhart of the New Republic warned against
a shift to the left and wrote that with Pelosi, “the United
States will no longer be a 50-50 nation; it will be a 40-60 nation
for a generation.” And for this reason, one top Republican
aid was cited in The New York Times as saying, “they would be
willing to go “˜door-to-door’ for Mrs.
Pelosi.”

This makes a progressive lean to the left sound disastrous for
the Democratic Party, but change is good; finally, we have someone
who isn’t afraid to shake things up a bit.

I call the debate over Pelosi being too liberal ridiculous
because of the 177-29 vote in her favor. Along with the fact that a
large majority of House Democrats voted against the Iraq war
resolution on Oct. 11, it seems she isn’t any more liberal
than the average House Democrat.

But Pelosi should certainly keep her promise to “reach out
to more moderate and conservative members of her own party who say
Democrats must not lose touch with the centrist voters who are
determining the outcomes of elections.”

Pelosi promises her first official act as leader will be to
nominate Rep. John Spratt of South Carolina, top Democrat on the
Budget Committee and a respected moderate, as her assistant. He
said of her: “She knows where the center of gravity is, and
she’ll seek it.”

The Democrats’ selection of Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland,
a 21-year veteran known for working well with Republicans, to
succeed Pelosi as whip, should also serve to balance out the
bad-wrap “peace-loving” Pelosi has received.

The volatile reaction to Pelosi’s personal politics has
been discouraging, when it would seem that a strong, savvy Democrat
from a side of the spectrum opposite conservative Republican is
exactly what the 108th Congress will need. If Pelosi was such a bad
choice to lead the party’s caucus in Congress, then why was
she the only strong candidate in the race with others pulling out
before the vote? Before he dropped out of the race for Democratic
leader on Friday, Rep. Martin Frost of Texas, said Pelosi’s
effectiveness would be limited because her politics “are to
the left.”

However, voters want action, and Pelosi is action. She will be
sure to match a hard-lining conservative like Tom DeLay on partisan
issues. Although both party leaders hope to find common ground,
DeLay has described the Republican approach as “hit the
ground running” while Pelosi declares, “we must stand
our ground.”

I’m putting my money on the lady in the left. She may be
the underdog, but folks, she’s got heart.