FT Gushes Over Pelosi Running 'Tight Ship'

FT Gushes Over Pelosi Running 'Tight Ship'

By Ken Shepherd (Bio | Archive)
July 28, 2008 - 13:53 ET

If the MRC had an annual Charlie Gibson Award for Praise of Nancy Pelosi, I'd have to think Financial Times reporter Stephanie Kirchgaessner would be in the running for the 2008 prize.

In a news analysis piece in the July 28 paper -- "Energy crisis sees Pelosi run a tight ship for Democrats" -- Kirchgaessner praised Pelosi's parliamentary prowess:

Steering the Democrats' response to the energy crisis without alienating environmentalists or the struggling middle class could prove to be one of the biggest tests Ms Pelosi will face this year. Her record suggests that the speaker will respond to the challenge with astute political manoeuvring, showing once again that, though she is labelled a "San Francisco liberal", the roots of her political education lie in the rough and tumble world of Baltimore, where her father was mayor.

Yes, congressional approval ratings are in the cellar, Kirchgaessner admitted later in her article, but you've got to admire how Pelosi can crack the whip and keep her caucus in line:

In the 20 months since she became the first female speaker of the House, a position that puts her second in the line of succession to become president, the congresswoman from San Francisco has proven herself to be a pragmatic and iron-fisted leader of the traditionally fractious Democratic caucus.

Under her leadership, Democrats have backed the majority position 91 per cent of the time, the highest so-called "unity score" Democrats have achieved in 51 years.

She achieved that, says one senior Republican lobbyist, by taking cues from the former Republican speaker Newt Gingrich: centralising power in her office and, when necessary, side-stepping powerful committee chairmen by creating ad hoc committees to tackle sensitive issues such as global warming.

—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters

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But apparently

July 28, 2008 - 13:56 ET by Dr_Liberty

U.S. Representative (at-large) Joy Behar is a bit overboard.

Abandon ship, ye mateys! Aaargh!!

Political

July 28, 2008 - 13:59 ET by athoughtor2

Political manuvering...heaven forbid she actually proposes doing something for the struggling middle class she claims to support...

How about this idea....nope....any suggestions of your own? nope...

How about this idea....nope...care to offer anything? nope

So what is she's running a

July 28, 2008 - 14:23 ET by ForeverOnTheRight

So what is she's running a "Tight Ship, if you are running for the reef, a tight ship will only get you their faster. Unity is great if your going in the right direction and very bad if your going off a cliff.

Pelosi

July 28, 2008 - 14:11 ET by bigpapa

is completely insane and needs to be commited to a nice state hospital...

NOBAMA 08 !!!

Your Fired !

July 28, 2008 - 14:17 ET by Dano

She seems to not care to listen to the people that she works for.......the Citizens of the United States. So as her employer, we the people need to scream........YOUR FIRED, MS. PELOSI !

and please take Harry Reid with you.

So...

July 28, 2008 - 14:17 ET by ontheright

...her "iron fisted" control over the house benefits "We the People" how?

Too many instances of Congress' failures to list here...

Political manoeuvring better than job performance???!!!

July 28, 2008 - 14:18 ET by c5then

I've heard tell of a time, perhaps a golden age long forgotten, where running the House of Representatives as a dictatorship was frowned upon and ridiculed in the press. When elected leaders were expected to do their jobs and actually debate and pass legislation that helped the country and solved the problems else they were not re-elected. A time when tyranny in any form was anethema to any American and any hint of it was exposed, ridiculed and exterminated.

But then again, the Financial Times, being a British publication, probably looks back on those times as a dark period where a group of upstart little colonies caused such upheaval and strife because they just couldn't do as they were told by their King and 'protector'. The FT probably pines for the good old days when tyranny was the default form of government and all the good little peasants did as they were supposed to or were killed.

The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Alan Keyes '08.

"Astute UNPOPULAR Political" Leadership is more like it

July 28, 2008 - 20:44 ET by JayTee

This is the Most UNPOPULAR Congress EVER.
you can't cover that up...Pelosi's "mandate" is non-existant...

This is her Last leadership position....because she Sucks at her Job....which is good in San Fran, but NOT Congress.

The Republican Revolution will not be Televised

"centralising"?

July 28, 2008 - 14:32 ET by Killgrave

"centralising"? "manoeuvring"?

I sense Brit-spelling on the first word. But what is up with the second? Someone help me out here...

KG,

July 28, 2008 - 14:46 ET by MassConserv

KG, I believe that "manoeuvring" is also a Brit spelling.

From dictionary.com

ma·noeu·vre Audio Help /məˈnuvər/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[muh-noo-ver] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –noun, verb (used with object), verb (used without object), -vred, -vring. Chiefly British. maneuver.

Also British spelling, like

July 28, 2008 - 14:44 ET by Ken Shepherd

Also British spelling, like foetus or aluminium or storey or kerb.

so let's see

July 28, 2008 - 14:40 ET by candance

Controlling Congress with an iron fist and forcing your subjects to vote the party line is "astute political maneuvering." *bangs head on keyboard*

Adm. Pelosi

July 28, 2008 - 14:48 ET by SGriffis

If she's running such a tight ship, she needs to turn around so the ship can leave the dock.

91%

July 28, 2008 - 14:51 ET by Eileen Right

Pelosi and her Nancy Boys and Girls stuck together 91% of the time., so that 9% of the time they split accounts for their approval rating?

Pelosi

July 28, 2008 - 14:53 ET by WR Jonas

She could not exist for one hour if it were not for the unflagging ,relentless and mindless lying from the leftist controlled media. She is a clueless ,vain sock puppet from the old communist mold . America will be far better off when this failure has faded into oblivion.

Environmentalists vs. the struggling middle class...

July 28, 2008 - 14:59 ET by trak65

We know whose side Pelosi and her party are on, and the report is correct that so far she's done a good job of maintaining party discipline.

It's the republicans' job to trumpet the obvious fact that the democrats support high energy prices, which lowers the standard of living of the middle class. If the public understands each party's position well, the good guys will have a great issue for this fall. Let's hope they can communicate the message and exploit it effectively.

trak... Exactly! We

July 28, 2008 - 15:12 ET by bigtimer

trak...

Exactly!

We could possibly, just possibly make gains if the repubs would use this in their districts...along with illegal immigration.

It would be priceless to see her lose her communist crown.

"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh

She has run a tight ship.

July 28, 2008 - 18:04 ET by Hermano

She has run a tight ship. After all, she did put her foot down on the most important work she has put forth - privatizing the Congressional Cafeteria.

The Newsbusters Comments Crew: Saving the Environment - One Ribeye at a Time! h/t Dr_Liberty

Unless "ship" is a new

July 28, 2008 - 18:59 ET by fitzfong

Unless "ship" is a new euphemism for "face", Stretch Pelosi isn't running a tight anything.

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." -Ronald Reagan

fitzfong.blogspot.com