When former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi began her fist term in 1987, she joined the ranks of only a dozen other Democratic women in Congress at the time. Over the course of her legendary career – spanning nearly four decades – she has played a pivotal role in reshaping that gender imbalance. Today, nearly 100 women represent their constituents on Capitol Hill.
“I feel very proud of that, but we want more,” the California Democrat told Ali Vitali this week in a wide-ranging MS NOW exclusive. Pelosi touched on the 2024 election, female candidates for president, former Pres. Joe Biden, and her advice for women seeking office.
“I always say this is not for the faint of heart – it’s a rough arena,” she said. “If you know your why – it doesn’t matter what the other people say or do – you just know why you’re there.”
As Pelosi wraps up her final term in office, she credits her “why” as the key to building resilience during tumultuous times, particularly when it comes to the setbacks women have experienced under the current administration.
“As I say, we don’t agonize, we organize,” Pelosi told Vitali. “So, if it looks like [your North Star] is dimming, we have to make sure it isn’t … outside mobilization is what gives us hope, believing in the goodness of the American people is what gives us hope: faith and goodness. But you can’t accept that the mission is diminished in any way.”
That resolve has served her well. Pelosi’s legacy remains unparalleled as the nation’s first woman to serve as House speaker and the first woman to lead a major political party in Congress – a rank she held for 20 years. While her legislative victories encompass everything from civil rights to Wall Street reform, student loans to Covid-19 relief, climate change to infrastructure, she pointed to the Affordable Care Act as “the source of greatest pride.”
Pelosi also dismissed concerns that Democrats should avoid nominating a woman for president after the failed bids of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
She praised Clinton as “the most qualified person of a generation” to run for president.
“[Hillary Clinton was] more qualified than her husband, more qualified than George W. Bush, more qualified than Barack Obama,” Pelosi continued. “Certainly, more qualified than the creature that is there now.”
Pelosi also credited Harris for a “great campaign” under difficult circumstances. “She turned out so many more people than who would have voted,” Pelosi said, arguing that former vice president deserves more credit for limiting Democratic losses. She estimated that, without Harris, Democrats would have lost “probably” 14 more House seats.
“I always thought the American people were much more ready for ‘Madam President’ than Congress was for ‘Madam Speaker,’ because it is a marble ceiling,” she said. “It’s not a glass ceiling; it’s a marble ceiling.”
Pelosi recalled the gendered resistance she faced when she first ran for speaker. “They said, ‘Who said she could run?’ And I said to them, ‘I don’t want you voting for me because I’m a woman, but I don’t want you voting against me because I’m a woman.’”
Pelosi suggested that Americans are still receptive to female leaders, though she quipped that she may not see a woman president in her lifetime “because I’m old.”
“But it will come sometime, there’s just no question about it,” she said. “It’s not that women are better than men, it’s just we want to see the diversity of thinking there. It’s going to be very exciting.”
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