Nancy Pelosi

I've followed Ed Burmilla of Gin and Tacos for a long time.  Followed him on Facebook, eventually getting a friend invite from his personal account.  I arranged for my wife to meet him at the AP US Gov reading last week.  I'm a fan.

So I was really disappointed when basically he advanced the argument that the problem Democrats have right now is Nancy Pelosi.  After different posts that note that Democrats are frozen from every branch of government, his argument is that this is somehow Pelosi and the aging leadership of the Democratic Party's fault. 

Pelosi is, in many ways, a perfect representation of what is best and worst of Democratic politicians.  She was an exceptional Speaker of the House, shephered tough legislation through in a narrow window of time and holding her caucus together.  She is imminently more capable that John Boehner and Paul Ryan, and unlike Denny Hastert, she never molested children.  She's tough as nails, smart as a whip and a very capable inside operator.  She's a perfect technocrat.

She is, however, shitty in front of a camera.  Like many perfect technocrats, she can't tell the sort of story that moves voters.  However, her job should not require that.  She needs only to win her own district and then guide legislation once she has the gavel.  She doesn't seek out the cameras like Paul Ryan, either, but they obviously find her. 

There are a number of good spokesmen and women for the Democrats right now.  I'm increasingly warming to Brian Schatz of Hawaii.  I've always been a big Chris Murphy fan.  Kristin Gillibrand, Cory Booker.  The House is always trickier to make a name for yourself, which is why they usually default to those in leadership positions like Pelosi or Adam Schiff. 

Pelosi is a premier boogeyman for the Republicans.  They run against her because she's liberal, San Francisco, a woman.  But the idea that her age is the problem is laughable, when Republicans elected a 70 year old to the presidency.  The idea that she's the problem is absurd.