Bad News For Pelosi? Democrats Delay House Leadership Elections

One senior House Democratic aide described Tuesday’s meeting as being unusually contentious as members grappled with how the Democratic Party should rebuild following last week’s election losses, with some wanting new blood in leadership. Meanwhile, Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison is running to be head of the Democratic National Committee on a more liberal platform.

“Under Nancy Pelosi’s leadership, House Democrats squandered their majority by forcing through unpopular legislation like Obamacare”, the NRCC continued.

But even if Pelosi stays, the source acknowledged a need for change elsewhere among the Democratic leadership.

“Delaying the vote on leadership positions is the necessary first step to have that conversation”, he said.

House Democrats decided Tuesday to hold off on their leadership elections until November 30.

While the election of Donald Trump was traumatic for Democrats, Pelosi’s allies say she’s not to blame – and that her strength will be needed to help the party maneuver through troubled times. He serves on the House Appropriations Committee and is co-chairman of the Congressional Manufacturing Caucus. “We must start now!” she said.

In his letter, he pointed out that Democrats have been in the majority for only two terms out of the last nine, and that “under our current leadership, Democrats have been reduced to our smallest congressional minority since 1929”. “We got to win seats there, upstate NY”, he said. “I have no criticism of the leadership”. “And I think that’s where our focus needs to be”. Democrats underperform, Pelosi promises change, and then she appoints the same people to “change” things.

“What we are doing right now is not working”, Ryan said in his letter. “My goal was to extend this. We need to stop talking to these people like we are better than them”, he went on. True, few voters care about internal party rules, but ranking members are often the face of the party, and they do influence how the public perceives Democrats. “You tell me who can talk to middle America more – a coastal elite or someone from the heartland”, Betras said.

Trump “came from a different place, but the workers and citizens of our regions heard him”.

Pelosi, who has led House Dems since 2002, was heading into the DAR Constitution Hall for a concert honoring musician Smokey Robinson for winning this year’s Gershwin Award for Popular Song from the Library of Congress. “Democrats need to meet the president-elect halfway”. Asked if Democrats were losing the fight for working-class voters, she said she takes “great pride” in representing San Francisco.

On the other hand, the Democrats might yield the temptation to go hard left, in the mode of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, believing that is where the future of their party resides.

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