One of the best kept secrets of this whole election has been about more than just a battle to win majority control. This mid-term election was significant for many reasons. The Democrats took control of Congress last night, they almost gained equal footing in the Senate and our government as we know it will begin to look very different in the upcoming years. Oh…I forgot one thing, the first woman ever just took control of the house as majority leader. If you do not know Nancy Pelosi, you will in the upcoming months. Why is this important?

For years politics has been viewed as a prodimately male, “good ole boy” system and now those barriers are being busted wide open. What is her background? She has represented California’s 8th District since 1987 (it was numbered the 5th District until 1993). The 8th District covers most of the City and County of San Francisco except for a corner in the southwest, comprising the areas of the Sunset District and St. Francis Wood. Those areas are part of the San Mateo County-based 12th District. Pelosi is known as being a progressive Democrat and she will change the face of Congress. Pelosi, 66, is a mother of five and a wife to Paul Pelosi.

Simply put, a house led by Nancy Patricia D’Alesandro Pelosi is going to look a lot different than a Delay House did. In this position, she is the biggest threat to President Bush and the greatest wish of many Americans…balance in our government! Here are some quotes from her:

“America must be a light to the world, not just a missile. “

“America will be far safer if we reduce the chances of a terrorist attack in one of our cities than if we diminish the civil liberties of our own people. “

“I have absolutely no regret about my vote against this war. The same questions remain. The cost in human lives, the cost to our budget, probably 100 billion. We could have probably brought down that statue for a lot less.“

She will not back down from a fight, not even the fight the Republicans are sure to give her in the upcoming years. She explained, in a Time magazine article, her approach to government and the Republicans:

“If people are ripping your face off, you have to rip their face off”

When she was talking about the Republicans exploitation of christian voters and the 2004 election, she said the following:

“The Republicans did not have an election about jobs, health care, education, environment, national security. They had an election about wedge issues in our country. They exploited the loveliness of the American people, the devoutness of people of faith for a political end. Democrats are going to ban the Bible if they are elected. Imagine the ridiculousness of that, if it won votes for them.”

I like Pelosi and right now she is the most powerful woman in Washington, the biggest fear of George Bush, the sleepless nights of Tom Delay, and the center of the new balance in our government that began last night. Let the games begin! I always wondered what Washington would have looked like if Ann Richards were in Congress…we are about to see a glimpse of it through Speaker of The House Pelosi.

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