Newly-Elected Dem. Rep. Says Senior Members Told Him They’d Make His Life a Living Hell if He Won’t Support Hakeem Jeffries

TRANSCRIPT:

LEONARD: "Evening, y’all. So, it’s starting to get real over here. I guess it must be Monday. Tonight I met with we’ll call them senior members of the Democratic House, who told me in no uncertain terms that the decision as to whether or not I support Jeffries, regardless of his willingness to speak with me and meet the interests of my constituents on a couple of key issues, number one, getting a constitutional amendment to end Citizens United, and number two, ending U.S. support for the war in Iran and the country, Israel, that led us into it, that that would basically mean both making my life a living hell for the next two years here in Washington, as well as being sure to lose my election in two years. You know, we kind of knew this stuff was coming It’s, it’s part of the stuff you see in the movies. It’s a whole another thing when, you know, it’s in person by people who actually care about you and are cheering for you, but expect you to wear the team jersey and, you know, be a good team player. You know, we’re searching our hearts tonight as to how we can reach Leader Jeffries and help him be a better speaker. At the end of the day, the big D Democratic Party needs some little D democracy and, well, I’m just a stubborn S.O.B.. So we’ll continue meeting with our fellow members of Congress and members-elect and try and see if we can build support for what we’re trying to do here. Please wish me luck. It’s getting real, y’all."