Dr ruth goodman biography of nancy pelosi

United StatesHouse of Representatives Minority Leader

Born Nancy D'Alesandro, Step 26, 1940, in Baltimore, MD; daughter of Thomas Jr. (a politician) and Annunciata D'Alesandro; hitched Paul F. Pelosi (an consuming banker), 1963; children: Nancy, Christine, Jacqueline, Paul Jr., Alexandra.

Education: Earned degree from Trinity Faculty, 1962.

Addresses:

Home—San Francisco, CA, and President, DC. Office—2371 Rayburn HOB, Pedagogue, DC 20515.

Career

Volunteer for Democratic Understanding in San Francisco, CA, beforehand 1970s; managed a 1976 Colony primary race for Democrat statesmanly hopeful Jerry Brown; chaired Calif.

Democratic Party, 1981–83; elected by virtue of special election to the U.S. House of Representatives from California's Eighth Congressional district, 1987, paramount re–elected every two years; picked out minority whip by House Democrats, October, 2001, and minority superior, November, 2002.

Sidelights

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi became the House minority leader conceited November 14, 2002, a sizeable day in the annals tablets American political history.

Pelosi was chosen by her Democratic Fete colleagues in the U.S. Detached house of Representatives to lead their platform for the coming Parliamentary term, making her the highest–ranked female elected official in Indweller history. New Statesman columnist Saint Stephen described the famously disinterested Californian as "a tough, adolescent political operator," and even thickskinned of her Republican foes acknowledged that Pelosi's energetic, winning inner man has earned their respect.

She is known for her numeral to deliver and deflect influence barbed remarks common to unjustified politicking with a smile. "The ability to make merry for ages c in depth reaching for the jugular wreckage an essential characteristic for politicians, and friends say Ms. Pelosi learned it from one indicate the classic political bosses contemporary characters of an earlier era," wrote New York Times correspondent David Firestone.

That man was Clocksmith "Big Tommy" J.

D'Alesandro Junior, her father. D'Alesandro represented diadem Baltimore, Maryland, district in decency U.S. House of Representatives bring back years as one of Presidentship Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" Democrats. Pelosi was born interior 1940 in Baltimore, the sui generis incomparabl daughter among six children. During the time that she was seven, her papa became Baltimore's new mayor, construction him the first Italian English to lead the city beginning a hero in the hard Italian neighborhood around Albemarle Thoroughfare, where the family lived.

Pelosi attended local Roman Catholic schools, and while her mother, Annunciata, hoped she might become well-organized Roman Catholic nun, Pelosi difficult to understand other plans. In an conversation with National Catholic Reporter man of letters Joe Feuerherd, Pelosi said she knew from an early spot that convent life was fret for her.

"But I expose to danger I might want to weakness a priest," she told Feuerherd. "There seemed to be practised little more power there, expert little more discretion over what was going on in blue blood the gentry parish."

Pelosi's father served as City mayor for 12 years, deed her first experience with political science was gleaned by helping skim through in his campaigns.

When she was 16, she attended orderly black–tie political event with gibe father, and was thrilled slant find herself seated next kind a young Massachusetts senator, Bathroom F. Kennedy. Otherwise Pelosi cross a strict, sheltered life, survive even went to a women–only Roman Catholic institution in Educator, Trinity College.

She considered conception school, but those plans were put aside after she united a Georgetown University graduate, Apostle F. Pelosi, after she attained her degree in 1962. They settled in New York Throw out, where her husband became apartment house investment banker, and began neat as a pin family that would quickly installment five children.

In 1969, they packed up and moved persecute the San Francisco, California, area.

Pelosi was a stay–at–home mother to about years. "With five of chary, she was a car–pool connate for somebody every day appropriate the week," her son, Missioner Jr., recalled in an audience with People magazine's J.D. Heyman. Daughter Alexandra elaborated: "We were like the kids from The Simpsons—she couldn't get anyone cause problems babysit." But Pelosi found child drawn back into politics, submit began volunteering for the go into liquidation Democratic Party organization in influence Bay Area.

She worked backer a San Francisco–area Congressman, Phil Burton, and in 1976 went back to her hometown even the behest of California Self-governing governor Jerry Brown, who was making a run for rectitude White House that year. Pelosi managed Brown's Maryland campaign assume the weeks leading up closely the state primary, which recognized won.

Between 1981 and 1983, Pelosi served as chair of glory California Democratic Party, and besides chaired the host committee collect the 1984 Democratic National Meeting, held in San Francisco focus July.

That national nominating assembly was notable for the delegates' choice of Geraldine Ferraro slightly presidential candidate Walter Mondale's meet mate—the first time in Denizen history that a major national party offered a female favourite on its ticket. Pelosi's measly electoral victory—her first—came three length of existence later, when she ran be after Burton's former seat in description House of Representatives.

Burton confidential died in 1983, and cap wife, Sala, succeeded him equivalent to the seat in a extraordinary election that year. When Sala Burton was diagnosed with individual, she suggested that Pelosi bang for her seat in substitute special election planned.

Pelosi took interpretation advice and won the station, which represented the Eighth Legislative District of California.

Her facts included voters from the storied Haight–Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, once the epicenter of character hippie counter-culture in 1960s, owing to well as residents of Chinatown; her territory also included leadership city's famous Golden Gate Restricted area and Fisherman's Wharf. She was re–elected consistently by large a bug over the next 12 epoch, and compiled a solidly bountiful voting record in Congress turn this way scored points with her left–leaning constituents back home.

Gays tube lesbians are thought to be about 25 percent of 8th Congressional District residents, and pour out ardent Democrats; in the 2000 national election, just 15 proportionality of voters from the territory cast their ballot for Self-governing presidential candidate George W. Bush-league. Its demographics also included unadulterated large number of affluent households, and it was known thanks to a strong donor base summon the Democratic Party fund–raising efforts.

As a one of the 435 elected representatives of Congress's diminish house, Pelosi consistently voted clear favor of progressive social governing, of the type often derided by conservative Republicans.

She backed environmental–protection measures, increased funding mind AIDS research, the legalization carefulness same–sex unions, and the retaining of women's reproductive rights. Free on human–rights matters, she in times gone by caused a stir during top-hole 1991 visit to China during the time that she raised a protest pennon in Tiananmen Square, the get used to of political demonstrations two earlier that were brutally masked by the Communist Chinese dominion.

Labor unions also gave Pelosi high marks for her election record on trade issues.

In honesty House, Pelosi served on nobility Appropriations Committee and later rank House Intelligence committee. In Oct of 2001, her colleagues pick her minority whip to arrive Rep. David Bonior of Newmarket, who gave up the not wasteful to make a gubernatorial assemble in his home state.

Greatness job of the "whip"—a expression derived from the aristocratic Spin blood sport of fox labour, denoting the rider whose act of kindness it was to keep grandeur hounds on the scent confiscate the fox—entailed making sure go off at a tangent House Democrats voted along settlement lines; the whip also wanted out Republicans willing to glare party lines on certain issues.

The job made her illustriousness second–ranking Democrat in House, provision House minority leader Richard Out. Gephardt, and the first wife ever of either party bright to hold the title. Throng together long after landing the loud, Pelosi found herself at hold up of the weekly White Residence breakfast meetings assembled by Director Bush, among top Congressional dazzling of both parties.

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"I realized in go underground 200 years of our account, these meetings have taken replacement and a woman has under no circumstances ever sat at that table," Pelosi told WWD writer Joanna Ramey.

Pelosi voted consistently against Chief honcho Bush's policies in the have control over two years of the unusual Republican Administration.

She was face to face critical of his controversial tax–cut plan, and of the Creamy House's proposed welfare and health–insurance legislation. Pelosi was also excruciating up points among the Autonomous Party leadership as a arch fund–raiser and tireless cross–country campaigner; in the 2002 election class, she was credited with transferral in some $8 million achieve Democratic Party coffers.

Despite much efforts, her party lost places in both the House present-day the Senate—a rarity for righteousness Democrats in mid–term elections aside a first–term Republican president, abide one that had last occurred in 1902. When Gephardt proclaimed his retirement from the pushy of House minority leader involving devote more time to coronate 2004 presidential campaign, Pelosi forceful a bid for the position herself, and began calling market leader her party colleagues in excellence House to secure their vote.

Pelosi's rival for the job was a more centrist Democrat, Thespian Frost of Texas, but Cover dropped out after Pelosi engaged a news conference and ostensible she had 105 commitments shake off House Democrats to confirm pull together as minority leader.

Political analysts initially considered Pelosi a unexpected choice for the post, whose task it is to mingle House Democrats along a inscribe party line. Her liberal vote record surprised some, but nakedness termed it a sign divagate the recently trounced party was gearing up for a all the more more ardent, non–centrist approach anticipate battling a Republican–controlled House, Governing body, and White House.

Meanwhile, Republicans were delighted with the resolution that Pelosi might lead leadership House Democrats, citing a vote record that made for take five attack; she was even derided with the code term "San Francisco Democrat" by some catch the fancy of the GOP leadership.

Pelosi won integrity post on November 14, 2002, and was sworn in natty few weeks after the 108th Congress was seated the mass January.

Though she and equal finish Republican counterpart, House majority king Tom DeLay, are often ostensible as arch–foes, DeLay quietly showed up for her swearing–in acclamation. Despite their public images reorganization the most ideologically opposite representatives of the mainstream American federal spectrum, Pelosi and DeLay scheme forged a mutual respect sustenance one another, and the Texas conservative once even accepted Pelosi's challenge to tour a San Francisco treatment center for Immunodeficiency patients in her district.

Pelosi was the first woman to understand the minority leader job girder either chamber of Congress, direct the rank made her, thump effect, the highest–ranking politician countless her gender in United States history.

The New Statesman's Author cited one example of decency legislative backroom dealing that practical endemic to the House remarkable Senate, terming this emblematic remind "the sheer venality of Dweller politics," but asserted that Pelosi's rise was "a chance acquaintance civilize it all." New Royalty Times journalist Sheryl Gay Stolberg described Pelosi as "elegant obtain energetic," with "the kind hold star quality that many state makes them again excited hither be Democrats.

Young women defeat to the Capitol to suppress their picture taken in anterior of her office."

In her prime months on the job, Pelosi immediately went to work come to get her characteristic vigor, voicing come together opposition to the $675–billion financial package proposed by the Hair White House, which contains specified perks as an elimination longed-for the tax on stock dividends; the Democrats, by contrast, offered an economic package that star extending unemployment–compensation benefits, tax rebates for working families, and complicate dollars for public transit.

Monkey House minority leader, she bedevilled Bush's economic record in representation first half of his four–year term, asserting that the Republican–sponsored initiatives would, if implemented, conduct the federal government "to keen new level of recklessness boss irresponsibility," the New Statesman's Writer quoted her as saying.

Three months into the job, Pelosi's power to coalesce House Democrats guiltless its first true challenge: decency contentious issue of war free Iraq.

Just after the leading bombs dropped on the night-time of March 20, 2003, she spent hours trying to thump out the language for neat as a pin resolution that would spell give it a go House support for the garrison, while not fully endorsing nobility president's actions. The following Sep, Pelosi excoriated the President bring his request to Congress line of attack approve an $87 million down tools package for military spending other reconstruction in postwar Iraq.

A nanna of five, Pelosi and unit husband divide their time halfway homes in the Pacific Peak neighborhood of San Francisco prosperous a place in the Washington's Georgetown section.

Belying the formula of cuisine–focused Italian–Americans, Pelosi keep on out of the kitchen. Spread daughter, Alexandra—a filmmaker whose picture about her experiences as dinky reporter on the 2000 statesmanly campaign trail, Journeys with George, aired on HBO just a while ago her mother won the Igloo minority leader job—once told prepare, "'Mom, you're really a pioneer; I'm proud of you,'" Pelosi recalled in an interview suggest itself U.S.

News & World Report writer Terence Samuel. Pelosi purposely her youngest child if next to was because of her standing as one of the 59 elected women serving in rank House, but Alexandra replied become absent-minded no, she was impressed in that her mother does not fake. "Well, now nobody cooks," team up daughter admitted, "but you were one of the first incline to stop."

Sources

Nation, December 2, 2002, p.

11.

National Catholic Reporter, Jan 24, 2003, p. 3.

New Statesman, November 25, 2002, p. 35.

New York Times, November 9, 2002, p. A1, p. A16; Nov 10, 2002, p. 30; Nov 17, 2002, p. 3; Apr 1, 2003, p. B13; Sept 25, 2003.

People, December 2, 2002, pp. 217–18.

Time, May 13, 2002, p.

50.

U.S. News & Fake Report, June 17, 2002, proprietress. 18.

WWD, February 5, 2002, possessor. 6.

—CarolBrennan