Leader Pelosi & House Democrats: Fighting Against Endless GOP Dysfunction

September 28, 2015
Blog Post
Last week, the House Republican Conference further cemented its reputation for internal obstruction, distraction and dysfunction after extremist Members ousted Speaker Boehner from the top GOP leadership position.  Yet in light of this outright disarray, the media highlighted Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi's success as a leader and time as the most effective Speaker in the "modern era":

While John Boehner was preparing to renounce the speakership, I was listening to his predecessor, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, address the Stateless Breakfast in Honor of Human Rights in China.  Pelosi's presence was a reminder that power can be used for more than preserving power — it can be used to speak up for the powerless.

Perhaps without Mr. Boehner as flak catcher, Republicans will learn the virtue of political patience.  The model is Ms. Pelosi in 2007, when she was under intense pressure from the left to defund the Iraq war and stop the surge.  Instead of shutting down the government in protest, she bided her time with the priority of electing a Democratic President in 2008.  Then she fulfilled 40 years of progressive dreams.

Many congressional scholars say that [Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi] wielded the power of her office more effectively than any speaker of the modern era, using her majority to force through nearly all of President Obama's agenda--most notably, his health care overhaul.

New York Times' Gail Collins also emphasized that Leader Pelosi will continue to fight against the anarchic Republican obstruction, distraction and dysfunction:

The Republicans want to defund Planned Parenthood.  There are many, many reasons that idea is not going anywhere.  We will not enumerate them, since it would require the mention of the term "budget reconciliation process."  However, the minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, had expressed confidence that Planned Parenthood would be safe even if the Republicans "vote their alleged hearts out."

We should spend more time quoting Nancy Pelosi.  Also noting that in recent years, the nation has avoided a raft of political cataclysms because Pelosi has delivered crucial votes whenever Boehner could not get his own majority to behave in a minimally responsible manner.

Speaker Boehner's resignation will do little to nothing to end the Republican mayhem that "is not good" for the country.  But Leader Pelosi and House Democrats will keep fighting for Americans who want and deserve better infrastructure and bigger paychecks, not a radical GOP Conference that threatens Americans with more and more manufactured crises.