Political Ruminations

Morning Quote: Nancy Pelosi

On the House floor yesterday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca) ripped into Tea Party Caucus member Pete Sessions (R-Tx) over middle class tax cuts:

“Do I detect your smirk to mean that you don’t think Republicans will vote for middle income tax cuts, Mr. Sessions, should I take it to mean that you will continue to hold middle income tax cuts hostage, giving tax cuts to the wealthiest people in our country?

The unfairness of it is appalling, the fact that it increases the deficit is disgraceful, and that it does not create jobs is a big mistake for us to make.”

Watch:

H/T Alexander

Morning Quote: Nancy Pelosi

In a Maddow Show segment on Wednesday night, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) spoke out about the threat Republicans pose to the Medicare program and to seniors:

“We cannot lose the debate about Medicare because if we do--forget Democrats, forget Republicans--Medicare is gone. We'll be back to a time before Lyndon Johnson. We will be putting seniors at the mercy of insurance companies by giving them a voucher but not a guarantee.

And the severing of that guarantee, the architect of that, is Paul Ryan.”

Morning Quote: Nancy Pelosi

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi calls the Republican contempt move against Attorney General Eric Holder  an attempt to “stop voter suppression in our country”:

“Contempt of Congress, contempt of Congress. To frivolously use that really important vehicle to undermine the person who is assigned to stop the voter suppression in our country. I'm telling you, this is connected. It is no accident. It is a decision, and it is as clear as can be. It's not only to monopolize his time, it's to undermine his name. To undermine his name, undermine his name as he goes forward to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Watch the video: 

Holder has become involved in halting voter suppression efforts in several states, the latest of which is Florida, where Gov. Rick Scott called for purging the voter rolls, targeting almost solely minorities.

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Morning Quote: A War of Words Between Nancy Pelosi & Newt Gingrich

- Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) spoke with TPM about the possibility of Newt Gingrich as the GOP’s nominee, and didn’t hide Democratic delight at the idea of running against Newt Gingrich:

“I like Barney Frank’s quote the best, where he said ‘I never thought I’d live such a good life that I would see Newt Gingrich be the nominee of the Republican party.’ That quote I think spoke for a lot of us.

One of these days we’ll have a conversation about Newt Gingrich. I know a lot about him. I served on the investigative committee that investigated him, four of us locked in a room in an undisclosed location for a year. A thousand pages of his stuff. ”

- Gingrich’s response to Leader Pelosi:

“I would like to thank Speaker Pelosi for what I regard as an early Christmas gift.

That’s a fundamental violation of the rules of the House and I would hope that members would immediately file charges against her the second she does it.”

- Later in the day, via TPM:

Pelosi To Newt: I Don't Need Secret Documents To Embarrass You

When it comes to the Newt Gingrich v Nancy Pelosi war of words that erupted today, Pelosi’s office told Brian Beutler that Pelosi wasn’t talking about dinging Gingrich with some secret cache of documents, but rather the ethics report from the 1990s that’s already available online.

“Leader Pelosi was clearly referring to the extensive amount of information that is in the public record, including the comprehensive committee report with which the public may not be fully aware,” Pelosi’s spokesperson said.

Oh, the drama.....

The Truth About Herman Cain

The title of this post was taken from the screenshot/ad seen above. Fed up with seeing this ad on Liberal sites, I decided to post my own version of the “truth about Herman Cain”.

The ad can be viewed on both Conservative and Liberal sites all over the net, but the “truth” is already obvious. Herman Cain is a condescending prick who has no respect for women, and who is in no way presidential.

In his latest gaffe, made last night at the GOP presidential debate in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Cain condescends to Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), a woman who deserves, at the very least, respect. She didn’t get even the appearance of respect from Herman Cain, who referred to the former speaker of the house as “princess Nancy”:

Legislation has already been written — HR 3000. In the previous Congress, it was HR 3400. What that does is — it has already been written. We didn’t hear about it in the previous Congress because Princess Nancy sent to it committee and it stayed there. It never came out. HR 3000 allows the decisions to be with the doctors and patients, not with the bureaucrat in Washington, D.C..”

Watch:

Quote via Think Progress.

Morning Quote: Nancy Pelosi

“I didn’t hear him say anything when the Tea Party was out demonstrating, actually spitting on members of Congress right here in the Capitol. And he and his colleagues were putting signs in the windows encouraging them.”

~ House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) derides
Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-VA) staggering hypocrisy re the Occupy Wall Street Movement (also known as the 99% Movement) emphasis mine.

Quote of the Day – a Message for Nancy Pelosi

Josh Marshall:

“Number of days Rep. Bill Jefferson (D-LA) remained a member of the House of Representatives without caucus leader Nancy Pelosi calling on him to resign after FBI agents raided his home and found $90,000 in cash in his freezer : 1249.

Number of days before calling on him to step down from the House Ways & Means Committee: 294.”

Yes. He’s talking to you, Nancy Pelosi. We want the People’s Advocate, Rep. Anthony Weiner, to STAY.

Yet they have the nerve to go after Rep. Weiner

This - “Ohio Congressman Is Convicted in Sex Case, but Aide Says He'll Run for Re-election”, emphasis mine:

E. Lukens, Republican of Ohio, was convicted today in a case in which prosecutors said he had sex with a 16-year-old girl.

A jury deliberated for one and a half hours before finding him guilty of contributing to the delinquency and unruliness of a minor at his apartment in Columbus on Nov. 6. The offense, a misdemeanor, carries a maximum sentence of 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. He will be sentenced after a presentencing investigation.

Government Shutdown Likely

Yesterday, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) rejected a stopgap measure that would have prevented a government shutdown due to the inability of lawmakers to come to an agreement on the federal budget.

As the clock ticks down to March 4, when the current stopgap funding measure expires, Boehner shot down what many considered to be the surest way to keep government agencies running while the two chambers hammer out the differences between their respective spending bills.

"We are hopeful that the Senate will take up the House‑passed bill that comes out of here today, tonight, tomorrow morning, whenever it is, and we hope that they will move it," he said at a press conference. "But I am not going to move any kind of short‑term CR at current levels. When we say we're going to cut spending, read my lips: We are going to cut spending."

Boehner’s remarks provoked a swift reaction from Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada), who said that Boehner is threatening a shutdown with out being willing to negotiate.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., retorted that Boehner was resorting "to threats of a shutdown without any negotiation." Officials added that Democrats would seek a short-term bill without any cut in spending levels, a position sharply at odds with Boehner's.

The sparring occurred as the House labored to complete work on veto-threatened legislation to cut more than $61 billion from the budget year that's more than a third over. That bill also would provide funding to keep the government operating until Sept. 30.

Today, Jerry Hartz, a senior aide to Nancy Pelosi, said that a government shutdown "is more likely than not".

Hartz reportedly weighed in on the contentious issue at a routine meeting with Democratic chiefs of staff. According to Politico, his remarks were unsolicited. One unidentified chief of staff told the outlet the remarks appeared to reflect a "genuine" concern.

Nancy Pelosi on what this action would say about Republicans:

So much is at stake. It's a failure to say we've taken the leadership of the United States and the first thing we're going to do is shut down the government to the detriment of our people [and] to our security.

Related: Results of 1995 Government Shutdown Should Act as a Warning to Republicans

Pelosi: Where Are the Jobs?

Republicans won a majority in the House by campaigning on JOBS. Sadly, they have not taken one step to keep their promise of jobs, instead choosing to focus on idiocy such as reading the Constitution aloud, time consuming attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which they knew was fruitless, and undercutting a woman’s right to choose.

During a speech on the House floor yesterday, former Speaker, Nancy Pelosi [D-CA], offered a timely reminder of Republican promises:

Democrats are saying 'no' to the Republican majority. We are saying, 'Show us the jobs”,

No Comparison: Boehner Vs Pelosi

The record of Speaker of the House John Boehner [R-OH] after thirty days of herding cats in no way compares to the 30-day record of former speaker, Nancy Pelosi [D-CA] - emphasis mine:

Some Republicans have suggested that the difficulties that Boehner and the rest of the new House leadership have encountered, such as a backlash over spending cuts, are part of a natural learning curve. But when Democrats took control of the House under President George W. Bush in 2007, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) didn't have that experience.

Gaveled in on Jan. 5, 2011, Boehner presided over the passage of four bills during his first month as speaker, with a total of just 25 votes. The most notable of those was a repeal the president's signature health care law -- a move that was viewed as a strictly symbolic gesture, as it is not expected to pass or even get a vote in the Senate.

By contrast, Pelosi, gaveled in on Jan. 4, 2007, led the Democratic Congress in passing 19 bills during her first month as speaker, including all six of the bills targeted in her "First 100 Hours" agenda.

Why the discrepancy? Well, part of it is that Democratic Congress of 2007 spent more of its first month in session: As of Feb. 1, 2007, Congress had been in session for 16 days, 134 hours, and 50 minutes, according to the Congressional Record.

By contrast, this year Republican leadership determined the House would be in session for only 11 days, 62 hours, and 5 minutes of its first month, according to the Congressional Record. Some of that time was spent reading the U.S. Constitution on the House floor; original parts of the Constitution that were later amended, including sections referencing slavery, were omitted.

You know, this was entirely predictable since Boehner is better known for his nightly visits to his favorite DC bars, and his penchant for working bank hours, then he is for hard work.

Nancy Pelosi on the Republican War Against Women

Nancy Pelosi [D-CA] during a conference call with reporters on Thursday, emphasis mine:

They're advancing extreme legislation, It's dangerous to women's health, disrespects the judgment of American women -- I don't know if they even gave that a thought -- and it's the most comprehensive and radical assault on women's health in our lifetime. It's that bad.

What you can do to stop them.

Morning Quote

House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, refuses compromise on Bush tax cuts for the wealthy:

It's too costly. It's $700 billion. One year would be around $70 billion. That's a lot of money to give a tax cut at the high end. And I remind you that those tax cuts have been in effect for a very long time, they did not create jobs.

via TPM