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| Pelosiâs August recess memo takes the cake |
| 2003-08-07 |
| Nancy knows whatâs important. Let âem eat cake. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) made sure Democrats left for their home districts armed with a recess brief full of suggested talking points to bolster her partyâs national prospects. So far, so normal. Ah, yes. The "talking points". But her recess packet also includes detailed instructions on how to throw a local partyâa 38th birthday bash for Medicare. Yeah, donât fix it. Throw a birthday party for it. Your boob constituents will eat it up, right Nancy? "Oh, boy! Cake! Iâm voting Democrat!" The minute instructions have raised concerns among Democratic aides and lobbyists that Pelosi is developing a didactic style that can be too patronizing to be helpful. A patronizing Limosene Liberal. Can ya beat that? Leaders on both sides of the aisle commonly provide briefing books to be used during congressional breaks by lawmakers as a means of synchronizing their party messages. But they do not usually contain suggestions such as: âOrder your cake! Order a sheet cake with âHappy Birthday Medicareâ written on it.â ...as opposed to "Happy Birthday Uday Hussein". She must think her membership are a bunch of total idiots too. The Democratsâ section on Medicare is unusual in providing a day-by-day plan for lawmakers to highlight their policy differences with a Republican plan they charge will privatize the program. The cake instruction was for the Monday of the week of July 28. The orders go on: âBuy additional party supplies. Be creative. Buy a âHappy Birthdayâ tablecloth for the center table. Purchase disposable plates and utensils if the facility will not provide them. You may also wish to purchase additional party favors â horns and whistles can be very useful to âbooâ the Republican agenda,â suggests the document. My, how "adult". Maybe they can round up some old folks to make fools of themselves for the cause. Is that on the list? For Tuesday, lawmakers are reminded to âreview supply check list. Confirm cake/food orders and make sure supply checklist is complete. Provide writing utensils and paper for seniors to complete letters to the editor.â Thanks, that answers my previous question. On the day of the meeting, lawmakers are told to âarrive earlyâ and then: âSet up tables. Spread a âHappy Birthdayâ tablecloth on the center table, where cake will be placed. All other tables should have pens/pencils, writing paper, and copies of the sample letter to the editor.â Yeah, I can see some congressman doing all this shit. In bold bullet-points the document commands lawmakers: âKnow where the restrooms and telephones are located.â 2.Please remove head from ass... The Medicare issue is one of four that Pelosiâs leadership team is encouraging lawmakers to discuss over the long August recess. Others are the economy, education, and protecting national parks. How about national security? Naaaaaaaah... On the economy, the recess packet suggests an event at a highway construction site. The instructions read: âHost a press conference in front of a highway construction site â great visual!â They hate highway construction projects. Itâs bad for trees and birds and flowers and stuff. Unless, of course, itâs in their district. Democratic aides said this yearâs packet is unusual in its attention to minor details.âItâs a bit patronizing,â said a senior Democratic aide: âItâs counterproductive because it keeps people from reading the good stuff.â A Democratic lobbyist said: âI thought this was a joke. The Medicare stuff is so detailed, itâs laughable.â Glad to hear theyâre not all sheep. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) said most lawmakers read the recess materials on the plane, but then donât pay much attention to them. As he put it: âThey have some good points, but I donât go with the scripted stuff. If I had gone with the scripted stuff in 1994, I would have been slaughtered like everyone else. Youâve got to know your district. Thanks, but no thanks, Nance. Jennifer Crider, a spokeswoman for Pelosi, dismissed the criticism: âThis is just one page out of a 78-page packet, and itâs a suggestion of an event that has worked successfully in other districts.Itâs an issue that is very important to seniors in the country and that Democrats have been focusing on. This is the type of information that members in our caucus have found helpful have requested more of,â she added. Cake! Old people love cake! Give them lots of it! Pelosi loyalists also said Republicans had scripted each weekâs message over the recess with a level of detail and coordination quite beyond what came out of their own caucus. âWe do have broad thematics, but our members donât need detailed instructions because they understand the issues,â said John Feehery, spokesman for Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). âWe always give suggestions to our members. The reason why she needs to script her caucus is because sheâs marching them over the cliff,â Feehery said. Bam! Good one-two combination, Johnny boy. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #7 Hmm Old Patriot..didn't want to be put into the meatgrinder of Mediscare---but it's OK for everyone else huh? So you can join our Congressmen from BOTH parties who don't have to depend on this under-funded corrupt mess. Typical COnservative attitude--"I got MINE--screw everyone else!" |
| Posted by: Not Mike Moore 2003-8-8 10:17:59 PM |
| #6 GK - Touche' as a Phroggie might say. I say - you're absolutely right, I stand corrected! ;-> |
| Posted by: ·com 2003-8-7 4:34:17 PM |
| #5 Mediscare is a disaster heading for a tall cliff, and this kind of nonsense is one reason why. The military retirees were supposed to be forced into this meatgrinder when they turned 65, until someone realized there were enough of us, and we were mad enough, to make a change. Now, we have the option of "Tricare Senior" for over-65 retirees living near a participating military medical facility. Thank the Gods above, most military hospital commanders have more common sense than the Dummycheat party, and provide access. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-8-7 2:54:58 PM |
| #4 Methinks Nancy didn't miss her calling at all. She's the minority leader of the House Nanny, er, Democratic, party. |
| Posted by: Gasse Katze 2003-8-7 2:51:49 PM |
| #3 Methinks Ms. Pelosi, Nancy, has missed her life's calling. What? Nanny. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2003-8-7 1:46:29 PM |
| #2 Methinks Ms. Pelosi, Nancy, has missed her life's calling. What? Am I gonna say prison bitch? Naw (too easy), I was thinking more along the lines of Den Mother or Kindergarten Teacher. She seems to have that certain pedantic & talk-down knack for it. Of course, if she doesn't behave herself and if her domestic help doesn't have proper Soc Sec documentation, we may add prison bitch to the possibilities at some future time. |
| Posted by: ·com 2003-8-7 1:05:01 PM |
| #1 Can we pull Mondale out from the freezer and have him endorse the Dem candidates, just like ol' times? Muwahahahahaha and the best part is they have no idea what's coming next...buwahahahahahaa |
| Posted by: Brian 2003-8-7 12:21:56 PM |