title:  No, The Democratic Base Is Not Ready To Get Rid Of Nancy Pelosi
text: While there was certainly a left-wing populist wave during the 2016 election that propelled Senator Bernie Sanders much further during the primary season than anyone could have imagined, it seems that this was not the big middle finger to the Democratic establishment that people thought. Despite four losses in special elections to replace members of Congress that went to work in Trump s cabinet from deep red districts, it seems that the Democratic base is not ready to give up on our current leader in the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.This comes after a wave of Democratic members of Congress have floated the idea of getting rid of Pelosi in favor of fresh blood. Members of the House Democratic Caucus like Tim Ryan (D-OH) have been calling for Leader Pelosi s head after the loss of the Great Democratic Hope in Trump Country, Jon Ossoff of Georgia s 6th district. However, a new poll shows that fewer than three in ten Democratic voters want Pelosi going anywhere.The poll is recent   conducted between June 22 and June 24, polling 1,984 self-identified rank and file Democrats. This is smart, because we need a strong, experienced leader to resist the Trump agenda in Congress. Pelosi can fundraise and whip votes like no other. This is not the time to rip ourselves to shreds out of fear of every candidate we run being painted as a clone of Nancy Pelosi. Remember, they ll do that to any Democrat. Their best weapon is to have us infighting and tearing one another down.There really isn t a whole lot of daylight policy wise between the progressive populist wing and the supposed center left. In fact, while in the Senate together, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton voted together more than 90% of the time. Further, by the time the platform for the 2016 Democratic Party was done, Bernie and Hillary were about 97% in lockstep.In short, Democrats, the 2016 election is over. Stop blaming one another, and especially stop going after Nancy Pelosi. We need her right now, and we need everyone to be on board, lest we wind up with eight years of a hard to reverse Trump/Pence/Ryan/McConnell agenda.Featured image via Win McNamee/Getty Images