I virtually never post diaries about specific politicians. I think of myself as the wrong person for that sort of thing; I prefer to write on things I’m better informed of like LGBTQ rights and HIV activism. This began as a comment in another diary but I decided not to put it there.
But there are several diaries currently on the Rec List having to do with Nancy Pelosi in one way or another so what the hell, I may as well put my two cents in. Anyway here goes.
Nancy Pelosi became my Congresswoman as the result of a special election in June of 1987. I had arrived in San Francisco a mere fourth months earlier, a more-or-less out gay man who already knew he was living with HIV. The April 1987 primary that got Pelosi on the ballot was the first election I participated in as a San Franciscan and as a Californian. In the primary I voted for San Francisco Supervisor Harry Britt who had assumed Harvey Milk’s position on the Board of Supervisors when Milk was murdered. It seemed only right to me that Britt should be the person to fill Sala Burton’s seat when she passed away. Gerry Studds (D-MA) had essentially been outed in 1983 as the result of one scandal and Barney Frank came out in May of 1987, likewise as the result of a scandal. Britt would have been the first person elected to Congress who was already out of the closet upon arrival. And he ran to Pelosi’s left. So I voted for him and not for Pelosi. That primary was the last time I ever voted against Nancy Pelosi.
I was disappointed Britt didn’t get the nomination but I voted for Pelosi anyway because I certainly wasn’t going to vote for a Republican.
San Francisco has changed a great deal since 1987. Not all of those changes have been for the better. But it has changed and that’s a fact. On the most important positive changes consists of the fact that San Francisco has become more culturally diverse than it was when I arrived; certainly local politics reflects that reality. It would be nice to see San Francisco (Pelosi’s district includes most though not all of the city) represented by someone who embodied the diversity of the city. I still would like to see San Francisco be represented in Congress by a gay man, a lesbian, a transgender person, a person of color, and I’m good with intersectionality. I want that with every fiber of my being. And yes we should be represented by someone younger. Pelosi was 47 years old when she was first elected. These days I think it would be good for us to elect someone in their 30s or even late 20s. If we pick right we can elect someone capable of having a long and distinguished career just as Nancy has had.
But NOT NOW. Right now Nancy Pelosi is precisely the person we need as Speaker of the House. People observe that she’s “old.” So what? I’m not exactly young myself. I’m 67 and therefore only eleven years younger than Pelosi. And unlike me Nancy Pelosi has not been living with HIV for nearly 38 years. She is probably in far better shape mentally than I am.
I want to be quite clear that I do not intend to attack any of the people within the Democratic caucus who might consider challenging Pelosi for the Speaker’s gavel nor do I even care to criticize those people in the House who want to see her replaced. We are fortunate to have a large group of very talented people who represent us in the House already and we’ll be getting an infusion of even more very talented people on January 3rd. There are any number of people who could be worthy successors to Pelosi at such time as she decides to retire (and I think she herself would like to see that happen).
Nancy Pelosi is a consummate politician and she got that way because she’s been at it for a long time (plus she is the product of an important political family in Baltimore) . What she does well she does supremely well. And what she does well is precisely what we need. She may not be as good as LBJ was when he was Senate Majority Leader but she does come close.
The media constantly overplay intra-party conflicts, especially when those conflicts involve Democrats. We needn’t pretend those conflicts don’t happen at all; they’re just a whole lot less frequent than portrayed and in some instances they are entirely made up. Still they do happen because there is a fairly wide range of views within the party. We are after all the “Big Tent.” Based on everything I have seen Nancy Pelosi do over the past thirty-plus years I don’t think there is a person better suited to managing the course of the House of Representatives over the next two years.