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Pelosi says she has top spot sewn up
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- CNN Anchor Judy Woodruff talked to the No. 2 Democrat in the House, Minority Whip Nancy Pelosi about her bid for the top spot, House minority leader. WOODRUFF: Nancy Pelosi, I don't know if you heard John King's report just a moment ago. He's saying the White House looks forward to ... competing with the views of an outspoken liberal like you. PELOSI: And I look forward to competing with them as a representative of the full spectrum of the Democratic Caucus. I'm very delighted for the encouragement that I have received from my colleagues from across the board, from right to left and every geographic area in the country. And we will work together to develop our pro-economic growth Democratic message, building on the successes and the foundation laid by our distinguished leader, Mr. Gephardt. He set a very high standard for us and a very tough pace, and I'm very, very honored at the confidence my colleagues have placed in me to continue his work. WOODRUFF: Do you have this sewn up now? PELOSI: Yes, I do. As you know, on Wednesday the word got out, and on Thursday the leader announced that he would not stand for re-election for House leader. We went right into action then, and in 24 hours had the commitments of over a majority of the caucus, public commitments, and an overwhelming majority of our colleagues supporting my candidacy. It is over. And as I respectfully always say, though, the votes belong to our colleagues until they cast them. These are commitments, but I'm sure anyone would be delighted to have the overwhelming support that I have received from my colleagues. WOODRUFF: Before Martin Frost... PELOSI: It's pretty exciting. WOODRUFF: Before Martin Frost dropped out, he said that electing a liberal like you to the leadership in the House of the Democrats would consign the party to permanent minority status; that it's not the centrist, mainstream that the party needs. PELOSI: Well, I don't know if that's exactly what he said. I don't think that's constructive. But I do think that people elected me to be a leader and not an advocate for my own point of view. Everyone in the party has their own place in the spectrum. I have been invited all over the country to campaign for my colleagues in marginal races, have listened to the concerns of their constituents, have a better understanding and current understanding of where they are coming from. Because of my own commitment to my own ideals, I understand their commitment to the priorities from their area. I'm respectful of that. What we adopt as our party position on growing the economy, which is our first priority, will be the product of all of the members of the caucus representing the full spectrum. And it's really pretty exciting for me to have the confidence they have placed in me, despite some of the characterizations from the White House and the rest. What would we expect them to say? WOODRUFF: Well, and in that connection, and I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but there was a Republican aide quoted this morning in The New York Times as saying, "Yes, I'm ready to go door to door campaigning for Nancy Pelosi," the prospect of, again, competing against a San Francisco liberal. PELOSI: Why are we even talking about this? What we're talking about is getting ready for a new Congress of the United States, where we can work together, try to find our common ground with the Republicans where that is possible to make the future better for our children; and where we cannot find our common ground, to stand our ground on issues in the public interest, as opposed to the special interests that the Republicans represent. Today, the issue of the day is the story from Wall Street that some there will try to curb the reforms that were in the Sarbanes bill. We know that, because of the outcry from the public, the administration and the Republicans in Congress came kicking and screaming in support of the Sarbanes bill. It wasn't long after that they said they weren't going to put up the money to fund the bill. And even the SEC office said -- Chairman Pitt's office said they could not implement the reforms of the Sarbanes bill without the resources. And now, today, as you see in The Washington Post, there is the word that just two days or three days after the election, that there is possibly an abandonment of the reforms that are so needed, because so many families in America had their retirements undermined and their investments defrauded. And the American people care about this. The Republicans said one thing before the election, and now it looks like they're going to do something after. So there are some issues where we have very big differences of opinion. They will always try to undermine the messenger. I would just hope we can have a healthy, rigorous debate about the issues so that the American people can decide how they want to go forward in the next election. We're not campaigning now. We're building, building, building, and hoping to find common ground. I want to reiterate that. WOODRUFF: All right. Well, Nancy Pelosi, we will be covering the caucus vote next week when it takes place here in Washington. Thank you very much for talking with us.
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