Posted on 01/04/2007 10:41:10 AM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - It's a glass ceiling no one else has even cracked, and Nancy Pelosi crashed through it Thursday, elected the nation's first-ever female House speaker.
The 66-year-old San Francisco Democrat beamed and clapped as she heard the voice vote electing her to the House's top post. She was surrounded on the House floor by her six grandchildren, including Paul Michael Vos, born to her daughter Alexandra in early November.
Pelosi had entered the chamber to prolonged cheers from fellow House members and the packed visitors' galleries, where onlookers included actor Richard Gere and singer Tony Bennett, crooner of "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."
As the roll was called to seal her election and one Democrat after another shouted out her name, Pelosi sat smiling broadly, holding one grandchild and then another.
"This is an historic moment — for the Congress, and for the women of this country. It is a moment for which we have waited more than 200 years," Pelosi said in prepared remarks. "Never losing faith, we waited through the many years of struggle to achieve our rights."
"For our daughters and granddaughters, today we have broken the marble ceiling," she said.
Pelosi began her history-making day running into anti-abortion demonstrators as she went to a prayer service with her husband, Paul, and a daughter at St. Peter's Catholic Church near the Capitol.
"You can't be Catholic and pro-abortion," read one placard. Pelosi and her entourage walked past the small group of protesters without saying anything.
Attending the service with her were Republican leaders that her party put into the minority in the November election: new Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio and Minority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri.
Also there were new House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, a one-time Pelosi rival elected by House Democrats to be her No. 2 over her protests, and Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean.
She also attended a ceremonial swearing-in of the Congressional Black Caucus, where the incoming leader of the 42-member group, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich., made clear that they intended to have a voice in the new Congress. "She must deliver because black people delivered that we might have this majority," Kilpatrick said of Pelosi.
The House convened at midday with Democrats rejoicing over taking control of Congress after 12 years in the minority.
But the spotlight belonged to Pelosi, and she was making the most of it with a whirlwind of festivities from the lavish to the sentimental. The week was her coming-out to the nation, and she was aiming to introduce herself not just as the San Francisco liberal decried by Republicans, but also as an Italian-American Catholic, mother of five and native of gritty Baltimore, where her father was mayor.
"We look forward to the rest of the country appreciating the real San Francisco values, of diversity and a city of dreamers, " San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said after attending a brunch in her honor. "You can only exploit the gay community so much ... They're going to see there's so much more to San Francisco."
Throughout, the symbolism of Pelosi's triumph for women was center stage.
Outside a brunch Thursday at the Library of Congress, leaders from the National Organization for Women greeted her with a giant congratulation card. The message: Way to Go!
"This is a historic moment for women everywhere," said NOW President Kim Gandy.
Thursday evening, Pelosi was being feted at a $1,000-a-head concert hosted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee at the National Building Museum with performances expected from Carole King, Bennett, Wyclef Jean and others.
Pelosi attended Mass Wednesday at Trinity University, where she's an alumnus, and dined that night at the Italian embassy.
Friday begins with an open house event across from the Capitol. Then she heads to Baltimore, where the street where she grew up in Little Italy is being dedicated in her honor: Nancy D'Alesandro Pelosi Via.
Pelosi was raised there, the daughter of New Deal Maryland congressman Thomas D'Alesandro, who later became the city's mayor. She didn't run for the House herself until 1987 after marrying wealthy businessman Paul Pelosi, moving to San Francisco and raising her children.
In Congress Pelosi displayed the tough politicking of her childhood environment. She wrung loyalties, counted votes and muscled aside Hoyer to become Democrats' second-in-command, and then Democratic leader in 2002.
Personal loyalty is key to Pelosi. She tried to block Hoyer's bid in November to become Democratic majority leader, suffering an embarrassing defeat when her preferred candidate, Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record), lost badly.
Pelosi wins re-election by huge margins and stays true to her San Francisco constituency, voting against the Iraq war resolution and co-sponsoring legislation to end federal prohibitions against medical marijuana. Her liberalism makes some moderate Democrats leery, and she's avoided campaigning in some conservative districts.
Not to worry.....the media will prop her up. Unless and until the Hildebeast gets tired of her. When that day comes, the Queen Mum better hire some bodyguards.
This is the strategy I would encourage the Republicans use for this Congress - put all the eggs in the prolife basket. Force Pelosi to sacrifice ground on prolife matters in exchange for economic, ethics, and lobby reform concessions.
She badly wants to get things done and appear to be moving fast.
Target the small prolife split that is forming and will form within the Democratic Congress with everything you've got. Slap tough restriction riders onto any lobby group reform bills that Pelosi puts up. Wanna database our prolifers Nancy? Fine. Let's put Planned Parenthood more in the spotlight also. Recruit some of those Dem freshman to co-sponsor.
Focus on one thing - SPLITTING the Dems on prolife issues in exchange for some (not all) economic concessions. Pressure Pelosi to start abandoning her ideology or risk looking like a do-nothing Speaker.
I can't wait until Nancypoli starts having her hot flashes and goes nuts in the HOUSE!
At 66????? I think those days are over. But she can still go nuts.
Her introduction by the fella obviously insane from GOP hatred was paticularly nauseating- he blabbed about how she wasn't a vindictive personality or something liek that and how she is an advocate of bipartisanship- My mind exploded at that point so don't remember much after thqat http://sacredscoop.com
How about the ones in the party that let the power
go to their heads...and thus turned off our own voters,
who stayed home; and let this thing happen? Dumb remarks,
dumb campaigns, dumb political ads. Geez....I never
thought this would jhappen..I hope Bush doesn't fall for
their slimy agenda..Veto...needs to be in the mix and
with the bully pulpit or the taxes will come fast and
furious..for the children.. they have the plans we have
the short end of he stick...JK
How I hope you're right!!! I'm sure you're right that they'll be seen as they are. BUT will the average American voter inform himself/herself and vote them out in 2008? I don't know how much confidence I have any more in the voters!
Nothing short of this will do it!!
In my opinion as an elected representative who happens to be female, the "for the children" comment trivialized the gravity of the occassion. The bulk of the citizenry does not see children's issues as the most important on the current agenda - just the liberal leftist females. The gathering of children at the podium was like the character with the big skirt hiding little ones in the Nutcracker ballet.
What did happen during the administration of the general oath of office? Did she actually do that with all the kids around her still grabbing to touch the gavel? It makes a really bad impression to show that a woman Speaker is distracted from important duties and responsibilities by children vying for her attention as a nurturer. I was embarassed for women in office. The scene reinforced many stereotypes that, in my opinion, we would be prudent to avoid.
This is the best I ever seen. I laughed so hard it hurts. Right on!!!!!!!
...........got it ! LOL !
I was sorry to see that he is such a poor public speaker. He stumbled over several words and seemed very unprepared. I am sorry he is now our minority leader.
Her eyes are no longer so pop-eyed. When she went missing for \several weeks prior the to election, she must have been having really good cosmetic surgery to loosen up whatever was pulling her skin back so tight. yikes
There's this thing about elections: you win some, you lose some. And I think that the Democrats are like the dog that caught the car- they don't really know what to do with it.
Oh, they know what to do with it. It's about f*cking Republicans right up the ass. That's all it has been about since January 3rd, 1995.
Okay, FReepers, let's get this set up now.
NormsRevenge got it just right when he added "BARF ALERT" to the title:
Pelosi basks in historic day in Congress (elected first female House speaker) *.*Barf Alert!*.*
ANY article with Pelosi in the title needs a BARF ALERT.
Nancy's hubris outweighs her gravitas by about 10 to 1!!
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