The House and America still need Nancy Pelosi

The times call for leadership across the board within the Democratic Party to be innovative, diverse, and effective. We need bold ideas, firm values, and passion for the future because we Democrats are the Party that looks forward. We need new ideas and energy that are passionate about the future and ready for the challenges that await.

With new leadership comes a need for continuity as well. Leading is not about all or none, old or new, experienced or inexperienced. It’s about what works. It’s about a mix of willful and dedicated souls who will work together, lead us forward, and unite all of America.

Imagine a Democratic leadership that represents all of America, speaks for all of America, and has both the experience and new ideas to pull it all together.

We need Nancy.

{mosads}Nancy Pelosi represents the continuity, experience, passion, and know-how our Party needs to remain in leadership. Keeping Ms. Pelosi as House Democratic Caucus Leader is the smartest move members of that caucus could make. Her tenacity speaks for itself. It’s a needed commodity to lead in Washington. But, there are also other core reasons her leadership is needed more than ever.

Leader Pelosi can hold the Democratic Caucus together. I worked for her for several years, serving as her liaison, internally, with the Blue Dog Democrats and, externally, to America’s military veterans, rural Americans, and faith communities. Prior to joining her team, I was the Chief of Staff for a Blue Dog member of Congress.

It is with humility that I announce my candidacy for Dem Leader. We must be a strong voice for hardworking families https://t.co/W35wc7CBWQ

— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) November 16, 2016

The best way for me to articulate my experience is that I learned a lot about sticking to one’s convictions while keeping a diverse group of people and ideas moving forward, together. In the new Congress, her skills will be desperately needed to hold the line. Her convictions to core Democratic principles are without question.

Leader Pelosi can raise resources — a required commodity in winning elections, like it or not. And, she can raise the resources that are needed. This is indisputable. Her fundraising ability is nearly unprecedented, especially within the House Democratic Caucus.

Also unprecedented has been her desire, vision, and willingness to use those resources well and where they are needed most. Not holding onto them, but moving them. And, in doing so, moving forward the issues and causes that we care about as Democrats.

She has the winning strategy. The Leader likes to coach her colleagues that if you take a swipe at someone, then you should be prepared to receive one right back. The opposing party may want to consider the ramifications of that in the coming months.

She also teaches that when you are about to do something, tell your constituents what you are going to do, then tell them while you are doing it, and, finally, tell them you did it once you have finished. Get the message out … and be transparent.

I’ve witnessed and been part of moments when legislation seemed lost and it wasn’t the staff and strategists in the room who developed and, literally, carried out the plan overcoming the obstacles and passing the legislation. It was Leader Pelosi who has the winning strategy.

Leader Pelosi puts working and middle class Americans first. Yes, the Republicans definitely wanted to demonize her. They don’t want her around. But we need her leadership.

.@NancyPelosi is “best positioned to lead House Dems” post-Trump’s election; we support her candidacy for leader. https://t.co/0IGV390SlS pic.twitter.com/hQTgFnxLgz

— MoveOn.org (@MoveOn) November 17, 2016

I talk often about narrative. I lament that, as Democrats, we too often miss the essential, foundational step of sharing our narrative with the American people. We jump to discussing programs, touting macro numbers and, well, we end up sounding like Beltway policy wonks. Sharing our narrative is about telling our story and connecting around the coffee table on common issues and shared values. It’s then, and only then, that we can share our policy, plans, and legislation.

Leader Pelosi is a living narrative of American values, from her Italian Catholic upbringing in Baltimore to the stories of family who fought for our freedoms (including an uncle who gave his life at the Battle of the Bulge during World War Il).

Today, she is a devout person of faith who treasures a family who treasures her back. She’s a grandmother who is only a thought or two away from telling the latest events in the lives of her grandchildren. Leader Pelosi’s belief and unabashed support for working and middle class families comes out of her own great American story.

Yes, she’s the right person to keep leading the House Democrats.