Wineke: Nancy Pelosi is a leader with class
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks on the House floor at the Capitol in Washington Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
MADISON, Wis. — Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says she is going to leave the top ranks of the Democratic Party at the end of this year and confine herself to her day job as a congresswoman from San Francisco.
Pelosi demonstrates something that has almost disappeared from contemporary politics: class. Republicans, who have spent decades trying to portray her as a demon, are delighted.
Wisconsin’s newest 3rd Congressional District Rep. Derrick Van Ordean promptly tweeted a photo of himself holding a sign saying “Fire Pelosi.” He apparently thinks he should take a victory lap.
Just for the record, Pelosi was not “fired.” She was re-elected to her congressional seat and, had she wished, she would have been re-elected as the Democratic congressional leader.
What she did do was keep a promise she made in 2018 to her fellow Democrats that she would vacate her role as speaker in four years. The fact people seem amazed she would do so speaks volumes about our current political atmosphere.
I have no idea how long Derrick Van Orden will stay in office. Regardless, my guess is that the word “class” will not often be associated with him.
In fact, most people fall short when compared to Pelosi.
The presumed next speaker, California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, is already receiving sympathy for having to lead the House with only a tiny majority of members.
Pelosi has been doing that since the last election without breaking a sweat and has managed to enact legislation that will improve the lives of Americans for decades to come.
It looks as if most of the Democrats’ geriatric leadership is about to step down but not out.
This is a really good time for them to do so.
Pundits keep saying Republican rule will make it difficult for President Biden to enact his agenda. It looks to me as if he has already enacted his agenda and can now spend the next two years putting it into effect.
In the meantime, a younger generation of Democrats will have the opportunity to experiment with power and develop some skills while the older generation is still around to give advice.
But, no, Pelosi was not fired. She just, as usual, put her country before herself.
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