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Pelosi Promises

Arianna at Huffington Post interviewed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday.

Speaker Pelosi made three promises in the interview:

  • that the House will not take up a war appropriations bill this year
  • that there will be no war appropriations bill next year that doesn't include a fixed date for bringing the troops home
  • that House Democrats will put up a major fight over the Bush administration's desire to make permanent the FISA law passed in August, particularly over the issue of retroactive immunity that the Senate has already given in on.

Huffpo has videos up of the interview.

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  • Display: Sort:
    Wow (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by andgarden on Tue Oct 16, 2007 at 05:57:20 PM EST
    that there will be no war appropriations bill next year that doesn't include a fixed date for bringing the troops home
    If that's true, we're getting the showdown we've been looking for. Good.

    This I'd have to see and dissect carefully. (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Edger on Tue Oct 16, 2007 at 06:05:16 PM EST
    If it's true, and not couched in waffle words with double and triple meanings, it would be a drastic reversal from only last week. Something doesn't smell right.

    Parent
    With Respect Jeralyn, it doesn't look (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by andgarden on Tue Oct 16, 2007 at 06:48:16 PM EST
    like Pelosi is saying that at all. She wouldn't answer the question, and kept going on about the Senate.

    Parent
    Yep. (none / 0) (#9)
    by Edger on Tue Oct 16, 2007 at 07:24:53 PM EST
    And a lot of softballs from Arianna,  and a lot of 'look how bad the senate is' and 'look how bad Bush is' and a lot of 'look how wonderful I am', 'give us the power next year to not do what we have the power to do now' but 'ignore that fact that we won't use it now' from Pelosi.

    I hate to say it, but she is selling fear of Republicans to the suckers, instead of action from her.

    Good chance it will be enough next year, too, unless enough people learn and Never Give An Inch.

    Parent

    I hear a bunch of words that can mean anything. (5.00 / 2) (#5)
    by Edger on Tue Oct 16, 2007 at 06:38:38 PM EST
    Mostly excuses like 'we can't do this, or we can't do that' because 'Bush does this, or Bush does that' or 'we don't have the votes'.

    Same old same old Nancy, apparently.

    Pelosi (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by nellieh on Tue Oct 16, 2007 at 07:13:39 PM EST
    But no impeachment. She is derelict in not impeaching the President and Vice President for 'high crimes and mis-demeanors.' The President admitted to warrantless spying on citizens. The Vice President orchestrated the outing of a CIA NOC. These people (NOCs) are classified top secret for LIFE! There is no 5 year in the States immunity of exposure. Their idea of immunity for the telecom companies is more for their protection not the companies. These people are obscene low lifes.

    WSWS: Pelosi lashes out at antiwar protesters (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by Andreas on Tue Oct 16, 2007 at 07:15:48 PM EST
    "Look," she said, "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."

    Pelosi 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."

    Pelosi is married to a multimillionaire investor, and her comments were charged with social resentment as well as political hostility. The antiwar protesters are not only unwelcome because they expose her hypocritical pretense to opposing the Iraq bloodbath--they are dirty, ragged and disreputable, and irritate the neighbors.

    Pelosi's remark--imagine that riffraff "sleeping on my sidewalk"--is reveals the enormous social distance between the masses of working people, housewives, students who oppose the war, and the privileged ruling elite. And her disparaging reference to the First Amendment demonstrates the hostility of a big business politician towards the democratic rights of the working class.
    House Speaker Pelosi lashes out at antiwar protesters
    By Patrick Martin, 15 October 2007

    fisa (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by selise on Wed Oct 17, 2007 at 01:40:48 AM EST
    i think speaker pelosi is misleading us on FISA. that's just the most polite thing i can say.

    my apologies, but i'm too tired to type it all up now. instead will give links to comments made today at fdl:
    one
    two
    three
    four

    when the whole thing is over i may try to write a diary, as i did in august, to call bs on the kabuki.

    Jeralyn (none / 0) (#3)
    by Edger on Tue Oct 16, 2007 at 06:13:03 PM EST
    Do you have a full transcript, or is your quote transcribed yourself from the video?

    Sorry (none / 0) (#4)
    by Edger on Tue Oct 16, 2007 at 06:20:03 PM EST
    It is not "quotes". My mistake.

    Parent
    Shameless Blogwhoring (none / 0) (#11)
    by NMvoiceofreason on Wed Oct 17, 2007 at 10:04:02 AM EST

    Susanholmes
    "I also believe that focusing on impeachment would force Congress to take its eye off the ball on the most important issue of our time -- ending the war in Iraq."

    Your belief is not supported by history. Examine the congressional record during Nixon's impeachment - much was done towards ending our involvement in vietnam and much more was done to keep the violence from spreading.

    If we go to war with Iran, it will be (mostly) because impeachment hearings aren't going on.
    posted 09:20 am on 10/17/2007

    Venice
    I agree. And "ending the war in Iraq" is not the most important issue of our time. The steady erosion of our Constitution and founding values threatens the very existence of the United States. Our role in the world as an inspiration for democracy and freedom has been thoroughly tarnished, leaving the world with no moral rudder. And few developing countries want to identify with us or partner with us economically. We need a Constitutional Teach-In--and presidential candidates who will actually lead and educate the public about how far we have strayed. There are many important issues, but they hardly matter if there is no country left to debate them in.
    posted 09:48 am on 10/17/2007

    Progress08
    We have to try to impeach if for no other reason than a civics lesson. What message will not holding president man-child accountable send to the next president? Look how far this president has gone and no one has held him accountable. If they start impeachment proceedings and have it co-sponsored by numerous Dems then they can be on every news broadcast and every Sunday show putting out the reasons for this. Finally everyone will get the news that the conservative media has been obscuring.
    posted 10:04 am on 10/17/2007

    Jen326
    Not only will the next President get the message that they are invincible, the kids growing up right now will think the President is invincible. Not only are they not getting civics lessons in school anymore, reality is also teaching them nothing.

    Unless impeachment is carried out, the Constitution is in real danger of truly becoming "just a damned piece of paper".

    What is wrong with Congress (and sadly - Arianna) that they don't understand this?
    posted 10:30 am on 10/17/2007

    CSDofNM
    Just the facts, ma'am.

    Cmmte. revises rules on impeachment August 8, 1974

    Nixon resigns (Hooray!) August 9th, 1974.

    Last American leaves Vietnam: April 30, 1975

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixon
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War

    Six months after Bush and Cheney are impeached, the troops will be home. The problem with your plan, Arianna, is that it does neither, does not break their power, does not bring the troops home ever. You are betting on the flawed promise that your favorite woman candidate will win. If she does not, you have condemned us to another decade of war. Why do you think ANYONE will vote for ANY Democratic candidate? Their word is worthless, their promises hollow. As it seems were yours, when you said you would ask her OUR questions - not YOUR questions. You want to ask her your own questions, fine. But don't lie to us and say you will represent us. Nancy and the other LeaderSheep are doing that already.
    posted 10:17 am on 10/17/2007

    On my part, but I thought it was on point from Huffpost.
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/ending-the-war-vs-impeach_b_68689.html?load=1&p age=2#comments