Politics
[Print]  [Email]         Share    

Pelosi offers Republicans ‘beautiful target’ in conflict with CIA

By: Jonathan D. Salant
Bloomberg
May 21, 2009

Earlier this month, Republican pollster Neil Newhouse released a 57-page analysis noting President Barack Obama’s high approval ratings and concluding, “We’re better off posting up against Democrats in Congress.”

In charging that the Central Intelligence Agency misled her about its methods of interrogating terrorism suspects, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave the Republicans an opening to follow that advice.

The party is escalating its attacks on the California Democrat: Its House fundraising arm Tuesday sent out a memo asking, “Is Pelosi becoming a liability?” House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio called on Pelosi to provide evidence or apologize. The Republican National Committee attacked her in a YouTube video. And the House Republican Conference’s Web site asked, “What did Speaker Pelosi know?”

“Speaker Pelosi wasn’t all that popular to begin with,” Newhouse said. “And now that she’s dug herself a hole on the CIA/interrogation issue and seen her disapproval rise to 50 percent, we’d be nuts if we didn’t keep the pressure on.”

Republican consultant Eddie Mahe said he’d advise party leaders to “sit back and hold your fire” on Obama, whose approval ratings top 60 percent. Instead, he said, “Go after Pelosi, a beautiful target.”

The dispute threatens to distract the Democrats as the party seeks to push through a sweeping legislative agenda that ranges from expanding health insurance and imposing global warming fees to re-regulating financial markets.

Pelosi, 69, sparked the dispute last week when she said the CIA gave “inaccurate” information about a simulated drowning tactic known as waterboarding during a September 2002 briefing when she was on the House Intelligence Committee.

CIA Director Leon Panetta said the agency “truthfully” briefed her, and a CIA chart listed her as being told in the 2002 about “extraordinary interrogation techniques” used to question suspected al Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah.

The Obama administration has said it has confidence in Pelosi, and House Democrats rushed to her defense. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland on Tuesday said the speaker “has an extraordinarily good memory” and recalls things he has forgotten.

Brendan Daly, a spokesman for Pelosi, said, “It’s clearly a diversionary tactic by the Republicans to try to distract attention from the fact that the Bush administration ordered a policy of torture.”

Daly said the Republicans continue to oppose a commission, which Pelosi supports, to investigate the interrogations policy.

“The best problems your opponents have are ones you didn’t create,” Republican consultant Alex Vogel said. “This is not a fight between her and the Republicans. It is between her and the CIA.”

Pelosi’s approval ratings were at 39 percent in a May 14-17 CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll. Obama’s stood at 62 percent.

“She makes an inviting target,” said Republican consultant John Feehery, a former spokesman for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican.

Pelosi, the first woman elected House speaker, has repeatedly garnered more than 70 percent of the vote in getting re-elected in her San Francisco district. Her Democratic colleagues may be more vulnerable, Feehery said. 



beltway confidential

Chief Justice John Roberts has finally spoken out on President Obama's attempt to intimidate his branch of government during the State of the Union address. From the Los Angeles...

Obama: A question of venue. (reuters photo) White House press secretary Robert Gibbs today said don't hold your breath for a decision on where to try Khalid...

Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak said yesterday at a townhall in his home state, "I'm more optimistic than I was a week ago" that a deal could be reached to pass a health care...

Read no evil, text no evil, speak no evil in the House gym. (ap photo) White House press secretary Robert Gibbs gets some weirdo questions, but even he probably never...






To view this site, you need to have Flash Player 8.0 or later installed. Click here to get the latest Flash player.


Most Popular Headlines





 


 



 

Reader Comments

All comments on this page are subject to our Terms of Use and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Examiner or its staff. Comment box is limited to 200 words. Warning: If you comment, the Disqus platform default is set to email you when other reply to it. If you do not want to receive these replies to your comment, please uncheck the box.


blog comments powered by Disqus


Sports

Big East Tournament First Round

No. 9 South Florida vs. No. 16 DePaul When »... Full story

Local

Metro: Red Line crash cost $25.5 million in damages

Metro's deadly June 22 Red Line crash cost the transit... Full story

Politics

Marco Rubio and the Republicans who love him

Palm Beach, Fla. Marco Rubio laughs at the idea, heard... Full story