Democrats Gear Up for Fight to Keep Nancy Pelosi Away From the House Majority Leader Position

By Brandon Morse | 2:30 PM on November 14, 2018

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FILE - In this Oct. 13, 2017, file photo, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks at the Capitol in Washington. Pelosi says she must retain her leadership position so there is a woman at the table when key decisions are made. After more than a decade leading House Democrats, Pelosi has faced demands from some lawmakers for leadership changes, particularly after Democrats failed to win back House control last year. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

It’s going to be a fight.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wants to be the House Majority Leader again very badly. That much is certain. In fact, her declarative statement of “I’m just going to say that I will be Speaker,” sound more like an order to Democrats than a foretelling.

However, according to The Hill, many Democrats are going to put up quite a fight to make sure that gavel stays out of Pelosi’s hands:

The remark came in response to recent vows from several anti-Pelosi Democrats — including Reps. Seth Moulton (Mass.) and Filemon Vela(Texas) — that they will rally enough rank-and-file opposition to prevent Pelosi from winning the Speaker contest on the House floor, a vote slated for Jan. 3.

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), another vocal Pelosi critic, emerged from Wednesday’s meeting voicing similar confidence.

“I agree with them,” he said.

Ryan challenged Pelosi unsuccessfully two years ago and subsequently supported her in the House vote on the floor in 2017. He won’t be doing the same this time around.

“Definitely not,” he said.

Right now, the insurgent Democrats refuse to reveal how many Democrats they’ve gathered to oppose Pelosi, but according to Ryan, the list is growing quickly.

“If the momentum keeps building, like we see it is, then we may keep it open for a little while,” he said according to The Hill. “We want to make sure we have the maximum number on it.”

With some races still up in the air, it’s currently unclear how many Democrats Pelosi would have to lose in order to be kept from the Speakership, but The Hill estimates she could lose between 12 and 17 Democratic votes and still come out on top.

According to a Gallup poll, the majority of Democrats don’t want Pelosi back in her old position by 56 percent. The reason Pelosi seems to be facing so much resistance is due to her bad decision making while Republicans were in power, often resulting in foolish actions that made the Democratic party look out of touch or weak.

These moments include attacking the GOP tax cuts at the height of their popularity, as well as attempting to play chicken with the GOP on immigration legislation and backing down after the GOP refused to flinch at her grandstanding. Many Democrats see Pelosi’s actions as selfish, making her look good in her own district while causing problems for other Democrats who have to suffer due to her decisions.

Regardless, Pelosi is putting up a fight on more than just an in-house front. CNN has already released a puff piece, preempting the fight that cast Pelosi in the light of a courageous leader who is beset by opponents within her own party due to her being a woman. It would appear, at least in terms of the public view, Pelosi will use identity politics to secure a leadership position over Democrats.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell were reelected by their respective parties to resume their leadership positions with little to no fuss. That in itself should be a message to Democrats, and especially to Pelosi, that perhaps the California representative should take more of a secondary, or possibly tertiary position within the House.