WASHINGTON (By Lyndsey Layton, Washington Post)
December 22, 2006 — On a scale associated with presidential inaugurations, Nancy
Pelosi is planning four days of celebration surrounding her Jan. 4 swearing-in
as the first female speaker of the House. She will return to the blue-collar
Baltimore neighborhood where she grew up, attend Mass at the women's college
where she studied political science, and dine at the Italian Embassy as Tony
Bennett sings "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."
But the hoopla is more than just a party.
Pelosi is grabbing the moment to present
herself as the new face of the Democratic Party and to restore the party's image
as one hospitable to ethnic minorities, families, religion, the working class
and women.
"This is important strategic repositioning,"
said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, who teaches political communication and rhetoric at
the University of Pennsylvania. "Essentially, she's trying to embody the
Democratic Party that she would like to offer the nation in 2008."
In her meticulous selection of events and
venues during a week when she expects to attract media attention from as far
away as Australia, Pelosi is clearly trying to bury the label "San Francisco
liberal" that Republicans tried to affix to her during the midterm elections.
" 'San Francisco liberal' is a construct used
very effectively for a long time by Republicans," Jamieson said. "It's a little
like 'Taxachusetts.' It's telegraphic and very powerful. They haven't been able
to get her identified with it because, to this point, a lot of people didn't
know who she was. She's trying to position a counterimage before she gets well
known."
Brendan Daly, Pelosi's spokesman, said the
four-day celebration befits a historic moment in American politics.
"We've never had a woman speaker before," Daly
said. "This is a big deal."
Newt Gingrich (Ga.) took two days to celebrate
his election as speaker when the Republicans formally took control of Congress
in 1995. They were largely filled with speeches that outlined his "Contract With
America" and fleshed out the ideology of the Republican revolution.
Pelosi's mission is entirely different. She is
planning events that will highlight select parts of her personal life while
muting her liberal voting record and ideology. "She's showing all the ways she
shares other women's lives," said Celinda Lake, a Democratic strategist. "It
reminds me of the way Sandra Day O'Connor introduced herself when she was
nominated to be the first woman on the Supreme Court -- she talked about growing
up on a ranch, working as a secretary, all the dimensions of her life."
Ken Sunshine, a communications consultant for
entertainers and Democratic politicians, said Pelosi is not creating a false
persona.
"If she's going to Mass, right on," Sunshine
said. "Going to Baltimore, right on. This is really where she's from. She wasn't
born in an elite setting. Here's a wife, mother, grandmother, and in her spare
time, she becomes speaker of the House. I don't know if this is a new brand, but
it's true about her. Why should the Republicans have a lock on those qualities?"
Early missteps
Pelosi's public relations offensive follows
some missteps that marred her first few weeks after the elections, including a
stinging defeat when she backed Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) over Rep. Steny H.
Hoyer (D-Md.) for the job of House majority leader and a very public spat with
Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), who was passed over for the chairmanship of the
House intelligence committee.
The day after New Year's Day, Pelosi will visit
Albermarle Street in Baltimore's Little Italy neighborhood, where she grew up as
the daughter and sister of Baltimore mayors. The current mayor, Maryland
Gov.-elect Martin O'Malley (D), will rename Albermarle "Via Nancy D'Alesandro
Pelosi." She will drop by St. Leo the Great Roman Catholic Church and then eat
dinner with her extended family at an Italian restaurant.
On Jan. 3, Pelosi will attend morning Mass at
Trinity University, her alma mater in Washington, and then attend a tea in the
Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium for about 400 female politicians, supporters and
activists. In the evening, she will be honored at a dinner at the Italian
Embassy, where Bennett will perform.
The next day, Pelosi will participate in a
nondenominational service at St. Peter's Catholic Church on Capitol Hill and
then eat brunch with hundreds of supporters at the Cannon House Office Building
and the Library of Congress. At noon, the House will convene to elect Pelosi
speaker. That night, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will hold a
fundraiser at the Building Museum, where 1,200 partygoers will pay $1,000 each
to applaud Pelosi between performances by Jimmy Buffett, Carole King and Mickey
Hart, among others.
‘What? No fireworks?’
Finally, on Jan. 5, Pelosi will hold what she
is calling the "People's House" open house at the Cannon House Office Building.
But it will be less welcoming than it sounds -- the event is by invitation only.
All the festivities, except the fundraiser at
the Building Museum, are being funded by Pelosi's campaign chest.
Mike Murphy, a Republican political consultant
and former adviser to Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain
(Ariz.), said the four-day extravaganza is excessive. "What? No fireworks?" he
said. "I'm glad they canceled the tickertape parade. They probably couldn't find
biodegradable tickertape and a hybrid convertible."
He said the schedule is "classic Pelosi."
"She's not known for a light touch," he said.
"She has every right to throw a new-speaker celebration, but it's 500 percent
from what is normal. It's an aggressive act to grab the spotlight. Sounds to me
like there's nobody at the meetings saying, 'Maybe that's a little too much.'
She's needs a deputy chief of staff from the 'It's Not About You' department."
"Instead of pinning medals on each other, maybe
it's time for more seriousness and purpose," Murphy added. "Nobody voted for
Nancy Pelosi as speaker; they voted for a change in Washington. For her to grab
the spotlight seems like a cult of personality. I have a feeling that Steny
Hoyer is probably having a quiet lunch with his family."
A spokeswoman for Hoyer said the Marylander,
who will become majority leader on Jan. 4, will host a small reception in his
office.
