After Democrats lost their Senate majority , some wanted to scale back health care . Speaker Nancy Pelosi fought to keep the bill comprehensive , says David Zelizer . He says she combined strong leadership with ability to amass needed votes . Zelizer says Pelosi has emerged as powerful dealmaker for Democrats .
After Democrats lost 60-vote Senate majority , some wanted to scale back health bill . Speaker Nancy Pelosi fought to keep the bill comprehensive , says Julian Zelizer . He says she combines strong ideology with ability to amass needed votes . Zelizer says Pelosi has emerged as powerful dealmaker for Democrats .