Rep. Seth Moulton faces a friendly shot at home to oppose Pelosi

AMESBURY, Mass. – During his four years in Congress, Rep. Seth Moulton has received many accolades. He upset a member accused of corruption in a Democratic primary in 2014, while minimizing his exploits as a navy in Iraq. His support of top military officials – he helped former General David Petraeus – and his willingness to overthrow the leadership of his own party have been the subject of profiles of national magazines and presidential speculations of 2020 He was the very image of a rising Democratic star.

Now, as this willingness to criticize senior Democratic leaders reaches its peak with the leadership of a coup against the likely House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, Moulton is feeling the pinch. At a city hall in his North Shore neighborhood on Monday night, activists confronted Moulton with accusations of sexism and ageism, reflecting the aggression of Pelosi's allies in Washington.

"I'm totally upset," said Linda Christian, an 80-year-old retired lawyer, who questioned Moulton about the event. "I voted for him. I love this man. I think that he showed, if not animus, stupidity. "

"He thinks that women are disposable and that old people are disposable," she continued.

Moulton said that sticking to key party leaders in the House, including Pelosi, aged 78, and representatives, Steny Hoyer, 79, and James Clyburn, 78, would ignore the lessons learned from the Democratic wave in the mid-term elections of 2018, at least. he understands them.

"The American people have called for changes in this election," said Moulton at City Hall, referring to LGBTQ people, veterans and people of color who won House seats this month -this. "I think that if our party responds to this call for change with the same management team that has been in place since 2006, we will fail the American people."

Of the more than 100 voters who occupied this city hall, which has a population of 17,000, did not all go to Lambton Moulton. About the same number of people expressed support for Pelosi's position against Pelosi's continued leadership of Democrats in the House. But the one-hour event focused almost exclusively on the battle of the presidency – only one question from a city council member about wastewater overflow – and the crash shows the political risk of Moulton's decision to direct the anti-Pelosi forces. Activists in his district and agents across the country who once supported him are now talking about recruiting one of his main opponents in 2020.

"If we could make a CrowdPac for Susan Collins' challenger, why could not we make one for a challenger?" Asked Bambi Snodgrass, who helped organize the pro-Pelosi rally and said that he would not be able to compete. she had knocked on more than 1,000 doors Moulton's campaigns.

Moulton and the other Democrat rebels opposed to Pelosi issued Monday a letter with 16 signatories pledging to oppose the leader of their party both during the Democratic caucus vote and in the House. About nine other Democrats – many of them former military who overthrew the outgoing government with Moulton's support – also said they would not support it. The exact size of the Democratic caucus remains uncertain, but there is probably enough opposition to cause Pelosi problems.

While conservative grassroots activists have largely supported the Tea party and the House Freedom Caucus defies John Boehner's leadership, local-level progressives like Snodgrass and other protesters seem more likely to support established leaders of the Democratic Party. Indivisible, the network of progressive local groups that played a major role in encouraging and organizing democratic energy in the Trump era. Pelosi approved for speaker last week. This is a potential problem for Moulton and the other rebels, who come largely from the center of the political spectrum. Two of the signatories of the anti-Pelosi letter are members of the Progressive Caucus of Congress.

The Democratic Party seems divided on the Pelosi issue. A CBS News poll released Monday night revealed that 49 percent of Democrats want Pelosi to continue in office, 40 percent would prefer another Democrat, and 10 percent would be undecided.

The fracture was visible at Amesbury.

"The implication, that just because I'm a white man, that I'm sexist just because I oppose 16 years of leadership on the Democratic side of Congress, I do not like, town hall.

Meanwhile, Pelosi has firmly insisted that she not be threatened by the second term of Moulton and her allies, including representatives of Ohio, Tim Ryan and Marcia Fudge. "No matter what Seth Moulton says, I'll be the Speaker of the House," she boasted last week.

Democratic sources said the Pelosi team dispatched California representative Ted Lieu, a veteran and ally of Pelosi, to pressure the first-year veterans Moulton helped recruit, including elected officials. Jason Crow from Colorado and Jared Golden from Maine.

Moulton expressed confidence that the newly elected members would keep their promise not to support Pelosi, and predicted that a discreet plurality of the Democratic caucus would prevent him from standing for a second term as president. speaker.

"Many people are trying to find a solution," Moulton told reporters after the Amesbury event. "And many people stay silent because they do not want a controversial town hall like this."