House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Speaking of Pelosi Re "Speaker or not, she's a keeper," Editorial, Nov. 11 Thank you for your timely defense of Nancy Pelosi's performance as speaker of the House. As you aptly mentioned, her job is to pass legislation, not to win popularity awards. Part of the reason Democrats often fail, even with sizable majorities, is they forget this fact. Whether or not you agree with healthcare reform or tighter controls on Wall Street, passing these historic bills despite a solidly entrenched GOP was a huge accomplishment.

Speaking of Pelosi Re "Speaker or not, she's a keeper," Editorial, Nov. 11 Thank you for your timely defense of Nancy Pelosi's performance as speaker of the House. As you aptly mentioned, her job is to pass legislation, not to win popularity awards. Part of the reason Democrats often fail, even with sizable majorities, is they forget this fact. Whether or not you agree with healthcare reform or tighter controls on Wall Street, passing these historic bills despite a solidly entrenched GOP was a huge accomplishment.

Republicans are gleeful over the possibility that two prominent Democratic members of Congress, Reps. Charles B. Rangel of New York and Maxine Waters of Los Angeles, could face high-profile ethics "trials" this fall, just in time for the November elections. The party line was summed up on "Fox News Sunday" by House Minority Leader John A. Boehner: "[House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi said four years ago that it was time to drain the swamp…. But the fact is, she has not kept her promise.

Nancy Pelosi, whose four-year run as speaker of the House of Representatives could be in its final months, offered an optimistic prediction about the outcome of Tuesday's election during a brief photo opportunity on Capitol Hill. "With the early returns and the overwhelming number if Democrats who are coming out, we're on pace to maintain the majority," she said. Pelosi, the first woman and first Californian to lead the House, appeared with Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the Democrat charged with heading the party's campaign effort, at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's offices just south of the U.S. Capitol.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she sees little support in Congress or elsewhere in the country for sending more troops to Afghanistan, signaling trouble for President Obama's new strategy at a critical point in the war. With the number of casualties rising, Afghanistan embroiled in allegations of widespread election fraud and administration officials mindful that they must show progress by the middle of next year, several experts...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, unveiling the House's plan for a compromise on healthcare legislation today, said the bill would offer new insurance for tens of millions of Americans and lower costs for those who already have coverage. The plan represents a compromise among various interests in the House, the speaker said. It also will lead to a planned House vote and position House leaders for negotiations with Senate leaders crafting their own plan. "Here we are, for nearly a century -- it's really over a century -- leaders of all political parties . . . have called and fought for healthcare and health insurance reform," said Pelosi (D- San Francisco)

A few days ago, John Dennis waded boldly into the bohemian Caffe Trieste, onetime epicenter of the Beat Generation, looking like a corporate executive arriving for a yacht party: Navy blazer over an open-collar dress shirt, Rolex Submariner on his wrist, neatly trimmed gray hair, smooth handsome face and robin's egg blue eyes. He placed a flier on a table in front of Steven Harp, a goateed 69-year-old immersed in a book, "The Cosmic Game," about psychedelic therapy and "non-ordinary states of consciousness.

Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) attended a private meeting with fellow Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee but remains chairman of the tax-writing panel, despite questions about his personal finances and unpaid taxes on a beach house. Republicans have called for Rangel, 78, to be removed from his chairmanship over unreported income and unpaid taxes on his beach house in the Dominican Republic. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has resisted those demands. The issue is expected to come up again today at a meeting of Democratic leaders.

Re "Governor's aide has ties to former firm," Jan. 2 I have no more interest in my former firm's public-private partnership (P3) fortunes than do the reporters who wrote that story. But the more important question is this: Why do Caltrans' engineers so strenuously oppose P3s? After all, their own state pension funds have entered into hundreds of P3s for their benefit. Surely what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander? Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants P3s in order to boost jobs, wages and quality of life for the rest of California.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Saturday that the House would provide aid to the ailing U.S. automakers, requiring that the industry meet new fuel-efficiency standards, produce advanced vehicles and restructure "to ensure their long-term economic viability." Pelosi (D-San Francisco) did not disclose the amount of funding House leaders intend to seek for the industry -- automakers have been seeking $25 billion in loans to stabilize their sinking companies. But she said the funding should come from the $700-billion financial bailout approved by Congress in October.

A few days ago, John Dennis waded boldly into the bohemian Caffe Trieste, onetime epicenter of the Beat Generation, looking like a corporate executive arriving for a yacht party: Navy blazer over an open-collar dress shirt, Rolex Submariner on his wrist, neatly trimmed gray hair, smooth handsome face and robin's egg blue eyes. He placed a flier on a table in front of Steven Harp, a goateed 69-year-old immersed in a book, "The Cosmic Game," about psychedelic therapy and "non-ordinary states of consciousness.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D- San Francisco) said Friday that Republicans, and the secret donors fueling their campaigns, are intent on dramatically altering Social Security if elected this fall. "They'd like to get their hands on granny's Social Security check," Pelosi said on a conference call with women reporters. President George W. Bush told a financial industry convention in Chicago this week that his greatest failure in office was not passing Social Security reform.

Republicans are gleeful over the possibility that two prominent Democratic members of Congress, Reps. Charles B. Rangel of New York and Maxine Waters of Los Angeles, could face high-profile ethics "trials" this fall, just in time for the November elections. The party line was summed up on "Fox News Sunday" by House Minority Leader John A. Boehner: "[House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi said four years ago that it was time to drain the swamp…. But the fact is, she has not kept her promise.

Last week's elections in Pennsylvania proved that Democrats can throw tea parties too. In conservative western Pennsylvania, the special election to fill the House seat of the late John P. Murtha, a Democratic warhorse who delivered military appropriations to his district for 36 years, was expected to be close. The district's residents are quintessential swing voters: Democrats by heritage and habit but potential Republicans in outlook and temperament. It's the kind of place Republicans need to win if they hope to take back a majority in Congress.

Republicans got a wake-up call this week. For months, the GOP has been buoyed by the notion that 2010 will be a big year, delivering control of the House and perhaps even the Senate in November. But Tuesday's election results — arguably the best campaign day for Democrats since President Obama's victory in 2008 — suggest the climb back to a majority may be steeper than Republicans thought. Democrats nominated probably their strongest Senate contender in Pennsylvania, where Rep. Joe Sestak eliminated party-switcher Arlen Specter.

A San Francisco man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of making threatening phone calls to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi because of her support for healthcare reform. Gregory Lee Giusti, 48, was arrested at his home in the city's Tenderloin district after an investigation by federal authorities, said Joseph Schadler, spokesman for the FBI's San Francisco office. Schadler said Wednesday afternoon that the criminal complaint against Giusti was under seal and would not be made public until he appeared Thursday morning in San Francisco federal court.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D- San Francisco) said Friday that Republicans, and the secret donors fueling their campaigns, are intent on dramatically altering Social Security if elected this fall. "They'd like to get their hands on granny's Social Security check," Pelosi said on a conference call with women reporters. President George W. Bush told a financial industry convention in Chicago this week that his greatest failure in office was not passing Social Security reform.

A San Francisco man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of making threatening phone calls to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi because of her support for healthcare reform. Gregory Lee Giusti, 48, was arrested at his home in the city's Tenderloin district after an investigation by federal authorities, said Joseph Schadler, spokesman for the FBI's San Francisco office. Schadler said Wednesday afternoon that the criminal complaint against Giusti was under seal and would not be made public until he appeared Thursday morning in San Francisco federal court.

With a sense of generational history in the making, President Obama on Tuesday signed into law a sweeping healthcare overhaul that offers insurance to an estimated 32 million uninsured Americans and provides new guarantees of more secure coverage for all. Obama, who sought passage of this legislation for more than a year, portrayed it as an achievement on a historic par with the passage of Social Security after the Great Depression and Medicare in...

In the tense hours Sunday leading up to the House vote on a historic healthcare bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took time to call the former president of Notre Dame, Father Theodore Hesburgh. The House Democrats' leader was not seeking spiritual guidance. What she wanted was Hesburgh to help lock up the vote of Rep. Joe Donnelly, a Democrat from South Bend, Ind., who was wavering over the abortion issue. Donnelly ultimately pressed the "yes" button late Sunday night. The incident, one of scores on the road to the Democrats' healthcare victory, illustrates that Pelosi -- long the target of Republican attacks -- is beginning to play the game as well as powerful former speakers such as legendary Masters of the House "Tip" O'Neill and "Mr. Sam" Rayburn.