Nancy Pelosi: GOP Knows Romney Can't Beat Obama
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., went after Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney Tuesday, saying even his own party doesn't believe he can beat President Barack Obama in November.
Pelosi questioned the credentials of the all possible GOP nominees. But she leveled her harshest critique against Romney for his opposition to the DREAM Act, a stance which she says won't help him get elected but does demonstrate remarkable ignorance.
Republicans Offering 'Third Tier' Candidates
In an interview with Politico, Pelosi was skeptical of the Republican challengers for the 2012 presidential election.
We had a contest with no winner, she said of last night's showing in South Carolina, dismissing the candidates as third tier and not exactly what you would call the first string of the Republican Party.
I mean, I think they can do better than that, she said.
Defending the DREAM Act
Pelosi's harshest words were for Romney. The House minority leader was especially appalled by what she called his outstanding ignorance concerning the DREAM Act.
I heard him say things last night that were either uniformed or just plain wrong, Pelosi told Politico's Mike Allen. The education of these young people is critical.
Pelosi argued that the students she's met at events promoting the DREAM Act were among the most articulate believers in American values that she had ever met.
They are the living example of the American Dream, Pelosi argued, [and] part of what we are proposing this year is reigniting the American Dream.
Pelosi argued that Democrats were working on building ladders for those struggling to achieve U.S. citizenship and willing to put in the work to do it. Republicans, on the other hand, just roll up the ladder and walk away.
'I'm not sure he knows what he stands for!'
But Pelosi is not that concerned about Romney's alleged ignorance, which she said indicated a hard line inconsistent with his actions as governor in Massachusetts.
Instead, she asserts that even Romney's own party doesn't believe their supposed frontrunner has a chance of beating Obama in November, which is why support for him has been so half-hearted and reluctant.
Pelosi argues that many conservatives have already set their hopes on a candidate for 2016, and are reluctant to compromise their beliefs in exchange for a candidate they still don't have a handle on. She believes many within the party are already anticipating a time when no incumbent would hinder their choice of candidate.
If the far right thought that Romney could win, they might be more enthusiastic about him, Pelosi told Allen. But they question what he stands for, and they don't think he's going to win. So what's the sell?
I'm not sure he knows what he stands for, and that makes it harder too, Pelosi continued. I don't know who knows him. Does he know him?
On Republican Congress: 'Bless Their Hearts'
Obama, in contrast, is someone Pelosi feels is on point and engaging with voters. This president, when he gets out there, makes his case, he takes his message to the American people, she asserted.
She's also grateful to him for battling what she agrees is a do-nothing Congress, one that she says has done a great disservice to the country.
Bless their hearts, said Pelosi. They do what they believe, these Republicans.
And they do not believe in a government that has any role in clean air, clean water, food safety, public safety, public health, public education, Medicare, Medicaid.
But Pelosi says she will take back the speaker's gavel just as Obama will win re-election, and outlined the six major states Democrats need to target to regain control of the House: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Texas.
Pelosi reports that Democrats have targeted 75 districts so far, and will have to play in at least 50 of them to win back the 25 seats the party needs.
Pelosi also took a moment to tout some of her congressional candidates, including Tammy Duckwoth, an Iraq veteran and former assistant secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs running in Illinois, and former Orlando police chief Val Demings, who aims to unseat Florida Rep. Daniel Webster.
'It's not about them, it's about us.'
Whoever ends up as the Republican nominee or congressional challengers, Pelosi is confident that Democrats will regain control of the House and hold the White House in the coming elections.
But she won't reveal who among the GOP candidates Democrats feel would be their biggest winner if nominated.
Because, in the need, it's not about the GOP at all. At least, not when it comes to winning votes.
It's not about them, it's about us, Pelosi told Politico. It's about President Obama, how well he will do, and our candidates, how they compare and contrast to the candidates they're running against.
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