I wish I’d seen this story when it broke, because it puts into sharp relief that the GOP can and will pay a price for their myopic racial politics. Some background: During the GOP-fueled firestorm over the “Ground Zero Mosque” Seeme Hasan, the wealthy, influential Republican donor told me she might bolt from the GOP over of their antics. Hasan is Muslim, chair of the Hasan Family Foundation, and very keyed into the Republican machine. She casually, and unself-servingly refers to her friends Newt and Michael [Steele], who she expected more of. She was palpably angry, but given the depth of her investment in the GOP, and the rawness of the moment, I thought she might have been punching back reflexively, but would remain a loyal Republican after tempers cooled.
Now her son who’s run for office in Colorado as a Republican, and who she spoke of glowingly and protectively, has made good on her threat. He’s a Democrat. And the person who convinced him to leave the “Party of Reagan” was…Nancy Pelosi.
“I met her in Los Angeles. For a Republican that’s like He-Man [meeting with] Skeletor,” he said, referencing the Masters of the Universe cartoon arch-enemies. “I am impressed by her vision. She convinced me that the Democrats will work to protect and further the interests and opportunities of minority Americans. That matched with the politics of Reagan for me. He was a champion of the American dream, the idea of America as a shining city on a hill. He expanded opportunities through small business credits and amnesty for immigrants. It was all about opportunity.
“I have three top political heroes: Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and now Nancy Pelosi. She has such a spine, like Reagan and Bush, they all have that in common: a spine of steel that comes from conviction.”
That’s a big coup for Democrats in Colorado, and a bold move by Hasan. In an immediate sense, it’s the one thing I can think of that will make the GOP reckon with whether they can take for granted that their dwindling minority backers will remain loyal in the long run. But it’s also an example of Pelosi’s under-discusses savvy. She’s not a charismatic or popular figure, but she thrives at selling a vision to donors, because she has a vision. There’s a lesson here for up and coming Democratic power brokers.
