Pelosi Or AOC? Most Democrats Prefer AOC

The DC Establishment doesn't, but most regular Americans agree with AOC on this one

Do you remember last month when Hoyer gave the OK for Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX) and Gregory Meeks (New Dem-NY) to surreptitiously circulate an anonymous memo among House Democrats purporting to have polling info showing that AOC-- and the Squad in general-- are being used, successfully, by the GOP to define the Democratic Party and that the four freshmen congresswomen-- AOC , Ilhan, Rashida and Ayanna-- were toxic for the party? IAs you probably guessed, it was a lie from the Republican wing of the party.

Sure, the NRCC and Trump keep trying to label Democratic Party candidates as:

a- Socialists!!!!
b- best friends with Ilhan (or AOC or Rashida or Ayanna or whoever Trump is busy attacking that week)
c- puppets of Pelosi

Mike Allen helped propagate the bullshit by claiming "that swing voters know and dislike socialism, warning it could cost them the House and the presidency. The poll is making the rounds of some of the most influential Democrats in America. He wrote that so-called "top Democrat"-- presumably as opposed to a bottom Democrat-- that "If all voters hear about is AOC, it could put the [House] majority at risk. [S]he's getting all the news and defining everyone else’s races."

Interestingly it isn't only coming from sleaze balls from the Blue Dogs, New Dems and Problem Solvers. Mark Pocan, the not so progressive co-head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, instructed his staffers to kill all press inquiries asking for comments or appearances for AOC or the other Squad members. That wasn't ideological though, just junior high school jealousy.

The House establishment's secret poll, supposedly of white people with 2 years or less of college who voted for Trump in 2016-- that's some universe (think of that for a minute)-- claims 74% of that universe knows who AOC is and 53% knows who Ilhan is. 22% have a favorable view of AOC and 9% have a favorable view Ilhan. My guess is that 4% have a favorable view of Pelosi but no one shared that info. Why make a fuss over under-educated white people who voted for Trump (i.e., Republicans). How about putting some energy into turning out people who didn't vote for Trump instead?

In any case, a real poll by a reputable firm (YouGov), not a secret, unnamed one-- or pretend one-- just released some very different data. They polled in these 42 battleground congressional districts:

The findings are not what Pelosi, Hoyer, Cuellar, Meeks, et al want circulating:

• On net, among voters in battleground districts, Ocasio-Cortez polls at least as well as other major Democratic figures. Although all political figures had negative net favorability, Ocasio-Cortez is viewed roughly as favorably on net as Joe Biden, and more favorably on net than President Donald Trump and Democratic leadership.


• “Clean-energy companies” and “climate activists” both poll more favorably than “fossil fuel companies.”


• Senator Elizabeth Warren had the highest net favorable ratings among the presidential candidates we tested.


• Each member of “the Squad”-- Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib-- has a higher net favorability than President Donald Trump, Senator Mitch McConnell, and the Republican Party in battleground districts. While Trump’s net favorability is lower, we note that his raw favorability is higher than each member of “the Squad.”

Let me repeat that: each member of the Squad has a net approval rating higher than Trump's in the battleground districts, which should-- but won't-- make the NRCC stop tying Democratic candidates to AOC and the rest of them. Apparently whenever they do that, they make the candidates they're trying to attack more popular, not less popular! Ditto for McConnell and McCarthy. Ilhan, Rashida, AOC and Ayanna have higher net favorabilities than them too.

Even more fabulous-- AOC is more popular than Pelosi in these battleground districts so making AOC a party spokesperson instead of Pelosi would probably increase the Democrats' success rate. AOC is also viewed twice as favorably as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy and more favorably than Chuck Schumer, who progressives pray she will run against and oust in 2022. She is also viewed more favorably than Kamala Harris and more favorably than both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. I contacted about two dozen Democratic candidates in this cycle's top battleground districts and asked them-- on condition of anonymity-- if they'd prefer to have Pelosi or AOC in their district campaigning for them. Only two said Pelosi and one made it clear that she wanted Pelosi for fundraising and absolutely not for a public event. 16 said they would like to do a public event in their district with AOC and some begged me to help them set that up. Among candidates, it is completely clear that AOC is far more admired than Pelosi or anyone on her leadership team. No one said they would accept a campaign visit from DCCC chair Cheri Bustos or House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer-- and most of them said they would prefer to see new Democratic leadership in the House in 2021.

Rachel Ventura is the most recent candidate endorsed by Blue America. She's a Chicagoland progressive challenging entrenched incumbent Bill Foster. This is the note I got from her early this morning: "On the record":

Fundamental change will not come without vicious attacks from entrenched  wealthy interests who currently buy access to lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. I’m challenging a corporate Democrat and member of the New Dem caucus with the belief that a win here drives one more nail into the neoliberals' coffin.

We shouldn't listen to the New Dems fear mongering about losing elections because we ran on a populist/progressive message. At the end of the day, it's the kitchen table issues that people are focused on. The household economics and broken system that dictate the freedom to enjoy their health, family, and hobbies.

My first political race disproved this irrational line of thinking. As an elected official representing a swing district, that is represented by two seats, I dominated both over the Republican and the other Ddemocrat in the race because I ran on a platform of making government work for everyone and not just the wealthy few.

If the majority of Democrats got behind a populist message that the squad is sending, then we could create a powerful force that will unite the nation and dominate elections in swing states and swing districts.

Unfortunately, the New Dems will remain loyal to their wealthy donor base until we can defeat a few more through the primary process.

Milwaukie Mayor Mark Gamba, challenging Blue Dog Kurt Schrader for the OR-05 congressional seat explained why grassroots Democrats are so excited about AOC and the Squad: "Our political system is largely failing the average American. There are a number of reasons for that, but chief among them is that the primary focus of most politicians has become getting re-elected, which typically translates to raising lots of money. So rather than being utterly focussed the betterment of our country and our people, most of the long standing members of Congress are at best distracted by the pursuit of campaign donations-- the bigger the better. Many are none too fussy about the source of those funds and the strings that come along with them. Which is why millions of Americans are so enamoured of AOC and the rest of the squad.  Suddenly, here are these bright, fierce and apparently fearless young women who seem laser focused on positive change and capable of original concepts with no apparent concern for the deep pocketed toes they might be stepping on. I don't think our forefathers who conceived of this nation imagined for one second that members of Congress would spend great portions of their days dialing for dollars, they imagined people doing exactly what the squad is doing-- listening to the people and working tirelessly to solve serious problems. Why anyone is surprised by their popularity is beyond me."

Kim Williams, the progressive challenging Blue Dog Jim Costa in the Central Valley, put it succinctly: "People are looking for moral clarity in politics and The Squad is delivering that. The public is seeing what representatives look like when they center on the people's agenda-- that's receiving a livable wage for hard work, having workers protections and holding corporations accountable to the trauma and damage they have caused their communities. It definitely scares corporate Democrats and the Republican party because it's challenging those who allowed for corporations to influence and write laws that disproportionately affected communities of color and the working class. So yes, we can win battleground districts. We need to break the myth that certain areas are 'too conservative' for progressive Democrats. If we lay the ground work and build trust, we can show them in 2020."

About the most positive thing anyone could muster to say about Pelosi came from Boston-area candidate Brianna Wu and Atlanta area candidate Marqus Cole. Both spoke on the record. Brianna first: "I deeply respect Pelosi and her accomplishments. But reasonable people can have reasonable concerns about this leadership direction for our party. If the strategy of insider shadow brokering really worked, wouldn’t the American people be in a better position? Why does it feel like Democrats are always losing? I’m not sure status quo strategy can lead us through the next 100 years of American history. What people respond to in AOC is authenticity. When she says she believes in Medicare for All, I trust her. I don’t think there’s a caveat, and I don’t think it’s a poker chip to be traded for a better deal. In the age of Trump people underestimate just how valuable honesty is to the electorate."


And we'll end with Marqus, who wrote that he appreciates the question of if I would 'prefer to have Pelosi or AOC in district campaigning?' "First, I reject the premise that one member is MORE or LESS a Democrat than the other. That is a tool of division that I don’t subscribe to. The truth is that AOC is the most high profile member of Congress in a generation. She came of age at the same time I did and shares priorities and values with many of my voters. I would be honored if she hit the campaign trail to share those priorities and values. It is also true that Congresswoman Pelosi has been a champion of progressive causes throughout her career. This includes the largest expansion of the social safety net, the ACA, within two political generations. Further, as a leader in the party she has led us to the majority twice. If Pelosi were to focus attention and resources on the GA-07 race we would nearly certainly take the seat. I think ultimately, when I get to DC I must remember that I will have a relationship with both of these members and work with them. No one member can speak to, and for, the GA-07 like I can because I’m rooted here. But that doesn’t mean they can’t help, and both have their own strengths, weaknesses and experience to bring to the table. These are intelligent, powerful and compassionate women that I would be honored to stand side by side with pursuing justice with."