Pelosi blows hot air

Got an email from my Congrescritter, Nancy Pelosi, today. I write her a lot, so I figure this is the current canned reply. Let's see what she has to say:

The new Democratic majority in Congress is working to take the country in a New Direction ...

Do the people that write these things believe we are such dimwits that capitalizing a meaningless adjective and noun will convince us they really have a plan? Apparently.

There is no more important task before us than to bring our troops home safely and soon, and we will continue to work to do so. However, I believe impeachment proceedings against the President or the Vice President will not contribute to attaining that goal.

This might have been the prelude for, minimally, some explanation why the Speaker doesn't not believe that an impeachment inquiry would help end the war. But this announcement of "non-impeachment" isn't the prelude to anything -- no suggestion how the Democratic majority that Pelosi leads DOES intend to end the war. They aren't even trying -- they just continue to whine about George W. Bush.

Instead the letter jumps immediately to "Congressional Oversight".

The Constitution gives the Congress a crucial role in overseeing the Executive Branch in order to protect the American people against overreaching, incompetence, and corruption. For the last six years, under Republican leadership, Congress failed to conduct its proper oversight role and did not take action to address the extent of the mismanagement of our Iraq policy, widespread corruption by contractors in Iraq, and the failed response to Hurricane Katrina. ... Please be assured that upholding Congress' constitutional responsibility to oversee the activities of the Executive Branch will continue to be among my highest priorities.

I would have been more impressed by this suggestion if I didn't know that in the last few days Pelosi (and her comrade in capitulation Rahm Emanuel of the DCCC) had stopped Rep. John Conyers from issuing subpoenas to stonewalling Bushies, Josh Bolten and Harriet Miers. The "leadership" apparently fears any confrontation with the White House "at this time." Without persistent legal pressure, there will be no oversight. Bush appointees will continue to lie to and thumb their noses at the "overseers."

Apparently there's something in the inside the Beltway air that leads to lying to people. I like better what we are hearing from Pelosi's neighboring Congressperson to the north, Rep. Lynn Woolsey. She has another idea.

"You folks should go after the Democrats," she said on a conference call last month, organized by the Network of Spiritual Progressives.

"I’d hate to lose the majority, but I’m telling you, if we don’t stand up to our responsibility, maybe that’s the lesson to be learned," Woolsey said.

Madame Speaker isn't going to like that suggestion. I imagine Woolsey, a genuine war opponent and co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, got some heat on that one.