Nancy Pelosi is exactly what’s wrong with politics these days. I’m not a fan of hers, nor AOC, but it’s clear Pelosi’s time has come and gone. She should take a page out of her own playbook and run herself out due to age. She covered for Sen. Feinstein even when it was clear she had true dementia and had to have her staff complete all her tasks. She’s a shrewd politician in an era when her old school political ways have lost favor.
I think a lot of people are missing it. AOC has a huge appeal to the left behinds. I don’t think the center of the party would abandon her. Where do they go
I have always been a huge Pelosi fan, when a lot of people aren’t. She has wielded a huge amount of power and has done a lot behind the scenes
When she was all over Trump her daughter said “I remember that look”
Part of the problem is people don’t like women like Clinton and Pelosi can hold their own
Margaret Chase Smith was another. She was a Republican who didn’t always toe the party line and was one of the first to call out McCarthy
Another one a lot of people don’t know about is Frances Perkins, FDR secretary of labor. She was the person behind the Social security net. Probably the most important person in Roosevelt cabinet
Last but probably most important Eleanor Roosevelt
It’s time for people like Pelosi to step back and as the OT says become an old gray hair. Mentor the next generation
I have no use for "the Squad" including my own repulsive rep, but I make an exception for AOC even when I disagree. I find her the exception to the rule: smart, savvy, nuanced. I think she has a future in Democratic Party as part of a broad spectrum. Pelosi needs to let go. She was a great Speaker but it's time to move on. AOC is the future, Pelosi is the past.
Pelosi hates AOC because she’s equally as great as she is. Just a much younger version of her. That alone is enough to piss Pelosi off. AOC has put in considerable time and effort to learn and grow and is a very different individual than she was when she entered the House. Even Trump recognizes AOC as a threat to him. The only challenge for AOC is that she’s going to loose 2 points in any election she goes into for being a woman and a person of color.
But besides that she believes in policies that both the left and right agree with and has an extremely effective communication style. Vance has disappeared. If he remains absent until 2027, and the country is a disaster AOC has a good shot of being President.
I don’t know about the “good shot at being President” in 2028, as I think *another* perceived-leftist “coastal elite” woman of color would be a MASSIVE mistake on the part of Democrats. Did we not learn *anything* from this last election?!
That said, I agree with you on everything else you’ve said about AOC!
I greatly respect and admire Sen. Lisa Murkowski and appreciate seeing writing about her and her alone. Too often she's unfortunately linked to Sen. Susan Collins, who may once have been an independent thinker, but is now just another Trump apologist who attempts to drive drama through her "will she or won't she" press drops (spoiler alert: she will. she always will).
Another reason for the former speaker's antipathy toward AOC is that Pelosi herself has been a lightning rod for criticism as a "San Francisco liberal" over the years. But that's a tag others have put on her. AOC, by contrast overtly describes herself as a "democratic socialist," which to Pelosi must sound like an automatic turnoff for the, as you call them "OG liberals," moderates, and independents needed by Democrats to expand the base and win elections. (Whether she's right is the question up for grabs.) This on top of the things you cite--the sit-in at Pelosi's office a few weeks after the 2018 election seems particularly egregious--help explain why Pelosi is not an AOC fan.
Pelosi is old school and knows how the game is played. She also knows that shifting the Party left by elevating AOC is a surefire ticket to losses and, eventually, irrelevance. Why the clueless Dems can't figure that out is a great mystery.
I view myself as center left so AOC is too far left for me. She is a good speaker, but is sometimes too outspoken for me. We need new strong leadership from the center left. Hakeem Jeffries is ok, but I am not a big fan. Overall I think there is currently a leadership vacuum. Lastly, I am quite a big fan of Pelosi and I usually trust her judgement.
If you haven’t been paying attention, AOC has been making a concerted effort to move more toward being “center-left”, more so as she’s been trying to mature into a leadership role.
Will she take the party to the left? Maybe. Is that where the majority of the youth vote is? Maybe, though certainly *less* so with young men, as this past election makes it clear.
And while I’ve agreed with Pelosi’s use of power over many years, I think this “thing” with AOC is more a personal vendetta than anything else and I find it to be petty and a true shame. Nancy, you’re old! Either mentor the next generation or get the hell out of the way!
An interesting, unstated piece of this is that AOC would most want to be minority chair on Oversight. The days of an ambitious member wanting a role in influencing the direction of the country or their district are long past. Appropriations, W&M, Transportation, HHS...nope. Oversight, which provides ample gotcha soundbite opportunities is far more interesting than a committee that shapes government policies.
Her other committee is Natural Resources, which for someone from NY's 14th District (aka the Bronx and a bit of Queens) means she gets to tell everyone else what they should be doing and virtually never make one of her constituents angry.
How to identify a Show-Pony Caucus member in two easy steps...where she has lots of company from both sides of the aisle.
Pelosi really needs to unclench her claws from the levers of power. I certainly don't love AOC and think some of the slapdowns she's received were earned, but Pelosi with her 'only I can do it' style is really off-putting. The GOP really does have the right idea in congress with the term limits on leadership of committees. Pelosi just doesn't want to quit and will hold on long enough to where she can hand her seat off to her daughter. I wish Biden had made Pelosi leaving a condition of him doing the same. The and the other two members of her leadership trio held on way too long and I think they were all extremely selfish. Other people deserve a turn at leadership, too.
Nancy Pelosi is exactly what’s wrong with politics these days. I’m not a fan of hers, nor AOC, but it’s clear Pelosi’s time has come and gone. She should take a page out of her own playbook and run herself out due to age. She covered for Sen. Feinstein even when it was clear she had true dementia and had to have her staff complete all her tasks. She’s a shrewd politician in an era when her old school political ways have lost favor.
I think a lot of people are missing it. AOC has a huge appeal to the left behinds. I don’t think the center of the party would abandon her. Where do they go
I have always been a huge Pelosi fan, when a lot of people aren’t. She has wielded a huge amount of power and has done a lot behind the scenes
When she was all over Trump her daughter said “I remember that look”
Part of the problem is people don’t like women like Clinton and Pelosi can hold their own
Margaret Chase Smith was another. She was a Republican who didn’t always toe the party line and was one of the first to call out McCarthy
Another one a lot of people don’t know about is Frances Perkins, FDR secretary of labor. She was the person behind the Social security net. Probably the most important person in Roosevelt cabinet
Last but probably most important Eleanor Roosevelt
It’s time for people like Pelosi to step back and as the OT says become an old gray hair. Mentor the next generation
Pelosi is and now was an absolute badass. Mad respect to her and all her trailblazing efforts. Nobody did it better.
But her run is over. And like all people who have power or proximity to, she doesn't want to let it go.
Fully concur. Mentor the next up crew and step back. It's time already.
I have no use for "the Squad" including my own repulsive rep, but I make an exception for AOC even when I disagree. I find her the exception to the rule: smart, savvy, nuanced. I think she has a future in Democratic Party as part of a broad spectrum. Pelosi needs to let go. She was a great Speaker but it's time to move on. AOC is the future, Pelosi is the past.
Pelosi hates AOC because she’s equally as great as she is. Just a much younger version of her. That alone is enough to piss Pelosi off. AOC has put in considerable time and effort to learn and grow and is a very different individual than she was when she entered the House. Even Trump recognizes AOC as a threat to him. The only challenge for AOC is that she’s going to loose 2 points in any election she goes into for being a woman and a person of color.
But besides that she believes in policies that both the left and right agree with and has an extremely effective communication style. Vance has disappeared. If he remains absent until 2027, and the country is a disaster AOC has a good shot of being President.
I don’t know about the “good shot at being President” in 2028, as I think *another* perceived-leftist “coastal elite” woman of color would be a MASSIVE mistake on the part of Democrats. Did we not learn *anything* from this last election?!
That said, I agree with you on everything else you’ve said about AOC!
I greatly respect and admire Sen. Lisa Murkowski and appreciate seeing writing about her and her alone. Too often she's unfortunately linked to Sen. Susan Collins, who may once have been an independent thinker, but is now just another Trump apologist who attempts to drive drama through her "will she or won't she" press drops (spoiler alert: she will. she always will).
Re: Pelosi / AOC
Another reason for the former speaker's antipathy toward AOC is that Pelosi herself has been a lightning rod for criticism as a "San Francisco liberal" over the years. But that's a tag others have put on her. AOC, by contrast overtly describes herself as a "democratic socialist," which to Pelosi must sound like an automatic turnoff for the, as you call them "OG liberals," moderates, and independents needed by Democrats to expand the base and win elections. (Whether she's right is the question up for grabs.) This on top of the things you cite--the sit-in at Pelosi's office a few weeks after the 2018 election seems particularly egregious--help explain why Pelosi is not an AOC fan.
That just shows how out of touch Nancy Pelosi is. If there’s anything Hispanx people of all kinds like, it’s socialism.
Which is why Trump has captured an increasing percent of the Hispanic vote in each election??
Seneca. What is that claim based on
Pelosi is old school and knows how the game is played. She also knows that shifting the Party left by elevating AOC is a surefire ticket to losses and, eventually, irrelevance. Why the clueless Dems can't figure that out is a great mystery.
I view myself as center left so AOC is too far left for me. She is a good speaker, but is sometimes too outspoken for me. We need new strong leadership from the center left. Hakeem Jeffries is ok, but I am not a big fan. Overall I think there is currently a leadership vacuum. Lastly, I am quite a big fan of Pelosi and I usually trust her judgement.
If you haven’t been paying attention, AOC has been making a concerted effort to move more toward being “center-left”, more so as she’s been trying to mature into a leadership role.
Will she take the party to the left? Maybe. Is that where the majority of the youth vote is? Maybe, though certainly *less* so with young men, as this past election makes it clear.
And while I’ve agreed with Pelosi’s use of power over many years, I think this “thing” with AOC is more a personal vendetta than anything else and I find it to be petty and a true shame. Nancy, you’re old! Either mentor the next generation or get the hell out of the way!
This election cycle demonstrates that AOC moving the Dem party further left will make them less relevant, but Pelosi is shouting into the void.
Thanks, Chris! Good “backgrounder” on the Pelosi-AOC beef. Keep this kind of work up, please!
An interesting, unstated piece of this is that AOC would most want to be minority chair on Oversight. The days of an ambitious member wanting a role in influencing the direction of the country or their district are long past. Appropriations, W&M, Transportation, HHS...nope. Oversight, which provides ample gotcha soundbite opportunities is far more interesting than a committee that shapes government policies.
Her other committee is Natural Resources, which for someone from NY's 14th District (aka the Bronx and a bit of Queens) means she gets to tell everyone else what they should be doing and virtually never make one of her constituents angry.
How to identify a Show-Pony Caucus member in two easy steps...where she has lots of company from both sides of the aisle.
Pelosi really needs to unclench her claws from the levers of power. I certainly don't love AOC and think some of the slapdowns she's received were earned, but Pelosi with her 'only I can do it' style is really off-putting. The GOP really does have the right idea in congress with the term limits on leadership of committees. Pelosi just doesn't want to quit and will hold on long enough to where she can hand her seat off to her daughter. I wish Biden had made Pelosi leaving a condition of him doing the same. The and the other two members of her leadership trio held on way too long and I think they were all extremely selfish. Other people deserve a turn at leadership, too.
Nancy needs to “Get Over It”. She should recall the Protests of the 1960’s over our Environment, Civil Rights etc.
AOC is such an inspiration!
These old and outdated dems should step aside. Its clear that their ideas are not popular
Chris the piece on Trump and Time was maybe the funniest ones I have ever seen you do
Where’s our next Mort Sahl