Pelosi Urges Fellow Democrats to Fight

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it is time for congressional Democrats to attack: “Now our challenge is to tattoo the practices of big insurance, big oil, big banks and the rest” onto Republicans, The New York Times reported Monday. The newspaper’s The Caucus blog said Pelosi’s fighting words were a sign of an upcoming “unalloyed electoral brawl.’’

“You have to understand what fighters our members are,’’ the Times quoted Pelosi at a meeting of columnists. Like President Barack Obama, Pelosi is trying to fire up the base. Both are warning that if Republicans take over they will undo the healthcare overhaul, new regulations on the financial industry and other legislation. There is fear that the key Democratic supporters such as young voters won’t show up in the polls.

But Pelosi said her fellow Democrats won’t “play patty-cake’’ and will vigorously defend their accomplishments. “If we don’t win, they will try to unravel us,’’ she warned.