“Don’t say socialism ever again.”
House Democrats were livid during a Thursday caucus call afterĀ the so-called ‘blue wave’ they were promised by pollster evaporated, and they lost several seats, according to leaked excerpts.
According toĀ AP‘s Erica Werner,Ā Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger was reportedly the most vocalĀ – reportedly complaining that “we lost races we shouldnāt have lost.Ā Defund police almost cost me my race because of an attack ad.Ā Donāt say socialism ever again,”Ā yellingĀ that the party needs to “get back to basics.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly interjected – saying that they “won the House and the presidency.”
According toĀ The Hill,Ā centrist Democrats are now talking about throwing their support behind a challenger to Pelosi, with two prominent Democrats telling the outlet thatĀ they are reaching out to their colleagues about backing Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to take Pelosi’s place.
“Heās the only one prepared and positioned” to become speaker, one of them said. ” He bridges moderates and progressives better than anyone. And most importantly, heās not Nancy Pelosi.”
Jeffries immediately ‘shot down’ the idea, saying that he’s focused on keeping his spot as one of Pelosi’s top lieutenants.
Heading into the polls, Pelosi enjoyed the overwhelming support of her caucus ā facing no threat of a Speakership challenge ā and Democratic leaders were eyeing big gains to their majority, with some estimates in the double digits.
But the early returns revealed a different reality:Ā Not only did Democrats lose a number of their most vulnerable members, they had not picked off a single Republican incumbent heading into Wednesday evening.
The results immediately emboldened Republican leaders, who accused Pelosi and her party of being out of touch with the country. And Democrats on and off of Capitol Hill were left licking their wounds and questioning the strategic decisions that guided their party’s message throughout the campaign.
āPelosi needed to hammer Trump but instead she chose to let him slide,ā said one former senior Democratic aide. āLast night should have been a bloodbath for Republicans.āĀ –The Hill
Perhaps Democrats should have mentioned their crowning achievement – Trump’s impeachment – evenĀ onceĀ during the election. Instead they mysteriously swept it under the rug.
