House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democrats to have their “hearts full of love for the Constitution” as she laid out a strategy on how to win public support of an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, but a colleague said vulnerable representatives would need to determine what messaging worked best.
“We have to proceed with our hearts full of love for America and our hearts full of love for the Constitution,” Pelosi said in a private conference phone call with House Democrats Sunday, according to Politico. “And not with negative attitudes towards him, but a positive attitude towards our responsibility.”
“The polls have changed drastically about this,” the California Democrat added. (RELATED: Biden Does Not Regret Allowing Hunter To Work For Ukrainian Company, Campaign Official Says)
“I’m in Texas and they have a saying here: ‘Don’t mess with Texas,’” Pelosi said, an aide on the call told Politico. “Well, I say, ‘Don’t mess with the Constitution, Mr. President.’”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and fellow Democratic members of the House hold a news conference at the U.S. Capitol September 7, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
But Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos encouraged more vulnerable Democratic representatives on the call to poll their constituents to test what messaging is most effective. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which Bustos chairs, would help fund this polling, multiple people on the call told Politico.
Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries laid out six terms for Democrats to focus on while relying on repetition: “betrayal, abuse of power, national security.”
And House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler endorsed Pelosi’s impeachment messaging, saying “If we stick to the speaker’s plan, we will prevail,” according to a person on the call.
Pelosi also suggested that she was okay with losing the Democrats’ majority in the House if it meant impeaching Trump.
““It doesn’t matter. Our first responsibility is to the Constitution,” she said Saturday after being asked if she was worried about how an impeachment inquiry might impact 2020 House elections.
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