Dear Congresswoman Pelosi,
When I read the headline of Brett Samuels’ article, “Pelosi on midterms: ‘We will win. I will run for Speaker.’” in TheHill.com, I gave out an audible groan. Please, Ms. Congresswoman, consider what is at stake in the midterm elections. It is not that I want you to step down and retire from your office, but I am pleading for you to step back in order to bring others forward. I agree with you when you said for the Boston Globe, ““It’s important that it not be five white guys at the table, no offense,” Pelosi said. “I have no intention of walking away from that table.” However, and please forgive me if this sounds ageist, you should know that today’s voters no longer want five white “olds” at the table, no offense.
Congresswoman, you must not allow yourself to continue the tired and worn tradition of age being the determining factor in leadership. We have had far too many OWMIS (old white men in suits) delaying positive change in our country. This is not a criticism of age – it is a criticism of the disproven belief that age is the only indictor of wisdom. I think the young people in the United States are proving that being wise can be found in our children and in our young people who look at the world with open ears, open eyes and open hearts. And in Congress, where being in your 40’s is considered “young”, we need our leaders to teach others to lead. Otherwise, when you are gone and others have not been leaders before, the Democratic Party will once again be left without leadership that the U.S. people need and want and demand.
I believe it is time for you to pay it forward to younger people in Congress. You could be mentoring and supporting the next generation of leadership rather than looking forward to regain lost power for yourself. You should be listening more to the young people of our nation who have made it a point to let all of us who have had power in the past know that we have failed in so many ways to create the world that is best of them and coming generations. And you have so many people in the que behind you ready to step up and lead with your support. I totally agree with Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann:
Bottom line: Paul Ryan has walked away, while Pelosi is staying and saying she’ll run for speaker if Democrats win back the House. And while Pelosi says it’s important not to have “five white guys at the table,” is she saying that there are no other women or minorities in the Democratic caucus who could serve as leader? Because we can name-check Reps. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., or Ben Lujan, D-N.M. as potential Dem leaders if Pelosi ever decided to step down. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/republicans-give-democrats-some-important-cover-taxes-health-care-n870681
Nancy, and forgive me for the casualness of calling you by your first name but I am speaking as an older woman who knows the struggles in saying this, it is time to be teaching others to lead. You know so much! You have so much political talent for getting things done! You have served us well in so many areas of governance. You have been in Congress long enough that the whole world knows who you are and fears getting on the wrong side of your determination once you have set your goals. But you need to step back from the spotlight and bring new faces into the picture. The younger people of the United States will not be left without a voice any longer. Give them their voice and guide them in using it!
Thank you for all you have done and all you continue to do. Thank you for showing the world that women are great leaders. Thank you for considering what is best for the Democratic Party and, more importantly, best for the world and our nation in deciding if being Speaker is the best use of your talents. Please do not continue on the path of men who claim power strictly through their age and gender but look to our future and teach others how to lead in the years you have left in Congress. Teaching others to lead is of the highest calling.
Respectfully.
An unabashed idealist older woman