Nancy Pelosi

Crowley Prepares Bid If Pelosi Falls Short

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“Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) — buoyed by a caucus thirsty for change and his rising national profile — is angling to become the next House Democratic leader if Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats fall short,” Politico reports.

“Whether Democrats win the House majority or not, the affable Queens party boss and current Democratic Caucus chairman would have to first go through the party’s long-time septuagenarian leaders — Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and Jim Clyburn — who’ve shown no hurry to head for the exits. In fact, the three have already started sending strong signals that if Democrats take the House they’re prepared to beat back a younger generation clamoring for new leaders.”

Pelosi In Peril?

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Mike Allen: “Top Democrats tell me that if they take back the House in November, a restoration of Speaker Nancy Pelosi is no longer guaranteed.”

“In fact, some well-wired House Democrats predict she will be forced aside after the election and replaced by a younger, less divisive Dem…. Pelosi has hung in through the minority, and remains the party’s most consistent fundraiser. As for whether she’ll return as Speaker, she has just said that it’s up to the members. (Her allies note that she has never lost a leadership vote.)”

Playbook: “Nancy Pelosi has thick skin. She would love nothing more than for Democrats to win back the House majority. If people dump on her en route to the majority, fine.”

Time for Nancy Pelosi to Go?

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Walter Shapiro: “A strong case can be made that the congressional elections this year are the most important off-year contests since at least 1946 – the year when the Republicans took control of Congress for the first time since the Depression and brought a generation of virulent anti-communists like Joseph McCarthy to power.”

“For all the glib talk of a ‘blue wave’, there is a sizable risk that the Democrats could fall a few seats short of the 24 they need to win back the House. Even with, say, a three-seat majority, the Republicans would select all the committee chairmen and thwart any investigation into the misdeeds of the Trump administration.”

“That is why the moment is at hand for Pelosi to cap her congressional career by announcing – for the good of the nation and her party – that she will step down as Democratic leader.”

Are Democrats Ready for a Campaign About Pelosi?

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First Read notes that Republicans “are counting on Nancy Pelosi deciding to stay in her position as House Dem leader, and becoming a foil for GOP candidates, especially those running in competitive and red-state congressional districts.”

Indeed, check out these back-to-back TV ads that Republicans are airing against Conor Lamb (D) in next month’s special congressional race in Pennsylvania:

  • Conservative Leadership Fund Super PAC: “A $2,900-dollar middle-class tax cut for our community. Now businesses are giving workers raises and bonuses and creating jobs. Yet Nancy Pelosi and Conor Lamb are still opposing your tax cut.”

“And it raises an important question: Are Democrats prepared for Pelosi — once again — to be used against their candidates? After all, Pelosi, the first and only woman to be House speaker, is more unpopular than President Trump is.”

Republicans Dust Off the Anti-Pelosi Playbook

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NBC News: “The question is whether Pelosi is as toxic now, with Republicans in control of the White House and Congress, as she was then.”

“Republicans are certain that she is.”

“But Pelosi’s team says Republicans aren’t living in the real world if they think a national campaign against her can overcome Trump’s poor approval ratings — he’s been below 40 percent in most polls — and the enthusiasm of Democratic voters.”

Pelosi Urges Democrats to Behave Tonight

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is encouraging her caucus to behave during President Trump’s State of the Union address tonight, Politico reports.

Said Pelosi: “Let the attention be on his slobbering self. If you want to walk out, don’t come in.”

She added that expectations are so low for Trump, he’s likely to get good reviews: “If his nose isn’t running and he isn’t burping, he did a great speech.”

Pelosi Moves to Muzzle Impeachment Talk

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Politico: “Pelosi told lawmakers at a Democratic leadership meeting soon after that she had reached out to the Democratic megadonor to tell him that his $10 million ad campaign was a distraction.”

“Pelosi is eager to show her party can govern — in contrast to the chaos surrounding Trump — and believes that a reputation as the ‘No Drama Democrats’ is key to taking back the House in 2018 and whisking her backing into the speaker’s chair.”

“While not an official slogan, Pelosi has discussed the strategy broadly in recent leadership and caucus meetings, urging members to avoid talk of impeachment and resist taking Trump’s bait on whatever topic is dominating his Twitter feed that day.”

Top House Democrats Calls for New Leadership

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Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) said that “it’s time for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her leadership team to prepare to step down and make way for the next generation of lawmakers in her caucus,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Sanchez: “I do think it’s time to pass a torch to a new generation of leaders, and I want to be a part of that transition.”

The comments by Sanchez, “who as vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus ranks fifth in the 194-member body, are the most explicit to date by a senior congressional Democrat and a member of the California congressional delegation about Pelosi’s political future.”

Democrat Runs with Pledge to Vote Against Pelosi

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Paul Davis (D) announced his entrance into the race for the Kansas 2nd congressional district with a promise that if elected, “he does not plan to vote for Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the current House Democratic leader and former speaker of the U.S. House when Democrats last held the majority,” the Kansas City Star reports.

Said Davis: “This is a broken Congress right now, and I think the leaders of both political parties bear responsibility for that. And I think that we need new leadership in both political parties.”

Democrats Begin to See Pelosi as a 2018 Problem

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McClatchy: “In a survey of 20 Democratic House candidates, only one – a former Senate staffer from Orange County, California – would state support for the congresswoman staying on as leader of the House Democratic Caucus. Of the rest, 18 declined to say if Pelosi should keep her job, while one, a political newcomer from a culturally conservative Ohio district, said he would vote for someone other than Pelosi.”

“Their refusal is a remarkable development for an already embattled minority leader. But even more significant are the implications that their refusal carries for next year’s midterm elections.”

McAuliffe Hits the Road with Pelosi

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USA Today: “Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Rep. Nancy Pelosi have been quietly courting major party donors during a series of weekend trips that illustrate how the Democratic Party’s road to rebuilding begins with changing the habits of labor unions and traditional donors.”

“The duo has traveled to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston and New York to try to convince traditional donor groups and grassroots organizations to channel more funding to local and state elections — with a particular focus on the next generation of governors who will oversee redistricting around the 2020 Census — as well as legal battles and ballot initiatives to challenge gerrymandered congressional districts.”

Said McAuliffe: “I don’t care who the president of the United States is, it doesn’t matter in the sense that, if we don’t have governors to stop these horrible maps, they’re going to pass a lot of this stuff at the state level. Politically, this is what I’m going to do. I’m obsessed.”

Pelosi Defends Her Leadership

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) defended her leadership “amid suggestions from some Democrats that it may be time for her to step aside after more than a decade leading the caucus,” The Hill reports.

“Some Democrats had expressed frustration since the party fell short of picking up a seat in Tuesday’s special election in Georgia. A handful even went as far as suggesting Democrats couldn’t win back the House next year with Pelosi still as their leader.”

But Pelosi brushed the criticism aside: “I thrive on competition and I welcome the discussion. But I am honored by the support.”