I'm starting to think that Pelosi might be a lifer. The woman is truly past her welcome. She's been the Democratic House Leader for 19 years, longer than any other Leader of either party, in either House, with the sole exception of Sam Rayburn. Democrats sorely need to remove her from her position, but unfortunately, because of her political connections and fundraising strength, they won't.
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That's obviously not true. She has the resounding support of the party, both in Congress and among the base. She's one of the greatest Speakers ever to serve. Even the greats have their setbacks, as with BBB for this Congress. If you point out the overall popularity of Congressional leadership, it is almost invariably bad. I do recall Pelosi's numbers reaching their best when she fought hard against Trump and launched the first impeachment. There was no one better suited to taking on Trump than Nancy Pelosi.
I do think there is a strong element of sexism in many of those that attack her. There are legitimate areas of criticism, yes. However, I rarely hear them levelled at anyone else in leadership, which are basically all men in both parties and both sides of the Capitol.
I don't take her announcement necessarily as one that means she'll serve as leader of the party or even serve her entire next term. If she announced her retirement now, she'd be a lame duck and her power would disappear in an instant. Assuming Democrats lose the House (as is likely now), I think she wants to have a role in establishing her successor. No one knows the job like her. If the Democratic Party is to have a strong leader going forward, I'd feel a lot better if they had Nancy Pelosi's seal of approval. I've seen the recent disastrous Republican Speakers and leadership and I'm not anxious to copy them there. The fact that Pelosi has held the reins as leader of the party for this long is a testament to her power and skills. I'm not someone that gets excited about having new blood for the sake of having new blood. I want a strong leader than can keep control and always win on the floor where and when it counts.
As I noted earlier, Pelosi possesses the fundraising strength and political conditions that will enable her to retain her position. And I'm not going to doubt that she's been an effective congressional leader. She does know how to keep the caucus in line and how to whip votes, and certainly has been able to strategically outmaneuver her Republican opponents, from Boehner and McCarthy to Trump. However, I'm not someone who is favorable towards politicians that serve for lengthy periods of time, and after nearly 20 years, it would behoove the Democratic caucus to obtain younger and fresher leadership. Why is it not possible for them to promote people like Jayapal into leadership? People who are just as loyal to the Party and its ideals, but who will be able to lead it into the future.
This will probably sound strange coming from someone with my views, but I actually
like Nancy, mostly because of those effective leadership skills you mentioned, not because of her political views and goals. I'm glad that she's going to run for one more term, and that she'll break Rayburn's record. I don't mind her longevity in office (I do not want term limits). It won't be too late to get new blood in the leadership three years from now instead of one year from now.
