Nancy Pelosi

There is another politico who began as a community organizer. But she bore five children first.

Grandma Pelosi is a winner of this passing year and decade. I have written of the tears I shed watching her take the podium in the U. S. House of Representatives in January of 2007.  She led her grandchildren to the great altar of the People's House and let them bang the gavel.

With the left, MY PEOPLE, angry with My President and angry with Senator Reid, and angry with my party in general; I fail to see many getting too angry with one of the greatest Speakers in history.

257 Democrats are under Speaker Pelosi's rule. It is no easy feat to get the 218 votes she needs to get a piece of legislation passed. Senator Reid is forced to get 58 Democrats in agreement along with two independents. And that has proved very difficult for him.

The Speaker has been able to allow Dems from very conservative districts to vote against some of her legislation while she picks up five or ten repubs for needed votes.

 

1. The House passed legislation on Friday intended to address global warming and transform the way the nation produces and uses energy.  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/us/politics/27climate.html

The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday approved an expansion of federal "hate crime" laws -- an effort that former Republican President George W. Bush had opposed.

On a vote of 249-175, the House passed and sent to the Senate a bill backed by the new Democratic White House to broaden such laws by classifying as "hate crimes" those attacks based on a victim's sexual orientation, gender identity or mental or physical disability. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE53S8IM20090429

2. Legislation that will make college dramatically more affordable for millions of Americans, at no new cost to taxpayers, overwhelming passed the U.S. House of Representatives today.
  The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (H.R. 3221), which was approved by a bipartisan vote of 253 to 171, will move the U.S. closer to reaching President Obama's goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.  http://edlabor.house.gov/newsroom/2009/09/legislation-to-make-landmark-i-1.shtml

3. H.R. 2649: To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to improve the safety of food in the global market, and for other purposes.  http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2749

4. After months of debate, the House of Representatives passed historic health care reform legislation late on Saturday evening. Read the overview AP coverage HERE, and follow Twitter reaction HERE.

In a victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed landmark health care legislation Saturday night to expand coverage to tens of millions who lack it and place tough new restrictions on the insurance industry. Republican opposition was nearly unanimous.

The 220-215 vote (click here to see how each member voted) cleared the way for the Senate to begin a long-delayed debate on the issue that has come to overshadow all others in Congress. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/07/house-health-care-vote-br_n_349468.html

5. Without a single Republican vote, President Obama won House approval on Wednesday for an $819 billion economic recovery plan as Congressional Democrats sought to temper their own differences over the enormous package of tax cuts and spending. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/us/politics/29obama.html

6. Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights: Democrats enacted tough new protections for consumers by banning unfair rate increases, abusive fees, and penalties--such as retroactive rate hikes on existing balances and double-cycle billing--giving consumers clear information, and strengthening enforcement. (Signed into law) http://www.dems.gov/topics/credit-cardholders-bill-rights

7. Democrats voted to strengthen health care for more than 5 million veterans by investing 15% more than in 2009 for medical care, benefits claims processors, and facility improvements in the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act. For the first time, the legislation also includes advanced appropriations for FY 2011 to provide reliable and timely funding for veterans health care. (Passed by the House) http://www.dems.gov/topics/improved-health-care-our-veterans

How would you like to have a bio in Wiki that said something like this:

Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi (pronounced /pɨˈloʊsi/; born March 26, 1940) is the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before being elected Speaker in the 110th Congress, she was the House Minority Leader from 2003 to 2007, holding the post during the 108th and 109th Congresses.

Since 1987, she has represented the 8th Congressional District of California, which consists of four-fifths of the City and County of San Francisco. The district was numbered as the 5th during Pelosi's first three terms in the House.

Nancy Pelosi is the first female Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. She is also the first Italian-American and first Californian to serve as Speaker. She is the second Speaker from a state west of the Rocky Mountains, with the first being Washington's Tom Foley, who was the last Democrat to hold the post before Pelosi. As Speaker of the House, Pelosi is second in the line of presidential succession, following Vice President Joe Biden, which makes her the highest-ranking female politician in American history.[1]

I think sometimes, we need to look back on our victories. I had almost given up on my country. And this great woman has demonstrated that important things can be accomplished in this country.

I wish she was coming up on her sixtieth birthday instead of her seventieth because she would have an extra decade to lead the House of Representatives.

Hillary Clinton has demonstrated an almost perfect life of service to her country.

But she has to accept the silver medal this year.

Both of these women have demonstrated that one does not need testosterone in order to lead.

This is an entirely different country than it was fifty years ago.

Sometimes, I am actually hopeful.

Imagine that!!!