Is Nancy Pelosi Out?

Things aren’t looking good for Nancy Pelosi. For almost the last four years, she has been pounding the gavel, shoving her grand, big-government schemes through Congress. Even in the midst of a worsening economy, she was able to cut enough backroom deals to garner the votes she and her political allies needed to capture their Holy Grail: American’s health care system.

Pundits and polls, however, are now predicting that Pelosi will lose hold of the speakership in November. They may be correct. Her years of political kneecapping and recriminations may have finally taken their toll. Big government takeovers don’t do well in a deteriorating, capitalistic-based economy. Still, do not count her out yet. Madam Speaker is not going anywhere without a fight. Her hold on the gavel is firm. Earlier this year, a Democratic insider was quoted in Politico saying, “[Pelosi] will put a bullet in the head of anyone she needs to.” That insider went on to say that she would do whatever it took to hold on to her majority. Now, there won’t be any firing of actual bullets, but she is no doubt digging deep into her arsenal.

What sets Pelosi apart from other national leaders, and specifically other Speakers in modern history, is her ability to strategize and execute like a political boss in the classical sense Consider this: She has legislated a government takeover of at least one-sixth of the economy, challenged the Catholic Church on abortion, circumvented the White House to meet with a Mideast dictator, and claimed that her liberal agenda is part of a holy calling. Those are some pretty heady accomplishments for the first female Speaker of the House.

Pelosi employed her stratagem almost flawlessly early on. Although she is prone to outrageous public blunders, which reveal her truly leftist views, she is smart in her moves as a politician. Right after her election as Speaker she got bills passed she knew her members would solidly support like raising the minimum wage and severing ties between lobbyists and legislation. She wanted to convince the electorate she was “draining the swamp,” and ridding the country of the “criminal enterprise” the Republicans had been running. She had reached the Speaker’s chair through her planned attack on the Republican scandals in the 2006-midterm elections instead of her views on the issues. She knew they wouldn’t sell well. Instead, she took some advice from the marketing mavens of the high-tech industry and honed a Democratic message she could market to the voters selling her candidates and policies like an iPod. She was relentless with her alliterative charge that the Republicans had created a “culture of corruption, cronyism, and incompetence.” She was “for the people.”

She had learned from her father, “Big Tommy,” a political boss in his own right as mayor of Baltimore for twelve years, who built his well-oiled machine on graft and patronage, that coalition building is the way to build power. Growing up she watched him bring as many diverse ethnic groups together as possible, all in the spirit of looking out for the little guy. Like his daughter Big Tommy received heavy backing from Labor. So Pelosi knew she needed to find issues she could rally the troops around. This worked early on. During her first two years she gave her moderates cover, avoiding controversial issues. But once the new occupant of the White House was Barack Obama, it was time for the Left to realize their dreams of utopia. It was time to replace “by the people, for the people” with “have your people talk to my people.”

But the passage of the record-setting stimulus package, the Democrats’ attempts to craft policy based on global warming, and the great heist of the health care system have not created utopia for the vast majority of Americans. And Pelosi’s coalition is falling apart–for now. Without their cover, moderate Democrats are running scared. But the speaker still has her strategy ready. As a Pelosi ally told Politico, she has always told her members, “Do what you have to.” Here is where she is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the majority. She’s willing to take the knocks. In fact, some of her colleagues have produced ads that look like they’re running against her. But she is tough. Even the president has used those words to describe Pelosi. This time, however, the challenge may be tougher than she is.

Until the November election, Pelosi will be taking care of business as usual–spending taxpayer money and attacking Republicans. In late August, she and close Democrat ally, California Congressman George Miller, Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, praised the $1.2 billion emergency education jobs funding California received as part of the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act. In a joint statement they claimed it was “a significant step forward for our economic recovery.” And she is still leading the charge against the previous administration–George Bush. Only a few weeks ago Pelosi said, “You don’t get any credit in campaigns for what you prevented from happening.” She went on to say the other choice for voters was the Bush Administration’s agenda. Hopefully, those voters will be more concerned what will happen if Nancy Pelosi is still pounding the gavel for her agenda after November.