Stuart Carlson for May 15, 2009

They already had slipped out!

Oh yeah pick on poor Ms. Pelosi.

See, this is what I’m talking about! Why the hell is Nancy Pelosi getting all this ink? She is, at best, a distraction in all this.

A). The administration briefed her. They did not ask for her input: “Gee, Ms. Pelosi, we were thinking of waterboarding prisoners. What do you think we should do?” She couldn’t have changed practices if she wanted to.

B). The briefings were secret. If she had, in protest, revealed what she heard, she’d be sitting in jail to this day.

Thank you, Stuart Carlson, for seeing through the ruse!

Bingo! If Pelosi knew more, then she should bear some blame as well, but let’s not forget who (1) proposed torture, (2) tortured our laws and customs to allow it, (3) ordered it to happen, and (4) defended it. Pelosi’s a small-time distraction.

You guys on the right really haven’t thought this through, have you?

If you go after Pelosi on this issue, you cannot do it without admitting that is WAS torture and that it WAS wrong. There goes your only defense when it’s Bush and Cheney’s turn…and make no mistake, they’ll get their turn. Throw Pelosi under the ‘torture bus’, and Cheney and Bush WILL be next.

Another thing…you keep calling us Dems hypocrites for condemning Cheney and making excuses for Congresswoman Pelosi on the torture issue. But what you forget is, the reverse is also true – it’s every bit as hypocritical to defend Cheney and Trash Pelosi on this.

( Which is exactly what the righties have been doing all week. )

And let’s imagine Nancy Pelosi is removed from a office, or at least has to resign as House Speaker over this. What happens next, did you ever stop to think about that? Right now, the Dems have such a lock on the House, one less member won’t make that much difference, that’s number one.

Number two…this is the lady who ‘took impeachment off the table’, remember? Most progressive Dems think she’s a wimp, and if she has to step down, you had better believe we’ll be lobbying for an aggressive replacement. How would you Repubs like to see Henry Waxman or John Conyers as the next Speaker of the House?

Keep it up on Nancy Pelosi, and that just might happen.

Simon, you made the point exactly. By all means, put pressure on Pelosi (a distraction) but get to the bottom of torture and prosecute the same.

I don’t care for Pelosi either, but this smokescreen and house of mirrors has been the total focus of nearly ALL the “liberal” media. As the book said, WHAT “liberal” media?

You can tell that the Obama administration just isn’t paying-off the journalists as well as Bush was back in the day’s of wine and roses…Judith Miller is back home though at Fox with the deep thinkers.

I don’t get what you wingnuts think you’re accomplishing by villifying Pelosi? If she’s really guilty of something then that means the ones who told her those things are guilty as well.

Fine, keep pushing. They can all go to The Hague.

You mean that George W. would actually say the word diabological without getting tongue-tied?

Just admit it, the liberal plan to distract everyone simply backfired and even the mainstream press couldn’t pass this one up – see you Pelosi and good riddance!

IMHO, trying to hit Pelosi on the torture issue without getting Bush and Cheney is like trying to shot the zit on my face with a machine gun without hitting me. The republicans do have much to lose by going after her.

If Pelosi had her part in this, she should be tried like the rest (on the other hand, what american wasn’t in favor of the war in Iraq in 2003?). It is naive to think we will forget about the two biggies just because we don’t want to scratch the lady.

dwyant wrote: “the liberal plan to distract everyone backfired…” Huh? Some of us have been complaining about the reprehensible use of torture for years now. It’s moral outrage we’re feeling – can you understand that? Simon nailed the point better than I could, but I’ll just add that unlike some Republicans or Democrats I don’t believe in party loyalty over ethics – I’m happy to kick Pelosi out and put her before a modern Nuremberg – and I look forward to seeing Bush and Cheney right along with her, as the ones who gave the orders.

Howdy…you will just keep throwing stuff out without thinking, won’t you?

Bush and Cheney changed their story on this at least as many tiems as Speaker Pelosi. So where’s your umbrage at them?

Furthermore, whatever Pelosi may or may not have known, I think it’s safe to say that NOBODY told her that waterboarding was being used to elicit false confessions of a link between Saddam and al-Qaeda.

THAT allegation is all on Cheney’s head.

Heh…Howie’s given up. He couldn’t respond to a single one of Simon’s points.

Howgozit – who started this mess? I know you’re capable of rationalizing this down to a fraternity prank, but can you not even see that it’s controversial?

No, of course you can’t.

CF, I was never for the war in Iraq. Either one.

That’s funny Howdy, whenever anyone accuses Bush of lying to us on Iraq, you righties can’t WAIT to blame the CIA for misleading him!

But let Pelosi do it…and suddenly she’s bashing all ‘Murcan heroes.

Once more, it’s PKB on steroids from the right.

No…it’s about how Bush, Cheney, and the Repubs on the House Intel committee should be questioned at least as closely by the media on this as Pelosi has been. ( Which is WHY they haven’t changed their story. )

Why would you not agree to that?