WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI) -- U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says she is not an ideologue, insisting she is open to ideas from Republicans.
In an appearance on Charlie Rose's show, Pelosi said being a partisan is one of the most unfair and misleading criticisms of her, The Hill reported Saturday.
"There seems to -- some people think there seems to be a market for saying that I am very partisan, and that I don't give the Republicans their opportunity," Pelosi said Friday. "That simply is not true. They know in this recovery package that we had, we ask them what they wanted. They wanted certain things in there."
The Hill said one Republican lawmaker told the newspaper that working with Pelosi on legislation is nearly impossible.
"She's an ideologue," said the lawmaker who requested anonymity.
Pelosi discounted the criticism, saying it's a Republican ploy to attack her personally.
"If you can't win on policy, then you go to process," she said. "If you can't win on process, then you go to personality. And that's how they have decided they would make up stories about me and the rest … . But you know what? I'm in the arena. We have big issues. I can't be bothered about what they say about me. All I'm interested in is getting the job done. And I really want to get it done in a bipartisan way."
