Pelosi slammed in L.A. on failure to impeach Bush*

She was in Los Angeles to discuss her recently published book "Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters." Instead, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi got slammed by protesters screaming that she has been derelict in her duties for not authorizing impeachment hearings against George W. Bush.

The venue: more than 300 people paid $30 each Monday night at the American Jewish University (formerly known as the University of Judaism). The format: a 75-minute interview by the Rabbi Robert Wexler (not to be confused with the Palm Beach, Fla., congressman of the same name). The questions: tough but respectful. Wexler asked Pelosi about a recent Rasmussen Poll that showed a 9% approval rating for Congress.

But then, according to blogger Alan Breslauer, things turned ugly. A protester shouted that Pelosi, in not impeaching Bush for launching a war on false pretenses, had failed to live up to her constitutional duties. She shot back:

I take the oath of office to uphold the constitution of the United States and don't tell me that I don't do that. Why don't you go picket the Republicans in Congress that will not allow us to have a vote on the war? This is not very effective. Not very effective.

In the video, it's clear that most of the audience rallied to Pelosi's side, applauding her rebuttal. According to Breslauer, protesters were escorted out by the Secret Service. *(More likely they were local police or perhaps the sergeant at arms, as Igor, one of our readers, pointed out.) But it's also clear that the San Francisco Democrat, with a lifetime of public service, was upset.

As speaker of the House, the third-highest office -- first is the president, then vice president and then speaker -- I take my responsibilities deadly seriously. I try to promote bipartisanship but that's not what the other side wants.

With war protester Cindy Sheehan now on the ballot challenging Pelosi, these challenges are likely to continue. All of which prompts C2C to wonder where the line is between free speech and good manners.

-- Johanna Neuman

Comments

[alain moybray]

We should not speak truth to power because it is "bad manners"?
What a tepid vision you must have of America.
It used to be a vibrant democracy.
It is now a half-baked theocracy-monarchy.

Pelosi is an elected official.
She is supposed to be a representative of the people.
She is not.

I hope Sheehan cleans her clock.
We need people with vision and passion for justice.
If Pelosi can't stand listening to the voice of the people, she should listen to some easy-listening station in a retirement home.

[mikhail]

Hey Johanna
How about giving Jason Leopold of The Public Record credit? He was the one who wrote the story (his name is first on the byline after all). I don't know Breslauer but I am sure his contribution was valuable.

[Brock Lesnar]

Upholding the constitution? HAWWWWW!!! :)

[victor knopp]

you got to hand it to the dems they dont dwell on there countless mistakes they just keeping making new ones,,ELECTIONJACK-08,,if 20% of white people regardless of political affiliation will not vote for obama out of a voting group of 160.000.000 even if the total black voting pop of 60.000.000 votes obama and he gets 50%of the white vote hes still off by 30.000.000 sounds totaly unelectable,but that is just the numbers

[buddhistMonkey]

The protestors were absolutely right, and Pelosi's non-answer proves it. Since she likes to remind everyone that she's second in line to the Presidency, I suggest we impeach Pelosi first, then Cheney, then Bush.

And for the record, "good manners" have prevailed in the House of Representatives for the past two years, at the expense of the Constitution. We're talking about leading the country to war under false pretenses, causing the deaths of tens of thousands. Politeness is of no value or importance.

[throbo]

She is sad.

In one breath Nancy says we can't do anything because of the bully Republicans and the next breath she says I want to work with the bully Republicans.

[Claire]

I don't think impeachment is enough. We need Crimes Against Humanity and Peace trials for every single member, past and present, of the Bush Administration and all members of Congress who aided the murder of over one million Iraqis, tens of thousands of Afghanis, and the torture of an unknown number of innocent human beings by either voting for or in any way supporting said crimes.

I expect to see ALL of them, including Nancy, at the Hague.

[The Speaker is a WIMP]

Pelosi is a WIMP.

Let her know she is a WIMP.

http://speaker.house.gov/contact/

[Debra Nicholson]

I don't recall the Clinton impeachment being anything but stupid news about a woman who was old enough to give her consent, and a man who enjoys the sexual attraction of being in power. That was really a stupid event. But, stupid as it was, to use that as a reason to NOT impeach Bush and Cheney is utterly asinine! The do not compare in any way.

Furthermore, I don't remember time ever being an issue in the exoneration of crimes, when we find people guilty of crimes outside of the political world, so I am not understanding why time is a factor at all. Unless we are agreeing that these people are privileged elitists who are above the law. They are not, according to our constitution and rule of law.

Thirdly, Nancy is a real disappointment for me. Her kissing up to the Bush gang, and wanting to be a part of this old boy network negates all that I thought she stood for, and I am ashamed.

There was a moment when I thought maybe she was threatened by them (they murder anyone who could oppose them), given she lost her brother without any news why. You know, the young Kennedys, Lennon, Kucinich's brother, Paul Wellstone, everyone who can make a difference gets murdered. Maybe she is trying to protect her family? But the kissing up kinda blows that theory.

I know one thing, we have a parallel universe taking place with these right wing new world order people and they are wreaking havoc all over the world because they are caught in some cult of believe, and if we don't stop them, we are going to live in their concepts of apocalypse now.

So, come get noodlebrained (http://www.noodlebrain.com )and move away from being at the effect to becoming cause in this matter.

Also I recommend you listen to these songs, get inspired and get these people out now. After all, rock and roll has always worked to get the people in their bodies, hearts and minds as a call to act.

http://www.earcandleproductions.com/Get_Out.mp3.
The Blame (San Francisco not yet released)

http://www.earcandleproductions.com/Democracy.mp3.
(A Leonard Cohen cover available on itunes, napster, emusic)

[gaypastor]

Pelosi is an embarrassment to Women Americans everywhere!!! She - and Dean - has done nothing but mismanage and divide our party! IMPEACH PELOSI!

[S Rulifson Miles]

Yes the facts show that impeachment is OUR duty

We need this on record if nothing else, and the future of the free world does depend upon it

Short of that...

IMPEACH PELOSI!

[Censurer General]

"where the line is between free speech and good manners"

Any call for good manners ends when your country is being run by genocidal psychopaths.

[Tobi Dragert]

Some of the comments here sound like, "the Constitution? Oh well ...."

"revenge about Clinton" "emotion shouldn't be a basis.." pretty scary, some of the lack of serious evaluation out there.

Are there still thinking people who deny what this president and administration have done?

Starting with a fraudulent 2000 election; ideologues in the Supreme Court stopping the democratic vote-counting requirement; ignoring specific warnings left by Clinton people about planes hitting buildings; lies about WMD; lies about Iraq and Hussein planning 9-11; slaughter of by some estimates close to 1 million civilian Iraqis - women, children, old people; over 4,000 of our troops dead; thousands more injured physically, mentally, or emotionally for life; coming home to no help, to possibly living on the streets as many vets do now; putting this country into trillions of dollars of debt for generations to come, while cutting services to our citizens aimed at maintaining a healthy and educated populace .... and more ....

There is such an awful lot of information to deny! Where have all the reasonable and fair conservatives and Republicans gone? Where are the true patriots among them? Where are the independent ones, who refuse to give up their integrity to maintain party unity?

Tobi Dragert, Director, Los Angeles Area Impeachment Center

[Lyn Jensen]

Why did the writer of this article suddenly decide that "good manners" was relevant to the subject? Just what does she mean by good manners? Is it good manners to drop bombs on civilians, lie to Congress and the American people, falsely imprison and torture the torture the innocent, and murder (to use Bugliosi's charge) hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians and 5,000 Americans including Cindy Sheehan's son? How come this prestigious Los Angeles Times journalist (she must be prestigious if she's writing for the Los Angeles Times) didn't think that talk about good manners was relevant then? We in the pro-peace movement have used good manners for seven years. We have pettitioned, written letters, carried signs at peaceful and legal demonstrations, visited and called our Democratic and Republican Congressmembers. And what has it got us? It's got us Nancy Pelosi saying, "Go talk to the Republicans." We have, Mm. Speaker. And they've been just as responsive as you.

[C. Loew]

The Dems are completely co-opted -- feeding at the same trough as the Neocons. I am also very disappointed in Obama's FISA vote.

I will either write in Ron Paul or vote for Nader, since I cannot support anyone who sell out my civil rights.

Libertarian Barr courts the religious right too much and his voting record is poor -- supported the Iraq War and the Patriot Act. Unforgivable.

[fred schroeder]

kinda late in the game wouldn't you say typical dems

[Teflon R]

Lies, Lies, Lies.
My brother is going to Iraq to kill Arabs for Lies.

I hold all those people at that American Jewish University responsible.
The American people have spoken and the majority want us out of Iraq, and to stop supporting Arabs regimes and Israel .
Israel has every right to exist. But not at expense of my brother and other American boys going to fight and die for it.
Pelosi get us the heck out of their NOW.

[WashingtonHawk]

The evidence on impeachment, as Dennis Kucinich has courageously and thoroughly demonstrated, is overwhelming. On Democracy Now, Kucinich responded to Pelosi’s claim, pointing to the 35 AOI he presented to House Judiciary Committee July 25th.

And as history has recorded, there is plenty of precedence established with previous crimes and impeachment efforts held against previous Presidents, specifically Nixon, who resigned rather face the legal impeachment proceedings. To refresh your memory, Former President Nixon was wiretapping DNC headquarters. Sounds close to the admission from Bush about his wiretapping:

Bush himself admitted that he wasn’t obeying the FISA law when he was spying on people without first getting a warrant from the FISA court as required explicitly in the statute.

I find it quite ironic and a bit of a slap in the face that she entitled her book "KNOW YOUR POWER" when Ms. Pelosi clearly does not know her own power at Speaker. And she clearly doesn't understand the US Constitution and the "high crimes and misdemeanors" that qualify as impeachable offenses.

And given her response to this protester's outburst - she clearly must think we all live in a rockhole somewhere since she seems to think we don't know what her power is as Speaker. She also must think we are stupid enough to believe that the Bush/Cheney regime has NOT committed illegal acts since their tenure.

Pelosi needs to get a clue, realize her own power, and take action with the impeachment efforts. If she doesn't, it will just further the deterioration of our Bill of Rights, Constitution, civil liberties, and our freedom as American citizens. She has pretty much issued "carte blanche" to any of the schemers in Washington to do whatever dirt they want, that she will look the other way.

And to think -- we get to pay for her pension when she leaves office....