Pelosi: 'I'm In My Place' As Speaker, Thanks
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi cast House Republicans as behind the times, or worse, after they suggested that the top American commander in Afghanistan should "put her in her place."
"They really don't understand how inappropriate that is," the California Democrat said of the phrasing, contained in a news release this week from the National Republican Congressional Committee.
"I'm in my place. I'm the Speaker of the House, the first woman Speaker of the House. And I'm in my place because the House of Representatives voted me there," she added. "But that language is something I haven't even heard in decades."
She was taking issue with a National Republican Congressional Committee press release that accused her of backing down to liberals in her caucus who oppose Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's recommendation for an escalation of troops in Afghanistan.
Pelosi had been quoted as saying that voting for an escalation was a difficult choice for members of her caucus whose constituents oppose such action.
"If Nancy Pelosi's failed economic policies are any indicator of the effect she may have on Afghanistan, taxpayers can only hope McChrystal is able to put her in her place," the release said.
McChrystal's recommended approach calls for as many as 40,000 additional troops in Afghanistan for a counterinsurgency campaign to defeat the Taliban, build up the central government and deny al-Qaida a haven.
Many Democrats, aware of rising anti-war sentiment in their ranks and the war protests that have dotted Washington this week, oppose such a surge.
According to a new Associated Press-GfK poll, public support for the war has dropped to 40 percent from 44 percent in July.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. "They really don't understand how inappropriate that is," the California Democrat said of the phrasing, contained in a news release this week from the National Republican Congressional Committee.
"I'm in my place. I'm the Speaker of the House, the first woman Speaker of the House. And I'm in my place because the House of Representatives voted me there," she added. "But that language is something I haven't even heard in decades."
She was taking issue with a National Republican Congressional Committee press release that accused her of backing down to liberals in her caucus who oppose Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's recommendation for an escalation of troops in Afghanistan.
Pelosi had been quoted as saying that voting for an escalation was a difficult choice for members of her caucus whose constituents oppose such action.
"If Nancy Pelosi's failed economic policies are any indicator of the effect she may have on Afghanistan, taxpayers can only hope McChrystal is able to put her in her place," the release said.
McChrystal's recommended approach calls for as many as 40,000 additional troops in Afghanistan for a counterinsurgency campaign to defeat the Taliban, build up the central government and deny al-Qaida a haven.
Many Democrats, aware of rising anti-war sentiment in their ranks and the war protests that have dotted Washington this week, oppose such a surge.
According to a new Associated Press-GfK poll, public support for the war has dropped to 40 percent from 44 percent in July.
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- Its funny how they(DEMS) listen to polls that go against any increase in troop levels to format there voting, yet when polls show that the majority of Americans oppose their version of Health Care,the polls are then not a true indicator of the Majority. No wonder the approval rating of Congress is at 21% and slipping weekly.
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