House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seems to be having a hard time accepting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez being the “new face” of the Democratic party.
In a 60 Minutes interview this weekend, interviewer Lesley Stahl asked Pelosi about whether the different factions within the Democratic party are fractured, singling out
Stahl: “You are contending with a group in Congress. Over here on the left flank are these self-described socialists. On the right these moderates. You yourself said that you’re the only one who can unify everybody. And the questions is – can you?
Pelosi: By in large, whatever orientation they came to Congress with, they know that we have to hold the center. That we have to go down the mainstream.
Stahl: They know that?
Pelosi: They do
Stahl: But it doesn’t look like that. It looks as if it’s fractured…. You have these wings – AOC and her group on one side
Pelosi interjects: “well that’s like five people.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epXSh2GesdU]
The Congressional Progressive Caucus has 98 members, making it the second largest group in Congress, according to the New NY Post, which notes that AOC is one of the group’s most prominent freshmen members.
Seven Democratic House members, including Ocasio-Cortez, are supported by the progressive political action the Justice Democrats, which Pelosi could also have been referring to.
On several occasions now, Pelosi has downplayed any splits within her ranks — and also tried to dim some of Ocasio-Cortez’s star power.
In a recent interview with USA Today, the House Speaker pointed out that votes are more significant than Twitter followers — a remark that was also interpreted to be a dig at AOC. -NY Post
“While there are people who have a large number of Twitter followers, what’s important is that we have a large number of votes on the floor of the House,” said Pelosi.
What’s not to love Nancy?
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ6KZd3LUTg]
