House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was once viewed as one of the Democratic Party’s most liberal members — but in recent years, she has become an increasingly ignored voice of moderation as the Dems continue to lurch ever leftward. Now, as the 2020 race heats up, the California congresswoman is doing everything she can to keep the progressives in her party from costing them the White House.
In remarks to reporters on Friday, Pelosi cautioned the Democrat 2020 hopefuls against embracing radical policy proposals like “Medicare for All,” reminding them that they’ll have to appease swing voters come election season. “Remember November,” Pelosi warned, according to Breitbart.
“You must win the Electoral College”
Speaking to Bloomberg on Friday, Pelosi expressed her concerns with far-left policies like Medicare for All and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s infamous “Green New Deal.”
“What works in San Francisco does not necessarily work in Michigan,” Pelosi said, according to the Daily Caller. “What works in Michigan works in San Francisco — talking about workers’ rights and sharing prosperity.”
According to the House speaker, Democrat 2020 hopefuls will need to keep the entire country in mind as they continue nailing down their official platforms.
“You must win the Electoral College,” Pelosi cautioned.
“What are you thinking?”
Pelosi’s words were largely aimed at Sens. Elizabeth Warren (MA) and Bernie Sanders (VT), who may be catering too much “to the party’s left-wing base, not the mainline voters Democrats must have to win the election,” the Daily Caller reports.
“Bernie and Elizabeth own the left, right?” Pelosi said. “Is anybody going to out-left them?”
Indeed, even as a self-described “San Francisco liberal,” Pelosi insisted that she wouldn’t stoop to the level of Medicare for All, and is instead, in favor of “health care for all,” according to Breitbart.
“As a left-wing San Francisco liberal I can say to these people: What are you thinking?” Pelosi said. “You can ask the left — they’re unhappy with me for not being a socialist.”
But Pelosi maintains that she speaks for the American people. “There’s very strong opposition on the labor side to the Green New Deal because it’s like, 10 years, no more fossil fuel,” she said. “Really?”
As hard as it may be to agree with Pelosi, it’s hard to argue with that logic. But will the Democrats hoping to replace President Donald Trump heed the House speaker’s warnings?
I wouldn’t count on it.
Trump’s second term in the White House is looking more and more certain every day.
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