Nancy Pelosi hides behind George W Bush.
You know, if she were to just *shut* *up* we'd find something else to write about.
By Moe Lane Posted in Congress — Comments (18) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Sooo...
You gotta admit, she keeps plugging. Despite violating the Logan Act (Not that that would worry any American politician!), repudiating the Syrian Accountability Act [text here] (A scrap of paper! True, one with her signature on it, but! A scrap of paper!), putting extremely unwelcome words in the mouth of one of our most fervent allies (But that's a plus! For certain members of the antiwar movement, that is.) and getting lambasted by various newspapers...
SHE GOT LAMBASTED BY VARIOUS NEWSPAPERS?!?
Well, can't have that, can we? But how to explain it away? Of course! She was just being a good team player for the Bush administration!
WASHINGTON (AP) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, deflecting White House criticism of her trip to Syria, said Friday she thinks the mission helped President Bush because it showed the United States is unified against terrorism despite being divided over the Iraq war.
Pelosi, D-Calif., met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus earlier this week, against the president's wishes.
"Our message was President Bush's message," Pelosi said in a phone interview with The Associated Press from Portugal, where she stopped briefly en route back to the United States.
Via RCP, and I wonder whether Blake guffawed over this act of supreme political courage, too?
Read on.
Not much after the fold, except to note that:
1). Kids, you can look up all the First Lady photos and GOP foreign-trippers that you like - and may I complement all y'all on your duckspeaking? Greenwald must be so proud - but end of the day? This was the first real negative media storm against the Speaker, and when push came to shove she ended up hiding behind the Big Bad W. Yeah. That'll impress us when the veto showdown takes place later this year.
2). Madame Speaker? Next time, do the country, your Party and your own dignity a favor: go check out the troubling reported sand shortage in the French Riviera, or something. I promise, we'll sign the expense reports with a smile if you'll just stop talking...
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Nancy Pelosi hides behind George W Bush. 18 Comments (0 topical, 18 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
if she's been shamed into what little sense she may have, into presenting an at least semi-unified front with the President rather than engage in foolhardy partisan politics against him - and the country that he is busier defending than himself - at every turn, I'll count that as a welcome developement.
I won't hold my breath though.
"Our message was President Bush's message." Is that why they said that the democrats have an alternative foreign policy that they are pursuing???
When this Over-the-Hill hack denied Jane Harmon the job as chief of the House Intell Cte, I knew she was even dumber than John Murtha, whom she preferred to the much smarter Steny Hoyer. The Senate has girlie-man Reid croaking his double-digit IQ twaddle about GWB not being able to veto the spending bill on Iraq because Bush was not a king. Who does that simpleton think HE is?
The Dem leadership is on a race to the bottom.
When taunted by a Liberal in Parliament that he was going to die "on the gallows or of a vicious social disease," Disraeli replied "That depends on whether I embrace your principles or your mistress."
At the news conference sad Nan said that there was no daylight between the policies of the President and the message she took to Syria. Yeah, except for that part about no high level contact. Or does she mean that the most powerful woman in the world isn't high level?
I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful 100 percent.
Nancy's stumbling and backtracking is not good for the likes of Glenn Greenwald and Taylor Marsh.
"Seperate Democratic Foreign Policy" eh? This should be exceedingly fun to watch.
"History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it"-Winston Churchill
"peace initiative" with Syria...
From AFP...
Israel launched an air strike against suspected Gaza militants on Saturday, killing one and wounding two, as it made good on threats to get tough over persistent rocket fire from the territory.Israeli fire also wounded a Palestinian militant commander on its most wanted list in the West Bank town of Jenin in what the militant group called a deliberate assassination attempt.
Perhaps the Brits should request training on RoE's from the Israelis.
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Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.
Nancy Pelosi most certainly did help President Bush but it was not by delivering his diplomatic message in Syria. She helped the President by making herself, and by extension her Party, look like fools and arguably like traitors. President Bush benefits quite a bit from her mistake.
From Transterrestrial Musings (h/t Glenn):
It seems to me that if the Bush administration was clever, the president would magnanimously issue a preemptive pardon to Madam Speaker (for this one incident, not blanket), but not to any of the Republicans who went. It would make the point without the Justice Department having to do anything at all, and it would be hilarious to watch the donkeys scream about it.
But, of course, the Bush administration isn't noted for cleverness.
I love it.
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The CIA has better politicians than it has spies - Fred Thompson
In 1975, A US State Department Memo declared:
"The clear intent of this provision [Logan Act] is to prohibit unauthorized persons from intervening in disputes between the United States and foreign governments. Nothing in section 953 [Logan Act], however, would appear to restrict members of the Congress from engaging in discussions with foreign officials in pursuance of their legislative duties under the Constitution. In the case of Senators McGovern and Sparkman the executive branch, although it did not in any way encourage the Senators to go to Cuba , was fully informed of the nature and purpose of their visit, and had validated their passports for travel to that country."
The case of Pelosi's trip is similar. Bush was fully aware of Pelosi's intentions and purpose of her visit; this is why he condemned her trip even before she spoke to the Syrian president.
The clear intent of this provision [Logan Act] is to prohibit unauthorized persons from intervening in disputes between the United States and foreign governments.
...to talk with the North Vietnamese?
1). Temporary email accounts? Diagnostic.
2). You need to click through and read the links before you repost them. Your 'example' makes it clear that there's a difference between legislators doing legislative branch business with foreign governments and legislators doing executive branch business with same. Nancy Pelosi was doing the latter - and, seeing by the spectacular way that she messed it up*, I think that we can start to understand why Bush was inclined to let her.
Ta. Better luck next time.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC.
*For Democrats and other foreign policy naifs: it's generally considered bad when the people that you're supposedly speaking on behalf of have to make hasty official 'clarifications' of what you've supposedly said that they've said.
[First. thanks for tacitly admitting that you were trolling with the Kerik thing.]
[Second. Say hi to marquisgrissom and doctorzews for me.]
[Third. Don't you know anything about the right side of the 'sphere? Mobys are liberals pretending to be conservatives in order to screw around with the latter via over-the-top posts. Such as, say, pointing to a WaPo article while pretending to condemn it. It's not a generic word for 'troll'. Tsk, tsk, tsk. - Moe Lane]
Just because you repeat 10,000 times that Foreign policy is exclusive to the executive branch, it doesn't mean it's in the constitution.
Why does the president have to have 2/3 of the Senate approval before signing a treaty? And we are talking about a TREATY, which is more than going to Syria and telling their president to stop funding terrorrists.
so Moby, please refer me to the legal document that says that only the executive can go talk to foreign leaders.
Open your eyes and look at the bottom of each comment, where you will see a "Reply to This" link. Use it.
This woman is Exhibit A why the nation as a whole might soon be having buyer's remorse in sending these clowns to Congress.