Nancy Pelosi - Quotes

Nancy Pelosi

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• The American people voted to restore integrity and honesty in Washington, D.C., and the Democrats intend to lead the most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history. Post-election comments, 2006-11-7.

• Members of Congress I have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you, his excellency Bertie Ahern, the Taoiseach, the Prime Minister of Ireland. Referring to Bertie Ahern at a joint meeting of the US Congress at Capital Hill in Washington (April 30th, 2008).

• Why should we put a plan out? Our plan is to stop him. He must be stopped. Referring to George W. Bush on Fox News (March 17, 2005)

• [T]hey had to make up that story about weapons of mass destruction. Because that was the only thing that would sell to the American people, and that wasn't true. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (November 30, 2005)

• As many of you know, I come from San Francisco. We don't have a lot of farms there. Well, we do have one — it's a mushroom farm, so you know what that means. To The Agribusiness Club of Washington (July 24, 2006)

• Maybe it will take a woman to clean up the House. Interview with Barbara Walters (December 13, 2006)

• A woman is like a teabag. You can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. Interview with ABC News, as quoted by Hilary Clinton.

• I say to my colleagues, never confine your best work, your hopes, your dreams, the aspiration of the American people to what will be signed by George W. Bush, because that is too limiting a factor. Associated Press. "House Dems face uphill battle to end Iraq war", MSNBC.com, March 8, 2007. URL accessed on 2007-03-09.

• Are you serious? Are you serious? When asked :"Madam Speaker, where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to enact an individual health insurance mandate?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-JByUpfmjQ

• I have said it before and I will say it again: Impeachment is off the table. Susan Ferrechio. "Pelosi: Bush Impeachment 'Off the Table'", New York Times, November 8, 2006. URL accessed on 2008-03-15.

• Am I going to have to use my ‘Mother of Five Voice’ to be heard?" (to an inattentive audience while campaigning) - Quoted in the October 23, 2006 issue of Newsweek The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations. Ed. Elizabeth Knowles. 2008. Oxford University Press.

• The word 'campaign' is a war term. So when you go into a campaign you just prepare to go to war. If you think this is an exercise in civic activity...then you are going to be surprised. - 1985 Herrnson, Paul S. (2003). "Women Running "as Women": Candidate Gender, Campaign Issues, and Voter-Targeting Strategies". 'The Journal of Politics' 65 no. 1.

• This president goes into office with more expectations than any president I can ever remember in my lifetime. - 2008 Dan Reed. "Obama Has Much to Do Before Even Taking Office", USA Today, November 6, 2008 1B. URL accessed on 2008-11-08.

• I didn't know you were Catholic. (to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson as he got down on one knee to beg Pelosi to find Democratic support for the bailout bill) - 2008 "Perspectives", Newsweek 152 no. 14, November 6, 2008. URL accessed on 2008-11-08.

• Your recent meetings with Chinese dissidents at the White House are to be commended. However, your participation at the opening ceremony of the Olympics will send a signal to the Chinese people and the international community that could be misperceived as your approval, and that of the American people, for the draconian policies of the Chinese government. Therefore, it is essential that you unambiguously speak out for human rights and meet with the families of jailed prisoners of conscience while you are in Beijing. (In a letter to President Bush prior to his 2008 trip to Beijing's Summer Olympic Games. (August 1, 2008). Pelosi to Bush: It Is Essential That You Speak Out for Human Rights During Visit to China for the Olympics. Press release. Retrieved on 2008-11-08.

• With Americans worried about losing their jobs, their savings, their homes and their chance at the American Dream, the New Direction Congress will work in a bipartisan way to lift our economy and help America's middle class. (October 15, 2008). Pelosi Statement on Fiscally Responsible Recovery Package to Lift Economy and Help the Middle Class. Press release. Retrieved on 2008-11-08.

• By making college more affordable for all and more accessible for minority students, the first new higher education authorizing legislation in a decade will help strengthen our nation and America's middle class and spur a new age of innovation and ingenuity in our country. (July 31, 2008). Pelosi: Higher Education Bill is Bipartisan Investment in College Affordability and in America's Middle Class. Press release. Retrieved on 2008-11-08.

• Why don't we just leave this room today forgetting the word 'earmark'? - June 2007 Darling, Brian (October 6, 2008). "Pelosi Lets Earmarks Rule the Day in Congress". Human Events 64 (34). Retrieved on 2008-11-22.

• Can we drill your brains?"(responding to attendants who interrupted her speech by chanting "Drill here! Drill now!) "Perspectives", Newsweek, September 8, 2008. URL accessed on 2008-11-22.

• The proposed Bush regulations put politics above the health care needs of Americans. Gajewski, Karen Ann (September/October 2008). "Worth Noting". Humanist 68 (5). Retrieved on 2008-11-22.

• Every aspect of our lives must be subjected to an inventory...of how we are taking responsibility. "Pelosi appeals for China's help on climate change", The Associated Press, May 28, 2009. URL accessed on 2009-05-28.

• They ask me all the time. What is your favorite this? What is your favorite that?” she said, “and one time, what is your favorite word? And I said, ‘My favorite word. That is really easy. My favorite word is The Word, is the Word.’ And that is everything; it says it all for us. Right Pundits

• But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy. The San Francisco Examiner

• What they want is a continuation of the failed economic policies of President George Bush which got us in the situation we are in now. What we want is a new direction. … This [tea party] initiative is funded by the high end — we call call it astroturf, it’s not really a grassroots movement. It’s astroturf by some of the wealthiest people in America to keep the focus on tax cuts for the rich instead of for the great middle class. Think Progress

• It creates jobs faster than almost any other initiative you can name. Michelle Malkin - Pelosi: Unemployment Checks Best Way to Create Jobs

• "There is some subliminal message that is being sent out there about us and them, meaning people who need food stamps and the rest of the country, which I think is an unfortunate course to go down," Pelosi said.

"It is the biggest bang for the buck when you do food stamps and unemployment insurance — the biggest bang for the buck," she added. Politico - Nancy Pelosi accuses Newt Gingrich of waging class warfare

Further Reading

• Dabbous, Y., Ladley, A. (2010), "A spine of steel and a heart of gold: Newspaper coverage of the first female speaker of the house," Journal of Gender Studies 19 (2), pp. 181-194
• Schweizer, Rochelle (2010), "She's The Boss"

References

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