There was pol
itical theater, drama, but no surprise ending on Thursday on a topic involving spies, torture and truth in the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives.
Republicans again ripped into Speaker Nancy Pelosi for accusing the CIA of misleading Congress — and her fellow Democrats quickly blocked their bid for a bipartisan probe into her truthfulness. The vote was 252-172.
“The Republicans … have been focused on the politics of personal destruction,” House Democratic leader House Steny Hoyer said afterward.
Hoyer also accused Republicans of trying to divert attention from the Bush administration’s treatment of prisoners as well as Democratic efforts this year to revamp healthcare and move the nation toward energy independence.
Democrats rushed to Pelosi’s defense earlier this week, saying they believe her statement that the CIA did not inform her at a September 2002 briefing that it had used waterboarding, simulated drowning widely denounced as torture, during interrogations of suspected enemy combatants.
Prior to the House vote, Republican leader John Boehner, who has pounded Pelosi for saying the CIA had misled Congress, said, “Getting to the bottom of this quickly is important.”
“The speaker has made a very serious charge,” Boehner told reporters. He added it has had “a chilling effect on our U.S. intelligence officials around the world.”
Hoyer fired back by citing what he said were remarks by a number of Republicans, including Boehner, in recent years critical of the CIA. On Wednesday, Senator Arlen Specter, a former Republican who recently switched to Democrat, defended Pelosi — known as one of the most liberal Democrats in the House and a favorite target of conservative critics.
“The CIA has a very bad record when it comes to — I was about to say ‘candid;’ that’s too mild - to honesty,” Specter, a former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told members of the American Law Institute.
REUTERS/Stephen Hird (House speaker Nancy Pelosi at No. 10 Downing Street after meeting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on May 12)
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getplaning. No it does not vindicate Nancy Pelosi. Nancy lied and then lied again until finally her advisors told her to make no more comments. She is just a plain old fashioned liar. In addition, don’t even try to equate her to the CIA which really does saves lives, even yours. It is quite amazing how you conjure up the evils of republicans while always defending anything democrat. But you know by now that is a senseless story. The problems we face are not democrat or republican because they are all guilty of our downfall.
The senate intelligence committee is part of congress right? Well, that is the problem. It isn’t as though they are into objective reporting. They are out to demonize the republicans so they can remain in power. I wouldn’t bet my life they are reporting facts. Since you are into half truths, I would be willing to bet that’s the bottom line with their report too. I know, it goes both ways, so save the the evils of republicans because it misses the point (there are enough evil democrats to level the playing field).
As for the 20 million plus Rush, Hannity and so on listeners. Again, a tenuous assertion…no you are just an angry liberal. You act as though the vast numbers of listeners just tuned in to Rush and all. He has been on the air for 20 or so years and his audience never falters, only grows. But the tenuous assertion is that you they only just recently got on board with them. I really think you are grasping for straws because but you keep getting it wrong…not only that, you just don’t get it. The majority in this country hold conservative values, not liberal progressive values.
Air America can only wish they had a 10th of the listeners like conservative talk radio does. It never will…
- Posted by TC