Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Speaker Pelosi takes friendly fire
WaPo columnist Richard Cohen, not someone normally associated with snarky comments directed at liberal Democrats from Califorina, writes:
"In a similar vein, can we also find out what Nancy Pelosi knew and when she knew it? If she did indeed know about waterboarding back in 2003, that would hardly make her a war criminal. But if she knew and insists otherwise, that would make her one of those people who will not acknowledge that the immediate post-Sept. 11 atmosphere allowed for methods that now seem abhorrent. Certain Democratic politicians remind me of what Oscar Levant supposedly said of Doris Day: 'I knew [her] before she was a virgin.' They have no memory of who they used to be."Heh.
Steny Hoyer, who, er, might move up a notch if something unfortunate were to happen to Nancy Pelosi in the political sense, moistened his index finger and held it erect in the wind:
"House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said Tuesday that investigations into the Bush administration’s use of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques on terrorism suspects should look into what congressional leaders, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, knew about the methods that have been criticized as torture....Given the voting history in her district, it's likely that Nancy Pelosi can retain her seat in Congress for as long as she wishes to serve, although it would be out of the ordinary for a former Speaker to stay in Congress as a quasi-back bencher. Her missteps with the interrogation matter, combined with the fact that her ally Jack Murtha might be in a bit of trouble, might not be enough to bring her down, but it is starting to add up, and Republicans have relatively little to do with it (unlike, say, the events leading up to Speaker Wright's resignation in 1989).
"'Frankly, information about what was said, when it was said, who said it, that ought to be on the record so the American public knows,' Hoyer said."
Speaker Pelosi is said to be the master of the stiletto thrust, but she probably needs to watch her back. Prediction: gone after the 2010 midterms, regardless of which party controls the House.
CWCID: Ace
3 Comments:
By 
, at
Wed May 13, 10:21:00 AM:
There is a reason I have always called it Nancy Pelosi's "Culture of Corruption", because it is.
By 
Cardinalpark, at
Wed May 13, 03:13:00 PM:
If you're feeling like doing some research, take a look at the political history of Nancy Pelosi's Baltimore-based ancestry (the D'Allesandro clan) and see where they might have had a run in with Steny Hoyer. I suspect there ain't a lotta love there, and it probably goes way, way back. Tehre may even be some ethnic considerations.
Just a guess.
By Jim MIller, at
Thu May 14, 10:37:00 PM:
Well, my guess was that she would stay as Speaker -- unless the Dems had big losses in 2010 and blamed her. (You can find the post at my site, if you are curious.) For one thing, she's the first woman Speaker, which will make it very hard to push her out, unless another woman (or a black, or a Hispanic) runs against her.
But that was before she did today's strange press conference. You really wonder whether she, or any of her aides, know that when you are in hole you should stop digging.
