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Stephen Gottlieb: Pelosi

Republicans have been wagging their tongues and shaking their heads about Nancy Pelosi. Why? The obvious reason is that she has been so successful. She got significant legislation through, including the Affordable Care Act, which we’re all calling Obamacare – Republicans called it Obamacare when they thought it would fail and Democrats are happy to call it Obamacare now that it’s clear that it’s been very effective.

Now there are a group of Democrats shaking their heads and wagging their tongues about Pelosi. Why? Because the Republicans have managed to make so many disparaging remarks so often that it seemed like Pelosi must be bad – so bad the Democrats had to start inventing reasons to get rid of her. Boy are those Democrats smart – they can’t tell their friends from their enemies. Look guys, the Republicans are not your friends. The more they complain about Pelosi the clearer it is that she is a Democratic jewel.

This isn’t about age. It isn’t about familiarity. It’s about an excellent political mind and the will and willpower to make things work. Some Democrats were upset because she insisted that people zero in on the most effective campaign issues, particularly Obamacare, Medicare and jobs. The House Democrats won and won big. In fact, their victory is still growing. But then there are the Democrats who complain that she wasn’t radical enough. So, I don’t get it: was she too radical or too conservative? She took the Republicans bug-a-boo and shoved it up their whatevers while rolling over the used to be Grand Old Party – they sure aren’t grand any more, thanks in part to Nancy Pelosi. Apparently, some Democrats don’t like to win, especially to win big. Embarrassing. We should be more modest and maybe just hold the House by a seat or two so the Republicans can demand nonpartisanship, like they kept demanding Obama be above partisanship while refusing to work with him no matter what. Oh God, we’ve enemies enough; save us from our friends.

Oh, did I mention that Pelosi is a woman? A powerful woman? That is a pretty obvious Republican problem – they’ve made it pretty clear by their language and their actions that their women are supposed to smile meekly and do what the guys want. It would ruin a guy’s ego to be told by a mere woman what to do. But that’s not what the Democrats are about – unless they’re hypocrites! We should be shouting with pride about Pelosi. No need to talk about her gender – everybody knows anyway. But she’s smart. She gets results. That is a credit to her; not a problem.

Oh, she’s not a young woman and the pretty smile she once had is now cross-crossed by lines. As our friend Peggy Lynn sings in a wonderful song, “I’ve earned these lines.” At her age so has Nancy Pelosi. And it’s pretty obvious that she hasn’t lost any of her so-called “marbles.” That’s what really bothers the Republicans. And that’s the same reason we shouldn’t listen to their objections, not for a minute.

Steve Gottlieb’s latest book is Unfit for Democracy: The Roberts Court and The Breakdown of American Politics. He is the Jay and Ruth Caplan Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Albany Law School, served on the New York Civil Liberties Union board, on the New York Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, and as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Iran.

The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.

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