Oct 15 2007
Nancy Pelosi was for protests before she was against them:
Pelosi has had a long record of criticizing China. In 1991, she slipped away with two colleagues during a congressional tour and placed flowers at Tiananmen Square, where pro-democracy demonstrations had been violently suppressed two years before. Chinese guards briefly detained television crews filming the event.
Oct 11 2007
Also available in Orange
From the Washington Post:
“We have to make responsible decisions in the Congress that are not driven by the dissatisfaction of anybody who wants the war to end tomorrow,” Pelosi told the gathering at the Sofitel, arranged by the Christian Science Monitor.
Oct 10 2007
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was in a determinedly good mood when she sat down to lunch with reporters yesterday. . . . But her spirits soured instantly when somebody asked about the anger of the Democratic “base” over her failure to end the war in Iraq.
“Look,” she said, the chicken breast on her plate untouched. “I had, for five months, people sitting outside my home, going into my garden in San Francisco, angering neighbors, hanging their clothes from trees, building all kinds of things — Buddhas? I don’t know what they were — couches, sofas, chairs, permanent living facilities on my front sidewalk.” Unsmilingly, she continued: “If they were poor and they were sleeping on my sidewalk, they would be arrested for loitering, but because they have ‘Impeach Bush’ across their chest, it’s the First Amendment.”
Though opposed to the war herself, Pelosi has for months been a target of an antiwar movement that believes she hasn’t done enough. Cindy Sheehan has announced a symbolic challenge to Pelosi in California’s 8th Congressional District. And the speaker is seething.
“We have to make responsible decisions in the Congress that are not driven by the dissatisfaction of anybody who wants the war to end tomorrow,” Pelosi told the gathering at the Sofitel, arranged by the Christian Science Monitor. Though crediting activists for their “passion,” Pelosi called it “a waste of time” for them to target Democrats. “They are advocates,” she said. “We are leaders.”
She hates us. She really hates us. But by all means, let’s coddle the Dem leaders in Congress. I’m sure she’ll lead us somewhere. Suuuure she will.
Oct 03 2007
Sweet Jeebus.
Impeachment is off the table. Defunding is off the table. And now, it seems that even raising taxes to pay for the war is now off the table.
Sure, Raising taxes can be scary. Any potentially politically unpopular decision can be scary. But, that’s kinda what leadership is all about.
Sep 09 2007
This is, obviously, prompted by my discussions with Armando on the role of the netroots. I’m happy to see this debated on Big Orange. I would not pursue this effort because I think it’s doomed to fail, but for those of you who think that defunding is attainable — rather than just something to support for (ugh) Overton Window-sliding reasons — I’d love to see this happen, because I think it’s the way you could truly be most effective. YMMV. And yes, the title is provocative, but meant affectionately.
This diary is not affiliated with any candidate or campaign.
And take a look at how to celebrate Constitution Day, Sept. 17, here.
People have got to learn the word “exogenous“: “an action or object coming from outside a system.” If you don’t understand the concept, you will not be much of an activist.
Politics — from within the system and outside of it — is largely about finding the levers of power. Think about that analogy of a lever for a moment. A lever is something you can grasp, exert force on, and change something. If you exert something on something that you can’t grasp or exert force on, you’re not going to change anything.
Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are not exogenous in the Iraq debate. The fire we aim at them is misplaced. More below.