December 22, 2007 - 2:48pm.
Partnership vs. Partisanship
"I accept this gavel in the spirit of partnership, not partisanship, and look forward to working with you on behalf of the American people. In this House, we may belong to different parties, but we serve one country."
Nancy Pelosi, after being elected Speaker of the House, 2006.
Funny how one's words can come back to haunt you.
In the early heady days of January, there was a veritable buzz in the air. Change was a'comin. The Evil Empire of Bush/Cheney was finally derailed, and the Constitution was about to be restored.
Then Nancy got ahold of the gavel. Her first major statement was to take impeachment "off the table." While her intention may have been to quiet the rancor and hatred between the parties, it had the opposite effect. It showed the GOP minority that the new speaker was weak, ineffectual, short-sighted, and constantly willing to seek accommodation and compromise.
How would any self-respecting GOPer, including Bush/Cheney respond? In retrospect, it was obvious. For 15 years, the GOP was used to rough handling by its leaders. Those leaders managed to keep diverse groups within the GOP in line, and under control. Their unanimity surprised many while they were the majority. Why would anyone be surprised if they maintained it as the minority?
As for the president, her promise to protect the president and the presidency from impeachment was like a red flag to a raging bull. The more he demanded, the more Pelosi would give in. Which in turn, caused him to demand that much more.
Today, Nancy claims to be shocked by the coordination and uniform stances taken by the GOP in Congress. She was "surprised" by their behavior.
Nancy, Nancy, Nancy. You have been in office since 1987, and you claim to be surprised at the GOP? Are you the most incredibly naive politician in the universe, or is something else at play?
Well, let's take a look. You voted in favor of Patriot Act 1 without even reading the damned bill. You supported the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. You have stopped Democrats from complaining about Israel wall-building, take over of Palestinian settlements and the continued illegal construction of Israeli settlements and compounds. You stopped a congressional investigation of the illegal use of cluster bombs by the Israeli military on civilian areas.
AIPAC thanked you in 2005, and asked you to be the keynote speaker that year. And just this year, you played messenger girl from Prime Minister Olmert to the Syrian president.
And of course, there is the little matter of your cave-in. On Patriot I(b), FISA, Iraq, Iraq, SCHIP, SCHIP II, and pretty much every other issue.
This week, the president insulted you, demeaned your leadership abilities, then ordered you to behave next year. Given the tone of your response, I presume that you heard your orders loud and clear, and are preparing to act next year in the same depressing, disgusting, spineless way as you acted this last week, may, month. Naw, let's be accurate. You have spoken loudly and carried a big twig this entire year. That's not leadership, that's stenography.
When you promised a new tone in congress, little did we suspect that it would be the same as the old tone, only with a new face. As promised, you have become a partner, not a partisan. Except that you have partnered with your AIPAC buddies in the DLC, you have partnered with your GOP friends in Congress, and you have partnered with the White House, leaving America desperate for even a hint of a spinal column.
Worst of all, at the end of this disaster, you took the stage with DLC stooge Rahm Emanuel, and you claimed victory. VICTORY! WHERE? HOW? ON WHAT ISSUE? Oh, yes, Energy and minimum wage.
Nancy, claiming victory under present circumstances is like you squatting & pissing on the great Chicago Fire, and claiming that you personally stopped the conflagration.
And still our constitution remains tattered, in danger of irrelevancy, and further abuse by this president and his criminal cabal.
Shame on you, Madam Speaker. Your failures far outweigh your successes. If you had a shred of decency left, a sense of honor, an understanding of your constitutional duties, you would resign the speakership immediately. You would allow someone, anyone, with a spine, a sense of reality, and an urgent goal (to fix our nation) take over for you. You have been measured, Ms. Pelosi, and you have been found wanting.
Read: "Israel Comes First: Pelosi at AIPAC" by Joshua FrankText of 2005 Pelosi speech to AIPAC
No comments:
Post a Comment