Nancy Pelosi: The Most Powerful Woman In Congress

Nancy Pelosi has had a highly controversial career in politics among the opposition, as well as within her own party. She is the first woman to have served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, taking that position in 2007. We have seen for many weeks now in our readings for History 2610 that it took women such a long time to be recognized as having valid political opinions. Therefore, it shouldn't surprise us that it took until 2007, only five years ago, for a woman to become Speaker of the House, and effectively, the third in line to the position of President. And yet this information does surprise us. The media and public make a huge deal out of women holding high positions in government and politics, because it is still unexpected.
When she was sworn in as the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi gathered the children and grandchildren attending the ceremony around her as she accepted the gavel from Republican Leader John Boehner, evoking the exact feeling she wanted to project: a combination of motherhood and political power (Peters, Rosenthal 3). There was a heavy media focus on Pelosi, as she was now the most powerful woman in American politics, and although she had been a notable politican in the House, she wasn't widely known, even as the leader of the then minority Democratic Party. Following her dual theme of mother and politician, Pelosi continued to present herself in the media rush of her inauguration as a daughter of the East (her father had been the longtime mayor of Baltimore, and she was raised Catholic), and as a housewife turned politician of the West (Pelosi was elected out of San Francisco). Her party and campaign wanted to get away from the "San Francisco liberal" claim that her opponents continue to make even today (Peters, Rosenthal 3-4).

For a long time, Pelosi was uninvolved in politics, choosing to be a mother and wife instead. Although she doesn't often acknowledge that her gender has played a large role in shaping her career as a politician, she makes powerful statements about gender when she does concede to it. Although many people still consider her to be an extreme liberal, there are good reasons why Nancy Pelosi was selected to be the most powerful woman in the country for four years. As Peters and Rosenthal state in Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the New American Politics, Pelosi's personal ambition as a woman is largely unseen in politics, "She has persistently articulated the legitimacy of the uniquely female experience of motherhood as preparation for and authority in political office" (Peters, Rosenthal 194). It is a side of women that we have not studied in class, and so I find Pelosi's view on motherhood extremely convincing and revolutionary. Nancy Pelosi sees her role as a mother as a gift in the political realm-it's something she has that no man she will go against will ever have. Motherhood forces a woman to be organized, time-conscious, and very decisive and confident in her decisions, while also being concerned and caring for her children. These facets allowed Pelosi to be successful as a politician in ways that other women haven't been-she views motherhood as a blessing to her career and a resume builder rather than something that held her back in politics.
Although Pelosi lost her position as Speaker of the House in 2010 when the Republicans took majority in the House of Representatives, it is important to continue to watch her career in politics, and also look to future women who could follow in her footsteps. Pelosi's impact on people and her unique view of motherhood as a stepping stone for a political career should make women realize that motherhood can prepare them for many things. Nancy Pelosi's role in history as will shape future generations of women to come, and the importance of her ambition should never be undervalued.