"All this leadership fight is doing is making more people realize how remarkable Nancy Pelosi is"

[Perrenial Voter]

6. I suspect that the opposition to Pelosi is rooted in style more than

in substance. She is an effective parliamentarian who does not engage in a lot of symbolic action; she works behind the scenes to mobilize support for bills and and only brings them to the floor when she has the votes to pass them. She is often focused on how something will affect the Democratic Party in the long-term (e.g., impeachment).

By contrast, house Republicans who have engaged in all sorts of symbolic behavior (e.g., trying to end Obama Care scores of times) to keep their base agitated and mobilized, especially since the advent of the Tea Party Movement.

The contrast between these two governing styles has often made Democrats look like they were weak and unwilling to fight for anything. This has been frustrating for a lot of Democrats, especially at the grassroots, where activists are often looking for representatives who are clearly fighters. Some of these activists are among the new members of the House Democratic Caucus, and offer a different style of governing.

But the reality is that effective movements, such as the Civil Rights Movement, require both types of leadership: those on the inside who are quietly working for the same goals as protesters on the outside who engage in activities to raise awareness and sustain and grow the movement. An insider/outsider alliance strengthens both factions, and we will need that strength to alter the disastrous course we are currently on as a nation.