From the "60 Minutes" archives: Nancy Pelosi

60 minutes rewind if the Democrats win a majority of seats in the House of Representatives on November 7th the next Speaker of the House will almost certainly be Nancy Pelosi she would be the first ever woman Speaker second in the line of succession just two heartbeats away from the presidency the 66 year old congresswoman from San Francisco has represented one of the most liberal districts in the country for nearly twenty years since she was elected Democratic leader of the house four years ago she's been happy to push other members of Congress to the microphones to speak for the party but now she says her time has come more front-and-center lately she has been the point person for instance in the party's attacks about the page scandal she keeps promising that if she becomes Speaker she'd bring civility back to Washington just not now you have called your Republican colleagues right these are quotes immoral corrupt you say they're running a criminal enterprise I mean you're one of the reasons we have to restore civility in the first place well actually when I called them those names I was being gentle they're much worse things that could have said about them oh really it's hard to imagine no evidence of honest leadership a failed Republican do-nothing Congress of the arrogance of power of the White House he or she is on the president's handling of Katrina president said he's going to lead the investigation into what went wrong he needed look only in the mirror for starters if your speaker I'm wondering how you'll work with him I mean you here are some of the things only some of the things you have called him an incompetent leader right you said in fact he's not a leader he's a person who has no judgment it even stings to hear it now I mean obviously the two of you are bound to get along just great you know we're professionals we're professionals you could go through a long list of things his surrogates have said about me I know they have to do what they have to do and they know I have to do what I have to do and what I have to do is make a distinction in the public that between the Democrats and the Republicans in order to win this isn't personal this is about sounds personal this isn't even competent to what I think is but that's personal well and I'm sorry that's his problem how does this raise the level of civility well this is it we're in a political debate here we didn't come here to have a tea party together and toss a coin to see who would win on an issue I have very thick skin I don't care what they say about me and she needs that thick skin Liberal Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi says she's being used for target practice she'll reward illegal aliens with welfare food stamps and free education how do we stop her Republicans including the president go after her saying if she speaker it'll mean a weaker military pampering of terrorists and higher taxes when we lowered the taxes for families with children she voted against it when we put the death tax on the road to extinction she voted against it time and time again she had an opportunity to show her love for tax cuts and she voted no Pelosi doubts the attacks will work since most Americans have no idea who she is besides at the urging of her colleagues she has downplayed her pro-abortion writes anti-gun position since becoming leader instead promoting more centrist issues like raising the minimum wage and energy independence well you don't talk about the big liberal issues you used to fight for up here I've never walked away from any of my positions I take pride in them gay marriage well that's and that's an issue that is not an issue that we're fighting about here one issue she is fighting about here is Iraq are we safer in America because of this war she opposed the war from the start and now like her most Democrats support a phased withdrawal of troops beginning later this year does that not open you up then to that charge of cutting and running this is just what they're saying the issue is them the issue is the war that they got us into if the president wants to say the war in Iraq is part of the war on terror he's not right do you not think that the war in Iraq now today is the war on terror no the war on terror is the war in Afghanistan but you know what the terrorists have moved into Iraq they have it's the hottest in Iraq but that doesn't mean we stay there that means they'll stay there as long as we're there they're there because we're there what do you say to a Republican I've heard this that you meaning the Democrats but Nancy Pelosi as well do not understand the serious nature of this threat of the jihadists i as a mother and a grandmother 14 years on the Intelligence Committee don't tell me I have any underestimation of what the threat is to our country so if you want to justify your failed policy by saying we don't understand the threat clearly you didn't understand the situation you got us into you don't just go into a war zone on a whim the Democrats think Iraq is a winning issue for them and so Pelosi fires away as she campaigns for different candidates almost every day he or she is in armani in connecticut win this election take the country in a new direction here she is in cowboy boots in Minnesota farm country where she had not won pork chop on a stick this is delicious but - so this is tip O'Neal's office Pelosi's Capitol Hill office is the one once used by Tip O'Neill when he was speaker 20 years ago here's a picture when I was a little girl when I swore my father in when he became mayor of Baltimore nothing prepared her for power more than growing up in Baltimore the daughter of Tommy dalesandro an old school Democrat she learned the secrets of political organizing when she used to help keep track of favors old her father during his 12 years as mayor I was pampered in the fact that I had five older brothers which I highly recommend to anyone Nancy was the youngest of six children and the only girl in a strict Catholic family I wanted to be independent and they were always you know oh we can't do this you can't do that telling all the things that couldn't do never rebelled no I was I was no I wasn't even an option this is the 50s did you ever sneak out yeah okay she loves the dance which he does well she loves to sing when she doesn't do well at college she met her husband Paul Pelosi now a wealthy San Francisco investment banker in fact she's the eighth richest member of the house he says he doesn't give his wife advice except for one thing you buy her clothes oh well she hates to shop you pick out her clothes Wow well sort of actually I yes Paul Pelosi says that for years a career in politics was the farthest thing from her mind it wasn't even on the table it wasn't even part of the discussion it was never gonna nothing in her personality it was never gonna happen so what happened well we end up in San Francisco we raised our five children and when the children were in school all day then she started doing volunteer stuff five kids born six years in one week so she was pregnant the whole time for most of the 60s yes Christine the second oldest of four daughters and one son says her mother was the disciplinarian and drill sergeant in the family then as she is in Congress now so we were always expected to make sure that our homework was done and that we were prepared for what we did she would always say proper preparation prevents poor performance you had these little slogans that we had these little slogans as the kids got older Pelosi threw herself into state politics eventually becoming chairman of the California Democratic Party she didn't run for Congress till she was 46 and now at 66 as she's poised to go down in the history books what Nancy Pelosi wants you to know is that when it comes to her real goal in life she's just like any other woman her age it's great it's fabulous it was my goal in life and now I've achieved it I'm a grandmother the story will continue after this ask Nancy Pelosi to describe herself and the first thing out of her mouth is that she's a mother of five the category is the Flinstones and a grandmother of five when I asked your daughter Christine how you rule she said you were motherly yes it depends on your definition of motherly if motherly means we're going to have order in the house yes well she certainly brought order to the Democrats she has insisted on no more bickering in public and just saying no to nearly everything that comes out of the Bush White House in other words party discipline kind of like the Republicans do it as a result Democrats now vote together more often than they have since Eisenhower was president how has someone so clearly not one of the boys managed to keep them in line well one way is money she has personally raised more than a hundred million dollars second only to Bill and Hillary Clinton which she dispenses generously to her colleagues another way she rules is through good old-fashioned hardball but people say Nancy Pelosi is tough as nails I'm very strong I don't know tough but every time I ask you about it you retreat into oh no I'm a mother I'm a grandmother you are tough you have to I mean it goes without saying you got there well did it I heard somebody say the other day when they said you should see how tough she was on a certain subject and one of my other colleagues said you have no idea one thing she does is threatened to deny plum assignments to members who vote with the Republicans but by keeping her troops in lockstep her critics say she has worsened the gridlock and partisan bitterness in Congress what's this meeting about this meeting is our Democratic caucus this is our last huddle Pelosi took us to the last election strategy session House Democrats held before they went off to campaign [Applause] the mood was buoyant if credit going to Pelosi for bringing them so close to retaking the house with her strategy of not letting one Republican attack go unanswered with just 16 days to the election ladies and gentlemen the next speaker and first madam Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Nancy Pelosi who already made history once when she became minority leader think she's about to do it again well you have to understand breaking the hereit we call it the marble feeling this makes glass look like nothing this is a marble ceiling right and breaking it she says would help all women I believe I've become Speaker of the House and that highly visible role show the American People that women know how to use power that I think it helps all women in the political process or whatever the field they're in but I think it will be a plus this is it she has pledged that a speaker she would give the Republicans rights they've denied the Democrats like allowing them to introduce amendments to bills but she may have trouble reining in the Democrats appetite for revenge there's already been talk of multiple investigations and impeachment of the president yes Pietschmann is off our timetable and that's a pledge well it's a pleasure and yes I mean it's a pledge of course it is it is not it is a waste of time so that's all completely off the table wouldn't they just love it if we came in and our record as Democrats coming forth in 12 years is to talk about George Bush and Dick Cheney this election is about them this is a referendum on them making them lame ducks is good enough for me

Channel: 60 Minutes

Views: 231,749

Keywords: 60 Minutes, CBS News, lesley stahl, nancy pelosi, house of representatives, speaker

Id: 1OBSX2BZ9ZA

Length: 13min 16sec (796 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 14 2019