Dem Rep. ‘It Will Be Very Hard’ to Win Back House with Pelosi, Our Brand Is ‘Very Toxic’

A Democratic congressman is sounding the alarm about his own party's leadership.

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) said it "will be very hard" for Democrats to win back control of the House of Representatives so long as Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) remains their titular leader

Democrats will also continue struggling to beat Republicans, Ryan said, so long as they have to "carry this very toxic Democratic brand on [our] back." 

Here's a transcript from Ryan's appearance on "Morning Joe":

STEIN: “Can the Democrats win back the House with Nancy Pelosi scheduled to be speaker, yes or no?” 
RYAN: “I think it will be very hard, Sam. I — I — I just — you know, we can do it because it’s Donald Trump, but I mean, you think, what if it was John Kasich, what if it was Marco Rubio? I mean, we would be in real trouble right now as a party, and we can’t forget that fact. But I think it’s going to be more challenging, certainly. You see these commercials that tie these candidates to Leader Pelosi week in and week out in the last several months. That still moves the needle, you know? And so, we’re asking candidates in these deep, red districts to battle the Republican Party. We’ve got a lot of energy in our base, which is very exciting for a lot of us to see that on the ground, but you’ve got to beat the Republican and you’ve got to carry this very toxic democratic brand on your back, too. That’s a tough thing to ask a — a candidate running for Congress.” 
BRZEZINSKI: “Yeah.” 
RYAN: “And — and so, we’ve got to figure that out.”