Those of us in the blogosphere continue to bemoan the fact that our elected representatives in Congress are just not getting the job done. Pelosi fails to do this. Reid can’t get that done. What’s wrong with this bunch of panty-waist Democrats that we sent to Washington to do our bidding …to take out the policies of that bastard, Bush? We empowered them and now they tell us they don’t have the votes. What’s wrong with this bunch of losers?
Tag: Nancy Pelosi
Dec 11 2007
No Moral Compass: Pelosi, Democrats, & the WP Revelations
Crossposted at Invictus and Daily Kos
Notoriously (depending upon your point of view), this past weekend the Washington Post published an article revealing that a number of top Democrats and Republicans were briefed in September 2002 on CIA interrogation methods. They were “given a virtual tour of the CIA’s overseas detention sites and the harsh techniques interrogators had devised to try to make their prisoners talk.” The reported techniques are said to have included waterboarding.
Yesterday, Pelosi released a statement clarifying what happened from her perspective. This must have shocked even a little those Democratic Party stalwarts, but no, as we’ll see, their Nancy can make no mistake. She was, you see… helpless.
Dec 09 2007
Congress’s Leaders Briefed on Waterboarding in 2002
I’ve been reading the reports of the fact that Congressional Leaders, including Speaker Pelosi, were briefed about the CIA’s interrogation procedures and overseas detention programs. I’ve read Matt Stoller’s comments about the mood of many people in the country, and the Congress at the time that these leaders were briefed in 2002:
“…The country went insane from 2001-2003… don’t buy that this stuff is new or restricted to our political leadership. In all honesty, I don’t know that if I were in Pelosi’s position at that time that I would have objected. Fear is powerful and I don’t assume that I would have done well in that environment, though I like to think that most of us have learned enough to change our relationship to human rights and authority in the last few years….Nevertheless, our collective failures, and Nancy Pelosi’s specific moral albatross, is to address this country’s use of torture. ..”
There’s More:
Dec 09 2007
Chicken-hearted Dems too weak even to sell out when they try
If you ever wondered why the Democratic Congress hasn't ended the Iraq war — or even successfully made the tiniest step in that direction — it's all been laid out clearly in the last 24 hours.
1. The Democrats cave — again. The AP reports:
WASHINGTON (AP) — After weeks of tough talk, Democrats appear resigned to back down again on providing money for the Iraq war.What happened?
''Republicans, Republicans, Republicans,'' said Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. ''The real problem here is the president and his Republican backers'' who have ''staked out an increasingly hard-lined position.''
(Wonder if Democrats have ever thought of that tactic? Nah, not nice.)
2. Next we get some details from the Washington Post via Reuters:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Democratic leaders are contemplating legislation that would give President George W. Bush $70 billion in new funds for war but without any timetables for withdrawing troops from Iraq, The Washington Post reported on Saturday.The deal would also include about $11 billion in additional domestic spending through September 2008 that Bush had opposed, said the Post, quoting House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, who met with the paper's editorial board on Friday.
Still unclear, however, is whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a vocal opponent of the Iraq war, would go along with the unconditional money for combat after several attempts in the House to bring the fighting to an end.
3. Then the coup de grace, from the AP again:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Saturday threatened to veto a massive spending bill being assembled by congressional Democrats, saying it's unacceptable to add billions of dollars to domestic programs.The White House has not seen details of the $500 billion-plus measure — which senior Democrats are constructing behind closed doors — but reacted to it based on media accounts.
The bill contains $11 billion above President Bush's February budget, awarding the money to domestic programs such as education and health research. It also may contain several billion dollars in ''emergency'' funding for border security, foreign aid, drought relief and a food program for women and children.
Dec 09 2007
The Shaft: Bending Over to Compromise Sucks, Plus Good Impeachment News! w/poll
You see, I remember the last Iraq Occupation Supplemental. I remember we’ll do it this one more time and draw the line in the sand in September. Of course, September came and went, and we should be happy that there wasn’t any funding. Same for October and November. But now it’s December!
Nov 16 2007
IMPEACH — an action to take — NOW
I just received this e-mail from a friend. It started with a disclaimer about not knowing its validity, but I did a google and the legal firm Rohde & Victoroff looks good.
PLEASE DO THIS NOW. IT’S WORTH A SHOT!
House Resolution 333 for the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney is off the House floor, and has instead been sent to the Judiciary Committee for “further study.” This maneuver, organized by Pelosi and the Democratic leadership, is consistent with their mantra that impeachment is “off the table.” But, we are told Nancy Pelosi is reported to have replied to the question of impeachment that if she received 10,000 hand written letters she would proceed with it.
What are we waiting for?
Take out a sheet of paper RIGHT NOW and write:
PLEASE HOLD IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS IMMEDIATELY
Sign it with your address and mail it TODAY to:
Rep Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House
235 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515AND CIRCULATE THIS MESSAGE FAR AND WIDE
Best, Steve
Stephen F. Rohde
Rohde & Victoroff
Suite 411
1880 Century Park East
Los Angeles, CA 90067
310-277-1482
310-277-1485
Not much more to say, onward to the General strike!
Nov 12 2007
Request for More Information and Verification: Pelosi, Conyers and Impeachment
OK, folks, I need some help here — a potentially major item requiring immediate investigation has come to light. From this comment in my recent diary over on DailyKos, dove12348 relates a particularly chilling tidbit:
Unfortunately there are things that…
…can’t be tracked.Pelosi has threatened the removal of Michigan Rep. John Conyers from his chairmanship of the House judiciary committee if an impeachment inquiry were even opened, according to reliable congressional chatter.
OK, folks — who can help pull together some additional detail around this?
Please post what you can find here, or — preferably, to keep it all in one place, post it here and over here on ePluribus Media, where I’ll be trying to coordinate more information on this.
Here’s the question I want to try and answer: The article from Slate is from August 21, so how does the current state of affairs affect any potential investigation by Conyers?
Nov 07 2007
Kucinich Today: What Did You Expect? (!) w/poll
In a party desprately in need of a hero, we now know who that hero is. Of course, some of us knew who that hero was all along. Some of us have paid attention to what the man has been saying, what he has stood for and what he means to do in the future.
Oct 22 2007
Twilight of the Bushites
Aus des Rheines Gold ist der Reif geglüht.
Watching a DVD of the New York Metropolitan’s version of Richard Wagner’s Götterdämmerung (or Twilight of the Gods [TOG]) the other day, I was struck at how prescient the otherwise reactionary composer was in anticipating the destruction of the voracious classes. (One should not find it odd that in Wagner one finds mixed the most progressive and the most reactionary of views and trends, as in this he is the exemplar of the age, which mixes reason and progress with vile reaction, destruction, and mass murder.)
Dick Cheney, who is Alberich in my analogy with Wagner’s opera, was on the stump beating war tom-toms against Iran during a 35-minute talk at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), which The New York Times calls “a research organization”. In reality, WINEP is a well-known right-wing pro-Israel lobby. While praised by liberal dreamboat Al Gore as “Washington’s most respected center for studies on the Middle East”, according to Right Web:
Oct 20 2007
24%
Sometimes, a number is so stunning that all you can do is stare.
24%
Look at it.
Think about it.
Less than one-fourth.
The most unpopular president ever.
According to Reuters:
Bush’s job approval rating fell to 24 percent from last month’s record low for a Zogby poll of 29 percent.
Down five percent. In one month.
Down five percent, in one month, from the previous record low!
The mind reels. The mind stumbles. The mind falls down.
The national telephone survey of 991 likely voters, conducted October 10 through October 14, found barely one-quarter of Americans, or 26 percent, believe the country is headed in the right direction.
The poll found declining confidence in U.S. economic and foreign policy. About 18 percent gave positive marks to foreign policy, down from 24 percent, and 26 percent rated economic policy positively, down from 30 percent.
You know what’s worse than being a president with a record low 24% approval rating? Being an opposition party that is incapable of opposing a president with a record low 24% approval rating.
It’s embarrassing.
It’s humiliating.
Considering the real life consequences, it’s also disastrous.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spent part of yesterday running from her Democratic colleague, Rep. Pete Stark. Stark said bad things about Bush.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid spent part of last week running from his colleague, Sen. Chris Dodd. Dodd tried to stop a bad Bush policy.
Pelosi and Reid did not spend much time running from Bush.
They did not resolve to stop his war.
They did not resolve to stop him from torturing people.
They did not resolve to stop him from indiscriminately spying on the American people.
They did not resolve to force him to comply with subpoenas.
They did not resolve to force him to comply with laws, national and international.
The elected leaders of the Democratic Party are afraid to stand up to a president with a 24% approval rating.
The elected leaders of the Democratic Party are afraid of being criticized for standing up to a president with a 24% approval rating.
Perhaps that’s why Reuters also reported this Zogby poll result:
A paltry 11 percent gave Congress a positive grade, tying last month’s record low.
Paltry. That’s a good word for it: paltry.
Congress always polls poorly. But this is a record. A record of paltriness.
11 percent!
They’re less popular than Bush.
They’re less than half as popular as Bush!
It’s clearly not from opposing him, because they clearly haven’t.
Maybe it’s time they tried something different.
Maybe it’s time they tried opposing him.
For real.
Because if you can’t stand up to a president with a 24% approval rating, what can you stand up to? What can you stand for?
Oct 17 2007
Just one line
As Ogonowski gained traction in recent polls, Tsongas fought back by linking him to the Bush administration and the Iraq war.
From Democrat wins Massachusetts seat in House
No Bush administration, no Iraq war = no victory for Democrats? Is this why Pelosi delayed and delayed? The Tsongas/Ogonowski battle was indeed a testing of the waters for both sides. Have the leaders of the Democratic Party really endangered the lives of thousands of innocent civilians and American Soldiers for mere political purposes rather than to take a principled stand on an illegal war?
Oct 15 2007
Ruthless women
I wake up in the mornings now and realize that two of the most powerful political figures in my life share my gender. Something I’ve waited a long time to witness. Let’s make one thing perfectly clear though; women are not the kinder gentler sex! We have not cornered the market on combining common sense with integrity, and we do not overflow with loving kindness, and decency is an exercise at times. We probably won’t save the world without help.