Stephanie
Diamond Member
- Jul 11, 2004
- 70,230
- 10,864
- 2,040
Her opposition to the Iraq war may have earned her a reputation as a radical lefty in Washington.
But when Democratic minority leader Nancy Pelosi came home to hold a town hall meeting in San Francisco on Saturday, she was greeted like a pro-establishment warmonger.
Dozens of heckling, sign-toting anti-war protesters tried to take center stage at the congresswomen's town hall forum on national security -- calling for an immediate de-funding of the Iraq war and impeachment proceedings against President George Bush.
But the practiced Pelosi didn't miss a beat.
"This war in Iraq has been a grotesque mistake in my view -- a tragedy," Pelosi told a crowd of about 1,000 that overflowed the Marina Middle School Auditorium for the event.
Yet, as she explained that she doesn't want to immediately cut funding for those troops already in Iraq, about 40 protesters marched to the front of the stage. They faced the crowd, waving peace signs and a pink banner saying "Nancy, stop funding the war."
Hecklers in the audience chanted "No more money for war."
Pelosi just kept on talking.
"The money is for the troops,'' said Pelosi, who initially voted against the war, but has voted in favor of appropriations bills to pay for it. "I'm not prepared to go against the troops' having the equipment they need."
When she'd finished her thought, she looked down at the solid row of pink- and black-clad protesters now forming a barricade in front of the stage.
"Hello," she said cheerfully.
"This is how we know we're in San Francisco,'' chimed in moderator Paul Wells, a local radio host.
The protest illustrates the tightrope Pelosi must walk as she tries to keep in touch with her liberal San Francisco constituents, while maintaining leadership of a Democratic minority in Congress with views that are clearly to the right of her own.
According UC Berkeley political scientist Bruce Cain, the Democrats' chances of picking up congressional seats in the 2006 election may hinge on Pelosi's taking a moderate enough stance not to alienate the conservative Democrats who will be voting in some of the tightest congressional races in the country.
"This is her dilemma,'' said Cain, director of UC Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies. "A lot of the pressures of her constituency point to her taking a very aggressive position on withdrawing from Iraq. But her role as minority leader demands that she pick a position that does not damage the chances of Democrats in races around the country."
That pressure gained focus in November, when Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a top House Democrat on military matters, proposed that the United States start an immediate withdrawal and move all U.S. forces out of Iraq in about six months.
Pelosi, who said she wanted the decorated Marine veteran Murtha to be seen as the person out in front on the plan, refused to take a position on it for 14 days. She finally endorsed it, but she has not pressured other Democrats to do so.
This infuriated San Francisco anti-war activists, who began threatening to put forth a challenger for Pelosi in next year's election. Pelosi's endorsement of the Murtha plan quelled the anger some, but activists still demand that she get Democrats to unite on withdrawal.
"What I feel about Nancy's leadership is she's not leading,'' said Corrine Goldstick, a protester with the anti-war group Code Pink, who stood in front of Saturday's event with a sign reading, "Hey Pelosi, Bring Home the National Guard.
"She manages to project an image of being against the war, but she's not leading other Democrats to rally against it."
Asked in the town hall meeting whether she would try to get Democrats to line up in favor of withdrawing from Iraq, Pelosi said the Democratic caucus was allowing members of Congress to decide on their own.
"This is a very democratic party," she said. "... I don't think it's a sign of any weakness that Democrats are not all on the same page when it comes to the timetable of leaving Iraq."
In Saturday's forum, Pelosi talked about the need to ensure communities are preserved in the recovery from Hurricane Katrina and criticized Bush for sidestepping the issue of whether the United States is committing torture. The responses ranged from wild cheering at Pelosi's remarks to chanted heckles:
"Speak to Bush's impeachment," members of the crowd chanted at one point.
Pelosi called for a congressional investigation on the revelation that the Bush administration had authorized domestic spying, but pooh-poohed calls for impeachment hearings against the president.
"I think we should solve this issue electorally," she said, urging audience members to channel their energy into the 2006 elections.
The protesters stood quietly in front of Pelosi waving their signs for the entire two-hour meeting, while hecklers from the audience frequently interrupted the talk. Oh, but if this had been a republican speaker, the same sentence would have been. The loud and amazing vocal crowds were telling them how they felt. hehehehehe
At several points, a woman disrupted the event with a long rant urging Pelosi to stop bulldozers from knocking down New Orleans houses damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The audience booed her and told her to be quiet.
But Pelosi never summoned help from police or security. She negotiated with the hecklers and at times even thanked the protesters for their advocacy and enthusiasm. :tng:
"It's always exciting,'' she told reporters after the meeting. "This is democracy in action. I'm energized by it, frankly :rotflmao:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/01/15/PELOSI.TMP
But when Democratic minority leader Nancy Pelosi came home to hold a town hall meeting in San Francisco on Saturday, she was greeted like a pro-establishment warmonger.
Dozens of heckling, sign-toting anti-war protesters tried to take center stage at the congresswomen's town hall forum on national security -- calling for an immediate de-funding of the Iraq war and impeachment proceedings against President George Bush.
But the practiced Pelosi didn't miss a beat.
"This war in Iraq has been a grotesque mistake in my view -- a tragedy," Pelosi told a crowd of about 1,000 that overflowed the Marina Middle School Auditorium for the event.
Yet, as she explained that she doesn't want to immediately cut funding for those troops already in Iraq, about 40 protesters marched to the front of the stage. They faced the crowd, waving peace signs and a pink banner saying "Nancy, stop funding the war."
Hecklers in the audience chanted "No more money for war."
Pelosi just kept on talking.
"The money is for the troops,'' said Pelosi, who initially voted against the war, but has voted in favor of appropriations bills to pay for it. "I'm not prepared to go against the troops' having the equipment they need."
When she'd finished her thought, she looked down at the solid row of pink- and black-clad protesters now forming a barricade in front of the stage.
"Hello," she said cheerfully.
"This is how we know we're in San Francisco,'' chimed in moderator Paul Wells, a local radio host.
The protest illustrates the tightrope Pelosi must walk as she tries to keep in touch with her liberal San Francisco constituents, while maintaining leadership of a Democratic minority in Congress with views that are clearly to the right of her own.
According UC Berkeley political scientist Bruce Cain, the Democrats' chances of picking up congressional seats in the 2006 election may hinge on Pelosi's taking a moderate enough stance not to alienate the conservative Democrats who will be voting in some of the tightest congressional races in the country.
"This is her dilemma,'' said Cain, director of UC Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies. "A lot of the pressures of her constituency point to her taking a very aggressive position on withdrawing from Iraq. But her role as minority leader demands that she pick a position that does not damage the chances of Democrats in races around the country."
That pressure gained focus in November, when Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a top House Democrat on military matters, proposed that the United States start an immediate withdrawal and move all U.S. forces out of Iraq in about six months.
Pelosi, who said she wanted the decorated Marine veteran Murtha to be seen as the person out in front on the plan, refused to take a position on it for 14 days. She finally endorsed it, but she has not pressured other Democrats to do so.
This infuriated San Francisco anti-war activists, who began threatening to put forth a challenger for Pelosi in next year's election. Pelosi's endorsement of the Murtha plan quelled the anger some, but activists still demand that she get Democrats to unite on withdrawal.
"What I feel about Nancy's leadership is she's not leading,'' said Corrine Goldstick, a protester with the anti-war group Code Pink, who stood in front of Saturday's event with a sign reading, "Hey Pelosi, Bring Home the National Guard.
"She manages to project an image of being against the war, but she's not leading other Democrats to rally against it."
Asked in the town hall meeting whether she would try to get Democrats to line up in favor of withdrawing from Iraq, Pelosi said the Democratic caucus was allowing members of Congress to decide on their own.
"This is a very democratic party," she said. "... I don't think it's a sign of any weakness that Democrats are not all on the same page when it comes to the timetable of leaving Iraq."
In Saturday's forum, Pelosi talked about the need to ensure communities are preserved in the recovery from Hurricane Katrina and criticized Bush for sidestepping the issue of whether the United States is committing torture. The responses ranged from wild cheering at Pelosi's remarks to chanted heckles:
"Speak to Bush's impeachment," members of the crowd chanted at one point.
Pelosi called for a congressional investigation on the revelation that the Bush administration had authorized domestic spying, but pooh-poohed calls for impeachment hearings against the president.
"I think we should solve this issue electorally," she said, urging audience members to channel their energy into the 2006 elections.
The protesters stood quietly in front of Pelosi waving their signs for the entire two-hour meeting, while hecklers from the audience frequently interrupted the talk. Oh, but if this had been a republican speaker, the same sentence would have been. The loud and amazing vocal crowds were telling them how they felt. hehehehehe
At several points, a woman disrupted the event with a long rant urging Pelosi to stop bulldozers from knocking down New Orleans houses damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The audience booed her and told her to be quiet.
But Pelosi never summoned help from police or security. She negotiated with the hecklers and at times even thanked the protesters for their advocacy and enthusiasm. :tng:
"It's always exciting,'' she told reporters after the meeting. "This is democracy in action. I'm energized by it, frankly :rotflmao:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/01/15/PELOSI.TMP
