Frustration with Nancy Pelosi simmers among Democrats

[Geee]

Politico:

No Democrat is gearing up to challenge Nancy Pelosi in public, but behind the scenes some Democrats are saying it’s time for new blood at the leadership table ahead of 2016.

 

Senior aides said they hope the party’s big losses Tuesday would encourage the minority leader to expand her network of allies and advisers to include a broader set of voices for crafting election messaging and congressional agendas.

 

“If I had to make a bet, I think she would be the leader this coming cycle, but folks hope that Nancy Pelosi will reach out and include some folks that aren’t often included,” a senior Democratic staffer said.

 

The House Democratic leadership elections will be held on Nov. 18, a week after the GOP formally chooses its leadership, said Democratic sources.

 

Nearly a dozen senior aides and Democratic insiders said there is a desire for a broader election message from party leaders. There are complaints about Pelosi focusing so strongly on women without a broader message that could play to other groups, such as older voters and men.

 

“As a party, we need to change,” another senior Democratic aide said. “[Voters] like our policies. All this leftie [talk], the country likes, but somehow the message about us as individual members of the conference isn’t breaking through. There is great unrest.”

[Valin]

@Geee

 

Pelosi Seeks to Soothe Caucus in Post-Election Conference Call (Updated)

Emma Dumain

Nov. 6 2014

 

In a private call with her restive — and shrinking — flock — Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi pointed to her fundraising prowess as a reason to keep her post — while some of her top allies blamed President Barack Obama for the party’s woes.

 

Pelosi hopes to continue leading the caucus although many members are privately discussing when there will be a change in senior leadership ranks.

 

“I know where the money is,” the California Democrat said, according to sources on the call. “I know where to get it.”

 

As the party looks ahead to the 2016 presidential election cycle, perhaps Pelosi’s best argument in her favor despite Republicans taking the biggest majority in decades is her fundraising ability. In the last 12 years, she has raised more than $400 million, a staggering sum that no other lawmaker can begin to match.

 

Pelosi said the party also needed to take the fight to the GOP, and not sit back and wait for the next redistricting.

 

“We have to change the environment,” she said. “We cannot let the Republicans define the playing field as they have. If people say that we’re going to wait until the next redistricting and then we’ll come back, that’s a Congress that’s sworn-in in 2023. I don’t know any children that can wait that long for us to do the job for them, any families that can withstand not only these past few years but the eight years projected. We can make the change in the voting environment in the year 2015.”

 

(Snip)