With a majority of polls showing House Democrats winning enough votes to take control in the midterm congressional elections, all eyes are turning to Nancy Pelosi and how she will rule in her second stint as speaker. And for Republicans, the future is grim.

“She’ll be as tough as nails. She is going to be very difficult,” said former Rep. Bob Livingston who was briefly speaker-in-waiting in 1998 after Newt Gingrich lost his job when Republicans lost five seats in the elections instead of picking up more as expected.

He recalled in an interview that Pelosi, who he personally likes, “was very, very authoritarian as a speaker and she was least given to compromise.”

Now an influential lobbyist, Livingston has penned an autobiography of his 20 years and in “The Windmill Chaser” recalls Pelosi’s success sidelining Republicans.

He wrote, “Nancy Pelosi’s domination of the House or Representatives pushed the very limits of the U.S. Constitution. Transparency, bipartisanship, the respect for minority rights were given ample lip service, but in practice they were virtually ignored in favor of high-handed and roughshod treatment of the minority."