Credit Where Credit is Due
The Speaker of the House did the right thing, if in an extremely understated manner.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rebuked a fellow San Francisco Bay-area liberal Friday for what she said were “inappropriate” comments about Iraq during a congressional debate.
During a debate on children’s health care Thursday, Rep. Pete Stark accused Republicans of sending troops to Iraq to “get their heads blown off for the president’s amusement.”
Condemnations rolled in from Republican politicians, right-leaning bloggers had a field day, and a White House spokesman declined to “dignify those remarks” with a response.
Pelosi issued a statement Friday evening rapping Stark, who is in his 18th term representing the liberal East Bay. He’s California’s longest-serving House members.
“While members of Congress are passionate about their views, what Congressman Stark said during the debate was inappropriate and distracted from the seriousness of the subject at hand—providing health care for America’s children,” Pelosi said.
Stark’s comment came as the House failed Thursday to override President Bush’s veto of legislation to expand the popular State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
“You don’t have money to fund the war or children,” Stark accused Republicans. “But you’re going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the president’s amusement.”
I’d call that remark a bit more than “inappropriate”, but she at least went that far. Good job, Madam Speaker.
Technorati Tags: Nancy Pelosi, Pete Stark, Democrats
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Well, maybe Stark has forgotten that a few decades ago, it was HIS party that stood around making Negroes dance and sing, and watching them hang “for their amusement”.
As for Pelosi, she has criticized Turkey for its role in the decimation of Armenians many decades ago. Has she forgotten the deaths suffered by Africans at the hands of Southern Democrats as they plied their slave trade — rum, racism, and rebellion. Nothing changes.
Well, regardless of the past, in the here and now this was the right thing to do. I disagree with Pelosi and her party on many issues, but it should be pointed out when they manage to chastise someone for Bush-bashing.