Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-CortezCrenshaw releases 'Georgia Reloaded' ad in which he fights antifa Ocasio-Cortez defends medic in New York Post story who joined OnlyFans to 'make ends meet' OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Countries roll out 2030 Paris Accord goals amid US absence | Biden eyes new EPA picks as Nichols reportedly falls from favor | Kerry faces big job on climate, US credibility MORE (D-N.Y.) said she is “not ready” to be Speaker but lamented that the Democratic Party desperately needs new leadership and that Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiCongress closes in on COVID-19 relief, funding deal Bipartisan senators urge surprise billing deal's inclusion in year-end package Democratic leaders under pressure to agree to slimmed-down COVID-19 relief deal MORE (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer Chuck SchumerBipartisan senators urge surprise billing deal's inclusion in year-end package Progressives ramp up calls for increased unemployment insurance, direct payments Lawmakers grapple with implementing COVID-19 vaccine on Capitol Hill MORE (D-N.Y.) need to go.
In an interview with The Intercept's podcast, the progressive hero and firebrand said that Democrats have failed to create a succession plan once Pelosi and her generation of longtime leaders — many of them now in their 80s — step aside. Pelosi has indicated that this upcoming two-year term will be her last as Speaker.
“I do think that we need new leadership in the Democratic Party … the internal dynamics of the House has made it such that there's very little option for succession,” said Ocasio-Cortez, who is 31. “It's easy for someone to say, ‘Oh well, you know, why don't you run?’ but the House is extraordinarily complex, and I'm not ready. It can't be me. I know that I couldn't do that job."
“Even conservative members of the party who think Nancy Pelosi is far too liberal for them don't necessarily have any viable alternatives, which is why whenever there's a challenge, it kind of collapses,” she continued. “And that is, I think, the result of just many years of power being concentrated in leadership with lack of … real grooming of a next generation of leadership.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks were an indirect jab at House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries Hakeem Sekou JeffriesOvernight Defense: Biden defends picking retired general for Pentagon head | House passes weeklong stopgap spending bill | Senate rejects effort to block Trump's UAE arms sale Defense pick faces big hurdle Support grows for stimulus checks, but they may wait MORE, a fellow New York Democrat and a Congressional Black Caucus member whom many Democratic colleagues have pointed to as a natural heir to Pelosi once she leaves. Another possible successor is incoming Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark Katherine Marlea ClarkThe Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Capital One - Tensions rise with Trump, Barr Maloney to lead Democrats' campaign arm Five House Democrats who could join Biden Cabinet MORE (D-Mass.).
Pelosi’s caucus unanimously nominated her last month to serve another two years as Speaker after she ran unopposed. But it’s not absolutely certain she can win the Speaker’s gavel in a House floor vote on Jan. 3. Because House Democrats unexpectedly lost more than a dozen seats in the November election, their majority is now down to just single digits, meaning a handful of Democratic defections could deny Pelosi of another term leading the party.
Ocasio-Cortez, however, gave no indication that she will vote against Pelosi on the floor, even as other moderate Democrats have. Some progressives have also floated Ocasio-Cortez as a potential primary challenger to Schumer in 2022, though she’s sidestepped questions about whether she’s interested in running.
Many of her fans want Ocasio-Cortez, who backed Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersProgressives rally around Turner's House bid Democratic leaders under pressure to agree to slimmed-down COVID-19 relief deal Progressives ramp up calls for increased unemployment insurance, direct payments MORE (I-Vt.) in the Democratic primary this year, to run for president after she turns 35 year old. She would be eligible to run for the White House in 2024.
Asked directly if Pelosi and Schumer “need to go,” Ocasio-Cortez replied: “I mean, I think so.”
But she again cautioned that the party has no succession plan or serious candidates who could “fill that vacuum.”
“The hesitancy that I have is that I want to make sure that if we're pointing people in a direction that we have a plan," Ocasio-Cortez said. "And my concern, and this I acknowledge as a failing as something that we need to sort out, is that there isn't a plan. How do we fill that vacuum?
“Because if you create that vacuum, there are so many nefarious forces at play to fill that vacuum with something even worse. And so, the actual sad state of affairs is that there are folks more conservative than even they are willing to ... fill that void.”
sharplescorner on December 16th, 2020 at 18:45 UTC »
Reading the article, her comments seem more to be about the lack of a succession plan than problems with Pelosi and Schumer (beyond the fact that they are in part responsible for a lack of succession options). There's nothing in that article that amounts to a call for Pelosi and Schumer to go.
But I haven't listened to the podcast it's referencing. Is this The Hill predictably trying to incite division where there isn't any, or is the article missing AOC's most significant comments?
JustinStraughan on December 16th, 2020 at 17:46 UTC »
I see a few folks asking what makes a speaker and that may be rhetorical. But let me add the perspective most poli sci folks get in their education:
Speaker is a weird role. You are the agenda-setter in the house for your party, and as such are responsible for tanking a lot of the dps from your opposition and public opinion. That much is true. But you ALSO have to be seen internally by your own party as a trusted hand, someone who can negotiate and cut and make deals. Roll the logs. Line the barrels. Line up the rank and file. The political equivalent of spin plates while juggling. You have to balance your PUBLIC persona with your own constituents with your personal to your opposition in your OWN PARTY and the opposition party all while trying to ensure your own party's legislators don't get beaten too much for unpopular legislation by their own constituents (i.e. can vote against your bills for optics' sake).
That is mind-bogglingly difficult in many ways. We just need to look to John Boehner's loss of party control to the Tea Party and the ascendancy of Speaker Paul Ryan to see exactly how tough it can be to keep faith within your own party, let alone from opposition.
I am not saying the Honorable Representative Ocasio-Cortez is ill equipped for the job as a whole, but I agree with her assessment. Personally, I would like to see Speaker Adam Schiff. His ability to provide meaningful and substantive public statements was showcased during the impeachment hearings.
If we want a progressive Speaker, we need to elect more Progressives and make the balance of our caucus farther left.
DemWitty on December 16th, 2020 at 17:17 UTC »
Pelosi is 80, Hoyer is 81, Clyburn is 80, Biden is 78, and Schumer is the spring chicken at 70. Democrats have to get younger leadership in place. They rely so heavily on young voters, yet they think that having a leadership full of geriatrics is somehow appealing to them. It's not, and relying on them continuing to just vote against Republicans isn't how you strengthen a party. Just look how bad they did in 2020 downballot relative to Biden, for example.