Former President Barack Obama spoke in Berlin, Germany, in early April and warned Democrats about ideological rigidity turning into something far more damaging to the party as a whole.
Obama warns @JoeBiden might face counterproductive attacks from more radical Democrats.
“One of the things I do worry about sometimes … is a certain kind of rigidity … we start creating what’s called a circular firing squad. When that happens, the overall effort weakens.” pic.twitter.com/wPSjYiAajI
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 8, 2019
In the first 100 days of Democrats controlling the House and nearly 20 candidates running for president, Obama’s analysis could not hit the nail on the head any better, especially after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did an interview with “60 Minutes.”
Nancy Pelosi: “By and large whatever orientation they came to Congress with, they know we have to hold the center. We have to go down the mainstream.”
60 Minutes: “You have these wings. @AOC and her group on one side…”
Pelosi: “That’s like five people.” pic.twitter.com/yxVQDiUxgu
— Waleed Shahid (@_waleedshahid) April 14, 2019
That attempt to downplay the far-left wing of the Democratic Party has found the House Speaker at odds with some of the more prominent far-left members of her caucus.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., criticized Pelosi, tweeting: “They put us in photos when they want to show our party is diverse. However, when we ask to be at the table, or speak up about issues that impact who we are, what we fight for & why we ran in the first place, we are ignored. To truly honor our diversity is to never silence us.”
They put us in photos when they want to show our party is diverse. However, when we ask to be at the table, or speak up about issues that impact who we are, what we fight for & why we ran in the first place, we are ignored. To truly honor our diversity is to never silence us. https://t.co/7T1OlwS1YG
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) April 13, 2019
It also doesn’t help Democrats that Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., made comments that many Democratic members found anti-Semitic, causing Pelosi and the rest of Democratic leadership to condemn her comments and force her to apologize.
But all of these quarrels are just scratching the surface into the real rivalry within the Democratic Party: Pelosi vs. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
For months, Pelosi and Ocasio-Cortez have butted heads on just about everything. Ocasio-Cortez wants “Medicare for All,” while Pelosi argues that Obamacare is far and away better than Medicare. Ocasio-Cortez co-sponsored the Green New Deal to aggressively combat climate change, while Pelosi undermined and dismissed it, saying, “That’s not legislation. It’s a list of aspirations.” And finally, Ocasio-Cortez told Yahoo News that she’s in favor of impeaching President Trump.
NEW: @AOC tells @YahooNews that she supports impeaching @realDonaldTrump and will likely sign a resolution calling for him to be removed from office.
“You could reach in a bag and pull so many things out that are impeachable of this president … there’s just so many things.” pic.twitter.com/rDrQ5NbTWo
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 15, 2019
Meanwhile, Pelosi said in an interview with the Washington Post magazine in March, “He’s just not worth it.”
Things went so far that Pelosi downplayed Ocasio-Cortez’s victory and influence.
First they claimed @AOC couldn’t beat the unstoppable Dem boss in NYC. Now they claim a glass of water on the Democrat ballot line would win in her district.
Why is @SpeakerPelosi so threatened by real people taking office? pic.twitter.com/2BuEm61N0W
— rafael shimunov (@rafaelshimunov) April 16, 2019
What you’re seeing among Democrats in the House is a microcosm of what’s happening in the Democratic Party that could boil over into the 2020 Democratic primary. It might not reach the heights of Trump trashing his Republican opponents in 2016, but it will inevitably become something Democrats wish to avoid at all costs: a circular firing squad.
