Democrats Start To Admit Pelosi’s Pulling Down The Party

House Democrats are beginning to acknowledge Nancy Pelosi is a political liability.

With fear of her radical liberal agenda, Democratic political strategists now assume they will have to defend their candidates against association with the leader of the party.

After losing dozens of House seats under Pelosi’s leadership, Democrats fear of association is warranted.

Voters know Pelosi represents the coastal elites and has forced her party to leave behind middle America in the process.

Via Politico:

Pelosi has appeared far more than any other national figure in Republican advertising in the two marquee special election races — even though Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders spent the past weekend in Montana campaigning for Quist, and Pelosi’s personal involvement has been minimal. The ads paint her as too liberal and too out-of-touch for the voters in the districts.

And that’s been a cause for consternation among Democrats involved in both campaigns, as well as for those thinking about the party’s broader strategy as it looks to win over the kind of Republican-leaning and independent voters it will need to seize the House in 2018.

Several rank-and-file Democrats said there have been quiet, small-group discussions recently about whether there should be a leadership shakeup ahead of the 2018 midterms, and, if so, when.

Still, it seems unlikely that House Democrats, long publicly resistant to the party change that many privately say is needed, would choose now to turn their caucus upside down.

Even members who say it’s time for a fresh leadership slate — Pelosi and her deputy, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), have led the caucus since 2003 — say the intracaucus tensions aren’t as discernible right now. And they’re generally happy with the way Pelosi has challenged Trump, called attention to his potential ties to Russia and united the caucus to fight GOP efforts to repeal Obamacare.

But there is an increasing awareness within the caucus, lawmakers and operatives say, that Pelosi’s image could haunt them in ways it never has before. If Democrats have a real chance to take back the House by making the midterms a referendum on the president — a luxury they didn’t have in the Obama era — could Pelosi stand in the way?

“Watching these specials, I’ve thought the name Nancy Pelosi could be the finger in the dike that prevents a wave from taking over,” said one long-time Democratic consultant. “And I think Democrats are silly not to think that’s an issue.”

But within the House Democratic Caucus, some members have grown concerned that Republicans see a chance to replicate their success from previous midterm cycles — chatter that only grew last month after Ossoff missed a chance to avoid a runoff in his race by 2 percentage points, after months of being hammered as a Pelosi lackey.

“We should all be concerned,” said one House Democrat, “that this could be a political liability for us to pick up seats.”