Progressive group fundraising off Pelosi’s criticism of Ocasio-Cortez

A progressive advocacy group on Monday sent out a fundraising request over Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) criticism of four freshman House Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), who voted against a border aid bill backed by President Trump.

The fundraising letter from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee praised Ocasio-Cortez and Democratic Reps. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) for “chang[ing] the entire national debate.”

{mosads}“Unlike Pelosi, they are leading the national conversation — in a bold and inspiring direction. Unlike Pelosi, they’re standing up to Trump,” the email says.

The pitch criticizes Pelosi for, among other things, holding firm against the idea of impeaching Trump.

“It’s been proven that many voters still have no idea what crimes Trump actually committed, and impeachment would bring that to light. But instead, thanks in part to Pelosi’s lack of leadership, Trump just achieved his highest approval ratings ever in ABC’s poll,” it states.

In an interview with The New York Times’s Maureen Dowd last week, Pelosi dismissed the four freshman representatives, saying that while they “have their public whatever and their Twitter world,” the lawmakers were “four people and that’s how many votes they got.”

Ocasio-Cortez responded on Twitter on Saturday, writing “That public ‘whatever’ is called public sentiment. And wielding the power to shift it is how we actually achieve meaningful change in this country.”

She also defended herself and her fellow progressives Monday, noting several previous dismissive comments by Pelosi and adding “Having respect for ourselves doesn’t mean we lack respect for her. It means we won’t let everyday people be dismissed.”

Pelosi’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.