House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s “secret” is out: She’s a “master legislator.”
Pelosi appeared with Fox News’ Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday for a segment that focused on the unsuccessful attempt to replace Obamacare, and also about the prospects of Democrats regaining control of Congress in 2918. It was toward the end of that 14-minute segment that Pelosi defended herself from a suggestion that her leadership team is too old.
“Well, let me just say this, self-promotion is a terrible thing, but somebody’s got to do it,” she remarked. “I am a master legislator, I know the budget to the ‘nth’ degree, I know the motivation of people. I respect the people who are in Congress…I feel very confident about the support I have in my caucus…”
The former House speaker is evidently convinced of her abilities because she said pretty much the same thing back in June during a press conference that appeared on C-SPAN. It was during an exchange with one reporter who also pointed to Democrat party losses since 2010 that the 77-year-old Pelosi had this to say, according to the Washington Free Beacon:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
“So you want me to sing my praises? Is that what you’re saying? Well, I’m a master legislator. I am a strategic, politically astute leader. My leadership is recognized by many around the country, and that is why I’m able to attract the support that I do.”
This is pretty shaky ground into which Pelosi is strolling, some critics might suggest. The chaos on Capitol Hill over health care reform could be at least partly her responsibility.
A new Rasmussen survey released Monday morning revealed that more than half of the voters in both political parties, “continue to say that they are moving away from the positions of their party’s leaders.”
According to Rasmussen, “Among Democrats, 35% say Democratic voters are becoming more liberal than party leaders, while 19% feel they are becoming more conservative. Thirty-nine percent (39%) think the attitudes of Democrats remain about the same as those of their party leadership.”
“Among all Likely Voters,” Rasmussen said Monday, “39% think Republican voters are becoming more conservative than their party’s leadership, while 20% say they are becoming more liberal. Thirty percent (30%) say the attitudes of GOP voters are remaining about the same. Forty-one percent (41%) think Democratic voters are becoming more liberal than their party leaders. Just 16% say they are becoming more conservative, and 35% feel the attitudes of Democrats are about the same.”
Pelosi deflected a Wallace question about her possible intention to run for the House Speaker post again if Democrats re-take the House, calling it “unimportant.” It may seem that way now, but the mid-term election is 15 months away. That’s something of an eternity in politics and much can happen. Between now and then Pelosi just might decide publicly whether she wants her old job back.
In the meantime, some people might conclude that her current job is to keep Republicans and the Trump administration from advancing their political agenda. It translates to doing what Congress seems to be best at in recent years: Nothing.
