Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who remains a thundering force in the Democratic Party nearly two years after giving up her official leadership role, is best known for her behind-the scenes advice and occasional arm-twisting.
But she had some public advice for her party and Monday morning as Democrats kicked off their national convention in Chicago, with a Bay Area native, Vice President Kamala Harris, at the top of the ticket.
“What works in Michigan works in San Francisco,” said Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco in Congress since 1987, but “what works in San Francisco might not work in Michigan. Let’s win, baby.”
Pelosi made the comments to reporters after speaking at the California delegation’s breakfast meeting in a hotel ballroom, over muffins, melon and eggs. The point, she said, is finding consensus with a liberal framework, a key tool Pelosi has used to turn her party’s agenda into a series of legislative achievements, including the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
It’s especially relevant now as Republicans try to define Harris as a San Francisco leftist. Since becoming her party’s standard-bearer last month, Harris has disavowed prior support for Medicare for all, a ban on fracking and other liberal positions she held when she ran in the Democratic presidential primary four years ago. She’s also deployed tougher rhetoric on the Southwest border as she fends off attacks from former President Trump over record migrant numbers that have occurred during the Biden administration.
But she has embraced other progressive goals including a new economic agenda that emphasizes an increased child tax credit, financial support for first-time home buyers and anti-price-gouging measures, though she has not fleshed out what those ideas would cost or how they would be executed.
Pelosi knows a thing or two about navigating criticism from the right while promoting a partisan agenda. She has been the face of San Francisco liberalism for decades, appearing in Republican campaign ads from Cleveland to Tampa, internet memes and fundraising appeals.
“The fact is, our state … is very diverse,” Pelosi said, pushing back against California’s reputation as a blue haven. “It is not monolithic. You know, on the coast, it’s one thing. If you’re inland, it’s another. So we’ve learned to respect differences of opinion.”
Harris “knows governance has to be from the center in our country, and when she’s putting forth her priorities, they have to be in a way that is unified,” Pelosi said. “That’s what the campaign has to be. We cannot be like them, just saying, ‘We’re this and they’re that.’ No, it’s bringing people together.”
