Stephanie Herseth Sandlin: “Focused, organized, hard working and goal oriented: those are words that spring to my mind when describing our new whip…”

“Focused, organized, hard working and goal oriented: those are words that spring to my mind when describing our new whip, Nancy Pelosi. As will no doubt be mentioned many times tonight, Nancy Pelosi's election is historic and an indication of positive change to come. Nancy's leadership will complement our current leadership. She will bring a new energy, a new vision to our caucus and to our country. Her leadership may be to the same destination, but I suspect that she will have a few new road maps for us to follow. I am proud of our caucus, particularly the men of our caucus, that we were able to be a part of breaking the glass ceiling for women in leadership. And make no mistake about it, that glass ceiling is shattered forever. This is important to men and women all across the country, and it is important to me personally. I am the father of four children, two boys and two girls. I want to make sure that my daughters have the same hope, the same opportunity, the same vision as my sons. Nancy Pelosi will guarantee that. We all congratulate Nancy Pelosi; and I say thank you for including us all at the table, from left to right, region to region, persuasion to persuasion, but most of all thank you for your years of hard work, your dedication and your preparation in earning this leadership position. The country will be better for the leadership of Nancy Pelosi.”