Nancy Pelosi announced she is stepping down as Speaker of The House on Thursday, November 17, 2022. Though she does not plan to leave entirely. She will remain a member in the house after her two decade long involvement with the Hose of Representatives. For some, this was an upsetting announcement as she was well liked by the democratic party and many others. Some people, however, were pleased to hear of the news and took to the internet to show their joy.
Vox was definitely sad to see the first women to ever hold the position of Speaker of The House leave. The article titled,
Nancy Pelosi was really, really good at her job. The last of writer, Li Zhou's opening talks about her accomplishments, including the Affordable Care Act and American Rescue plan to name a few from Zhou's list.
The rest of the article is an interview with Molly Ball, a Time Political Correspondent and the author of the book titled, Pelosi.
The interview will ball, in summary, explains how Ball was not initially interested in Pelosi but learned more about her through her job and grew to agree with her on many things. Her increasing interest made her knowledgeable about her values and found herself writing a book in response to a lot of hate the SOH was receiving under the Trump administration.
The tone of the article was very upbeat as they announced Pelosi's decision and respected it, choosing to use their platform to remind people of the big shoes left to be willed in her wake.
Other people did not share the same thoughts.
National Review released their own article the same day as Pelosi made her announcement, titled, Nancy Pelosi Should Go Home to San Francisco. Writer Dan McLaughlin acknowledges her long-standing position but admits her methods are what is making her step down.
"It’s why Pelosi became speaker twice, why she got things done for two Democratic presidents in the role, and why she has twice now found herself losing the majority." (McLaughlin, 2022).
They criticize her and her party for her age, saying "A younger generation needs to learn how to wield power in the way that Pelosi did if the Democrats are going to govern again effectively."
If her age doesn't strike you as concerning, they also mentioned her decision to stay as a member of the House as "questionable" to also convince readers. They claim it is an ongoing issue of people not knowing when to effectively lead and how that can become disruptive to new leadership.
To round this up...
It seems pretty clear, you either love her or hate her. It was nearly impossible to find an unbiased article that simply says, "she's leaving" and leave it at that. The higher the position you hold in government, the bigger the target that is on your back. As this transition does underway, I expect there to be a lot of drama while a new SOH is chosen.
Zhou, L. (2022, November 20). Nancy Pelosi was really, really good at her job. Vox. Retrieved November 30, 2022, from https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/11/20/23467057/nancy-pelosi-speaker-legacy-molly-ball-biography
McLaughlin, D. (2022, November 17). Nancy Pelosi should go home to San Francisco. National Review. Retrieved November 30, 2022, from https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/nancy-pelosi-should-go-home-to-san-francisco/
Zhou, L. (2022, November 17). The two biggest challenges facing Nancy Pelosi's successor. Vox. Retrieved November 30, 2022, from https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/11/17/23464543/nancy-pelosi-house-speaker-hakeem-jeffries
This was a great peace, I had no idea that Pelosi had stepped down last month. The fact that the first woman speaker has been in the position multiple times in her career is incredible. She truly was a great leader. I hope she is used as a resource and teacher for future speakers of the House. I wonder if she received more harassment as a woman in such position. In a world where men dominate the congress, I would not be surprised. Incredibly informative post!
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