I say it is time for a ferocious, organized and confident defense of The Speaker of the House.
Ok I'm a weak person, a very weak person. In spite of my public declaration that I would lay off indulging in MSNBC's Morning Joe crack, I tuned in this morning and, once again, it set my blood to boilin'. This morning's collection of right-wing talking point regurgitators and pompous opinors spent 15 minutes talking about how "popular" insurance companies are and how Nancy Pelosi "should go back to San Francisco" and keep her mouth shut. How dare she call insurance companies "the enemy" when their popularity in the poles is higher than hers? They never referred to her as "The Speaker" of course but just Pelosi or Nancy Pelosi spewed as if her name alone is pure invective. Now I hope there is no need to dispute the facts around over-stating the insurance companies' popularity. I just want to say that after years of relentless and scurrilous attacks on The Speaker and given the constant irrational and unpatriotic attacks on all government from the Grand Old John Birch Party, it is time for some facts. Remember the ferocity with which they hounded The Speaker with lies and straw men around her CIA comments just a few weeks ago? I say enough is enough.
For me, last week was a real turning point in my opinion of The Speaker. She finally named the villains in the healthcare debate and after days of MSM conventional "wisdom" to the contrary, The Speaker made it clear the House will bring a healthcare bill to the floor with the votes to pass it. Moreover, The Speaker announced a deal with Chairman Waxman pledging to bring Rep. Wiener's single payer amendment to the House floor for debate. Hers is the first national voice to allow an open debate on single payer healthcare reform. The Speaker of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi won my heart.
Look at the legislative record of this Congress. It has done more in the last seven months than years of the Republican "do-nothings." The recovery package alone was a far-reaching, powerful piece of legislation that will redound to the public good for years to come. All the beltway pundits condemned it and said it was too big too work and too big to pass. The Speaker got the record-breaking legislation passed and in record time. We are now beginning to see evidence that it will work too. Good job Madame Speaker!
SCHIP, a bill that languished for months under a Bush veto threat, became a priority for this Speaker. Thanks to The Speaker's clear vision of the true needs of the country and of real priorities, millions of children have health coverage today, not years from now but today. Good job Madame Speaker!
The Congress passed a budget. How many state legislatures managed to do that on time this year? But thanks to The Speaker a budget was passed and 12, that's a full dozen, appropriation bills passed. Amazing work Madame Speaker!
Thanks to The Speaker the Lilly Ledbetter Act for non-discrimination for women in the workplace finally, finally passed the House and became law. Well done Madame Speaker!
Just look at this list: food safety, FDA regulation of tobacco, clean energy, Cash for Clunkers, the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act, PAYGO legislation, protecting consumers and credit card holders, fraud enforcement, military procurement reform, strengthening the oversight of TARP in passing the supplemental and the UGAI bill for America’s fallen troops; all passed, not languishing in committee, passed. That requires powerful leadership. Good job Madame Speaker!
So here's the deal. When a strong leader comes under attack from scoundrels and do-nothings sitting on the sidelines lobbing unfounded criticism and destructive lies at her what should people of conscience and good will do? It is time to actively denounce the liars and give strong encouragement to the one attacked. The August break is a good time to take stock and reflect on where we are and where we want to go. Take notice when the right-wing attack machine goes after The Speaker of the House. Any national leader should expect strong criticism but I have seen tee shirts being sold saying "water-board pelosi" and much worse and I have seen more subtle but text book misogynist slurs implying that she is weak or stupid because she is, of course a woman, wink, wing, nudge, nudge. When we see it we should expose it as disrespectful, unpatriotic and flat wrong.
Finally, if you agree with me that The Speaker is doing an extraordinary job, take the time to let her know. Write her a letter or send her a fax. Give her a word of encouragement to weather the coming onslaught from the wing nuts and millions of dollars spent by insurance companies to discredit her. Let her hear our voices as well.
When we finally find strong, moral leadership it needs our care, encouragement and support. Let's not take The Speaker's strength for granted.