America’s attention is rivetted to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, described as the most powerful woman in American history. As the date for voting on health care reform in House of Representatives approaches fast, can Mrs Pelosi, the House speaker, hold her party together? Is she up to the job?
Lexington presents in The Economist an interesting profile of Mrs Pelosi and describes the exciting few days ahead. “To simplify a gruesomely complex process: if House Democrats approve a health bill the Senate passed last year (plus a few tweaks), America will have something close to universal health insurance. The left’s fondest ambition will become law, and Barack Obama will suddenly look like a successful president.
Mrs Pelosi is arguably the most powerful woman in American history. There have been female governors, secretaries of state and Supreme Court justices, but only one female speaker. When she won the gavel, after the Democratic landslide of 2006, many saw it as a sign that the “marble ceiling” in American politics was cracking. Mrs Pelosi called it “a pivotal moment for all women”.
But others saw it as depressing evidence of the lingering power of political dynasties. Mrs Pelosi’s family are not quite Democratic royalty, like the Kennedys or the Clintons, but they are certainly aristocrats. Her father, Thomas D’Alesandro, was a congressman and mayor of Baltimore. Her brother was also mayor of Baltimore. She made her first public speech when she was seven, at her father’s swearing-in…
A recent Daily Kos poll found that only 22% of independents and 7% of Republicans view her favourably. But an effective speaker need not be loved, or think original thoughts. Her job is to round up votes. And at this, Mrs Pelosi excels.
She learned the family business by watching her father dole out jobs and her mother keep a file of favours owed. As a little girl, she answered the phone and told supplicants whom to call to get on welfare or into the city hospital.
Six decades later, she is a master of horse-trading. Although she is on her party’s left, centrist Democrats find her a good listener. She is far more disciplined than the House Democrats’ previous leader, Dick Gephardt, and does a better job of keeping her fractious party united.
Which is just as well, because health care is a tough sell. Not one Republican will touch it, so she needs 85% of her party’s votes for a bare majority. Some pro-life Democrats, such as Bart Stupak of Michigan, bridle because they think the Senate bill would use public funds to pay for abortions.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently held a press conference in the Capitol following a meeting with children’s advocates on behalf of comprehensive health insurance reform legislation. The advocates, many of whom brought young children with them, included Marian Wright Edelman of the Children’s Defense Fund, Donna Norton of Moms Rising, Dr. Judy Palfrey, President of American Academy of Pediatrics, Bill Bentley, President of Voices for America’s Children, and Lisa Shapiro from First Focus. Excerpts from the press conference:
What we’re talking about here is passing this bill. It’s a bill about health care, health insurance reform, it’s not about abortion, it’s not about immigration. If you believe that the law of the land is no federal funding for abortion, there’s none in this bill. If you believe that there should be no expansion or diminishment of abortion rights, that’s what this bill does.
The only reason, therefore, to oppose the bill is that you do not support health care reform. And we are taking a vote and I anticipate having the support of those who support health care reform and will not be deterred by any misrepresentations as to what the language does.
We see this as a health issue, as an economic issue, as an issue about deficit reduction issue, an entrepreneurial issue. If you could think of one thing that would make — that would be good for the economics of America’s families, that we could do right now, it would be passing health care reform — not only for the health and well-being of the family, but for their economic security as well.
If you could think of one thing that would help the federal budget as well as the family budget, it would be to pass health care reform because as the President says: “Health care reform is entitlement reform.” If you could think of one thing that would contribute to the entrepreneurial spirit of America where we could be competitive internationally and domestically because our business people — our consumers are not confined to a job because their child has a pre-existing condition.
Or that someone in the family has a pre-existing condition — that they could reach their aspirations, take risk, be entrepreneurial, make America more competitive—it would be to pass health care reform.
Meanwhile The CSM reports: “The Senate healthcare bill, with House ‘fixes,’ will reduce the federal budget deficit by $130 billion in the first 10 years and $1.2 trillion in the second 10, according to House leaders, citing a forthcoming report from the Congressional Budget Office.” More here…
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.