It was heartbreaking for Nancy Pelosi to hear these words from her friend.
Her closest ally demanded that she step down from Congress.
And now Pelosi is realizing her time may be up.
The San Francisco Chronicle and Nancy Pelosi have had a close alliance for many years now in serving each other’s interests.
Pelosi has always given the Chronicle close access, and in return, the Chronicle has always endorsed her campaigns for re-election.
But Pelosi is getting older and is no longer the leader of the House Democratic caucus.
Many have asked questions about whether it’s time for her to step aside for a younger generation.
San Francisco politicians have been jockeying to replace her, and now the Chronicle is getting behind these efforts.
They are still endorsing her re-election campaign, but it comes with a major caveat.
The New York Times reports, “Political insiders and many San Franciscans in general widely expected this year to be Nancy Pelosi’s swan song.”
“The former speaker, who is 83 and has represented the city in Congress for 37 years, saw Republicans take hold of the House last year and has turned over her leadership of the House Democrats to Hakeem Jeffries.”
All of that would seem to point towards someone who is getting near retirement, but Pelosi is running for re-election. Again.
The article continues, “Over the weekend, her re-election bid received the endorsement of her hometown paper, The San Francisco Chronicle.”
“No surprise there — the paper has long backed Ms. Pelosi’s campaigns for office and for leadership positions among House Democrats, and she occasionally sends notes to its journalists complimenting their work.”
“But this time, as the paper said, there was a catch.”
“The editorial board, which does not usually conduct endorsement interviews for candidates with no serious challengers, praised Ms. Pelosi’s ‘strength as a political leader’ in its endorsement this time, and noted that she was ‘tough, charming and pragmatic’ when she met with the board.”
“But it raised big concerns, too, saying that Ms. Pelosi would not be a policy innovator at this late stage in her career, and questioning her insistence on investigating financial ties between Russia and protesters who call for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.”
It’s clear they believe Pelosi is washed up and are endorsing her in deference to their longstanding political alliance.
But Pelosi is losing critical allies in her effort to be canonized in Congress for eternity.