Pelosi’s Stark Rebuke

[babylonsister]

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/22/4733/

Pelosi’s Stark Rebuke
by Katrina Vanden Heuvel

It’s not suprising that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized 18-term Congressman Pete Stark for his heartfelt and emotional comments about the Republican’s failure to override Bush’s veto of S-CHIP. In a blog last week, I predicted that Pelosi would do just that.

Still, it’s downright disappointing. Maybe the DCCC should bring on board MSNBC’s feisty Keith Olbermann to give it some backbone. I think Olbermann got it right when he called Stark’s remarks “refreshing.”

The way Pelosi turned on Stark is bound to turn people off of politics–which are already so canned and scripted, and devoid of human feeling and emotion. Look what happens to someone decent like Pete Stark, who steps out of the mold to express his anger and passion about what he believes, sincerely, is being doing to harm our kids.

Can’t you just see the Democratic consultants going berserk after Stark said what he did–even if it was in the heat of the moment and debate. Trouble alerts issued in DC–someone speaks his heart and mind! Can’t you see the consultants telling party chieftains–Distance Yourself: This will hurt you in ‘08. Then you have the right-wing, anger-fomenting media machine ripping into full gear. Hannity, Limbaugh, Ingraham, Malkin, O’Reilly and ilk salivating and bloviating and distracting attention from the real story.

That is, what is despicable and beneath contempt are not Stark’s words but this administration’s assault on kids. Speaker Pelosi stated that she was worried about how her longtime congressional ally’s words, “distracted from the seriousness of the subject at hand–providing health care for America’s children.”

With all due respect, I think the Speaker should be more worried about how Republicans’ assault on kids’ health and wellbeing begins at home and extends to Iraq. I think she might have issued a tough and humane statement, calling on all to stop wasting time on attacking people like Pete Stark– whose emotional words reflects real concern and care for the future of this nation– and start providing healthcare for all, including our beloved kids, and ending a war that is killing US men and women, thousands of Iraqis, stretching our military to breaking point and undermining our security.

[Beelzebud]

1. Pelosi has been the biggest Democratic letdown in quite some time...

She NEVER passes up a chance to shit all over her base.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted sub-thread

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[ejbr]

8. She may indeed turn me off

from voting for any Democrat ever again.

[Kikosexy2]

19. Fancy Nancy...

is the new Joe Lieberman...licking booty and boots of the Chimp is her highest priority...disgusting!

[rateyes]

2. Pelosi sux.

[Ganja Ninja]

7. Well said.

There is no fight in her at all.

[BridgeTheGap]

4. Compared to the litany of "bushisms" - not just the flubs -

but the "crusade" & "go to the emergency room" "heckuva job Brownie"

Stark's comments were mild.
There may be those who think the President is sacrosanct, but Bush has so defiled this office that he is completely fair game for ANY comment. In my opinion, Stark did nothing more than tell the truth.

[Warpy]

5. Pelosi has been inside the DC Beltway too long

She's gotten completely tone deaf when it comes to the mood of the country.

It's really too bad. The country deserves better, a lot better.

[reprobate]

14. Not 'tone deaf'. Remember she IS one of the elite. She has a net worth of $25 million.

Her only connection to us is how to use us to get more of the redistribution of wealth.

"Impeachment is off the table" should have told us SOMETHING about where her heart was. It was in her stock portfolio.

Please, will SOMEONE in SF start a recall petition?

[ladjf]

6. We need to mover her aside as soon as possible. She is not

helping America.

[tom_paine]

9. The sad truth.

[RufusTFirefly]

10. She could've finessed Stark's comments

If Pelosi had been a clever, courageous leader, instead of joining the right-wing condemnation of Stark, she could've finessed his comments, seeming to condemn them while simultaneously underscoring them.

"Although I might have been hesitant to make a statement as blunt as Representative Stark's, I strongly believe the message that lies at the foundation of his understandably emotional remarks needs to be stressed over and over again. Where is America heading? What has happened to our priorities? What kind of country do we live in when we can continue to find billions to finance a wrong-headed war that is draining our treasury and killing our brave men and women but seem incapable of spending a tiny fraction of that amount to help make our children healthier and happier?"

[Cha]

18. There's no finesse in her but you're

right..and maybe nancy needs a finishing school.

[bbgrunt]

11. this nails the coffin shut. No one who is

concerned about security is going to vote for a bunch of wimps.

[wcepler]

12. Puke Pelosi

In an old (an excellent) movie called "who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", Elizabeth Taylor (in character) told Richard Burton (also in character), "I'd divorce you if you existed!" That's pelosi (lower case); she's such a puppet of the elites (remember she belongs to all that old money business) that she doesn't even exist as a person.

Puke Pelosi -- that works for me.

[Enrique]

13. her comments weren't as strong as I expected

she mainly focussed on how it was a distraction.

But it seems it was enough to kill the issue.

[colbertforpresident]

15. Call her

I called Nancy's office and gave them a piece of my mind and then I sent this e-mail:

I am so disappointed with your leadership. Taking impeachment off the table is telling the President that he can break the law and YOU condone it! It sets a precedent for future administrations. rebuking Stark is a disgrace and is nothing more than pandering to the republicans. YOU are one of the main reasons the democrats are considered weak. Please consider for the betterment of the country resigning your leadership post!

[amb123]

16. USA Politics 2007-2008

Democrat: "George Bush is a dictator destroying the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and I mean it!"

GOP: "APOLOGIZE YOU SATAN-WORSHIPING, AMERICA-HATING, TERRORIST-LOVING, LIBERAL TRAITOR DEMOCRAT SCUM!!!"

Democrat: "I'm Sorry! I'm Sorry! I'm Sorry!" (wets pants)

Me: "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave MY ASS!"

[Name removed]

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