Freshman communist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) accused Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) of racism, saying of Pelosi’s repeated efforts to rein in AOC and her fellow radical freshmen (known as “the Squad”) Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), ” reported the Washington Post Wednesday.
“When these comments first started, I kind of thought that she was keeping the progressive flank at more of an arm’s distance in order to protect more moderate members, which I understood,” Ocasio-Cortez told The Washington Post. “But the persistent singling out . . . it got to a point where it was just outright disrespectful . . . the explicit singling out of newly elected women of color.”
More from the Post:
Pelosi suggested to New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd in an opinion piece published Saturday that “the Squad” had a limited following inside the House. She specifically pointed to the example of the House-passed Democratic border bill in late June, which the group opposed.
“All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world,” Pelosi said in the New York Times interview. “But they didn’t have any following. They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got.”
Several in the caucus were uncomfortable with Pelosi’s comments. Congressional Progressive Caucus leaders are expected to talk to Pelosi about her comments, according to two officials familiar with the plan. Other women of color in the House have similarly expressed concerns.
“I can’t tell the speaker to apologize, but I was taken aback by it. Because we’re all here to work together,” said Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), the first black woman to represent her state in Congress.
Notably, Hayes, Ocasio-Cortez and Omar appeared together with Pelosi smiling on the cover of Rolling Stone in a photo taken in January.
End excerpt, complete Washington Post article at this link.
Earlier Wednesday Pelosi was asked about her feud with the Squad, “Pelosi on if she has regrets about her comments about 4 Dem progressive mbrs who are often a thorn in side of Dem ldrshp: Ocasio-Cortez/Tlaib/Omar/Pressley. Pelosi: “I do not. No. I have no regrets about anything. Regrets are not what I do.”
Pelosi on if she has regrets about her comments about 4 Dem progressive mbrs who are often a thorn in side of Dem ldrshp: Ocasio-Cortez/Tlaib/Omar/Pressley. Pelosi: "I do not. No. I have no regrets about anything. Regrets are not what I do."
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 10, 2019
