In April 2006, you tried to start an ongoing dialog with this netroots community, the start of a relationship that was admittedly quite rocky at the time. Although you had posted here before, beginning in 2005, your April posts are probably the most memorable, and, unfortunately, also among your last. As the comments in that first April post demonstrate, our trust in your leadership, in particular your willingness to take the fight to the Republicans, and even your ability to lead our party to a win in November was something many of us here had some doubts about. We had (and no doubt still have) a lot of bones to pick with Democratic leaders, and you were, at the time, probably among the most unpopular of our highest party leaders to post here. The stars were certainly not aligned for the most amicable of meetings at the time.
Yet, despite all that, you seemed willing to forge ahead with this new dialogue, and even promised to continue that dialog in your post of April 6, saying:
Those of you that have heard me speak before may know that I often quote President John F. Kennedy. He said this, "Let us begin anew -- remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof." In that vein, I will do my best to stay current with what this community is writing and thinking and I make this pledge to you: every week that Congress is in session, I will come to DailyKos.com and report back on what House Democrats are doing to hold Republicans and the President accountable. I look forward to this continuing discussion and again, thank you for your comments.
Elephants never forget, and neither do netroots activists with search engines at their fingertips. Unfortunately, you followed this promise up with only one diary, on April 28th, the first week after the House got back into session after a several-week recess. After that, your promise of a "weekly update" fell through and we haven't heard from you since. I think that's truly a shame.
I understand if the 2006 election season, ongoing Republican scandals, and the ongoing disaster that is the War on Terror, Iraq in particular, kept you busy. It's a full plate for anyone to keep up with, including all of us here. Certainly, the November results demonstrate that you spent your time since that last posting well, so, I, for one, am willing to let those bygones be bygones. The time probably wasn't right for us, then, anyway.
But, a promise is still a promise, and since November we've heard narry a peep from you, though you've surely been busy with transition and becoming the new Speaker and whatnot. But, now that the elections are over, now that the Speaker's chair has been obtained, now that you now have the power to really "take the gloves off" with regard to the scoundrels in this administration, I hope that we can begin this community dialogue again. As the Speaker of the House and the highest Constitutional officer now serving in the Democratic Party, we have every reason and incentive to support your efforts. We don't want our new-found majority to fail anymore than you do. We want to accomplish many of the same things for the American public that you do. We can aid you in any number of ways to help you push the "100 Hours" agenda through the Congress, not to mention the many days and weeks in the post-100-Hours that simply must deal with Iraq and a host of other issues. Thus, the way I see it, we all have a keen and compelling interest in working together with each other going forward. What's more, the likely outcome of such a dialog with us, post-election and post-Democratic takeover of Congress, is now much more favorable than it was last April. As the community poll demonstrates, since that time, we've gotten to know you much better and, particularly after the elections, we've grown more confident in your leadership.
Perhaps a similar dynamic has occurred on your end? After Yearly Kos and our election wins, I hope that your opinion of us has also improved, as ours has of you. Regardless, though, let me quote back to you something you said before to us here:
"Let us begin anew -- remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof."
I hope that in the coming days and weeks you will post here again as you promised back in April and commit to a new, more productive dialog with us, and help us to work with you to forward the Democratic message and agenda as you work to shephard legislation near and dear to all our hearts through the bowels of Congress and as you take the fight to the Bush administration and fend off the Republican minority in the coming two years. The last Speaker of the House was in many ways a figurehead installed by Tom Delay, who pulled much of the strings behind the scenes. Certainly, you are not the figurehead your predecessor was, but together we can insure that your tenure as Speaker is not simply adequate, but rather is the most powerful to ascend to leadership of the House in many years. We need strong leaders these days if we are to have any hope of defeating the corruption festering in the heart of our current adminstration, not to mention the national security challenges our nation now faces around the globe. We will rally to your call.
Furthermore, I firmly believe that your leadership would benefit greatly from an ongoing dialog here, from our contagious passion on the issues, our pointed, sharp criticism, and for establishing an ongoing line of communication with many of the activists who make up your party's base. Leaders must have followers, after all.
So, let me extend this express invitation to you to return now, to post in victory after our great electoral battle. While I can't guarantee that we will always see eye to eye, that we will always support your actions in all instances (after all, we are not the kool-aid drinkers that our counterparts on the Right are) I promise that this time, a new appearance here will be more akin to the welcome received by a general returning in triumph than anything negative you've experienced before. Everything won't be roses all the time; it never is. But, right now, it is roses, and I perceive a new opening for us to forge a more lasting, more amicable relationship with each other. So, strike while the iron is hot, come by and let us have the honor of personally congratulating you on your ascension as Speaker. Pick up where you left off on your promise to keep up a dialog with us and keep us informed of the goings-on in Congress. We haven't forgotten your promise to us, and I, for one, hope you ultimately decide to keep it. The elections are over now and the real work begins. So, let us hear how you plan to work with us, to use us, in the coming fights. Set an new, shining example for transparency in our congress. Whatever you decide to talk about, we'll listen.
Hope to read you again soon...
Sincerely,
My Philosophy
And all Daily Kos persons recommending this diary
P.S. You may want to consider creating a new Daily Kos account, as your old account labeled you as "Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi". Obviously, the title of office has now changed.