Democrats appear poised to re-elect Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., even though they agreed to push back the meeting to nominate her again until after Thanksgiving, in order to fully digest the disastrous Nov. 8 election for Democrats.
“I wouldn’t read too much into” the delay requests, said Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. “It does not equal [a call] for new leadership.”
Connolly praised Pelosi’s tenure at the helm, even when the party has been in the minority.
“She’s been able to pull rabbits out of hats,” he said, ticking off concessions she won during budget battles, the fight over the fate of the Export-Import Bank and tax extenders. “That’s not easily replicated, that kind of political acumen.”
“Pelosi enjoys great respect and support in the Democratic Caucus, and this has no reflection on her leadership at all,” said North Carolina’s G.K. Butterfield, a Democrat.
Connolly said he is not aware of anyone challenging Pelosi, who first joined leadership in 2002 as whip. However, Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, has said he is considering a challenge, and said he’s worried that the Democratic Party has lost its appeal in Midwestern districts such as his.
“I absolutely love her,” Ryan said, without committing to challenging or supporting her. “I think she is amazing, [but] this is about the next election, and what do the leaders look like, what does the message sound like in order for us to pick up the seats we need to pick up to get back into the majority.
“A lot of our caucus is bi-coastal,” Ryan said, bemoaning the loss of Midwestern and Heartland seats. “We lost those voters and we’ve got to find a way to get them back; and that starts with a message that resonates in the fly-over states.”
The last person to challenge Pelosi, former Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina, challenged her on similar grounds. The Blue Dog Democrat argued that the party lost its congressional majorities in the 2010 midterm elections because they were not appealing to more moderate Democrats.
He lost the internal caucus vote 150-43.
Connolly dismissed the notion that Democrats are in disarray, despite suffering a net loss of 69 House seats since the 2010 elections. “We’re not a party in crisis,” he said.
Most Democrats welcomed more time for discussion, but said that is all they wanted.
“It’s more important that we spend the next couple of weeks talking about how we’re going to fight President Trump — how we’re going to fight and re-win working-class people, which had been the heart and soul of this party,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania. “I fully intend to support Nancy Pelosi as leader; I think she’s done a damn good job.”
“For us to assume we should go along as normal as possible, as business as usual is wrong,” Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona said in explaining why he supported delaying leadership elections.
“This man just appointed a … white nationalist to be his right-hand adviser at the White House,” he said, referring to President-elect Trump’s choice of Breitbart News CEO Steve Bannon as a top strategist. “And we’re just going to assume that everything should be done normally as it has in the past?”
“The question is we’ve got to to do something different than we’ve been doing,” said Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. of New Jersey. “I have no horse in the [leadership] race.”
Pelosi loyalists said they were ready to vote for her Thursday as planned.
“I haven’t thought about it,” said Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts when asked if he wanted a postponement. “I already know who I’m going to vote for so I’m all set.”
That attitude suits Republicans just fine.
“I kind of like Pelosi staying around,” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters Monday. “As long as she’s there, I think we stay in the majority,” the California Republican said.
Al Weaver contributed to this report.
