WIDELY PRAISED BY LIBERALS AND DEMONIZED BY NEO-CON’S AND OTHER ADMINISTRATION LACKEYS, PELOSI IS A CONSCIENTIOUS, INDEPENDENT, POLITICIAN, UNWILLING TO BUCKLE TO THE BUSH JUGGERNAUT
Considered by those in the know to be Dennis Hastert’s likely successor as Speaker of the House when the Dems retake Congress this November 7th, Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi, is the first woman to ever lead a major political party in either house of Congress.
A Democrat, she has represented California’s 8th District encompassing almost all of the City and County of San Francisco since 1987.
Pelosi has been widely praised by liberals and demonized by Neo-Con’s and other administration lackeys for being a conscientious, independent,politician unwilling to buckle to the Bush juggernaut, particularly in matters of war, privacy, personal freedom, tax breaks and a woman’s right to choose.
Known commonly by Rush, Sean and other members of the Right Wing noise machine as the “San Francisco liberal” or “Bay Area liberal”, Pelosi, a prolific fundraiser for herself and other Democrats, has among other things, opposed the resolution authorizing Bush to use military force against Iraq, and been a relentless critic of the war ever since. This criticism included introducing an amendment to the FY 2006 Defense Appropriations bill, which called on Bush to specify a strategy for success in Iraq, as well as a timetable for a safe withdrawal of American troops.
Other key recent votes include:
On 9/14/06, voting no on HR 6061: Secure Fence Act of 2006 a pet GOP project.
On 7/29/06 voting no on HR 5970: Estate Tax and Extension of Tax Relief Act
On 6/16/06 voting no on H RES 861, which pledged support for the War in Iraq and rejected a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
On 5/10/06, voting no on H R 4297, which extended the Bush tax cuts.
On 2/1/06, voting no on H RES 653, which cut nearly $40 billion from the federal budget by imposing substantial changes on welfare, child support and student lending programs.
On 12/16/05, voting no on H R 4437, which would clamp down on illegal immigration and toughen border security. Nancy’s objections to the bill is that it did not include any new avenue for current illegal immigrants to gain legal status
On 12/14/05, voting yes on H R 2863, which supported a ban on cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees held by U.S. forces and to requires the military to follow the Army field manual for interrogations.
On 9/29/05, voting no on H R 3824, which would have forced the government to compensate property owners if development plans were stymied by attempts to protect endangered species and would have given political appointees more power to make decisions about which species and areas would be subject to government intervention aimed at protecting plant and wildlife.
On 7/28/05, voting no on H R 6, which offered tax breaks and incentives in what supporters said was an effort to spur oil and gas companies to provide innovative ways to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, conserve resources and reduce pollution.
On 7/28/05, voting no on H R 3045, which established a free trade zone between the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua; a separate agreement with the Dominican Republican was also included in the measure.
On 6/22/05, voting no on H J RES 10, which approved the proposal of a Constitutional amendment to ban the desecration of the American flag. The same bill was later defeated in the Senate.
On 5/24/05, voting yes on H R 810 which would have repealed restrictions on federal spending on embryonic stem cell research.
On 3/21/05, not voting on S 686 which gave federal courts jurisdiction in the Terri Schiavo dispute.
On 1/4/05, voting no on H RES 5, which instituted a number of changes in the ethics rules that govern the conduct of individual members of Congress.
For more specifics on Ms. Pelosi’s voting record follow this link.
Following the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, Ms. Pelosi became a supporter of the Chinese democracy movement and vocal critic of the government of the People’s Republic of China. She is the sponsor of the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992.
BIOGRAPHY
Ms. Pelosi, was born Nancy D’Alesandro to Italian American parents on March 26, 1940 in Baltimore, Md. Her father was Maryland Congressman Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr., who also served for a time as the Mayor of Baltimore.
Nancy received her A.B. from Trinity College in 1962, where she met her future husband, Paul Pelosi. After college, the couple relocated to Paul’s hometown of San Francisco, where his brother was a member of the city’s Board of Supervisors, and the Pelosi’s raised their five children.
When their youngest became a senior in high school, Ms. Pelosi became involved in Democratic politics, working her way up to party chairwoman for Northern California, and joining forces with one of the leaders of California Democratic Party politics, 5th District Congressman Phillip Burton.
Following her mentor’s death, and that of his wife and successor, Sala, Nancy was elected to fill the vacancy.
POLITICAL MILESTONES:
Finance chairman, California State Democratic Party, 1981-1983.
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, California State Democratic Party, 1985-1986.
Elected as a Democrat to the One Hundredth Congress, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States Representative Sala (wife of Philip) Burton,
Re-elected to the nine succeeding Congresses (June 2, 1987-present), often with more than 70% of the vote.
Minority whip (One Hundred Seventh Congress).
Minority leader (One Hundred Eighth and One Hundred Ninth Congress).
DENIS DONOVAN - EDITOR
Sources for this posting include, Google, Wikipedia and the Washington Post for the specifics on Ms. Pelosi’s recent voting record.
