Nancy Pelosi is a legend, a bonafide historical figure. She has been a lights-out GOAT, as the kids say, as Speaker of the House and will rightfully be remembered as that.

But a consistent issue with Pelosi over the last 10 years or so is she can be a bit shaky on live TV and events, and occasionally say things that are really not good. Especially if it is time to punch the hippies in the Democratic Party. Last week, she said that people protesting Israel’s very questionable tactics in Gaza (and that’s being nice) are Russian assets.

Nancy Pelosi suggested that Russia may be funding pro-Palestinian protesters who have been interrupting Democratic campaign events, saying that some calling for a ceasefire are promoting “Putin’s message.”

Watch: https://t.co/JhrPtWa2qI pic.twitter.com/A4eQSR1Z7e

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) January 28, 2024

This is not to pick solely on the former speaker. Others in the party elite have gone to this well before. Again, Nancy’s been an incredible Speaker, and did great things as a vote wrangler including helping to get three major pieces of legislation passed. And I get Russians have messed with our elections in the past, including and especially in 2016, and no doubt have plans to do so in 2024.

But the “progressives are actually Russian assets” crap being back is not good and should have been stuffed into a locker and the door locked. I remember hearing from some of my fellow Democrats on social media that the Mueller report would prove that Bernie and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are Russian assets also. Never happened.

Not wanting people to suffer, whether that’s through a better health system that doesn’t financially ruin people when they get sick or opposing the Israeli far-right government’s continued slaughter of brown people, does not make one a Russian asset.

This is an election where we need everyone and our leaders to be careful, even if they seem to project a “how DARE you tell me I have to change don’t you know who I am” sensibility. Being dismissive or condescending or basically doing a modern version of “you are either with us or with the terrorists” is a mistake. These are issues that have long plagued the party. Just like it was good when Biden took a sledgehammer to the neoliberalism of Obama/Clinton, it would be good if Democratic elites think about the votes we need, and what coalitions are shaky, and couch everything they say with that in mind.

I remember what it was like when I was told that wanting Reagan to stop rattling his sword at the Soviets was only supporting the Red Menace. And being told by actual Democrats in the early 2000s that questioning Bush on WMDs meant that I was on the side of the terrorists and that it meant I didn’t give a shit about the people in the towers. Of course, 20/20 hindsight tells those people how silly that all was, I just wish there was more 20/20 nowsight. I will also add that this feeds certain parts of the DC media the Purina Pundit Chow they so love, Dems in Disarray flavor.

There’s a way to discuss this stuff. Russian interference has been and will be a real threat. And there are both bad AND good things about how Biden has handled a very difficult situation dealing with Trump-like leadership in Israel and a terrorist organization like Hamas fighting on top of a powder keg. But Gaza is a headache for Biden at the moment and has created a real issue with younger voters for the simple reason they are horrified by the death of innocents. Yelling at them that they had better vote, or implying that they are Putin pawns, are not going to drive turnout. Blaming them if Trump were to win is cold comfort; the idea is to get them to vote, not work on creating a scapegoat for a Trump win that won’t really make anything better. We need more nuance.

These people often seem to be angrier at people within their own party, and much more understanding of people outside of it, more willing to reach out. Any conflict resolution expert will tell you that making wild accusations is not a good way to build bridges. Prior to October 7, 2023, the Democratic coalition was stronger than it had been for a very long time. A big part of that was a shift in leadership from treating progressives as they were big sillies who didn’t understand how the world works (and often were proven right, again, see the Iraq War) to being a party that listens to everybody. Time and again, the Progressive Caucus commented about how the Biden administration was listening, and not dismissive. Gaza greatly damaged that, and in the most important election of our lives, we need our leaders to not treat people on the left side of the coalition as dupes of a monstrous dictator like Putin.

In the past, the middle and the elite in the Democratic Party would lecture progressives about unity. I humbly suggest that perhaps they realize that party unity is a two-way street. We need all of us together in this fight.

The last word goes to The Beatles.