Pelosi: Unlike Republicans, Democrats Aren’t ‘Transactional’ Politicians

‘Some people criticize us for being such a Democratic Party but that’s who we are’

EXCERPT:

PELOSI: "I’ll tell you a big difference between Democrats and Republicans in this regard. As I said, when we built our consensus, we were ready to go to the floor. This isn’t something where we ever go in and say, ‘Here’s the bill. Now, we need you to vote for it the day after tomorrow.’ That isn’t the Democratic Party. And some people criticize us for being such a Democratic Party but that’s who we are. And we are not transactional. We only can convince people about the merit of the bill. If somebody says, I have questions about what — how this affects my constituents in my — region like mine, which might be more rural, more urban, more this, more that, well we have to find the answers to that. And maybe make some adjustments in the bill in recognition of how it is predictably implemented in a way that could be corrected in advance. But I — from what I can hear of the rookie president is that he’s transactional. He’s a negotiator. So what is he promising? What is he granting or withholding? That’s not how we operate. It’s not about what committee you’re going to be on or what bridge you’re going build. It’s about what bridge you’re going to cross to do something great for the American people. So if his negotiating means a negotiating, I’m very concerned about that.”

Video files
Full
Compact
Audio files
Full
Compact