Pelosi: "Anybody who's ever dealt with me knows not to mess with me."

[seafan]

Human tornado to whip through house



US President George W. Bush (R) speaks to the press as he is joined by new Democratic US House of Representatives leader Nancy Pelosi in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. Bush is due to meet the future Senate majority leader after the Republican rout in Congressional elections, but the new spirit of compromise was already being tested over the war in Iraq.(AFP/File/Tim Sloan)



Geoff Elliott, Washington correspondent
November 09, 2006

In January, when President George W. Bush delivers the State of the Union address, a woman will be seated to his left on the dais for the first time in US history.

That will be Nancy Pelosi, the trim 66-year-old grandmother, who becomes the first woman to be leader of the House of Representatives.
The Democrats' sweeping win of control of the house ends 12 years in the wilderness for the party and elevates Ms Pelosi as arguably the most powerful woman in the US. Move over, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The position of House Leader means Ms Pelosi is the third in line for the presidency if tragedy befalls the President and Vice-President.

snip

"Nowhere did Americans make it more clear that a change is needed in Iraq ... we can't continue down that catastrophic path," she said. "Mr President, we need a new direction in Iraq."

Ms Pelosi is credited with bringing new unity to the Democrats. Members of the Democratic caucus voted with their party 88per cent of the time in 2005, one of the most cohesive records in decades, according to an analysis by Congressional Quarterly.
That led to a new image of the grandmother emerging this year: a backroom fixer.
She is prepared to wield a big stick, using her power as party leader to dish out punishment and rewards. Ms Pelosi says: "Anybody who's ever dealt with me knows not to mess with me."

snip

Democrats across the spectrum praised Ms Pelosi as a leader who kept the party together in the house and would become an effective speaker when the new Congress convenes in January.
"She eats nails for breakfast," said Kendrick Meek, a liberal Democrat from Miami. "Because of her, we're more unified than we have ever been."
No one has worked harder "to bring us out of the desert", said Representative Anna Eshoo, a fellow Democrat from California and longtime friend. "This woman is a human tornado."

snip

[MadMaddie]

1. She is exactly what this country needs....

[bliss_eternal]

2. Agreed...Like yesterday...!

...so overdue, but I'm happy we have her now!

:hi: MadMaddie!

[MadMaddie]

3. I am curious about how she will deal with Lieberwhore...

He was on the Meet the Press today and I had to turn it.....I hope she marginalizes him....and I hope that the Dems that voted for him saw his true colors today because he is going to go against anything the Dems propose...he is a liar....

:hi:

[Dhalgren]

6. She won't be able to do much with Lieberman, one way or the

other. He is in the Senate and Pelosi is Speaker of the House. However, Harry Reid would do well to seek Nancy's advise vis a vis "Joe-bend'em"...

[SouthernBelle82]

26. I think so too

Reid and Pelosi are great leaders together. I'm sure they'll work together on Lieberman.

[bliss_eternal]

7. He makes me sick...

I felt physically ill when I saw him winning on election night. :puke: He's so selfish. The people spoke and didn't want him anymore. So he found a loophole that would allow him to run, and attempt to maintain his status.

I don't get the sense that he's doing this for anyone but himself and his ego. I don't understand why anyone voted for him. :shrug:

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[burythehatchet]

9. or, she is exactly what Chucklenuts needs

a strong woman who doesn't babysit him, like his little monster harem, but one who is able to slice and dice him.

[LiberalEsto]

4. Soon she will be eating

republicans for breakfast.

And I say, "bon appetit"

[buddysmellgood]

5. She looks like the quintessential mom. Everybody knows you don't mess with mom.

[survivor999]

10. I found SNL's depiction of Pelosi deeply unfunny for some reason.

True, they made fun of Rumsfeld later on as well.

[liberalpress]

12. I did too,

but don't go by me. I have SNL deeply unfunny since 1978.

[rniel]

13. I think

Mad TV is about 10 times better than SNL and they are not even trying very hard.

[oc2002]

42. I was not surprised that GE-SNL would be insulting to the new (D)Speaker of the House.

SNL has been barbage for the last decade at least. not a single person of any talent on that show.

[seafan]

11. Kick for this courageous fighter. The women will save our country yet!

[LostinVA]

14. I don't always agree with her, but she is the perfect person

To take the lead now... as long as she continues to walk the line she has been walking the last few years.

Yay, Madame Speaker!!!

[cleveramerican]

15. just the right tone

good for her

[trogdor]

16. There was a rule in the Delta Quadrant.

1) Don't fuck with Janeway. It doesn't matter if you have the latest subspace-enabled Gonkulator. It won't do you any good. She will still fuck your shit up.

[KKKarl is an idiot]

17. Integrity & honor returns to Congress

No one can fault her on her personla life. A mother of five & married for 40 years. But with her own personla life aside she is still willing to look at things in a partisan way. Going with the will of the people. That was seperates a repub from a democrat. We believe in following the will of the people. The republcians like imposing their will on the people. Who is really for more government control?

[here_is_to_hope]

18. I simply love

her and her strength, I have great faith in her as Madame Speaker.....um, she is, kinda, uh, good looking too...or is it just me?:loveya:

[seafan]

19. Correct on all counts. Welcome to DU, here_is_to_hope. This is an amazing place.

[Blue_In_AK]

39. Welcome to DU, Here_Is_To_Hope...

Watch for your star. :)

[kath]

20. "the trim 66-year-old grandmother" -

that phrase made me want to :puke:

When will we *finally* get to the point that a male writer can refer to a woman without mentioning her appearance?! (and female writers, unfortunately, are often guilty as well.) Has an article ever referred to Hastert as "an obese grandfather" or Strom as "the frail great-great grandfather" or ANY male as "the paunchy bald Senator", etc.? Probably most of the people in the House or Senate are grandparents. But how often do we see the males referred to as grandfathers or great-grandfathers.?

SHEESH.

(I know, I know, some will say I'm being too picky. But language DOES matter people, it really does.)

[Mad_Dem_X]

31. Thank you

That's the first thing that popped into my head as I read the article. Do we really need to know her age, or that she's "trim"? When was the last time a male politician's weight and/or age was mentioned in a news article?

Hopefully, as more women rise to positions of power in this country, this kind of "reporting" will cease.

[here_is_to_hope]

38. I did not mean to

imply anything sexist thus my hesitation in saying anything, perhaps they point out her physical condition because its a good point-she has taken great care of herself as opposed to, say, Hastert?

Sorry....but she is a beautiful woman.

[kath]

43. here is to hope, my comment was not directed to YOU in any way, I

was replying to the original message and was commenting on the reporter's writing.

I had NO problem with you commenting on Pelosi's appearance - heck, when people on DU get all hot and bothered talking about Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, George Clooney, that yummy photo of young Dr. Dean, the Rolling Stone photo of Gore, etc, I frequently jump right in!

But the all-too-frequent gratuitous mentions of women's appearance, grandmotherliness, etc even in news articles makes me :puke:

The same is NOT done when they report about men.

[Triana]

21. AWESOME! She is just what this country needs - in SO many ways...

....a woman with brains, braun, and power to clean things up. She's 66!? She doesn't look 66 to me. Duhbya, on the other hand, is looking awfully "haggard" (pun intended) these days.

:evilgrin:

[newsguyatl]

22. i say she put on some 9 inch stilettos

and be a complete BITCH

[elocs]

23. I sure wish more posters here at DU had faith in her judgment and abilities.

For all of those who cannot wait and are demanding Impeachment Now 24/7, the new Speaker of the House said it is off the table. She never said it will never happen. With hearings and investigations, impeachment will put itself back on the table. I have read posters who demand that any Democratic representative who does not support impeachment now should themselves be impeached. Can you get any more childish than that? Why not just say that if you don't get what you want you will hold your breath until it happens?

[yellowdogmi]

24. I would have a lot more confidence in her

if she had not publicly taken impeachment off the table. Let the investigations run their course then decide. Screw this bipartisanship nonsense. You have a mandate to hold this administration accountable.

[elocs]

27. I don't think "impeachment is off the table" infers it will never happen.

I would like to see impeachment and conviction. If it takes awhile to do it right to gain a possibility of conviction, I am willing to wait. There certainly is no point in making Pelosi look weak or ineffectual. I have even seen some threaten that she should be impeached herself if she does not start impeachment as the first order of business.

[yellowdogmi]

29. I don't like that idea either

But I think that she should let the investigations begin and vow to follow them to their logical conclusion. I was disappointed on Friday when I heard Rep. Conyers mouth the mantra that impeachment was off the table. I want congress to hold this administration accountable. If they decide to play nice for some political gain in 08 I will lose faith in the party.

[elocs]

34. There will be hearings and investigations,

but they will not be impeachment hearings and investigations. They will serve the purpose when the time comes. Of course Conyers supports the new Speaker because to do otherwise would be disrespectful. My Democratic Party is bigger than impeachment of Bush and I will not lose faith in its goals and ideals.

[BrokenBeyondRepair]

30. failure of those in power to hold criminals accountable are accessories

regardless of the letter next to their name

[elocs]

32. Is there a timetable for this, or does it have to be started immediately to count?

An good prosecuting attorney builds their case to be strong and does not rush to trial or be rushed by public opinion. I want impeachment to be done right, with a strong case, and my ultimate satisfaction will be with conviction and not simply impeachment. Without conviction, Bush walks. Conviction is a long shot, but I would like to see a very strong impeachment case made to at least make it a possibility. There should be no railroading to impeachment. You don't think that every Democratic leader knows that the vast, vast majority of Democrats want that?

[newyawker99]

35. Hi BrokenBeyondRepair!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[SouthernBelle82]

25. Nancy kicks ass

and isn't it Mrs Pelosi? Isn't she married? And she's sixty-six? Wow I hope I look like that when I'm sixty-six!

[pat_k]

28. Too bad she has already surrendered. on impeachment.

It is impossible to carry out their duty to defend the Constitution if the only mechanism by which certain types of threats can be eliminated is "off the table." It is effectively a violation of her congressional oath to say impeachment is "off the table."

It is like answering questions about whether the use of military force is off the table -- the answer to that one is ALWAYS "nothing is off the table." Use of force is a weapon of last resort, but leaders never take the weapons we have made available for our defense "off the table." All she had to do was point that out and take the same stand that Jan Schakowski did:.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/huntley/85997,CST-EDT-HUNT06.articleprint"> Dem denials don't end talk of impeachment
October 6, 2006

. . .this response from Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who as chief deputy whip occupies a leadership position for Democrats:

"Whether the president has committed acts that meet the standard for 'high crimes and misdemeanors,' which constitute an impeachable offense, is not defined in the Constitution or in a statute. It is a determination made by the House of Representatives. To that end, I am a co-sponsor of . . . Conyers' resolution to authorize an investigation into whether grounds exist for the impeachment of President Bush based on his manipulation of pre-war intelligence and use of torture."

"Impeachment proceedings are very serious and must never be used for political purposes," Schakowsky wrote. "However, that does not mean that they should never be used. They may be warranted in the case of President Bush in light of the extreme seriousness of the issues involved." She complained the GOP-controlled Congress has been derelict in conducting oversight of "an unprecedented expansion of presidential powers.". . .

To those who say, "we must investigate first." This statement says one thing "we do not yet know enough to impeach." That statement is a lie. We know all we need to know http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Senator/10">right now.

Seeking refuge from action in investigation makes it much HARDER to convey the simple truth. It puts us on the fascist's turf ("If the case is simple why are they having all those hearings? There must be something wrong with the case. They don't have anything. If they did, they would have impeached already")

We need to stop pretending and get on with it. The Constitution is being tortured in plain sight. We must rescue it by removing the torturers from power. Thorough investigation and prosecution must follow, but FIRST we need to take away the power they are abusing.

The Congressional oath to defend the Constitution is not an oath to win -- it is an oath to lead the fight.

To fulfill their oath they must be "on the look out" for threats (turning a "blind eye" is not an option). When they identify a threat, their First Duty is to notify us and tell us what they believe we must do to defend against it. (Not what they think we will do; not what they think they can do; not what they think other members of Congress might do. They have a duty to tell us what they personally believe the nation must do..)

Time is NOT on our side

On September 10, 2001, there were many signs that sanity was returning. The number who believed Florida was stolen had passed 50%. Bush's approval was continuing the steady downward slide that started the day he was inaugurated. A coalition that included the National Lawyers Guild and Bugliosi was about to announce a campaign to impeach Scalia et all for Bush v. Gore -- a campaign that would have undercut Bush's claim to even a semblance of legitimacy.

Then the sun came up on 9/11/2001. In the weeks that followed, we who were opposed to Bush were silenced in a nation that had seemingly gone mad.

Sanity is once again returning, but we must recognize how fragile the moment is.

We can not afford to delay impeachment. It may seem like a tough thing to do right now, but we must "Just Do It." Any day we could see another terrorist attack, Bush could declare was Iran, or some completely unforeseen event could make it far, far, harder to rescue our national soul.

[watercolors]

33. Love her expression

" I've got you just where I want you little boy!"

[Le Taz Hot]

36. "The 'trim' 66-year-old . . . "

Speaker of the House and they're making reference to her weight. Grrrrrrr!!!!!

[mainer]

40. Maybe it's only in contrast to Hastert nt

[mitchtv]

41. don't you mean the "morbidly obese"Dennis Hastert?

[mainer]

37. ex-soldiers are having fantasies about her

They think she's a pretty hot grandma, even if she's a lefty. Pretty funny.

http://www.sftt.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=8792