Nancy Pelosi, MVP

She gets a lot of flack, obviously, for being wildly unpopular and for having had her caucus suffer a rather crushing defeat last year. But I still think that Nanci Pelosi is the person who, starting in 2007, has done the most to advance the progressive agenda. Apparently she was instrumental in convincing Obama to hit the Republicans as hard as he did in his speech on Wednesday, and she was instrumental in getting all of no Democrats to vote for Paul Ryan's budget. She's one hell of a whip, and she's easily the most powerful person in America who is a true, committed, liberal (as opposed to something more center-left). And when we take back the House next November, I look forward to seeing her become Speaker once again.