This year, we continue a cherished Thanksgiving tradition at Ringside Politics by bestowing our annual Turkey of the Year award to the most deserving politician.

Previous winners include such political luminaries as former New Orleans Mayor Ray “School Bus” Nagin and former New Orleans Congressman “Dollar Bill” Jefferson.

As usual, this year the competition was tough with many deserving applicants.

One candidate who merited serious consideration was Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who spent much of his time this year out of the state fundraising and promoting his book on “leadership.” Too bad he did not spend much time doing his job as Governor or using any of his vaunted leadership skills to deal with the major problems in Louisiana.

Of course, another qualified nominee was President Barack Obama. When he was not apologizing for America or bowing to foreign leaders, he was busy passing unpopular legislation like his socialist healthcare plan. Incredibly, the delusional President was shocked when the American people voted against his party in the mid-term elections. It is amazing that he cannot grasp the fact that voters react negatively when detested bills are shoved down their throats.

Despite a plethora of deserving nominations, the clear winner of this year’s award is none other than that San Francisco treat, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. This Botox buffoon personified the problems of the out of touch Democratic Party. Throughout the year, Pelosi remained clueless about the strength of the tea party and labeled the movement “Astroturf.” She pushed for a healthcare bill that she did not read. In fact, Pelosi claimed that “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”

Pelosi has such minimal knowledge of economics that she believes the best way to stimulate growth is to spend money on food stamps and unemployment insurance. According to Pelosi, “it is the biggest bang for the buck when you do food stamps and unemployment insurance.”

When this liberal is not extolling the virtues of food stamps, she is constantly waging war against Republicans trying to limit the size of government or extend the Bush tax cuts. One bill that has Pelosi’s support is the Dream Act, which is the first step toward amnesty for illegal aliens. The Speaker is trying to jam this bill through during the lame duck session of Congress.

Not only is Pelosi wrong on the issues, she also exudes an arrogance that is not befitting a politician who is second in line to the presidency. Her haughtiness was on display in her dealings with Republicans. She even shunned GOP moderates like U.S. Congressman Joseph Cao (R-New Orleans) and refused to meet with him.

To travel from her San Francisco district to the nation’s capitol, Pelosi demanded the use of an expensive Air Force jet, which cost the taxpayers millions of dollars. She stocked the jet with gourmet food and the best liquor and also used it to travel to exotic destinations throughout the world. In Pelosi’s view, she was entitled to these benefits as Madam Speaker. Thankfully, her reign of error is coming to an end. Her successor will be Congressman John Boehner of Ohio, who has committed to use commercial aircraft to travel home. This move shows that Boehner, unlike Nancy Pelosi, understands he is a public servant, not a monarch.  

After leading her party to historic defeats on November 2nd, Pelosi was arrogant enough to run for House Minority Leader. The amazing thing is that Democrats were stupid enough to elect her as their leader once again.

Her leadership as Speaker was pathetic and foolish Democrats can expect more of the same from their new Minority Leader. Good luck Democrats!

Jeff Crouere is the Host of “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m. weekdays on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore. He is the Political Analyst for WGNO-TV ABC26 and a Columnist for selected publications. For more information, visit his web site at RingsidePolitics.com. E-mail him at jeff@ringsidepolitics.com.