House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA.) joined in on the criticism of front running Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney Tuesday, she slammed Mr. Romney for his lack of conservative support.
The California Democrat has largely stayed away from commenting on the 2012 Republican primary race, but in an interview with Politico Tuesday she was critical of the Republican party for promoting candidates that aren’t what she would call their “first string” contenders.
“If the far right thought that Romney could win, they might be more enthusiastic about him,” said Ms. Pelosi in an interview with Politico Tuesday. “I don’t know who knows him. Does he know him?”
Ms. Pelosi believes that the Republican party does think Mr. Romney can win against President Barack Obama in November, a likely reference to top Republican figures such as U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and others who offer praise for Mr. Romney, but have stopped short of actually endorsing him.
In recent weeks, Mr. Romney has been engaged with a fight for the Republican nomination with his main competition, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Ironically, Mr. Romney’s Republican nemesis has been criticized for his own ties to Ms. Pelosi.
Mr. Gingrich has been criticized by Mr. Romney and the other Republican presidential candidates for appearing in a 2008 ad with Ms. Pelosi advocating for climate change awareness.
The ad was part of the “We can solve it,” a global warming campaign ad series sponsored by former Vice President Al Gore’s nonprofit organization Alliance for Climate Protection.
Republican candidates have used the ad to attack Mr. Gingrich, as being a conservative who is aligned with liberal ideologies, like those of Ms. Pelosi. Mr. Gingrich has since called the ad “the dumbest thing I’ve done.”
However, the California Democrat herself reserved her criticism on Tuesday for Mr. Romney. She was also critical of his plan to veto the Dream Act if elected president.
“He’s not going to be president,” said the House minority leader. “But I think it’s indicative of a hard line that doesn’t seem consistent with who he was as governor.”
