XPost: alt.war.civil.usa, free.two-time-loser.nancy.pelosi, talk.politics.guns XPost: talk.politics.misc

On 15 Mar 2022, Rudy Canoza <notgenx33@gmail.com> posted some news:%d5YJ.222989$t2Bb.75062@fx98.iad:

The Nancy Pelosi self-enrichment club. She took the money and pissed
all over her voters.

With Speaker Nancy Pelosi stepping down as the leader of the House
Democrats following the Republicans winning control of the chamber, the Democratic Party should acknowledge the many shortcomings of her tenure
and avoid repeating them.

Becoming the first woman to serve as speaker of the House is a
tremendous accomplishment in a nation that has long blocked women from positions of power. And some on the right have acted in a disgraceful
manner toward Pelosi. Most recently, she has been the target of at least
two attempts to physically attack or even kill her — on Jan 6. 2021, and
then again last month when a man broke into her San Francisco home in
search of her and assaulted her husband, Paul. Even aside from those
incidents, many Republicans have used over-the-top and at times sexist
rhetoric to demean her.

So there’s an understandable instinct to defend her, particularly for left-leaning people like myself who generally agree with Pelosi’s policy
goals. But it’s important to honestly and fully assess her record.

In the simplest sense, Pelosi’s tenure should be regarded as lackluster
because the party has won a House majority in only four of the 10
elections since she became House Democratic leader in late 2002. The
Democrats’ sixth defeat under her leadership means that they will yield
power to a class of Republicans who are among the most radical, extreme
people to ever control the chamber. It is hard to think of anyone with
such a mixed record being allowed to lead a high-profile organization
for 20 years — let alone considering a 21st and 22nd, as Pelosi did over
the past few days.

And it’s not just about the Democrats’ failure to win the House under
Pelosi’s leadership. Unlike even President Biden, who has only really
led the party since 2020, Pelosi has been one of the chief
decision-makers and prominent figures for the Democratic Party for the
entire past two decades. Over that span, the party has consistently lost elections at the state and federal levels, resulting in numerous
terrible policies being adopted by Republicans while good ones are
stalled. An increasingly radical, antidemocratic Republican Party
already dominates much of the country and could win control of the
entire federal government in 2024.

Almost no one in the United States has had more opportunities to stop
the rise of the Republicans than Pelosi. Considering that Republican
strength, her tenure cannot be viewed as successful.

Pelosi herself wasn’t on the ballot in the districts that Democrats lost
this month, nor was she, say the party’s presidential nominee in 2016.
And several other congressional Democratic candidates have long been in
top leadership positions despite lackluster results for the party:
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Majority Whip
Richard Durbin (Ill.), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.) and House Majority Whip James Clyburn (S.C.). (Hoyer announced on Thursday that he
is leaving party leadership.)

But Pelosi has been at the helm longer than Schumer and in a more
powerful role than Clyburn or Hoyer. She has been a defining figure in
the creation of today’s Democratic Party, which has four major flaws
that led to consistent electoral and policy failure: excessive caution;
an over-reliance on centrism; a brand that is little more than “we are
not as bad as the Republicans”; and weak organization at the local and
state level.

Pelosi’s failures stem in part from overlearning from her first major
success as a party leader.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/17/nancy-pelosi-speaker-e ra-failure/

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