OK, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is definitely sick of the new media darling, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
We wrote a piece last week headlined “ANNOYED: Ocasio-Cortez Appears To Be Getting On Pelosi’s Last Nerve.”You can get rid of that qualifier, “appeared.” Nattering Nancy from San Fran is totally sick of AOC.
Pelosi (D-CA) gave a speech Monday at the London School of Economics, in which she said the Democratic Party has got to avoid the “menace” of far-left policies that are often advocated by young and rising political stars, like free health care, free college tuition and a higher minimum wage. She said the Democratic socialist — who’s pushing the Green New Deal environmental plan with a $93 trillion price tag — and others like her represent only a tiny faction in the margins of American politics.
The Speaker said one of the keys to the Democrats taking control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections was that the party kept to the center.
“When we won this election, it wasn’t in districts like mine or Alexandria’s. And she’s a wonderful member of Congress, I think all of our colleagues will attest,” Pelosi said of the two liberal districts, hers in San Francisco and Ocasio-Cortez’s in New York City. “But those are districts that are solidly Democratic.” Then she reached over to a small table and held aloft a glass of water, saying, “This glass of water would win with a D next to its name in those districts.”
Pelosi went on to praise AOC a bit. “And not to diminish the exuberance, and the personality, and the rest of Alexandria and the other members… but the 43 districts—we won 43, net gain of 40—were right down the middle. mainstream, hold-the-center victories. If we’re going to be helping the one-in-five children in America who goes to sleep hungry at night, who lives in poverty in our country, we have to win,” she said.
As America heads into the 2020 election, Democrats are outdoing each other in moving hard left. Some 16 candidates are already running, offering everything from free health care to free college tuition to free money in the form of monthly payments under a universal basic income program. Pelosi fears moving too far left will alienate centrists voters.
Pelosi said she’s been equally liberal in the past. “I can compare my liberal credentials across the board. I said to them: ”Anything you’re about, I got that sign in my basement 20 years ago’.’ “
“What we are saying is, to have a message that appeals to people in a way that does not menace them. I share those values – but we must win.”
In her “60 Minutes” interview on Sunday, Pelosi again dissed AOC. Host Lesley Stahl asked the 79-year-old Speaker about criticism she’s receiving from the left-wing of her party, saying “You have these wings – AOC, and her group on one side –” Pelosi interrupted: “That’s like five people.” “No, it’s – the progressive group is more than five,” Stahl said. “Well, the progressive – I’m a progressive. Yeah,” the Speaker said.
Last week, during an interview with USA Today, Pelosi was asked about the difficulty of coordinating House Democrats while some freshmen like Ocasio-Cortez “proudly embrace socialism” and are busy shoving the party far to the left with “sweeping action on climate change and call for a government-run health care system.”
“While there are people who have a large number of Twitter followers, what’s important is that we have large numbers of votes on the floor of the House,” Pelosi said of the social media star.
The day AOC unveiled her environmental package, Pelosi “brushed off the idea of the Green New Deal as a ‘suggestion,’” Politico reported. “It will be one of several or maybe many suggestions that we receive,” Pelosi said. “The green dream or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they’re for it right?”
Pelosi also snubbed Ocasio-Cortez, passing her over for a seat on the Ways and Means Committee, even though the incumbent AOC beat — Joe Crowley — sat on the committee. And Ocasio-Cortez was reportedly left out of the Pelosi-controlled Select Committee on the Climate Crisis at the Speaker’s direction.
