Pelosi writes off AOC and her supporters: It’s ‘Like Five People’

Her plastic surgeon is talented.

Lesley Stahl is such a cunt.

Pelosi is right to dismiss the five Communists as a fringe element.

Pelosi cracks me up--every now and then she gets in the way of the media narrative and lays out the truth. The SJW wing of the Democratic Party is quite small. They make noise, but when it comes to votes they don't count for much.

And Pelosi does have one of the most progressive voting records in Congress.

I love Nancy. She's really stepped up her fashion game- in addition to the pearls, she's got some great new statement necklaces, and her new dresses really suit her hourglass shape. That's how to do it as a woman of a certain age.

Yea, Nancy! I think it was the NYT that did a story this week that basically said that Twitter doesn't represent what the country is thinking.

My Queen is Alive....plastic surgeon deserves a Presidential Medal of Freedom.

I think AOC needs to calm down now and slow down her relentless tweeting. She got a big head when she won her seat, then threatening to primary an incumbent candidate -- like WTF? You don't do that when you're the new kid.

[quote] The SJW wing of the Democratic Party is quite small. They make noise, but when it comes to votes they don't count for much.

Keep telling yourself that, gramps. Plus, using "SJW" reveals you to be a crypto right winger.

“It’s like 5 people” - Savage.

Are they are they all on board with late-term abortions? Any moderates on that particular issue?

Pelosi be like

Agree, R4

R9, the progressives didn't do that well in the mid terms. It was the moderates that actually flipped seats and won Congress. If we had to rely on progressives then Congress would still be a Republican majority.

Good for her. All these newbie Democrats need to talk less and listen more.

Many of the moderates whom Nancy is giving her support to didn't even vote for her for speaker of the house. Meanwhile, the "five people" Nancy dismisses all voted for her speakership. I guess the lesson in seeing Nancy throwing AOC and her supporters under the bus is that they need to be willing to hold her politically hostage in order to get what they want. Not the kind lessons that will breed stability and order in the chamber, but it's of her own doing.

Poor R9--take a look at the turn-out of college-age voters, then compare it to middle-aged and seniors. Then take a look at the fate of the Bernie supporters and social-justice Democrats who ran for Congress in 2018. Oh, hell, I'll help you out--exactly one of them actually won a seat--AOC. The others all lost, while moderates and traditional liberal Democrats won seat after seat.

No one counts votes better than Pelosi. She knows exactly who's voting and for whom.

Which is also why Joe Biden is ahead in poll after poll--even with the whole huggy thing.

It was, what, 16 people nthat didn't vote for Nancy, r16? Try harder.

Cat fight. Meow!

R18 She gives them more deference than she's ever given AOC, which is the wrong message to send if you want to instill loyalty in members of your own party.

Why does AOC deserve deference? She's a very junior member of Congress who hasn't passed legislation and has already threatened to primary other incumbents because they're not left enough for her.

Pelosi is the queen here, not AOC. Pelosi's been quite nice to AOC, given AOC's childish behavior. Pelosi gets how power works. AOC's a kid to her.

She knows that AOC is going to be a one-termer.

Nancy’s plan is to keep AOC muzzled and minimize the damage until the voters get rid of her next year.

Geeze, r20, you think that maybe AOC shouldn't have held a climate protest in Pelosi's office during freshman initiation? You also think, r20, that maybe she doesn't give AOC deference because she's the Democrat's Trump? Or that she right in that she represents "like 5 people"?

R21 AOC is the most popular member of congress and the only one who could win in a general election mashup against Trump. She's the youngest member of congress and represents the future of the country; young, progressive, non white and bold. Nancy dismisses her (and all of the people she represents beyond just her district) to her own peril.

R22 The odds of AOC being a one termer is slim to none. Beating an incumbent is an extremely rare event which is why it was such a shock for her to defeat Joe Crowley. The party is not going to be able to run the Hispanic version of Nancy Pelosi and expect to defeat her in her district. They could try to write her district out, but that would invite (rightfully) accusations of racism and would invite her to take on Chuck Schumer's senate seat when he's up again in 2022. AOC taking that seat would make Washington shit themselves and Nancy wouldn't be able to dismiss her when she'd have more power than her in the senior legislative chamber.

R23 Geeze, you think that maybe the moderates should have voted for her speakership when she was at risk of losing it to Kevin McCarthy in January? You also think that maybe she gives deference to them in spite of this because she cares more about pleasing her donors than catering to the base of the Democratic party? Or that she's making a big mistake in getting into fights with AOC who has more influence with Americans than she does?

Also, the racism accusations against Nancy have already started. She'll walk this back by tomorrow.

[quote]AOC is... only one who could win in a general election mashup against Trump.

R24, there were fifteen people who didn't vote for Pelosi. That's 1-5. That 10 fingers plus five fingers. Care to take a guess how many voted FOR Nancy? Here's some hints: it's more than 15 and you don't have enough fingers and toes.

My bad, I should have realized r24 is trolling.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

They're ALL Democrats.

OP might as well be a Russian, fostering divisiveness. And you all are falling for it. The Democratic Party can handle a very wide variety of views and this in-fighting is stupid and destructive.

R25 Irony. Dismissiveness is what led to Trump. Unfortunately, we won't be able to see that again with AOC in 2020.

R27 I'm not a troll. Just someone who happens to disagree with your impulse to rally to Nancy's defense on this. I'm not going to keep repeating myself again and again, but those [bold] 15 [/bold] congress members have more support from her than AOC and her group do even though [bold] they [/bold] voted for Nancy and the [bold] 15 [/bold] moderates [bold] did not [/bold].

[quote]Unfortunately, we won't be able to see that again with AOC in 2020.

Oh really? Do you hold the belief that adopting AOC's policies will win back places like Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida? Do tell.

R30, what do you not understand about moderates being a larger caucus?

HAW-haw!

I loved that Nancy spoke intelligently so the dems could understand some sense for a change.

R31 Yes, I do. Converting our country to renewable energy (which entails new jobs), single payer health care (ending medical bankruptcy in America), taxing Wall Street and ending useless wars are very popular policies with the vast majority of Americans. That tends to get lost with the media who likes to make their focus on AOC's race, her silly comments and her disagreements (not cat fights) with senior leadership. AOC would also serve as the underdog and the one that establishment would be looking to attack which would endear her to people especially in places like Florida. Of course, this is moot conversation because AOC will be 31 in 2020 which makes her ineligible for the presidency.

R32 Nancy evidently doesn't see it that way. She describes herself and most lawmakers as "progressive." Besides, her support should lie with those who support her in return, not with those who aren't loyal and will throw her under the bus at a moments notice.

Damn she looks awesome! She had some good work done.

Let me spell this out for you, r35. There are 235 Democrats in Congress with 78 in the progressive caucus. Most of them represent reliably blue states. Care to do the math?

She’s alienating a lot of democrats under 60.

R37 So that means that Nancy should just buckle under the weight of legislators who show no loyalty to her and will not stand by her if she is politically weakened? Got it. Sound strategy. Has never hurt her before.....except in 2010 when she lost the gavel. But you know, those who fail to learn the lessons of history.....

Anyway, this article spells out my entire point. I have nothing else further to add.

R38, I think the midterms showed that the progressive agenda isn't universal. Most of them lost the midterm. So either the under 60s just didn't vote or progressivism isn't accepted everywhere. As I said up thread, it was the moderates that flipped districts that delivered the Congressional majority. The progressives that did win were in democratic strongholds.

She’s right. And those 5 are going to get primaried for fucking up the Democrats messaging and taking the focus off of Trump. We should be talking about healthcare, jobs, etc, and instead we’re talking about the lastest controversial quote from Oman. She and the other five are the greatest gifts to Trump.

[quote]I have nothing else further to add.

Well thank God.

That, r42, and he's having trouble conceptualizing the number 15. Cause of the 235 Democrats, only 15 didn't vote for Pelosi, but Miss R42 is making it out to be every moderate in Congress.

Converting to renewable energy is a fucking pipe dream. For every new “clean energy job” created, there will be a thousand regular ones lost due to the enormous costs and low output.

This is Pelosi. She is progressive. She got Republicans to vote yes for green energy back in 2009, I believe. I like AOC. My rep is parmillia Jayapal. But, I'm 57 and have canvassed, donated and phone banked since 1980. I get very tired of people telling me I'm not progressive or alternatively, I'm a socialist.

And no, R44, the fastest growing sector is solar energy. No one is opening coal plants.

Renewable energy is now totally cost-competitive with conventional energy. The energy companies know this and are already moving in that direction - first to natural gas, and then renewables. Renewables aren't just some hippie thing anymore - they make economic sense.

Actually, r46, the energy companies used to be much bigger in the renewable sector. Just look up Chevron and wind farms. They all sold off most of their renewable assets years ago.

"Renewable energy is now totally cost-competitive with conventional energy."

Really? Then why does National Grid want to charge me thirteen cents a kilowatt hour for renewable energy on my electric bill when energy from fossil fuels is priced at eight cents per kwh?

That's about 60% more and in this world, that's not what I'd call "cost-competitive."

I know we're always supposed to pick sides, but, GASP, I actually like both AOC and Nancy. I like AOC's willingness to speak truth to power, her unapolgetic progressiveness and, yes, her sometimes impractical rhetoric.

Just as I also admire Nancy's longevity, her pragmatism, her incredible energy and her brilliant skills as a politician. Whatever its numerous flaws, Obamacare was the most meaningful piece of legislation passed in a generation. And, it's called Obamacare, but it might as well have been called Nancycare because it would not have passed without her enormous behind the scenes effort.

The interview has lot of edits in it. Just sayin'.

[quote] Plus, using "SJW" reveals you to be a crypto right winger.

Oh look, the self-appointed Thought Police.

Back to the campus safe space with you, toots.

Whatever R24 says should be read with the understanding that they don’t know what they are talking about and are confusing feelings with facts. Anyone who thinks that a junior Senator, even if they’d just defeated the sitting minority leader to get there, has more power than the fucking Speaker Of The House, third in the line of succession, plainly doesn’t know anything about politics or how our government works.

I get that you like AOC, but Nancy Pelosi is the most powerful person in the government right now with the exception of, perhaps, the President.

Is Joe Crowley going to try to take back the seat?

I may be mistaken but I thought I read Crowley moved out of the district. No ?

You Queens don't understand the Progressive model. Only the pejorative Republican interpretation of it which is what Grandma Pelosi is reacting to. Women's Right to Vote, Social Security, Medicare, RoevWade, Civil Rights, Marriage Equality, are all Progressive initiatives. FDR, JFK, LBJ were very Progressive for their times.

The aggressive Progressives would've already had Trump's Tax Returns and the Mueller Report. The old guard Democrats keep writing withering letters.

Pete Buttigieg by his very nature as a gay candidate is a Progressive.

Reagan said never to speak ill of another Republican. Pelosi should follow the same advice for her fellow Democrats.

Pelosi and Schumer had their day. Time to retire.

I was ready to ignore the other attacks on me and the dismissive postures of the other posters, but R52, you've totally warped what I said and flat out lied. I won't let that stand.

If AOC were to win Chuck Schumer's seat, she would have power because, as the Senate is still in GOP hands, she has the ability to tank legislation that doesn't fit her vision. Even in the event that the Democrats retake the chamber, the majority amount would be small, maybe 2 or 3 seats at most. Nancy could whip up all of the votes she wants in the House for legislation, but when it comes to the Senate, her stamp of approval would guarantee that all of the GOP senators would vote it down. As Democrats can't afford to lose any votes, especially on key issues like the budget or top priority legislation, they'd have to get her approval for it to pass or she would vote no and potentially tank it. That gives her more power than any one congress member since the Senate is a smaller chamber and this gives her more of a say than anyone else into how legislation is crafted and passed. While Nancy has to factor in different opinions, AOC's factor is a party of one and she can wrest more control of the process than any of her colleagues. These are not feelings, these are facts.

[quote] Cause she's shaping the future !

Sez who? You? She?

Don't make me laugh.

*have to get AOC's approval.

AOC will outive the Octogenarian. So there's that.

[quote] Is Joe Crowley going to try to take back the seat?

If I had stopped to think it through beyond your direct question I'd have added the next reapportionment is certain to cost NY one congressional seat and very possibly more. Good odds it's her district that gets the axe.

R52 Also, I never said that AOC would be more powerful than Nancy. I said.

[Quote] she'd have more power than her in the senior legislative chamber.

As a key vote senator, AOC would have more power than Nancy [bold] in the senior legislative chamber [/bold] aka the Senate. I know more about how our government works than you'll care to admit, but your refusal to accept this is not on me, it's entirely on you.

R19 where do we send the AOC remains?

Don't call Omar a Democrat. She's a subversive. terrorist apologist. And an anti-Semite.

Okay R56, I’ll play along. Please explain to me how these ideas work.

[quote] If AOC were to win Chuck Schumer's seat, she would have power because, as the Senate is still in GOP hands, she has the ability to tank legislation that doesn't fit her vision.

What? How? If this were the case why hasn’t Bernie Sanders being doing this all along? He is the ideological leader of the ‘progressives’ so I am assuming you aren’t arguing that AOC has a purer vision for the country.

[quote]Nancy could whip up all of the votes she wants in the House for legislation, but when it comes to the Senate, her stamp of approval would guarantee that all of the GOP senators would vote it down.

Umm, you do realize that as Speaker, Pelosi decides what gets brought to the floor to be voted on. Nothing passes the House without her approval and since all appropriations legislation originates in the House dime spent by the federal government until Pelosi gives up the gavel has to first meet her approval.

Listen, I understand you don’t like hearing that others don’t agree with you but please don’t act as if I’m casting undue aspersions. You obvious misspoke as evidenced by your decision to regress to arguing semantics when your original meaning was clear to everyone here..

She's absolutely right. She has to attract independents for next year's election. Let the socialists grumble. The party needs to look like they are rejecting socialism because socialism is one is the main GOP tacts of the 2020 election. The socialists will attract the younger voters and the older party members need to attract the independent moderates.

[quote] Why does AOC deserve deference? Cause she's shaping the future !

Not yet. Right now all she's doing is talking. When she gets some legislation passed get back to me.

GREEN NEW DEAL! GREEN NEW DEAL!

Democrats don't need to address Republican fake talking points of Socialism. That's the GOP mantra for don't take away our Corporate Welfare.

That's why I like Pete Buttigieg. When asked by the press about Socialism, he turns the tables and supports Democratic Capitalism and smeared the GOP as Crony Capitalists on the verge of Oligarchy.

Crowley isn't going to run again. He's taken a job in the private sector.

R56, how's life on fantasy island?

One could imagine AOC is a GOP plant.

[quote] If AOC were to win Chuck Schumer's seat, she would have power because, as the Senate is still in GOP hands, she has the ability to tank legislation that doesn't fit her vision.

She's not even a Senator, WTF are you talking about? So Bernie is chopped liver?

What makes you think she will win the Senate? I read that most people in NY --except her district--- blame her for scaring Amazon away and dislike her.

Amazon did not act in good faith. Fuck em.

NYer who doesn't agree with r73.

So just exactly what is AOC's plan to bring jobs to the area? Anyone?

The circular firing squad is locked and loaded. Per usual.

R64 I didn't misspeak. You chose to purposefully misread what I wrote.

[Quote] If this were the case why hasn’t Bernie Sanders being doing this all along

Because Bernie is lazy and has not spent much of his time in the Senate accomplishing much of anything. In spite of this, Bernie has used his muscle to get legislation removed from being debated on by the chamber and has rallied colleagues to tank legislation that he did not support. AOC would be able to do this on steroids and more. She already was able to get the Senate to vote present instead of no when Mitch McConnell brought up an incomplete Green New Deal as a means of embarrassing Democrats and that's just her as a lone congresswoman. Being a senator, she'd have more control and more responsiveness from the Senate to vote for her priorities and tank things she doesn't support.

[Quote] Pelosi decides what gets brought to the floor to be voted on. Nothing passes the House without her approval and since all appropriations legislation originates in the House dime spent by the federal government until Pelosi gives up the gavel has to first meet her approval.

I never disputed any of this. However, it doesn't mater how much muscle Nancy uses to get a bill passed in the House. Anything she gets through the House needs to be voted on in the Senate. If the Senate tanks it, the bill dies. If the Senate makes changes to it, it needs to be reconciled until it becomes a complete bill for signature by the President. As a key Senator, AOC would be able to influence the process of whether the House bills gets voted on at all and what changes are made if it does. Without her sign off, the bill doesn't pass and that gives her more control [bold] in the senior legislative chamber [/bold] than Nancy does.

I keep bolding this phrase because that's what I said and I never walked back from it. You purposefully misread what I wrote and tried to spin it into something I never said. You are casting aspersions on me because you are not arguing in good faith, especially since you replied to a post I made that was never directed at you. I don't care if you agree with me or not, but don't try to make it seem like your view is the only one on this site. AOC may not be popular to the DL, but the DL is not the barometer of everyday Americans by any stretch of the imagination. I'm not even a huge supporter of her, but this is more of a defense of what she stands for rather than her specifically.

Wow, some crazy shit.

What I find hilarious about most of these purity progressives is that they couldn't get elected dogcatcher out here in CA, the most progressive state in the country. Bernie got his ass handed to him here. They may represent their districts, but anyone who thinks Twitter is the whole country needs to get a serious grip. Pelosi is quite correct to put them in their place.

And anyone who uses The Intercept, aka the Pravda of the Justice Democrats, to support a point can be safely dismissed.

It's the same poster who seems to think AOC is going to be elected Queen of the Senate.

What I love is that R56 drums up this whole fantasy where AOC replaces Schumer in the Senate and becomes some super-powerful and then declares that "these are facts."

No, R56--it's your fantasy. The fact is that AOC is a low-level newbie congressperson who makes a lot of noise, but has very little power. She needs to make alliances, not piss off people. Pelosi is the most powerful person in Congress. Because she understands how the levers of power actually work in Washington, she's not that concerned about AOC one way or another--which is why she patted AOC on the head when AOC pulled her office protest stunt, but also gives zero fucks about AOC when it comes to running her caucus.

R56 really wants AOC to be 'Da Boss'!

The Justice Democrats tried to "primary" a young female Democrat here in California who is actually progressive although not as left-leaning as they are. She won but I just couldn't figure out why they would primary her. Anyway, their candidate hardly got any votes.

Because of AOC's threat to "primary" other Dem incumbents, the Democrats passed a rule that the party would not work with vendors who support challengers to incumbent Democrats. She really should have kept her mouth shut.

[quote] I was ready to ignore the other attacks on me and the dismissive postures of the other posters, but [R52], you've totally warped what I said and flat out lied. I won't let that stand.

YOU THROW DOWN, MARY!!!

I saw this too and I didn't know that she got married right out of college and pumped our 5 kids in 5 or 6 years!

[quote]She won but I just couldn't figure out why they would primary her.

Because they are extremists, and anyone they deem not progressive enough by their standards is fair game - and very few are. They are unwilling to comprehend that their brand of progressivism will simply not fly eveywhere. Look at what they tried to do to Sharice Davids! They are the enemy within at this point.

I really want to like Pelosi but sometimes she can come off as really arrogant and by just mocking/dismissing AOC Pelosi might push those that already see her as too "nice" to Republicans even further away and the DNC doesn't want or need that now.

I like AOC because she’ll look Republicans in their smug entitled faces and call them out on their bullshit like she did to Sean Duffy R Wisconsin a few weeks ago.

R86, Pelosi wasn't dismissing AOC as much as she was pointing out that the far-lefties aren't a big faction. She was debunking the divided-party narrative that Stahl was trying to foist upon her. And, since she's not a millennial, she doesn't obsess about being liked or hurt feelings. She doesn't care if you like her; she's trying to get stuff done.

Since when is "primary" a verb? A loathsome usage.

R89 is really on the ball.