In the face of threats by a deluded band of “moderates” to derail the Democratic agenda, Speak Nancy Pelosi pushed through the full $3.5 trillion public-investment package on the Biden presidency rests. The bill came through in full, without being watered down in the typical D.C. fashion, and passed before the less controversial infrastructure package that House Democrats do not need to maintain their governing momentum. In effecting this achievement, Pelosi displayed her trademark canniness and steely resolve. The fact is that she is the best Speaker of the House since at least Sam Rayburn.

Pelosi is, naturally, a target of the extreme right. She is a woman; she does not obediently defer to men; she is from San Francisco, and she is a liberal. Game, set, match in the contest to become Red America’s bete noir. Democrats running for Congress often insist that they will not support her reelection as Speaker–and she tolerates this opportunism, because she knows the value of cold, hard politics. Contending with more sexism and deranged hostility than any politician besides Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi has remained an effective party leader.

It is a testament to how deep the trust in Pelosi runs among House Democrats that she retains loyalty from the vast majority of her caucus despite broad unpopularity with voters in the reddest districts. Complaints about her coming from the left are largely dismissed by House progressives. In fact, the primary public opposition to her Speakership emanates from conservative-leaning white male Democrats who do not share her convictions. She has the stone-cold instincts of a master negotiator and an ability to raise millions of dollars for Democrats in tough districts. That’s why her caucus has remained fiercely loyal to her.

And her greatness is not confined to the nuts and bolts of legislating and electioneering. Pelosi is the most effective progressive policymaker of the last 40 years. She began her tenure as the leading House Democrat by destroying George W. Bush’s effort to privatize Social Security. Under pressure from prominent Democrats (including Rahm Emanuel and Barney Frank) to abandon healthcare reform, Pelosi instilled steel in the spines of Democrats across Washington, D.C. and deserves perhaps more credit than anyone else for the passage of Obamacare. The Biden fiscal legislation is merely the latest achievement in a nearly 20-year career of advancing the progressive American cause.

There is no one in Washington more adept at managing a diverse caucus and getting to yes on what they want than Nancy Pelosi. Not even Mitch McConnell: he couldn’t stop seven of his Republican members from voting to convict Donald Trump. Pelosi has the political skills of a top politico and moral convictions seldom seen in the tawdry world of American political life. Any Democrat frustrated with the attack ads featuring unflattering photos of Pelosi alongside their candidate, should remember who is responsible for the string of progressive policy victories their party has enjoyed since the mid-Bush era. Three cheers for Nancy Pelosi.