Nancy Pelosi: Obama ‘Should Run Against This Do-Nothing Congress'

WASHINGTON -- Acknowledging how little the current Congress has done for Americans during the jobs crisis, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Sunday that President Barack Obama should "run against this do-nothing Congress" to strengthen the message of his 2012 re-election campaign.

"We have missed an opportunity," the highest-ranking House Democrat told Candy Crowley on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.

When Crowley noted that running against Congress would, in effect, mean running partly against Pelosi, the House minority leader said House Republicans are to blame for the failures on Capitol Hill. But she added that she had "no problem" with the president running against Congress as a whole.

"I completely subscribe to his approach," Pelosi said. "I think it's really important for the president to make the race that he is running against a do-nothing Congress."

Considering Congress' dismal approval ratings, it's an approach that the president is likely to take throughout the 2012 campaign season. Although Obama has been pressing lawmakers to renew the payroll tax cut through this year, the White House has hinted that he won't be working closely with Congress anytime in the near future. Deputy Press Secretary Joshua Earnest said, "In terms of the president's relationship with Congress, the president is no longer tied to Washington, D.C."

Speaking with Crowley on Sunday, Pelosi also responded to a recent statement from GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich that collaborating with Pelosi on an ad about climate change was "the dumbest thing" he's done in the last four years.

"Well, I don't want to make any comments about Newt Gingrich," Pelosi said. "But he has been fined $300,000 dollars by the ethics committee, you'd think he'd consider that a big mistake ... Since you brought up my name in association with him as the dumbest thing he ever did, I think there's plenty of stiff competition for that honor, as far as his activities go."

Earlier on HuffPost:

 

 

Comments

[Rexteryalizer Paw]

10:12 PM on 01/23/2012

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stand for Loving Children and the USA

[rshrink]

01:23 PM on 01/17/2012

Pelosi is the most under-appreciated and under-rated congress person in history.

[rshrink]

07:20 PM on 01/15/2012

Earlier I said that Pelosi had passed 350 bills. I don't have the last count, but the most recent count I could find said this:

"Topics:U.S. Senate, War Room, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., U.S. House of Representatives

Back in February, House leadership counted 290 bills that the House passed that the Senate had not yet taken up. That was months ago, so the Senate surely made a dent in that number, right? Eh, not so much. The new numbers are in, and the tally of bills stalled in the World’s Most Deliberative Body now stands at 420. According to The Hill, the gap grew by 48 bills during the three weeks Congress was in session in September.

As always, some of this is post office-naming. And some of it is food safety, and energy, and other things that might be nice for the country."

This is why the Senate filibustered so many times, to block what the House had passed.

[truckingrinch]

04:56 PM on 01/13/2012

can some one send this stupid,loudmouth, home away from politics,before her and obama break our country.please GOD (yes I said the G= word (sorry liberals)stop the corruption.we have a constitution live by it , not by your interpritation of it. it was wrote in plain english. also not in spanish

[R Harvey]

04:59 PM on 01/09/2012

If Obama wants to be a congressman again I am ok with it. It has been done before. And Nancy you helped to create the do nothing congress. Aren't you still a member of congress or have you moved on?

[Alexias Lazar]

12:09 PM on 01/10/2012

President Obama has never been a Congressman.

[R Harvey]

04:40 PM on 01/10/2012

You are saying that the senate is not part of congress?

[quicks9]

02:33 PM on 01/09/2012

I wish she would get a life and retire from washington, insider trading is her speed

[rshrink]

06:55 PM on 01/15/2012

She has one. I think you are the one who needs a real life, not one controlled by the right wing prop a gan dizers.

[end0regime]

01:59 PM on 01/09/2012

Pelosi was SOH when we lost 8.5 million jobs, she added 6 trillion to the debt and the best "we have to pass the bill to see what's in it"

[B Wayne]

02:09 PM on 01/09/2012

you are so far off on the facts I don't even know why I'm typing this...

Please start listening to something other than RW radio/tv - that stuff is like fast food for your brain

(and it's showing!)

[quicks9]

02:35 PM on 01/09/2012

you need to get out of the comics and get with the real world

[MomWithTwoHeads]

07:58 AM on 02/11/2012

Bush added over 80% of that figure, not Obama.

[BCS]

01:50 PM on 01/09/2012

Do NOTHING?

$15 Trillion in Debt!

I'd say they have done ENOUGH ALREADY!

[rshrink]

06:58 PM on 01/15/2012

It isn't the debt that is the problem. If you listened to the people who know, you would know that. The real problem is not enough jobs and not enough good paying jobs. That reduces the economy and the hope of paying back the debt. Jobs first, then debt. Get it straight and wake up, before it is too late.

[BCS]

11:05 PM on 01/15/2012

Borrowing money from China to spend more than we take in is NEVER a good idea.

I agree we need jobs, but we also need fiscal restraint.

Growing the government will only create more government jobs and create yet more Takers for the Makers to support.

Growing the "green economy" has already been tried- in Spain. It is a dismal failure and Spain is bankrupt.

[bhaines213]

01:11 PM on 01/09/2012

I agree with Nancy Pelosi that President Obama should run against the ‘do-nothing’ Congress but President Obama should make sure that he point out WHY nothing is being accomplished in Congress. He needs to emphasize the GOP obstructionism in the House and the constant GOP filibusters in the Senate. He needs to campaign for the election of more Democratic members of Congress who will work with him to accomplish his goals. It wouldn’t make sense to lump his friends in with his enemies. And yes – he does have enemies in Congress, not just opponents. When members of Congress oppose nominees and bills that they approve of just because they want to hurt the President even if it also means hurting the entire country, then things have really gotten out of hand. This is not just politics as usual.

[B Wayne]

02:03 PM on 01/09/2012

No, it isn't!

fanned.

[truckingrinch]

04:58 PM on 01/13/2012

what was the excuse when pelosi was leading the filibustering .took her ball and went home didn't want to play anymore

[rshrink]

07:02 PM on 01/15/2012

Pelosi got more legislation passed than any other speaker of the house. Apparently, listening to Fox didn't teach you that. No congress has ever filibustered as much as the repubs in the Senate since Obama has been in office. In fact, they filibustered 350 times, That isn't just a record. It is a huge spike on the scale, which means they had no interest in compromising, which is supposed the be the way things are done. Democrats cannot sign off on stupidity. You better wake up, before it is too late.

[wheeljc]

01:10 PM on 01/09/2012

'DO NOTHING'????!!!!! What did 'THEY DO' regarding jobs when they had THEY had the White House, the House, and the Senate for TWO YEARS?

*Will he keep his Attorney General out of stopping jobs coming to the US as he did in the AT&T and T- Mobile merger — up to 5,000 jobs coming to the US?

*Will he permit the construction of the pipeline from Canada, vice kow towing to his liberal left?

*Will he permit energy exploration in the Gulf Coast area that will put thousands to work?

* Will he get his NLRB out of the role of determining who, what, where, when, why and how (how much to be paid) in the world of businesses (to wit, BOEING)?

* Will he place a moratorium on EPA and NLRB regulations until the 'underemployment ' rate is at 6%?

If Obama is not willing to do the above, he is blowing smoke up our rumps — ONCE AGAIN!!

[Cacey]

01:25 PM on 01/09/2012

Mergers cost jobs, not create them. The jobs the pipline would create are minimal and why build it? So we can export oil to China? Thousands to work in the Gulf? What about the fishemen and those in the travel biz who were put out of work? The Boeing jobs will still be there, only with fair wages and in terms of the EPA and NLRB, I prefer a safe environmnet and good working conditions, not the days of the Robber Barons.

[Hammer0311]

07:17 PM on 01/09/2012

lol calling Boeng a robber baron

[rshrink]

07:03 PM on 01/15/2012

Warning, Fox pro pa gan da talking points.

[saldunn]

12:55 PM on 01/09/2012

I think it's amazing how the GOP used NP to get uneducated, non readers, hateful people to believe what they said about Pelosi. NP was doing her job plain and simple!! John "Crybaby" Boehner wanted to be speaker of the house so he used NP to gt the Republican/Tea Party into office. What have they done since they have been in control. Nothing but name some post office, and strip women right away. At least the Dems have been trying to get American people back to work. But the obstructinist have been in their way. The jobs bill that the Repub/Tea put together was a gift for the 1% and we have people on here talking trash about Pelosi and Obama when they are the ones that have trying to help our country. Like I said people will vote against their needs just to be a Republican> And everytime they take those food stamps and SS and medicare checks to the bank. Remember GOP wants to take that from you as soon as you vote all them into office. And you mad At Obama and Pelosi. pure stupidity.

[RMorr2002]

12:04 PM on 01/09/2012

Keep Nancy out in front of the camera! She is the best tool the Republicans have! She was very useful in getting Republicans elected IN HISTORIC NUMBERS in 2010!

[american2008]

12:34 PM on 01/09/2012

Speaking of Tools, most Republican voters who make under 100K, that's about 90% of them, that vote for these snake oil salesman who laugh at you are the TOOLS!

[R Harvey]

05:02 PM on 01/09/2012

Many who were taken in by the Snake oil of Hope and Change, won't get fooled again.

[Gidster]

01:32 PM on 01/09/2012

It never ceases to amaze how conservatives consistently vote as they are directed by the propaganda ministers, even if is in direct opposition to their best interests.

[rshrink]

07:06 PM on 01/15/2012

It is amazing, isn't it.

[Blackleaf40]

11:19 AM on 01/09/2012

Last time I heard Nancy Lying this much was when she was trying to explain voting against the minimum wage in American Samoa.

[Exadyne]

11:27 AM on 01/09/2012

How is she lying? She's giving election advice based on Congress being obstructionist during Obama's term. If you're saying the Obstructionist claim is a lie, I think you'd find according to survey that most of the US believes the "lie."

[Gidster]

01:33 PM on 01/09/2012

Reality based observation is enough for rational folk. I do not understand why reality is so easily dismissed by wingers.

[katyland]

11:14 AM on 01/09/2012

Prelosi needs to go, she is a part of the problem, and a poster child for term limits, she along with other long term members of congress and senate, created this mess, and has managed to make a hefty profit for her self and hubby, on the miseries of the people.

[Canliberalwoman]

11:50 AM on 01/09/2012

Just the House Republicans is all the country requires to see disappear?

[katyland]

12:09 PM on 01/09/2012

I am more inclined to say all long term politicians,

[Lohan7]

11:13 AM on 01/09/2012

The tp/gop needs to lead, follow, or get out of the way. I don't include moderate Republicans in this assessment. Just the loud, dogmatic, sound bite driven extremists that have no interest in actually moving the country forward - just backward. Sound bites without substance, but using their positions to block, filibuster, and say no to anything that doesn't fit into their ideological beliefs that also happen to be proven failures. Deregulate the banks - that worked out well. Small government - but government control of women's rights, welfare recipients, takeover of presidential authorities. Down with the EPA, SEC, FAA, IRS, blah, blah, blah. To be run instead by those industries as self governing - oh, yea. Down with health care for all - if you can't afford it you don't deserve it anyhow. You can go on and on with these hairbrained ideological mantras, and yet do NOTHING to actually address and resolve them. Just the numbers and types of bills that have been voted on in the House is pretty representative of the lobotomizing of the House. I would guess it's the fastest growing area of surgery in the DC area.