The photograph of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on the front page of today's Washington Times says it all. With Old Glory at her back and a jubilant smile on her face, the new leader of the House flexes her arm muscle to the cheering majority. The "most powerful woman in America" took her post yesterday as the first female speaker of the U.S. House, trumpeting a victory in the tired game of gender politics.
Of course, the irony is that the same liberals who are praising Nancy Pelosi for breaking the "marble ceiling" are the ones who vehemently oppose the notion when conservative females, such as Judge Janice Rogers Brown, try to advance. Let's be honest. This is a celebration--not of all women--but of liberal women. To a crowd applauding the Democratic takeover at last night's gala, Pelosi said, "Thanks to you, working moms in this country know there's a mom in the speaker's office who understands their challenges." While she may paint a Norman Rockwell portrait of parenting, it remains to be seen whether Pelosi and her allies will put their policies where their mouths are.
Meanwhile, the leadership does deserve cautious praise for the ethics and earmark reforms they vow to implement in Congress. Unfortunately, the rest of the "Six for '06" agenda seems mired in policies that are much more controversial and anti-family, such as expanding taxpayer funding for destructive (and unproductive) embryonic stem cell research, defunding abstinence programs, and condoning homosexual conduct in the military. Rest assured-- FRC will be counting, not just the first 100 hours, but every second it takes for this new Congress to pass its first piece of pro-life, pro-family legislation.
(Family Research Council: Tony Perkins' Washington Update; 1/5/07)
