E-mail a friendRep. Nancy Pelosi
airdate September 22, 2004
In '07, Speaker Nancy Pelosi made her mark in the record books as the first woman to hold the top job in the House—and become second in line for the presidency. Politics and power are second nature to the California representative. Her dad was a Baltimore politician who ran one of the great political machines, and her brother was a Baltimore mayor. She went from a fast-track family—five children in six years—to ten congressional terms. Pelosi's newly published book, Know Your Power, encourages girls to reach for their dreams.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi
Tavis: I am pleased to welcome House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi to the program tonight. This afternoon, the powerful California Democrat and her House colleagues unveiled a new plan to boost the Democrats' chances come November, a plan they've titled the "New Partnership for America's Future." She joins us tonight from Capitol Hill. Congresswoman, nice to have you on the program again.
Nancy Pelosi: My pleasure. Thank you, Tavis.
Tavis: Let me run down this list right quick. And I wrote them down on my blue card here so I would not forget them. These 6 values, these core values, if you will, that you all unveiled earlier today on the hill: economic prosperity for all, national security, safe communities, educational opportunity, fair health policy, and accountability to the American people. Now in the time that I have, I can't dissect all 6 of these. Let me start with a few questions off the top. Number one, why did you feel it was necessary to come out with your version of the "Contract With America," if you will?
Pelosi: I think it's very important as Democrats that the public knows who we are and what we stand for, and I think it's also important to honor our responsibility to the future, to our children. And that's not what's happening here on Capitol Hill now. So I was very proud that we could come to consensus on a bold set of principles, reaffirming our values that are traditional American values of opportunity and fairness, et cetera, as you named. And very important to all children about whether they get No Child Left Behind fully funded, grants and loans for higher education to expand opportunity for all of America's children. Fairness. We focused on health care, access to health care, calling health care a right, not a privilege. Disparity in access to health care, as you know, affects ours minority communities, and we make a strong commitment to eliminate that disparity. We talk about community. We talk about safe neighborhoods, safe in terms of safety, public safety, but also environmental safety, to eliminate the environmental injustices that are out there that disproportionately affect minority communities. Jobs, prosperity for all, to grow our economy in a way that many more people in our society will participate in our success. And accountability.
Tavis: I'm sorry. As a statement of values and principles, I suspect even Republicans would have to agree with the values and the principles we've laid out here. I don't need to remind you that it was 10 years ago, in 1994, that Mr. Gingrich and the Republicans had their contract with America, which put them, much to your chagrin, I suspect, back in power after being the minority party for 50 years on the House side. Let me ask you, though, about what I noticed right off the bat here as a major difference and distinction between what they did 10 years ago and what you did today, and that is while you have core values and principles here, there is no new legislation called for here. There is no new initiative here. We're talking about values and principles. Why one and not the other?
Pelosi: Well, in fact, we make a commitment, a pledge to those values and spell it out in the fine print down below: 10 million new jobs, access to quality health care, as I mentioned. So we do have--this is about the legislative work that we have been working on the last 20 months and that we commit to the American people that when they put us in control in the majority in the House, that our agenda for America's future will include.
Tavis: I guess I wonder whether or not folks would feel better, Congresswoman, if they knew that there was a specific piece of legislation where you said, "On this issue, we're going to pass this. On this issue, we're going to pass this. On this issue," et cetera, as opposed to these admirable, though they may be, principles and values?
Pelosi: Well, I don't think so. I mean, I respectfully disagree. I think the American people want us to get the job done. When President Kerry takes office in January, he said the first order of business for him will be to send legislation over to the Congress to increase access to quality health care for many millions more Americans. We will work with him on that legislation. But many of these issues that we're talking about, whether it's a decent wage for our workers, whether it's supporting small businesses so that--and mentoring programs that encourage minority and women-owned businesses. The list goes on and on. We've been fighting these fights every day legislatively. We can't win unless we're in the majority. And the forum that we took on it was a decision that we made. Because you mention the Contract For America--on, for, with, whatever it was, with America. But in fact, that was a divisive document. Ours is a unifying document. They promised that they would have a balanced budget. They have not. They promised that they would create jobs, and you know that situation. They promised they would democratize the House of Representatives, and they've done just the opposite. And they have said they would have term limits for members of Congress. They never did that. So that was just a public relations document. Ours is a pledge to the American people. I feel very confident about it, and the public should take heart that this is a consensus document. What we have in here is what we commit to that is our pledge, reaffirming our commitment to the core values to strengthen and secure the middle class, to bring many more people into the middle class, and below our principles, which you read some of, we have some of the measures that we will take to produce, again, 10 million new jobs, more accessibility to health care, better access to education for our children at all levels, environmental safety, accountability with a balanced budget, pay as you go. This is all paid for, and of course most importantly, to secure our country in a way that really does protect us from the clear and present danger of terrorism and protects and defends the Constitution and our civil liberties at the same time.
Tavis: Since you raise security, Congresswoman, let me ask how it is that you successfully get traction on these issues, on this new partnership. How do you get traction on these issues on the national level when one could argue that Iraq and the war on terrorism takes your--takes that attempt at traction away, and on the local level, how do you get traction when in so many of these close House races, there are local issues that will decide those races?
Pelosi: Well, you described it perfectly. You have to do both. You have to do the ground game. You have to do the air game. Certainly all politics is local. When it comes to Congressional races, even more so. So our support for candidates in their district respects the concerns of those local districts, with, of course, being true to core Democratic principles that we discussed earlier. On the--as far as national security is concerned, our principles that we put forth today are very strong on national security. Making sure that our military is second to none, stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, building alliances to attain and keep the peace, having-- respecting and honoring our veterans not just with words, but by really taking care of them, and of course providing for our homeland security by making sure our first responders--we have a list of issues where we will protect the American people from terror here at home. So, national security is the first responsibility of elected officials. And to provide for the common defense is a responsibility we take seriously, and as we do so, we also have to protect and defend the Constitution, which is our oath of office. So it's a very big issue for us. It's a major part of our "New Partnership for America's Future," and it will be one that I hope the American people will hold the President accountable. This election, this is about where we want to go forward in a positive way, but the election is about the future, and we're about the future. But it's also a referendum on the policies of George Bush and the Republicans here.
Tavis: Speaking of--
Pelosi: I'm sorry.
Tavis: Speaking of--not to cut you off. Speaking of George Bush, as you well know, he spoke to the U.N. the other day. He's going to come to Congress and talk to you all and suspect ask for a few things with regard to fighting the war in Iraq and the war on terror. What'd you make, right quick, of his speech to the U.N., and what's he going to ask you guys for next?
Pelosi: I think in his speech to the U.N., the President demonstrated all the shortcomings of his policy. I have said that in executing the war in Iraq that he's incompetent, that he showed no knowledge, experience, or judgment, that the over 1,000 young people who have lost their lives did not have to die, except for his lack of preparation, and that the hundreds of billions of dollars that are cost to the taxpayer has to be accounted for. The cost in lives, which is the most important, the cost in tax dollars, the cost in reputation. He must be held accountable for that. And in that speech to the U.N., he brought his usual condescension and disrespect for other countries. We must internationalize the effort in Iraq, and it won't happen as long as the President wants to condescend instead of collaborate with other countries. His statement about Saddam Hussein and that he might down the road have some capability because he desires it is absolutely, absolutely the wrong way for a President of the United States to go. Certainly we will defend our country. We will snuff out any threat to us that is imminent, but to...we prepare for war as a last resort. For this President to choose it as a first choice, as a preemptive strike about something that somebody might have on his mind down the road, puts a lot of countries in that category, and I don't think we're going to go to war with a lot of countries in the world. But I will say this, that he must be held accountable for a preemptive strike. If you decide to preempt--to go in preemptively, then you better be prepared. And he sent our troops in without the proper equipment, training, military intelligence, and the rest--and numbers to do the job effectively and well.
Tavis: Let me close with this. I could talk to you for hours. I don't have that kind of time, unfortunately. Big story in today's "New York Times," that John Kerry is making a serious and significant effort to reach out specifically to women voters. You are obviously, clearly the highest-ranking woman ever in the House, Democrat or Republican. In 45 seconds, tell me what John Kerry has to do to get the votes of women like yourself?
Pelosi: Well, you know security is a very important issue to moms, and I think that he has to cross the threshold with them that he will protect our country from terrorism, and I think...I know that he will do that. Moms are also interested, of course, in education, access to health care, and opportunity for jobs and home and business ownership. Their concerns are the concerns of the American people. But they hear them in a very specific way. It's all about the children, the children, the children--the 3 most important issues facing the Congress. I have every confidence that Senator Kerry will make his case, and he can also contrast it to what the Republicans have done here, which is very, very harmful to America's children. It is without any thought to our responsibility to the future. But they don't know that, and he has to communicate that message very clearly. I trust that he will. I know that the women are very smart voters, as are the American--African-American voters, the smartest voters of all. They don't buy the bill of goods that the Republicans sell. But we want them to understand a positive initiative that is important to all Americans and to all of our children. That 1 in 5 children in America lives in poverty is something that American moms are concerned about. Their children may be fine. They're concerned about other children.
Tavis: Well, we have 6 weeks to go, roughly, between now and Election Day, and I suspect all these issues will come out, certainly, in these 3 debates that are coming up, and we look forward to talking to you at least once more between now and November the second.
Pelosi: Thank you, Tavis. Thanks for helping us get the message out. "New Partnership for America's Future."
Tavis: Nice to have you on the program. She knows how to sell it. I ain't mad at her. Up next, actress Felicity Huffman. Stay with us.
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