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Politico...
Nancy Pelosi fades as
power player
By Jonathan Allen
4/14/11
During the past election season, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) could
have starred in a remake of the Hollywood cult classic “Attack of the
50-Foot Woman.” In an endless string of campaign ads, Republicans
caricatured her — even put her image on billboards — as a political
monster.
But now, the former House speaker more closely resembles “The
Incredible Shrinking Woman.”
Her diminished stature has affected the way she is perceived in
Washington’s power game and the way she handles her duties as head of
the House Democratic minority. It all adds up to this: At times, the
once-omnipresent Pelosi seems practically invisible in the Capitol.
When President Barack Obama, Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid hammered out a deal last week to avert a shutdown and
fund the government for the rest of the year, Pelosi was delivering a
speech at Tufts University near Boston.
But her hands would have been idle if she had stayed in Washington: The
White House didn’t want her involved in the talks.
In fact, Democratic and Republican sources tell POLITICO, none of the
power brokers wanted her in the room. They feared that her presence and
her defense of liberal values would have made it impossible for Obama
to cut a deal with Boehner. The sources say Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky also was excluded so the White House could
justify keeping Pelosi out.
Boehner, more or less, had McConnell’s proxy in negotiating with Senate
Democrats and the White House.
Pelosi’s shutout from the biggest deal so far this year is a remarkable
comedown for a former speaker who drove the legislative process in the
past Congress. Some Democrats also say they’re steamed at the White
House for mistreating Pelosi after she delivered the president’s
legislative agenda in the past Congress and took lumps for him on the
campaign trail. A Pelosi aide insists that during the budget
negotiations, “she made it clear to all parties that there was a
willingness on the part of House Democrats to work to keep government
open.”
But one veteran member of the Congressional Black Caucus told POLITICO
that dynamic is driving his decision to vote no on the long-term
spending bill.
There’s “no commitment to support it” because “Democrats haven’t really
been part of the discussion,” said the lawmaker, who requested
anonymity. Asked about Reid’s presence, the lawmaker replied in
disgust: “That’s the Senate.”
On Wednesday, Pelosi’s frustration with the White House boiled over in
a closed-door leadership meeting with Gene Sperling, head of the
president’s National Economic Council, as they discussed Obama’s plan
to put together a congressional working group on deficit-reduction
matters.
“Maybe you could consult with us just once,” Pelosi said — a light
elbow to the administration’s ribs. She was quickly assured that the
president’s proposal could be altered and that House Democratic input
would be considered.
Pelosi’s loss of standing is most obviously seen in the transfer of
official functions to new Speaker John Boehner and in her inability to
attract as much media attention now that she’s leading a party caucus
that is largely irrelevant to policymaking.
Her aides say she’s making herself available to the press on a weekly
basis — though one-on-one interviews are with more friendly
organizations and reporters — and point to the 17 floor speeches she
has made so far this year as evidence of her continued visibility. She
puts out more press releases than other lawmakers, and she has used
Twitter to communicate with her followers on matters as important as
her decision to remain in the Democratic leadership after the past
election.
The loss of power “hasn’t curtailed her or caused her to be less
visible,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.). “I don’t think she has
stepped back. That’s not in her nature.”
Read the rest of the story at Politico
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