Forget health care -- Fox News wants to talk patriotic music with Pelosi

[Kadie]

Forget health care -- Fox News wants to talk patriotic music with Pelosi

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday insisted that Democrats are "in the game" with an aggressive post-Labor Day plan to pass health care reform with a public option -- but even as she pounded the importance of an issue affecting millions of Americans, Fox News pressed her about about...patriotic elevator music in Congress?

The incident at a press conference in San Francisco today only underscored some of the political challenges facing Pelosi and the Democrats as they seek to get the focus -- and the attention -- back on the passage of health care bills after a grueling summer dominated by heated town hall debates.

Check out our video of Pelosi trying to talk health care, but getting pressed on music:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1407952648?bctid=36675808001

Pelosi was in San Francisco to deliver her outlook on passage of critical health care bills before several hundred business and community leaders at the City Summit for health care reform Wednesday. The Speaker was met with a standing ovation, and later with enthusiastic applause when she told the crowd that "the bill that will pass the House will have a public option in it.''

She met afterward with reporters, where she was asked about the Democrats post-Labor Day to get back on track as new polls suggest 40 percent of Americans are now opposed to the Democrats' plan.


snip...
But in a stark demonstration of how politics may still distract still the health care discussion, Pelosi -- amidst the battery of serious health care questions -- was repeatedly pressed by Fox News on something else entirely: the music matter being reported by the cable news network and conservative news blogs. The stories suggest patriotic music heard in Congressional elevators and on House phone wait lines has been changed to jazz -- and the move was Pelosi's doing.

The Speaker kept her cool and told Fox she hasn't paid much attention to the elevator music because been a little bit busy, as "we're trying to address climate change, (health care, education)...I just haven't had time to listen on the phone to see what music is playing.''

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=46738&tsp=1#ixzz0PzOjLUQi

[byebyegop]

1. Quite understandable give the short attention spans of Faux viewers. n/t

[Goat or Panic]

2. Uh...

Jazz is a uniquely American music style. It doesn't get any more patriotic than that.

Bite me Fox.

[emulatorloo]

3. There was something on this yesterday in Think Progress - basically the CAO was testing musak option

during the recess. (CAO stands for House Cheif Administrative Officer, Daniel Beard)

Right-Wing Conspiracy Theory: Nancy Pelosi Is Banning Patriotic Hold Music On Congressional Phones
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/09/01/patriotic-music/

<SNIP>

This conspiracy theory is the craziest thing since freedom fries. And birthers. ThinkProgress spoke with Beard’s spokesman Jeff Ventura, who cleared up the confusion:

"The music was changed during recess as a pilot program in an attempt to offer offices a choice of hold music. <...>

This had nothing to do with the leadership — not in the beginning or the final outcome."

<SNIP>

[monmouth]

4. Jass is the best of American music....n/t

[Warren DeMontague]

5. "We'll put a boot in your ass, and.... Please hold" nt