By MARC SANDALOW
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi now knows that every move she makes will be scrutinized, analyzed and ripped apart for meaning.
Her Democratic colleagues' rejection of her choice for majority leader made news around the globe, reinforcing the notion that what had been fodder for Capitol Hill newspapers when Democrats were in the minority has become international news now that they are becoming the majority.
"She's learning exactly what Newt Gingrich learned 12 years ago," said Jack Pitney, a professor of political science at Claremont McKenna College outside Los Angeles and the author of several books on Congress. "Suddenly she's facing an entirely new level of scrutiny, and mistakes that would have gotten little public attention are suddenly magnified."
Many explanations have been offered for Pelosi's awkward introduction as a speaker-to-be, from her single-minded devotion to personal alliances to her determination that ending the war in Iraq be the new majority's No. 1 priority. Some Pelosi supporters even suggest that she "won by losing," establishing her credentials as a loyalist willing to suffer defeat in order to stand by an ally.
Whatever the explanation, the nation learned much last week about the San Francisco woman who is to become the House's 52nd speaker on Jan. 3.
She is a risk-taker who places an enormous premium on personal loyalty and trust. She is a woman with a long memory who does not easily forget those who have crossed her. And she is motivated less by the ideological labels that have defined her national image _ in this case Pelosi backed the more conservative candidate _ than by tactical calculations of internal House politics.
Pelosi has displayed a gift for the inside game of congressional politics _ caucus building, legislative maneuvering, vote counting _ since she first walked onto the House floor as a member 19 years ago.
But those skills seemed to fail her when her Democratic colleagues rebuffed her effort to have Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania named majority leader by a convincing 149-86 vote in favor of Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, who has been Pelosi's top deputy since she became party leader in 2002.
As Pelosi moves forward, the setback will be scrutinized for what clues it holds about her leadership and priorities, even as it left many members of her own caucus at a loss to explain what had previously appeared to be a near-flawless post-election game plan.
"I can't speak of what's going through the minds of Mr. Murtha or Ms. Pelosi," said Rep. Maxine Waters of California, voicing the sentiments of many Democrats struggling to understand why the party engaged in a divisive fight just one week after its midterm election triumph.
But some of the qualities Pelosi exhibited last week have been long apparent to those who know her best.
Her desire to surround herself with loyal allies was evident when she resisted pressure from the Congressional Black Caucus in 2002 to name Rep. William Jefferson of New Orleans to head the party's House re-election committee, choosing instead her longtime friend, Rep. Bob Matsui of California. When Matsui died of a rare stem-cell disease last year, Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois became chairman of the committee.
Her Pelosi's willingness to place pragmatism above ideology has been clear in her campaign and fund-raising priorities. And she has promoted many conservative Democrats _ Rep. John Spratt of South Carolina, Rep. Sanford Bishop of Georgia, Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Rep. Mike Thompson of California, to name a few _ to prominent roles and committee assignments, helping ease concerns that her liberalism would guide her decisions.
Yet Pelosi has never before been on the losing side of such a lopsided power play.
Her election in 2001 as whip and 2002 as Democratic leader followed smoothly run campaigns that displayed a masterful knowledge of her Democratic colleagues. Those performances gave even more pause to some members last week as Pelosi backed Murtha over the heavily favored Hoyer who, according to some Pelosi allies, harbors his own ambitions and has not displayed sufficient loyalty to Pelosi.
(E-mail Marc Sandalow at msandalow(at)sfchronicle.com.
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