At least 50 Democrats running for the House have said they won't support Pelosi (D-CA) for speaker if they get elected. In the past week, 11 House Democrats have signed onto a letter calling for rule changes to make it harder for Pelosi to be elected speaker if Democrats retake control of the House. These attempts by Democrats to oust Pelosi as their leader are not only a bad idea, but also come at a terrible time for the entire party.
Pelosi has been leader of the House Democrats since 2002. Since becoming leader, Pelosi has raised a record of over $650 million for Democratic candidates across America. Through June alone, Pelosi raised $83 million for Democrats for the 2018 election cycle, more than double the next closest Democrat.
As speaker, Pelosi oversaw the passage of some of the most monumental pieces of legislation this decade. She united House Democrats to get passed Obamacare, Dodd-Frank Financial Reform and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
Yet despite her record fundraising for Democratic candidates and her tremendous legislative record, there seems to be a growing number of Democrats who want to force Pelosi out. Democrats from moderate and conservative districts argue that Pelosi’s progressive stances are used by Republicans to attack them in their campaigns. Some Democrats argue that Pelosi age, she is 78, alienates younger voters that Democrats need to mobilize to retake control of Congress. These criticisms of Pelosi are frankly ridiculous.
Whoever is the leader of the Democrats, Republicans will use them to attack Democratic candidates. Republicans are not using Pelosi to attack Democratic House candidates because she is too liberal, they are using Pelosi to attack Democrats because she is a Democrat and enormously effective at her job.
If the leader of the Democrats was less progressive, Republicans would not cease using them to attack Democratic candidates. The goal of Republicans is not to influence how progressive the leader of the Democrats is, but to ensure that Republicans retain control of the House.
Democrats who argue that Pelosi is too old to lead their caucus are also entirely incorrect. People vote for candidates that speak to them and the issues they care about. In the 2016 presidential campaign, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), then 74, dominated the youth vote. In the 2016 primaries and caucuses, Sanders won more voters under age 30 than Clinton and Trump combined.
When Democrats join Republicans in attacking Pelosi, they not only hurt their party as a whole, but help unite Republicans. If Democrats want to retake control of the House and put a stop to Trump’s agenda, they need a proven, tested leader, who can raise the money necessary to elect Democrats nationwide and knows how to most effectively pass progressive legislation. The leader Democrats need now, more than ever is Pelosi.
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