Gingrich, Boehner Embarrass Republicans Over Pelosi Brouhaha
Shrill Republican blather over Speaker Nancy Pelosi's recollections of a 2002 CIA briefing is nothing more than contrived outrage designed to distract from the real issue: torture approved and performed by the Bush administration.
The ugly spectacle, though, illustrates perfectly why, in 2009, only 21% of Americans regard themselves as Republicans.
When gleefully ripping into Speaker Pelosi after her unpoised press conference last week, Newt Gingrich and Republican critics seemed like a circling pack of starving jackals sensing blood, hoping to move in for the kill... in this case, hoping to kill Nancy Pelosi's career, and send her packing, back home to San Francisco.
But their pseudo-thinking is illogical and wildly laughable:
- Republicans are angry that, seven years ago, Nancy Pelosi didn't protest techniques that conservatives find legal and morally acceptable?
- Republicans, the party of Richard Nixon, are offended that Nancy Pelosi doesn't have clear enough recollections?
- Republicans, the party of Karl Rove and George W. Bush, fear that Nancy Pelosi lacks sufficient moral compass to lead the House?
- Republicans, who adamantly oppose investigations of Bush administration torture, want to investigate Nancy Pelosi (but only Nancy Pelosi) over torture?
Huh? Let's leave torture in the past... but let's still pursue the Speaker? To quote Republican saint, Ronald Reagan, "There you go again..."
In this case, Republican leadership is once again confusing common sense and smart, fact-based reality with childishly overheated he-said-she-said gibberish more fitting for a playground than for Congress.
Speaker Pelosi's charges that the CIA was not fully forthcoming in its 2002 briefing of her has been corroborated by others. Reported the Huffington Post:
"... former Senator Bob Graham insisted on Thursday that he too was kept in the dark about the use of waterboarding, and called the agency's records on these briefings 'suspect.'"
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), widely respected Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told the press on Friday:
"I've know Nancy a long time... I've never known her not to be truthful. Let me put that on the record..."The CIA on this issue is in a defensive mode. Who knows whether what they're saying is right or wrong? The CIA is not an agency that is above not telling the truth."
And Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), then the Senate Intelligence Committee Chair, released a statement last week in which he noted several major inaccuracies in CIA torture memos from that time period.
Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), former U.S. Navy Secretary, wisely noted today on ABC This Week about Speaker Pelosi's words on the CIA's torture briefing, "I just don't think it's that big a deal... "
Even Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), obviously a cooler head than Newt Gingrich ("she has lied to the House") or House Minority Leader John Boehner ("she ought to apologize"), conceded on the same program, "Let's give her the benefit of the doubt and say she doesn't remember... "
This latest embarrassingly dumbed-down Republican meltdown makes me wonder why even 21% of Americans would want to be associated with the party of Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney and now, nutty Newt Gingrich and hyperbole-addicted John Boehner.
(Photo taken of House Republican Leader John Boehner on March 24, 2009: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)
Comments
STOP! The Attacks On Speaker Pelosi
Last time they tried to attack Speaker Pelosi ( second in line to the President of the United States) it was about her alleged abuse of military transportation. This attack as expected turned out to be bogus. It turned out that the previous Speaker (Hastert – a Republican) made far more use of military transportation. It turned out that Speaker Pelosi was possibly overly prudent and too self-restrained in her use of military transportation.
Now Republicans are trying to attack her about allegedly having been told by the Bush administration about things she was not told about, like water boarding. Republicans are attacking her because she is being so effective at getting the peoples work done in congress, like healthcare. And Republicans want to stop her. Don’t put up with that. Every time they attack Speaker Pelosi they are attacking you and the rest of the American people. If they go after her, go after them even harder.
They are trying to con Speaker Pelosi and the American people. And here is how it works. Approximately 6 years ago CIA had a briefing with Pelosi and congress, but DID NOT tell congress and Pelosi that the Bush administration was using torture ( water boarding ) on detainees. Then the Bush administration sent in Porter Goss to head the CIA and to destroy, and doctor records in part to make it look like Pelosi, and the Democrats in congress were onboard with the illegal torture of detainees by the Bush administration.
See, apparently at these intelligence briefings members of congress are not allowed to take notes. And if they do, they are not allowed to keep them. Apparently the CIA makes notes, but the members of congress are not allowed to see those notes either. And they can’t tell anybody about what was said at the briefings. But the CIA can come back six years later and claim they told members of congress something six years ago that they did not tell them at that time. And they can use falsified notes to substantiate their claim. Planting disinformation was the type of thing the CIA became very good at during the time Porter Goss was a young CIA agent. Just gotta love it.
If you will remember, their was a mass exodus of senior CIA officials after Porter Goss took over. And the complaint at the time was that longtime, highly experienced agents were being replaced by other people based mostly on their political loyalties to the Bush administration and their extreme right-wing ideologies. Which is just exactly what you need if you want people who will be willing to break the law under orders. Sound familiar? I don’t think you can trust any CIA records after Goss took over.
I have nothing but the utmost respect, and admiration for the dedicated and patriotic members of OUR! Central Intelligence Agency. When the Bush administration betrayed one of OUR! agents (Mrs. Wilson) it made me boiling MAD! I think our new Director Pennetta has got some internal investigation and agency house cleaning to do. If you backtrack on the individuals that have been making the false attacks on Speaker Pelosi, and trace who they have had contact and conversations with, you should be able to connect the dots and catch your conspirators.
The key that the CIA records are falsified is Sen. Bob Graham and his journal, and common sense.
By the way, I think Mr. Pennetta is an excellent choice to head the CIA and fix it.
They are trying to kill healthcare reform. And continue our healthcare crisis. Don’t put up with that.
PASS THE WORD.
To The Congress Of The United States:
If it is true that you are not allowed to have or make any permanent records of your intelligence briefings for later clarifications, and protection, that is ridiculous. That leaves all of you vulnerable to just this type of scam that is being perpetrated on Speaker Pelosi. So here is what you can do about it to protect your-selves in the future.
Members should be able to make notes and other recordings of these briefings. Then these briefings and recordings can be reduced to a computer file that can then be encrypted and digitally signed with a detached digital signature using key encryption. Then each of you can encrypt, and sign each others copy of the record that can only be unlocked with the other parties key. And both parties copies can be verified with each others copy of the files detached digital signature.
Very easy. Very secure. No more exposure to falsified records down the road.
You see, it almost doesn’t really matter what CIA allegedly did or didn’t tell Speaker Pelosi, and congress. Because the briefing format is so deficient of any checks, balances, or verification that all we know is that all external briefing accounts support Speaker Pelosi’s version of events. Pelosi and congress should have been given every benefit of the doubt. And that should have been it.
There are many other booby traps out there set for you congress. Be careful.
God Bless You
jacksmith — WORKING CLASS
p.s. I still think the timing of Sen. Bob Graham’s ruptured cerebral aneurism was suspicious. More so now, than before.