It's no secret that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D) is facing a challenging bid for her former post as Speak of the House. The icing on the cake though? She thinks that it's time for her Democratic colleagues to come together and unite over her potential speakership.
On Friday, Pelosi sent a letter to her Democratic colleagues, urging them to "support the nominee of our Caucus for Speaker on the Floor of the House." The Democratic Party's rules require members to vote for whoever the nominee is.
Here's a copy of the letter (emphasis mine):
November 23, 2018
Dear Democratic Colleague and Members-elect,
This Thanksgiving week has brought an outpouring of gratitude from people across the country to Democrats for winning the House and saving our country
Our outstanding victory from sea to shining sea has made this truly a Thanksgiving of Hope, a hope that springs from the renewed faith that we have in the goodness of the American people. That hope also springs from our For The People agenda: lower health care costs, higher wages by rebuilding America and restoring integrity in government led by restoring the Voting Rights Act.
Our victory has sprung not only from the quality of our candidates and the strength of our message, which one news report said was delivered “like a jackhammer,” but also from the mobilization of the outside groups that helped carry that message. As we go into the new Congress, it is important that we continue to unify our inside maneuvering with the groups’ outside mobilization.
This election was transformative in the effective use of social media which is the wave of the present and will be more so in the future. Online mobilization allowed us to engage the groups to own the ground, amplify our message and raise funds from hundreds of thousands of new, small donors. Our Caucus must harness the transformative and ever-advancing potential of the latest technologies to be responsive to our grassroots.
It has been my vision in Congress to take us even further down a path that began in the days after the 2016 election. That is when the American people saw the urgency, wanted to take responsibility and gave us the great opportunity to deliver For The People. The outside groups, whom I will honor next Wednesday, spoke truth to power and we now will use our victory to give power to truth.
Your views and participation are essential as we demonstrate how we execute the important reforms that so many Members have suggested as part of our Rules package. I am very pleased that our Rules package will establish a select committee to improve the operation of Congress, ensuring that we deliver in a manner that is transparent, bipartisan and unifying. In addition, I have assured Members our committee ratios will be fair and our committees will have representation from all corners of our Caucus.
I thank so many of you for the strong support you have given me for Speaker. Respectful of the views of all Members, I request that we all support the nominee of our Caucus for Speaker on the Floor of the House. Our diversity is our strength and our unity is our power.
I again convey to you the gratitude from so many for taking our country back for the American people. Again, congratulations on your victory and thank you for your leadership.
best wishes,
Nancy
Although Pelosi has seen challenges from other people, she's the only declared candidate for Speaker. In order to win, she has receive support from a bare majority of Democrats during a private caucus meeting on Nov. 28th. She then has to get 50 percent plus one of all votes when the vote goes to the floor, Fortune reported.
It will be interesting to watch this leadership race take place. Will these newly elected Democrats, many of whom ran on a progressive platform, reject the Pelosi-Schumer establishment or will they sit down, shut up and do what they're told to do?
