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On July 21 of this year, Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race. His bitter surrender to harsh political realities represented a final victory for Nancy Pelosi, the supremely shrewd behind-the-scenes operator who has orchestrated most of the Democratic Party’s political strategy since the 2000s — though her rise to prominence stretches back much further.
Initial Rise to Power
Nancy Pelosi was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1988. She was one of only 29 women in the House. She gained a stellar reputation as a “shrewd politician” as she served as the House Minority Whip. In 2003, she became the first woman to lead a party in Congress, and in 2007, she became the highest-ranked woman in American political history as the Speaker of the House.
The Affordable Care Act
Ever since the New Deal, Democrats had been trying to pass a national health care program. There have been several failed attempts since then, such as “HillaryCare” in the 1990’s. However, in 2008, Obama made it one of the main priorities of his campaign, and he could not have achieved this feat without the help of Nancy Pelosi.
Obama wanted to fix the mistakes of his predecessors, so rather than drafting the bill himself, he decided to give the responsibility to Congress. The Senate failed to produce the ACA, so Nancy Pelosi took it upon herself to write the all-important bill.
She faced much adversity. For instance, a group of bishops stood in opposition to the bill because of its support of abortion care, and made it so that many in the House would not vote for the bill.
However, Pelosi made compromises and won over several previously undecided votes of legislators, and the Affordable Care Act passed on March 23, 2010, and remains in effect today. This law allowed millions of Americans to gain affordable and accessible healthcare while prohibiting health insurers from charging more or denying coverage because of pre-existing health conditions like asthma, diabetes, or cancer.
Attacks by Republicans
Pelosi and her colleagues predicted some form of support for Mr. Trump’s “Stop the steal” movement. However, as she writes in her recent book The Art of Power, “no rational person could have imagined the events on January 6th.” As thousands of insurrectionists marched up the steps of the capital, they chanted, “We want Nancy” “Bring Her Out!” and other horrifying phrases.
This was a culmination of decades-long attacks that far-right Republicans have been scaling against Pelosi. For example, brutal attack ads, President Trump’s nickname “Crazy Nancy Pelosi,” death threats, and of course, the attack against her husband.
These are examples of ways that Republicans have spent tremendous energy (and millions of dollars) targeting the most powerful women in politics, framing her as “an enemy in the fight for America’s future.” Nancy Pelosi’s influence over American government has not only been noted and celebrated by Democrats, but feared by Republicans.
President Biden
Now 84 years old, the former Speaker of the House unofficially caused one of the most urgent changes in the Democratic Party in recent memory: pressuring Joe Biden to step down as the party’s presidential frontrunner. Pelosi showed Biden that his running would not only affect the presidential election, but the Senate, the House, and local elections as well. The lack of enthusiasm for Biden would dissuade people from going to the polls at all, which might not only cost the Democrats the presidency, but Congress as well. While never publicly asking President Biden to step down, Pelosi worked behind-the-scenes to ensure the longevity of the Democratic Party, as she has done ever since she first arrived in office in 1988.
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