Moderate House Democrats told the New York Times Monday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) made strategic errors that have generated blowback in swing districts across the country.
The New York Times reported Monday that while Pelosi has generally received praise as a master strategist, moderate Democrats believe that the leading House Democrats made several errors that hurt members across swing districts.
The Times suggested that Pelosi’s refusal to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate right away generated “blowback” in battleground districts.
Centrist Democrats reportedly cringed when Pelosi held a ceremony in which she signed the articles of impeachment and distributed commemorative pens. Democrats alleged that it undermined her own talking point that it was a “somber” and “prayerful moment” for the country.
“Her whole thing was this was a solemn moment, and that was undignified to do a pen ceremony,” one centrist Democrat told the Times. “A lot of us in the front line felt that wasn’t helpful.”
It appears that the Senate will likely acquit President Donald Trump of obstruction of Congress and abusing the office of the presidency.
House Speaker Pelosi contended that they have allegedly revealed impeachable behavior by the president.
“I think that we have pulled back a veil of behavior totally unacceptable to our founders and that the public will see this with a clearer eye, an unblurred eye,” she said.
“Whatever happens, he has been impeached forever. And now these senators, though they don’t have the courage to assign the appropriate penalty, at least are recognizing that he did something wrong,” Pelosi added.
Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), a moderate freshman Democrat who faces a tough reelection this cycle, said that he counted the drive to impeach Trump as a win for the country.
“I don’t think it’s a loss. It illuminates that the next election isn’t just about whether we continue Trump’s crazy policies; it’s whether we remain a constitutional democracy,” Malinowski said. “That is a debate I am absolutely confident we are winning.”
Polling from the American Action Network (AAN) found that voters have increasingly soured on swing district Democrats as they learned that their representatives voted to impeach the president.
Republicans only need to retake roughly 18 congressional districts during the 2020 congressional elections to retake the House majority. Trump won 31 congressional districts during the 2016 presidential election that Democrats managed to flip during the 2018 midterm elections. Pelosi’s missteps during the impeachment proceedings may help Republicans retake the House majority in 2020.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), a member of the president’s legal defense team, told Breitbart News Saturday that if the president wins the 2020 elections, then Republicans will retake the House.
“I think the president is going to win. I mean, in Ohio, he is so strong in our state, and I just feel good about his race across the country, and I think there’s a very good chance he wins big. I’ve been saying all along if the president wins big, we take back the House,” the Ohio conservative said.
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
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