Paul Pelosi involved in alleged hit and run incident

The Pelosi family is a modern American political force with San Francisco roots, vast wealth and decades of institutional Democratic muscle.

They perfectly embody the tension between lofty public-service rhetoric and messier realities, both public and private, that invite accusations of elite entitlement.

The latest family scandal –– an alleged hit-and-run incident by Paul Pelosi on July 3 –– adds another dubious mark to the Pelosi brand as Rep. Nancy Pelosi prepares to exit Congress in January.

The former House speaker, a member of Congress since 1987, is among the most consequential (and polarizing) Democrats in US history. 

Nancy rose from a political family (her father was a mayor of Baltimore) to master the dark arts of legislative deal-making, fundraising, and party discipline. She’s long presided over a machine shielded by connections, money and narrative control.

The ex-speaker is best known for helping to pass Obamacare: “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it,” she famously said; rabid anti-Trumpism –– she played a central role in two impeachments and a Jan. 6  investigation; and years of alleged insider stock trading. 

Indeed, bad financial optics have long dogged the Pelosis, whose net worth is estimated at north of $200 million.

Persistent allegations have followed family stock trades, where husband Paul’s portfolio often outperformed the market with suspiciously convenient timing near legislative events. 

And the ex-speaker herself conveniently resisted proposed bans on congressional stock-trading. 

A range of public incidents add color –– and controversy –– to her record.

As President Trump concluded his State of the Union speech in 2020, she famously tore up a copy of the address for the cameras.

That same year, she was caught at an indoor hair salon despite the COVID social distancing rules she and fellow Democrats demanded for others. She dismissed the hypocrisy as “a setup.”

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As a practicing Catholic who calls herself “devout,” Nancy has been a rock-solid defender of abortion rights –– sparking repeated clashes with church hierarchy. In 2022, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone barred her from Communion.

Nancy’s husband Paul Pelosi Sr., the family patriarch, is an investor through Financial Leasing Services whose wealth has complemented Nancy’s career, keeping the couple in elite circles. 

His missteps include a 2022 guilty plea to misdemeanor DUI causing injury after a crash in Napa.

The left hopes to memory-hole much of this record, of course –– and Nancy’s post-retirement plans perfectly cap the legacy project. 

In 2027, she will help launch the (don’t laugh) Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy (NPI) at UC Berkeley. 

Anchored in political science and funded with over $35 million toward a $50 million goal, the nonpartisan-branded center promises research, teaching, and civic engagement on polarization, institutions, civil rights, climate, inequality, voting reforms, and AI.

Pelosi will co-teach a course on Congress. 

The nonpartisanship branding is almost quaint: an echo chamber dressed up as civic enlightenment.

In reality, the Pelosis are all about hypocrisy and insulation: They run a well-oiled machine that lectures on ethics while enjoying every advantage.

Nancy Pelosi did do the country one great service, though: She kept the congressional radicals, led by AOC and her squadmates, in check.

In that respect, if in few others, she will be missed.

Richie Greenberg is a political commentator based in San Francisco.