There’s a civil war brewing for control of the Democratic Party. Infighting has pitted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her establishment allies against freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y and her far-left friends.
And on Monday, Pelosi went to the press to attack Ocasio-Cortez.
In the tight-lipped game of Washington, D.C. political theater, an establishment Democratic leader using the mainstream media as a weapon against a member of their own party is a major insult.
But Pelosi didn’t hold back from her metaphorical spit in the face of the New York socialist.
Talking to The USA Today, Pelosi attacked Ocasio-Cortez’ social media presence. She said it’s more important to play smart politics than pandering to fans on Twitter.
“While there are people who have a large number of Twitter followers, what’s important is that we have large numbers of votes on the floor of the House,” Pelosi said when asked about her Democratic colleagues.
When directed to talk about her far-left colleague like Ocasio-Cortez, Pelosi said they need to focus more on legislation wins — not social media rants.
“They’re fine,” Pelosi said. “As I say to my own district, ‘You go out and elect 218 people, just like San Francisco, then we can talk.’”
Of course, this isn’t the first time Pelosi has used the mainstream media to attack Ocasio-Cortez.
Earlier this year, Pelosi dismissed the Green New Deal — a bill co-authored by Ocasio-Cortez — and refused to include the freshman lawmaker in the Pelosi-approved “Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.”
“It will be one of several or maybe many suggestions that we receive,” Pelosi said of the New York socialist’s plans. “The green dream, or whatever they call it… nobody knows what it is, but they’re for it, right?”