Pelosi, Obama, Clinton Mix It Up or Let’s Mix It Up In China and Denver?

Pelosi, Obama, Clinton Mix It Up or Let’s

Mix It Up In China and Denver?

TIBET – CHINA – USA
Bush will go to the Olympics; Pelosi speaks out against the occupation of Tibet
The American president confirms his presence at the Games - “chance for American athletes” – while the House Speaker meets the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala and asks the international community to condemn Chinese actions in Tibet.

Lhasa (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Despite the massacre unfolding in Tibet, President George W. Bush will be present at the Beijing Olympic Games. Spokesperson for the United States leader, Dana Perino announced the decision explaining that: “our position on the Olympics is no a political one, it is a chance for American athletes to compete at the highest level”.

At the same time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi travelled to Dharamsala, to meet the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan community in exile. Accompanied by a delegation, Pelosi invited the international community to “denounce China’s presence in Tibet”.

Speaking to an enthusiastic crowd of hundreds, some with signs saying "Long Live America-Tibet Friendship”, the Democrat politician said: “If freedom loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China and the Chinese in Tibet, we have lost all moral authority to speak out on human rights”.

Instead, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held telephone talks with her Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, in which she urged Beijing to show “restraint”. Rice, according to the spokesman for the State Department, Sean McCormack “clearly and directly reaffirmed our position to the Foreign Minister. No one wants violence”.

In the meantime, the situation in Tibet and in the bordering Chinese provinces is not improving. Authorities in Gansu and Sichuan have imposed strict controls of areas where there are Buddhist monasteries, while in Lhasa – according to those few eye-witness accounts that have escaped Beijing’s censorship- repression of monks involved in the protests continue amid increased Chinese military presence. See all stories on this topic

China’s charges make no sense: Pelosi
Hindu - Chennai,India
Dharamsala: Calling the Chinese action in Tibet a “challenge to the world’s conscience,” Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi ...

Speaker Pelosi Calls for Investigations into Developments in Tibet ...
Save Tibet - Washington,DC,USA
US Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called for an independent outside investigation into China's allegation about the Dalai Lama's involvement in the Tibetan ...

Nancy Pelosi is no ordinary superdelegate. Even dubbing her a super-duper delegate might not do her justice. Ms. Pelosi is in a class by herself when it comes to the nominating whirl since, as speaker of the House, she will preside over the Democratic National Convention as chairwoman.

So when the gavel comes down in Denver on or about Aug. 27 to finally and formally award the presidential nomination to either Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Obama, it most likely will be Ms. Pelosi wielding it.

Given her role at the convention, her position as the nation’s highest ranking Democratic elected official, her long experience in the rough-and-tumble of party politics and her objective of padding her own House majority, it is no wonder that anything and everything she says about the state of the nominating contest is sifted for meaning.

In recent days, she was viewed as putting her thumb on the scale for Mr. Obama with an observation that it would be dangerous for the party if superdelegates such as herself took the nomination away from the candidate who had won the most primary delegates — a position that would seem to favor Mr. Obama at this stage of the game.

The comment in an interview with ABC News was not that much different from what she had said previously — even when Mrs. Clinton was ahead in delegates. But in the superheated news environment surrounding the nomination battle, virtually any declarative statement takes on added significance, and this was one of those moments.

In the ensuing hubbub, one question frequently pondered on Capitol Hill rose to the surface: Just whose side is Nancy Pelosi on?

Like Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, Ms. Pelosi has staked a claim to pure neutrality in the race, saying she has an added responsibility given her need to preside fairly over the convention. And there is at least some chance that she, Mr. Reid, party chairman Howard Dean and a few other Democratic elders might have to intervene if the nomination fight threatens to tear the party asunder.

Some see circumstantial evidence that she might privately favor Mr. Obama. Representatives Anna Eshoo and George Miller of California, two of her closest Congressional friends, are Obama backers. Ms. Pelosi has spoken excitedly about the fervor shown by new voters drawn to the race — a development more often attributed to Mr. Obama than Mrs. Clinton.

And there was her serious disagreement in the 1990s with President Bill Clinton over his pursuit of a free-trade agreement with China. Ms. Pelosi viewed Mr. Clinton as far too eager to overlook China’s human rights abuses in seeking a trade deal and she once accused him of whitewashing China’s record. China is an intensely personal issue for Ms. Pelosi and she is not likely to put aside that memory.

But there are also signs of support for Mrs. Clinton in the Pelosi camp. More former Pelosi aides work for Mrs. Clinton than for Mr. Obama.

Plus, some of her top House chairmen and chairwomen are solidly in the Clinton camp. Representative Jack Murtha of Pennsylvania, the speaker’s personal choice for majority leader, was the latest to endorse Mrs. Clinton this week. And as the first female speaker and a woman who battled sexism during her own career, Ms. Pelosi is no stranger to the symbolic power of breaking political glass ceilings.

While Ms. Pelosi certainly wants a Democrat in the White House, she is first and foremost determined to make sure the top of the ticket does not harm her House contenders, one of the reasons she has been urging the two White House candidates to dial it down a bit when it comes to the tenor of the campaign.

“My responsibility is to elect a Democratic Congress, to grow and strengthen the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, to have a confident, long-term majority in the Congress,” she told reporters recently.

So for now Ms. Pelosi remains publicly neutral. She may never have to tip her hand if the nomination fight gets resolved.

Even if she does not take sides, Ms. Pelosi will no doubt weigh in as necessary to try to keep the party on track. But the speaker, who has exhibited some real toughness so far in her tenure, would probably be willing to make a pick if she believed it was necessary.

After all, she is not about to let a little thing like a historic White House race threaten her plans for an extended House majority.

Pelosi Is A Spineless Dope
By Vinny
Nancy Pelosi, you, dear woman, are a hypocrite. For years you’ve talked about what you’d like to happen to China and when you can hit them where it hurts the most, their pockets, you decide that it isn’ta good idea

Pelosi Responds to Clinton Donors' Threat
Washington Post - United States
Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledged Friday to "do whatever it takes to protect" Democratic House candidates from falling ...

Pelosi Responds to Clinton Donors' Threat

Indirectly responding to a threat made by top fundraisers for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledged Friday to "do whatever it takes to protect" Democratic House candidates from falling victim to the exceedingly nasty and protracted Democratic presidential primary.

"We can't allow the tension and pressures of a spirited Presidential contest to spill over and harm hard-working Democratic candidates running to strengthen our Democratic majority in the House," Pelosi wrote in an e-mail sent to a vast list of Democratic donors and supporters. "I will do whatever it takes to protect our candidates and make sure their campaigns to drive change forward don't skip a beat."

And Pelosi urged potential donors to make a contribution to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee before the March 31st deadline for the current fundraising quarter.

Her appeal comes two days after a group of 20 Clinton backers sent a letter to Pelosi chastising her public position that superdelegates should support the will of the people -- in other words, vote for the candidate with the most pledged delegates.

The Clinton donors also implicitly raised the possibility that they would withhold donations to the DCCC unless Pelosi changes her tune on superdelegates.

"We have been strong supporters of the DCCC," the group wrote in its letter to Pelosi. "We therefore urge you to clarify your position on super-delegates and reflect in your comments a more open view to the optional independent actions of each of the delegates at the National Convention in August."

In her e-mail, marked as "sent wirelessly via Blackberry," Pelosi told donors it's important for them to give to the DCCC so that whoever wins the Democratic nomination -- Clinton or Barack Obama -- will have a "strong Democratic majority in the House to work with as we undo the damage from President Bush's failed economic policies."

Not only is Pelosi not backing off her belief that superdelegates should vote with the will of the voters, she's clearly out to ensure that House Democrats don't get burned by a presidential primary that seems to be turning nastier and more vindictive with each passing day.

"We can't allow the tension and pressures of a spirited Presidential contest to spill over and harm hard-working Democratic candidates running to strengthen our Democratic majority in the House," Pelosi said.

By Mary Ann Akers | March 28, 2008; 4:00 PM ET

Pelosi puts pretty face on ugly fight
San Jose Mercury News, USA - 2 hours ago
SAN JOSE -- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told a cheering crowd of Democrats on Friday that no matter who wins the party's presidential nomination, ...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democrats gathered in San Jose on Friday evening that they must not allow the competitive presidential primary to sidetrack them from their goal of taking back the White House in November.

"We must remember at the end of the day our target, our eye, must be on the prize in November," Pelosi said in a short speech at the state Democratic convention.

"Let's channel all that energy, to draw more people into the political process. We can't just draw them in, we must keep them in and we must unite after this primary is over, and I hope that is before too long," she told the several hundred convention delegates at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.

The audience included several uncommitted superdelegates, who are being heavily wooed at the state convention by supporters of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Pelosi is an uncommitted superdelegate and has said she will remain neutral because she also serves as chair of the Democratic National Convention. But she has tried to play referee between Clinton and Obama, suggesting they should not sully each other with charges that will benefit presumptive GOP nominee John McCain.

In her Friday night comments, the San Francisco Democrat reminded the audience that McCain had campaigned in 2005 with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on behalf of several ballot initiatives that the voters rejected. Those initiatives sought to change teacher pay, reform the state's budget process and institute mandatory parental notification when a minor seeks an abortion.

"They went hand in hand against working families in California and they lost," Pelosi said. "We defeated him once; we'll defeat him again."

Pelosi delivered her speech at the end of a particularly tense week during which she was targeted by a group of 21 influential Clinton fundraisers, including Susie Tompkins Buell of San Francisco and Amy Rao of Palo Alto. They criticized Pelosi's comments on a Sunday television talk show in which she suggested Democratic superdelegates should support the candidate with the most pledged delegates at the end of primary voting.

Pelosi warned during an interview on ABC on Sunday, "If the votes of the superdelegates overturn what's happened in the elections, it would be harmful to the Democratic Party."

Friday, in short comments after her speech, she predicted a nominee will be chosen "right after the public has voted."

The Clinton fundraisers were outraged after her ABC comments, because Obama is expected to finish the primary season with a lead in pledged delegates. However, he will not have the 2,024 delegates needed to win the nomination without the support of superdelegates.

The fundraisers, who noted they were also heavy contributors to congressional campaigns, urged Pelosi in a letter to "reflect in your comments a more open view to the optional independent actions of each of the delegates at the national convention in August."

Asked about the letter as she signed autographs after her speech, Pelosi dismissed it. "It's not important," she said. "I won't be swayed by that stuff."

Jewish Clinton backers warn Pelosi on meddling
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NY - 18 hours ago
Twelve of the 20 Clinton backers who warned Nancy Pelosi to keep out of the Democratic presidential primaries are Jewish. The 20 signatories to the letter ...

This has been a bad week for Clinton's financial backers. In addition to the Richardson betrayal, they also feel that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has turned on them. Despite their years of supporting the party, they have been unable to use their leverage to move Pelosi away from what they see as her public support for Obama. Though Pelosi says she is neutral, she has said that the superdelegates should follow the will of the pledged delegates. Since Obama holds an insurmountable lead among the pledged delegates, this is just a long way for her to say, "Elect Barack." Clinton fundraisers wrote to Pelosi asking that she retract her remarks and support the party rules that allow superdelegates to vote their conscience. Furious at the letter, she refused to.

The Election and Progressive Politics.
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Obama or Clinton? Superdelegate Braley won’t say
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Freedom of speech gets quite a workout
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