March 17th, 2003
by
Erin P. Billings
Roll
Call
In the 10 weeks
since California Rep. Nancy Pelosi took the helm in the House
Democratic Caucus, one thing has become abundantly clear to her
colleagues: She is more than just a fresh face.
Aggressive
and political, hands-on and decisive, Minority Leader Pelosi has quickly
demonstrated a clean break with the style of leadership her predecessor, Rep.
Richard Gephardt (Mo.), employed in his eight years atop the party’s
leadership. She rewards her allies, shuns open promises and is a stickler for
Caucus rules.
Unlike
Gephardt, who was willing to delegate authority and sometimes bent over
backward to keep the Caucus’ various factions content, she consults just a
handful of Members when formulating positions and keeps a tight lid on her
plans. At the same time, the unabashed liberal is adamant about getting out
front of Republicans on major policy proposals in the hope of giving the public
a clear alternative between the two parties.
Most House
Democrats view her approach as a marked departure from the one Gephardt took in
his eight years of stewardship before stepping down as Minority Leader last
fall in the wake of a midterm election that left Democrats with setbacks in
both the House and Senate. Gephardt, who has been a fixture in the Democratic
leadership since 1984 and occupied the top spot since 1995, is now pursuing his
party’s 2004 presidential nomination.
Members say
the jury is still out on whether Pelosi’s approach will translate into wins at
the ballot box, but allies and foes alike give her credit for working hard to
grow into the role of leader and are willing to give her time to sink or swim.
Even though Gephardt was popular and well-respected, House Democrats were
hungry for new leadership.
“Members
were ready for a change from Gephardt,” said one veteran Democrat. “Whichever
direction it would have gone.”
“She’s a
fresh face, and a positive difference,” said Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C.), now
assistant leader under Pelosi and a longtime Gephardt lieutenant. “That is
vitally important to a party that has lost several elections in a row. She
clearly has this spirit about her that gets communicated to all of us.”
Members say
privately that part of the excitement around Pelosi — beyond the fact that she
is the new leader — is a renewed attention paid to the interests of individual
House Democrats. Gephardt, they say, had begun to shift his focus to his next
challenge months before he stepped down as leader to concentrate on his looming
White House bid.
“Gephardt
grew so big at the end of his term it was hard for him to devote that kind of
attention,” said one Democratic Member.
Pelosi, by
all accounts, is focused squarely on being the leader and Members and aides say
she is attentive to the smallest details while actively managing all of the
decisions emanating from her office.
“She’s taken a very hands-on
approach, but at the same time given people the feeling that they are being
included more,” said the veteran Democrat.
Spratt
added: “She takes on the tough decisions and doesn’t dodge them or delegate
them to someone else, and she suffers the consequences.”
Pelosi did
catch flak for her decisions in making key committee assignments, with her
detractors accusing that she used the process to reward her supporters and
punish her foes in the jockeying to replace Gephardt. Her partisans view,
meanwhile, is that Pelosi showed courage and leadership in making those
decisions, and note that she never shrank from taking the heat for
disappointing some Members.
Gephardt, by
contrast, was sometimes viewed as positioning himself to diffuse criticism by
allowing a panel of leaders to dole out committee slots, sources said. Plus,
Gephardt was known for overpromising plum slots and liberally waiving limits on
committee assignments to appease his Caucus.
Members are
closely monitoring the effectiveness of Pelosi’s decision to present policy
alternatives to Republican initiatives, another break from Gephardt, who was
reluctant to make vulnerable and more moderate Democrats walk the plank on
sensitive issues. The new leader first moved toward a more confrontational
policy approach with an economic stimulus proposal, which was quickly followed
by a prescription drug plan. Pelosi is privately pushing Members to put forward
a budget alternative as well, something the leadership declined to offer a year
ago.
With that
trend, Members are privately optimistic that House Democrats will be able to
offer a clear alternative to voters. And that is something, they argue, that
hasn’t been easily discernible in recent Congresses.
“That’s a
strategy that has been carefully developed by Nancy Pelosi,” said Rep. Jan
Schakowsky (D-Ill.), one of Pelosi’s closest friends and confidantes. “We have
a clear agenda as Democrats that makes sure to distinguish us.”
But Pelosi
won’t necessarily throw herself into a debate just to start a fight. It was
only recently, after a trip to the Middle East, that she became more vocal in
her opposition to a possible war in Iraq, a major point of division within the
Caucus. Pelosi has also given a wide berth to the idea of filing an ethics
complaint against Rep. Mike Oxley (R-Ohio) and his staff for allegedly trying
to pressure a mutual fund association into removing its Democratic lobbyist.
Policy
alternatives and issues aside, Members and aides said the starkest difference
between Pelosi and Gephardt is the way in which they make decisions.
While
Gephardt took his time formulating a position, Pelosi tends to move
expeditiously. Also, Gephardt was known for consulting a wide group of advisers
— even holding several extended leadership meetings a week — while Pelosi has
kept a tighter circle made up of her closest friends and top leaders.
“Nancy is
very disciplined, and she’s very decisive in the sense that she likes to reach
conclusions in meetings or decisions — she always has that goal,” said Rep.
Robert Matsui (Calif.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign
Committee. “Dick was a little different, he could leave a meeting without
anyone knowing his decision and the decision would come down later. That’s the
most significant contrast between the two styles.”
“Their
styles are different,” agreed another Democratic Member, speaking on the
condition of anonymity. “While she goes through the motions of listening, I
think she’s predetermined where she wants to be most of that time.”
“Gephardt
could be moved in a different direction if he felt the majority of the Caucus
was in a different place,” the Member added.
But others
insist Pelosi, while a liberal philosophically, has worked hard to sit on the
sidelines and listen to opposing views as to not sway the Caucus. That’s akin
to the approach of her predecessor, a moderate who was known for holding
extensive listening sessions with Members on issues.
“She’s
listened to moderates and conservatives and hasn’t tried to impose her
district’s views on the Caucus,” said another Democratic Member, referring to
the leader’s San Francisco political base. “I think she’s trying to listen to
moderates and conservatives, but it is early yet to say how successful she’ll
be in bridging divergent views in the Caucus.”
“She’s
trying to reach out, and she’s doing a good job at it,” added Rep. Harold Ford
Jr. (D-Tenn.), who challenged Pelosi for the leader job last November. “It’s
not easy.”
Minority
Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who lost a Whip race to Pelosi in October 2001, said
it will take time for Pelosi to refine her approach, noting that Gephardt was
in charge for nearly a decade and developed his style over the course of his
tenure.
“It’s very
early,” Hoyer said. “We not really going to know exactly how she’s going to
lead until she’s done it for some period of time.” |