Free Pelosi!

The L.A. Times editorial board in their column titled, "Speaker or not, she's a keeper" , prove they don't quite grasp what the hell happened to the Democrats last Tuesday either.

Many Republicans claim that Democrats lost control of the House because of voter disgust with Pelosi's high-handed ways and the policies she rammed through Congress. That doesn't seem likely. By approving healthcare reform and imposing tighter regulations on Wall Street, Democrats delivered precisely the "change" they promised two years ago, when they were wildly popular. Meanwhile, although the government's economic stimulus strategy has helped engineer a slow turnaround for the economy, it hasn't reduced joblessness, so it's hardly surprising that the party in power took a beating. That's not a good reason to dump Pelosi. The fact that she is despised by conservatives isn't either — in fact, it's probably a tribute to her skills as speaker.

One cogent argument for Pelosi to step down posits that she did a poor job of selling Democratic policies to the electorate. Yet Pelosi, the first female speaker, has been extraordinarily effective as a legislative leader and fundraiser, shepherding through historic reforms amid solid GOP opposition. Getting such legislation passed is her job — drumming up public approval for it is not. That role properly falls to the Democrats' spokesman in chief, President Obama.

(italics, ours)

The "they did a horrible job of selling their wonderful accomplishments to a dense electorate" is a narrative that, like a bad cough, is something they just can't shake.

But you know what? Let's indulge them this fantasy and get behind the effort to maintain Pelosi as the minority leader in the House. Daily Kos has a petition that does just that, here.

H/T: The Liberator Today