Nancy Pelosi is old-school backroom politics. Remember how she finessed the Speaker of the House position by cutting all kinds of deals with Democrats who initially wanted new blood up against Donald Trump and the White Walkers?
So the levels of shade she keeps throwing toward Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, makes her look nervous and like a hater and like an old woman who’s definitely afraid of a Daenerys Targaryen coming for her crown.
Side note: Game of Thrones just premiered on Sunday after a two-year hiatus so you are going to catch all these Thrones references. All. Of. Them.
During a Sunday night interview with 60 Minutes, Pelosi was asked by host Lesley Stahl: “You have these wings—AOC, and her group on one side-”
Pelosi: That’s like five people.
Stahl: No, it’s—the progressive group is more than five.
Pelosi: Well, the progressive—I’m a progressive. Yeah.
Clearly, Pelosi is trying to downplay the level of influence that AOC has and is coming off like a jealous Real Housewife of Congress.
CNN’s editor-at-large Chris Cillizza also pointed out that this isn’t the first time this has happened:
Earlier this month, in an interview with USA Today, Pelosi said this of the influence of AOC and her followers: “While there are people who have a large number of Twitter followers, what’s important is that we have large numbers of votes on the floor of the House.” I wonder whom Pelosi could be talking about there????
In February, Pelosi was asked about the Green New Deal, a set of proposals aimed at addressing climate change that Ocasio-Cortez has endorsed. “It will be one of several or maybe many suggestions that we receive,” Pelosi responded dismissively. “The green dream, or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they’re for it, right?”
Pelosi doesn’t want this AOC smoke, but there might actually be fire as it doesn’t seem like AOC has reached out much to Pelosi and that’s probably because Pelosi is a part of the old guard.
Also from Cillizza’s piece:
The divide between Pelosi and AOC represents a broader disagreement within the party as it continues to grapple with how to deal with President Donald Trump. Ocasio-Cortez represents a new, younger breed of Democrat who is far more willing to confront Republicans and to fearlessly push very liberal solutions that could open them up to counterattacks from the GOP. Pelosi is old school — a liberal, yes, but someone who has built a career on realpolitik, finding workable solutions amid a longer-game view of politics.
What’s fascinating is that the chasm between the Pelosi and AOC wings of the party—although Pelosi would likely roll her eyes at the idea of an AOC wing— isn’t really ideological. The Democratic Party, broadly speaking, has become more liberal overall during the past decade. And no one who knows anything would ever think of calling Pelosi a moderate. Rather the difference is in tactics and approach.
Pelosi needs to be careful though, as she’s starting to nudge dangerously close to Fox News pundits who can’t keep AOC’s name off their thin, white, pasty lips. Also, the last thing the Democrats need is a full inter-party split where it’s the youngins vs. the discounted coffee crew at McDonald’s.
At some point, as with all good superhero movies, the young hotshot who barely knows how to use his or her superpowers joins forces with the old superhero who’s been doing this shit forever. Basically, Pelosi needs to stop hating and learn how to utilize AOC’s enthusiasm, charm and fresh-faced, wide-eyed passion instead of waiting on her to bend the knee, because AOC’s not built like that.
