Gratitude to nation’s first Madam Speaker
The night of Jan. 23, 2007, after being welcomed by the new speaker of the House, President George W. Bush stood in the chamber of the House of Representatives and said words never spoken by a U.S. president. Turning to his left, wherethe first woman to be speaker of the House stood behind him, Bush said: “And tonight, I have the high privilege and distinct honor of my own as the first president to begin the State of the Union message with these words: Madam Speaker.”
When Nancy Pelosi relinquishes the gavel in January, the first woman speaker of the House will have served, in two stints, eight of the past 16 years.
To be the first at anything is historic, but it means little if accomplishments aren’t significant. Pelosi’s tenure wasn’t just historic; it puts her in the running for the greatest speaker in congressional history because of the legislation she helped shepherd into law and the times in which she led.
On Nov. 17, in a speech to her House colleagues, the 82-year-old Pelosi announced she would continue to serve in Congress but would relinquish any leadership role in the Democratic caucus to make way for a new generation of party leaders.
The office of speaker is a political one, of course, and thus partisan. Some speakers, because of their personalities, ambitions and caricatures by political opponents — think Tip O’neill and Newt Gingrich — are polarizing.
Few politicians of her generation were as polarizing as Pelosi. Some of that was because she was a woman, and some was because she was so effective.
Like quarterbacks who get the glory when their team wins, presidents are credited with legislative victories. But in both cases, the real work is done in the trenches, either making the blocks or corralling the votes.
The popular Affordable Care Act is called Obamacare, but it could just as easily be called Obama/pelosicare. It was the speaker who kept her caucus together, bringing in progressive members who wanted a single-payer system.
Pelosi’s other major legislative
achievements include the Dodd-frank banking reforms, the American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Act, with the largest investment by the U.S. to battle climate change.
During the hyperpolarized era, inflamed throughout President Donald Trump’s tenure, Pelosi offered memorable moments showcasing her displeasure with the only president to be twice impeached. The most iconic was a photo from a 2019 White House meeting in which a defiant Pelosi, the only woman at the table, stands to address the president.
Beyond her legislative accomplishments, one of the things Pelosi should be remembered, and thanked, for is her role in preserving our democracy when its survival was uncertain.
Newly released video of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection shows Pelosi taking charge while the Capitol is under siege. As insurrectionists are demanding she be brought to them, Pelosi calmly talks to Vice President Mike Pence to see if he is safe, and, along with then-senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, calls to get help to the Capitol.
The violence was brought to Pelosi’s home, literally, this month when an intruder broke into her San Francisco home with the intent of kidnapping and harming her. He viciously attacked her husband, Paul, with a hammer.
In her speech, Pelosi spoke of her “awe of the majestic miracle that is American democracy” while calling for a “peaceful, orderly, transition from one Congress to another.”
Thank you, Madam Speaker.