Vox

Nancy Pelosi's record of impact is undeniable. Over more than three decades in Congress, she is frequently cited among the effective legislative operators of her generation. Pelosi held together the votes for the Affordable Care Act, twice ascended to the speaker's chair, and built a fundraising machine that reshaped how her party competes. Last week, at the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, Vox’s Astead Herndon spoke with Pelosi about that record. In front of a packed crowd of innovators at the Vox Media Podcast Stage, he asked Pelosi about key moments in her career, her unshakable faith in the American electorate, and the outlook for November's midterm elections. Pelosi is preparing to leave Congress at the end of this term, and it comes at a time of profound uncertainty for the Democratic Party. Republicans control the White House. Her party's polling favorability has reached historic lows, and a once solid liberal majority seems to be fraying on lines of age, race, and class. There's no consensus about what went wrong or who should lead next. Regardless, Pelosi says she has absolute confidence that Democrats will take back the House this year. Today, Explained publishes video episodes every Saturday tackling key issues in politics and culture. Subscribe to Vox’s YouTube channel to get them. New episodes of Today, Explained drop every day of the week on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite listening app. If you enjoy our reporting and want to hear more from Vox journalists, sign up for our Patreon at patreon.com/vox. Each month, our members get access to exclusive videos, livestreams, and chats with our newsroom. Chapter titles: 00:00 Intro 1:52 What drove Rep. Pelosi into politics 5:10 Barriers in Rep. Pelosi’s path 10:10 What drives Pelosi’s optimism 14:12 What Dems need to do to win 18:02 Trump’s Save America Act 20:00 Views on Trump and the future Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com. Watch our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE Follow Vox on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o Or Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H