When Rep. Nancy Pelosi first became speaker of the House, I got a call from a reporter from a DC paper; I think it was Roll Call. He wanted to know what someone from a liberal San Francisco publication thought of the new speaker’s “San Francisco values.”

Right-wing politicians and pundits around the country were going crazy. Some progressives were overly excited. A speaker from (gasp?) San Francisco, that crazy left-wing city? She must be some kind of political freak, maybe even a commie.

I told the reporter the everyone on all sides needed to chill out. Pelosi was by no means a “San Francisco leftist.” She was a very mainstream Democrat who hadn’t represented San Francisco in years; her constituency was the leadership and members of the Democratic Caucus in the House. She was all about

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