Calmes: Nancy Pelosi, the GOAT.
I really wanted to believe this story was true and even a little impressed by Pelosi’s ability to withstand the personal attacks that have been so frequent her entire term. But then, I began to think about her recent appearance on the Today show (where she was called a “sniveling coward,” “a coward who’s got no principles,” a “big fat baby,” and a “bitch”) and it was too much for me to believe she would take the insults from the right with the same dignity.
Then I remembered where I saw her at her most powerful, though that’s an exaggeration: at the Democratic leadership retreat in July, where she was asked to provide a list of specific policies she would like to see. She gave one, and it was the single most unifying issue for the Democratic Party this election season: Obamacare. In the weeks leading up to the midterm elections and as the health care law was entering its final stages of implementation, I wrote that the health care bill should be considered a bridge to the real solution, and Nancy Pelosi was the bridge master.
As the president and his party attempt to walk back certain policies built into Obamacare, and the Democrats and their allies on the right continue their concerted effort to repeal the popular legislation, it is time for the Democrats to rejoin in what is really a fight for the future. We need to be looking in the mirror, realizing that we are not just the majority party, but the future of American politics. We have the unique role in this country of being the party that is willing to do what’s necessary to provide for the common good. And that means passing the comprehensive reform of our health care system, and doing so without making a false promise to the American people.
It’s time the Democrats show courage and take it to the voting booth. And if they don�
