My Hero for 2010

The act of finding and acknowledging heroes is a popular pastime these days. They can be community heroes, personal heroes, or world heroes. This is all well and good. Heroes should be acknowledged and celebrated. Especially those who you may not even know has worked diligently in your behalf.

My hero for 2010 is Nancy Pelosi. I have such an admiration for this lady. She has worked tirelessly in an effort to improve the lives and livelihood of Americans. Her stint in the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives comes to an end in December. I can honestly say that I believe that she has done more for the citizens of this country than any other House Speaker ever has. I would be so bold as to say that the replacement coming in will not do so much for the middle class.

She first made history in 2007 by being the first woman elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Christian Science Monitor has stated that “(Nancy Pelosi) is the most powerful woman in American Politics and the most powerful House Speaker since Sam Rayburn a half century ago.”

Ms. Pelosi has worked and succeeded at unifying the Democratic Party in the House; no small feat in and of itself. When Ms. Pelosi turns the gavel over to the next House Speaker, she will have accomplished more than all the House Speakers in the past 50 years. She has done it all with the welfare of the American people utmost in her mind and heart.

Some of her accomplishments include:

Spearheading the effort to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Working endlessly to pass Healthcare Reform which will provide insurance coverage for 32 million uninsured Americans.

She worked to pass the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act to help students and their parents more easily pay for college.

And for the good of American women and others who have faced discrimination in pay, Speaker Nancy Pelosi worked in the 111th Congress to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

This is only a few of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s heroic acts in the past 3 years. She has a selfless attitude that will have far reaching effects in American history and in many American lives.

Gail Collins of the New York Times called Nancy Pelosi, ‘the most fearless person on Capitol Hill.’ That is so spot on! Nancy Pelosi has dealt with snide and sometime hurtful remarks from the Republican side of the House and with the idiocy of Fox News with dignity. She did not let the opposition deter her in her work to better the lives of millions of Americans.

My hat is off to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Thank you for being an inspiration and an advocate.