First of all, I want to give Nancy Pelosi credit for showing the Netroots respect and taking the time to come to Austin and answer questions. Ordinarily, the Netroots would not be a hostile audience (confrontational, but not hostile). Unfortunately, the recent House capitulation on the FISA bill has tipped the balance. The Netroots were already frustrated by no-strings-attached war funding and an accountability chasm for official executive misconduct. And these were the issues that confounded a clearly uncomfortable Pelosi during this morning’s Q & A.
The first two questions she fielded were on Inherent Contempt and the FISA law. She didn’t answer either question adequately. On Inherent Contempt she did a lot of talking but she would not commit to throwing Karl Rove in prison inside the Capitol if he doesn’t comply with subpoenas. She said that John Conyers told her to leave it up to him and that she was going to do that. I don’t exactly believe that John Conyers has the final say. Do you?
On FISA, we all know she has no excuse. But her explanation was badly misleading in that she blamed the Senate (in particular, 17 Democratic senators) for passing a bad bill off on the House. It’s true that the Senate did that, but not this summer…they did that last winter and the House killed it by stripping it of immunity.
She did not explain why the House revived a dead bill, included immunity, and sent it over to the Senate for final passage. If you had been following the FISA issue closely it was possible to fill in the blanks and get her basic point: there were too many Democrats in the Senate that wanted to pass something that the president would sign for her to get away with not bringing any bill up whatsoever. But Pelosi was skating on thin ice when she attempted to shift all the blame onto the Senate, and her lame efforts to tout good portions of the bill were depressingly familiar and insulting.
The question of accountability came up a second time when someone asked her how exactly she planned on holding the Bush administration and the telecoms accountable for their crimes. She spoke for five minutes about the environment, riffing off a question that had been addressed to Al Gore. Then she lamely responded that the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees have new oversight responsibilities and that there would be Inspector General reports. It was a typical non-answer.
Overall, Pelosi made a decent showing. She was clearly uncomfortable prior to Al Gore’s appearance on the stage. And some of her answers were inept or insulting. But she showed up and took the heat. I give her credit for that.
My name speaks for itself.
She’s used to this treatment. She is from San Francisco after all and miles to the right of her constituents. Some courage is required in her role — otherwise she couldn’t come out her front door here in the Bay.
I watched the brunt of it via streaming video.
i was not impressed by Pelosi, at all. I was insulted by her lies about how FISA passed, blaming it on the Senate as if she has no control. Over at FDL in comments, Spencer Ackerman noticed that she was trying to bamboozle on the whole issue of parliamentary procedure. She should have know that kind of obfuscation wasn’t going to work.
I also didn’t care for the way she filibustered questions with what amounted to campaign promises.
And then all that crap about “bipartisnaship”. Does she realize how much her vaunted bipartisanship has come to mean “colluding” and “caving”?
Yes, you could tell she was uncomforatbel, so maybe she deserves a teensy tiny bit of credit for showing up. And she was visibly happy to have Gore there to change the subject./
her showing was less than decent. much less, IMO.
A fair and balanced assessment, booman.
IF any of the following is true it would explain why the stance on FISA and many other things.
Washington–July 9, 2008–TomFlocco.com–According to Fox News, “virtually all records and billing in the U.S. are done for the telephone companies by Amdocs Ltd., an Israeli-based private telecommunication company, contracting with the 25 biggest phone companies in America, and more worldwide,”
The Senate voted today to approve the House version of the new Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) bill, “President Bush’s Surveillance Program,” and retroactive telephone company immunity from civil and/or criminal lawsuits for past compliance with presidential directives to eavesdrop on electronic communications of American citizens without a warrant.
According to Fox’s Carl Cameron and Brit Hume, “U.S. counterintelligence analysts say (Israeli Amdocs) could be used to spy through the phone system. Fox News has learned that the NSA has held numerous classified conferences to warn the FBI and CIA how Amdocs records could be used.”
“Another (NSA) briefing document said, `It has become increasingly apparent that systems and networks are vulnerable. Such crimes always involve unauthorized persons, or persons who exceed their authorization…citing on exploitable vulnerabilities,’ ” said Cameron in part II of his series.
“Comverse Infosys (now Verint), a subsidiary of an Israeli-run private telecom firm…provides wiretapping equipment for law enforcement,” said Cameron in Part III, adding, “Every time you make a call, it passes through the nation’s elaborate network of switchers and routers run by the phone companies.”
http://www.tomflocco.com/fs/HouseHidesIsraeliTelSpying.htm
While this is all very interesting, do you have a more respectable source on the recent developments than Fox News? I know that last year, Christopher Ketcham did a good article at Counterpunch about the cheering movers and art students. I would be interested in seeing more about any connections to the FISA bill if it’s from a legitimate source.
.
In perhaps an even more controversial issue, convicted and imprisoned former Ohio GOP House member Bob Ney, then-chairman of the House Administration Committee, approved a 2002 license for an Israeli telecommunications company to install equipment to improve cell phone reception in the U.S. Capitol building and adjacent House office buildings where all legislative and many military decisions are debated.
The company was then Foxcom Wireless, an Israeli start-up firm, which has moved its headquarters from Jerusalem to Vienna, Virginia while changing its name to MobileAccess Networks, paid convicted and now imprisoned Republican operative Jack Abramoff $280,000 for lobbying fees and donated $50,000 to Abramoff’s Capital Athletic Foundation, a non-profit entity Abramoff used to redistribute money for personal and political gain according to reports.
Carl Cameron series on Israeli Spying – VIDEO
In my earlier diary @ BooMan (Oct. 21, 2005)
THE HILL – Robert Ney “Mayor of Capitol Hill”
Oversaw the Process for Awarding the Wireless Contract
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."What exactly about her presentation rated a “decent showing”?
Was it just the fact that she showed up or did she actually say things which would give progressive Democrats hope? Because frankly, the actions of the House she leads have, in many ways, been often disconcerting and at many times enraging.
The fact that a portion of her answers were “inept and insulting” could make one wonder whether she really has any interest in addressing the concerns of progressives or if she even has a basic understanding of the reasons progressive Democrats have been so vocal in their anger toward both Houses of Congress. Was she not even prepared for the eventuality that she would get hit very, very hard about FISA during her presentation? I mean come on, it’s NETROOTS NATION she is standing before for gawds sake !! It’s not the local Optimists Club.
It almost sounds like this could be viewed as nothing more than a pandering to the base by just appearing.
Just wondering.
Immediately following 2006 elections, wasn’t it Nancy Pelosi who moved to undercut Conyers when she announced Impeaching BushCheney was off the table?
she threatened to strip him of his chairmanship if he started on impeachment
Wasn’t she pressed on her “impeachment is off the table” moment. She’s done some good things, but I fear that statement, plus FISA, will turn out to be her legacy. What a shame.
Somebody shoulda asked her about Internet contempt.
The truthometer would have stalled out on the lies that one would have elicited.
AG
you’re much too kind in your assessment boo. showing up and taking the heat is part of her job, it’s what she does that matters, and she hasn’t been too impressive in that regard.
the fisa cave in, the impeachment off the table /”acquiescence”, etal, pretty much define her tenure as speaker. l’m certin she got on the plane afterward and forgot about the whole thing.
there’s a reason congressional pols are in the cellar, poll-wise…and she, along w/ hoyer and the blue dogs, are a big part of it.
In philosophy and general intention, Pelosi is as progressive as you can get. In method, she’s very different from most in this community. She’s used to having to wheel and deal and compromise. Netroots is a new political power.
I disagree with Pelosi’s method. I disagree with Obama’s tendency to value compromise bills. But I don’t downplay their good intentions. Nor should anyone.