Pelosi: GOP Had to Stop Me 'Because I'm Effective'

EJ Dionne thinks Nancy Pelosi is "one of the most effective speakers in history," and he's got no problem with her keeping a leadership role. "Yes, there are valid political reasons for House Democrats to change leaders," he writes in the Washington Post. "But there's an argument rooted in justice that the person who built their majority should have a shot at winning it back. And aren't Democrats tired of reflexively capitulating to the other side's narrative?"

In an interview with an unapologetic Pelosi, Dionne asked her about being the target of "millions of dollars in Republican attack ads," and she explained the GOP had no choice. "Because I'm effective," she said. "It's why they had to do it. They had to put a stop to me because we were effective," citing reforms of health care, Wall Street, and student loans. Besides, with Ted Kennedy gone, Republicans needed a new liberal target," she said. "Now you take a woman and a progressive and you put it together..." (More Election 2010 stories.)