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Democrat Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer Says Tea Party Members Have Unhappy Families
Outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, and outgoing House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Md., take part in a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011
Say what?There are a whole lot of people in the Tea Party that I see in these polls who don’t want any compromise. My presumption is they have unhappy families. All of you have been in families: single-parent, two-parents, whatever. Multiple parent and a stepfather. The fact is life is about trying to reach accommodation with one another so we can move forward. That is certainly what democracy is about. So if we are going to move forward compromise is necessary.
Good grief.
Steny Hoyer is so out of touch with American voters.
The Tea Party movement is not motivated by, as its members claim, record-high levels of spending and debt by the federal government and the possible economic consequences of that. It is not upset by the various federal bailouts of recent years. It is not riled up by a stagnant economy with 9.8% unemployment. No, they go to rallies because it is easier than going home apparently.
Of course, this is better than former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who maintained the Tea Party was “astroturf” and really did not exist.
Oh! “Can you hear us now?”
From the Ventura County Tea Party April 15, 2009
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Obamacare: Un-American Attacks Can’t Derail Health Care Debate
I think Pelosi and Hoyer have lost their damn mind.In the meantime, as members of Congress spend time at home during August, they are talking with their constituents about reform. The dialogue between elected representatives and constituents is at the heart of our democracy and plays an integral role in assuring that the legislation we write reflects the genuine needs and concerns of the people we represent.
However, it is now evident that an ugly campaign is underway not merely to misrepresent the health insurance reform legislation, but to disrupt public meetings and prevent members of Congress and constituents from conducting a civil dialogue. These tactics have included hanging in effigy one Democratic member of Congress in Maryland and protesters holding a sign displaying a tombstone with the name of another congressman in Texas, where protesters also shouted “Just say no!” drowning out those who wanted to hold a substantive discussion.
Let the facts be heard
These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views — but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American. Drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades.
I thought dissent was the highest form of patriotism?
Now, if there is criminal behavior or violence that is one thing but heated argument and protest are quite another. If Speaker Pelosi wants to have legislation her way I challenge her to just pass it. She has a large majority of Democrat Party members.
But, this will NOT happen because her fellow Democrats are NOT stupid and wish to be re-elected.
This stifling of dissent and ridiculing of opponents ala Saul Alinsky will not only sink Obamacare but also incumbent Democrat members of Congress.
Stay tuned…..
Technorati Tags: Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Obamacare
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Steny Hoyer Defends Nancy Pelosi on CIA Flap – Says CIA Director Leon Panetta Was NOT There
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Md., second from right, gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 19, 2009. Joining him, from left are, Rep. Xavier Bacerra, D-Calif., Rep. John Larson, D-Conn. and House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina
A good catch of the nuance of Steny Hoyer defending Nancy Pelosi on CIA enhanced interrrogation techniques, including waterboarding by Jim Geraghty of National Review.In an effort to help out Nancy Pelosi, the number two Democrat in the House, Steny Hoyer, asserts that CIA Director Leon Panetta doesn’t know what he’s talking about: “As I understand, Mr. Panetta’s notes don’t reflect that. Mr. Panetta was not there and he wasn’t the director. I haven’t seen the notes.”
Hoyer has now effectively doubled down on Pelosi’s claim, arguing that Panetta is lying when he wrote, “our contemporaneous records from September 2002 indicate that CIA officers briefed truthfully on the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, describing “the enhanced techniques that had been employed.”
Read the entire piece in which Hoyer asserts: “I believe the Speaker.” Yet…………
Asked by CNSNews.com Tuesday whether he agreed with Pelosi’s more general statement that the CIA misleads Congress all the time, Hoyer said: “You guys want to hang on to this like a laser. I think that’s unfortunate. What the speaker said was she was not specifically advised as to the specific enhanced interrogation techniques that were being utilized. I believe her when she says that. I’m not going to go into every other facet of this that you — I’m not going to go into every facet of this. I made my statement. I think it’s pretty clear. I hope nobody here misinterprets what I just said.â€
So, what the hell does that mean?
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has essentially said that CIA Director Leon Panetta does not know what he is talking about, insists that Speaker Pelosi has a great memory and doesn’t want to committ to the proposition that the CIA misleads us all of the time, as Pelosi maintains.
Typical POL DOUBLESPEAK – but watch him stick the knife in Pelosi’s back, if she appears wounded.
Technorati Tags: CIA, Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Leon Panetta
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Nancy Pelosi Watch: “100 Hours” Agenda Extends to Two Weeks
Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) talks to reporters at a news conference about her plans for the first 100 hours of the new congress at the Capitol in Washington, December 14, 2006.
The Boston Globe: The first 100 hours
House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi and her top aides have outlined a full agenda for Democrats’ first 100 legislative hours in power, starting after members of the 110th Congress are sworn in today. Pelosi has vowed to complete work on those items before President Bush delivers his State of the Union address on Jan. 23.
The Influence Peddler decodes the first 100 hours (via Patrick Ruffini)
So much of politics is a matter of perception and expectations, so it’s useful at this point to review the program offered by Rep. Pelosi before the election for the agenda of the first 100 hours of her Speakership:
1) Enact all 41 of the 9-11 Commission’s Recommendations (scheduled for adoption Jan. 9)2) Increase minimum wage–probably to $7.25 (scheduled for Jan. 10)3) Remove existing restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research (scheduled for Jan. 11)4) Permit (or require) the federal government to negotiate prescription drug price schedules with pharmaceutical companies (scheduled for Jan. 12)5) Cut interest rates on federally guaranteed student loans “in half” (scheduled for Jan. 17)6) “End subsidies for Big Oil and invest in renewable energy” (scheduled for Jan. 18)It’s hard to see how this can be done successfully.Read it all.
Patrick reminds us of the Contract with America and the GOP’s Newt Gingrich when he assumed the Speakership in 1995:
Here’s the Contract with America for handy side-by-side reference. Republicans passed eight substantive measures on the first day of their majority, and as someone who was up watching it late that night on C-SPAN, the first day didn’t mean “next week.â€
Pelosi’s Congress is in with a whimper. It’s not hard to see why the Sheehanites are upset.
Stay tuned……..
Technorati Tags: NancyPelosi, StenyHoyer, NewtGingrich