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TPM readers' new punching bag: Nancy Pelosi
Judging by the comments I've heard today and the recommendations given to certain posts, it's evident to me that TPM readers do not like Nancy Pelosi, and you know what happens when TPM'ers don't like someone: They won't just point out their flaws, but will also make shit up about them.
A reader aptly named Crazy4Obama today falsely states that Nancy Pelosi just said "there is no room for Obama's health care reform."
The golden rule for hate-diaries is: Do not provide links, as these links may reveal the true words of the punching bag. Had we been linked to an article quoting Pelosi's exact words, we would have learned that Pelosi said that because of its cost, health care reform should be a long term, not a short term goal:
A reader aptly named Crazy4Obama today falsely states that Nancy Pelosi just said "there is no room for Obama's health care reform."
The golden rule for hate-diaries is: Do not provide links, as these links may reveal the true words of the punching bag. Had we been linked to an article quoting Pelosi's exact words, we would have learned that Pelosi said that because of its cost, health care reform should be a long term, not a short term goal:
"We have to choose our priorities very carefully according to what is achievable," she said. "Some of the issues may have short-term solutions, but many of them require long term attention," Pelosi said. "We need to do them right. If you are talking about access to health care, we have to think in a comprehensive way."
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I just commented on Crazy4Obama's post and guessed that Pelosi's comments were taken out of context. How shocking to discover that Crazy4Obama's post, which made no rational sense, cherry picked some words and misinterpreted them to suit his/her needs. Sad.
November 7, 2008 1:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
I didn't look to see how many people recommended that post but I did read the comments again after leaving one earlier and I think you are perhaps over zealous to say that 'TPM Readers' are using Namcy Pelosi as a punching bag. I asked for a link and told them not to worry about it. So I am a TPM reader and I AM NOT using Nancy Pelosi as a punching bag nor did I rec that post.
So while you are making a statement against how one person handled their post I have a beef with what you express in yours that has a certain 'tone' to it that feels akin to that which you critique...
Two wrongs don't make a right.
November 7, 2008 2:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Check out the full transcript, not the summary article linked by my favorite freeper, TS77:
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002983425
She uses a lot of words to say it, but the meaning is clear. "So again, some will be discrete pieces, some will be comprehensive. The comprehensive will take longer. And I think it’s important for the American people to know that many of our options have been diminished because of the downturn in the economy in the last couple of months."
Is she thinking that comprehensive health care reform will be one of those things we can do in spite of diminished options, or does she propose some "discrete pieces" that move in that direction?
With her "discrete" vs. "comprehensive" choice in mind, read what she says about health care. She suggests several things as short-term "discrete" pieces of the health care issue that could get some attention. And she talks in that same context about how "some of the issues that we have may have some short-term solutions but many of them require long-term -- long-term -- attention."
In other words, she's saying that the "diminished options" mean that a comprehensive solution to the health care problem will have to be a long-term thing, and what Obama can actually afford to do in the short term will be much, much more limited, i.e., revive SCHIP and maybe fund some stem cell research.
Crazy4 didn't claim it was a direct quote. And it was a reasonable summary. Pelosi uses a lot of words to dance around it, but she's clearly saying that Obama's proposed health care reforms aren't part of our "diminished options" in the short term, and instead she would like Obama to settle for some "discrete" (and relatively small) pieces for now, and try to come back to the big plans at some future point.
I hope he ignores her entirely.
November 7, 2008 2:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's exactly the problem: He did not provide a direct quote, robbing readers of the opportunity to determine whether his "no room for Obama's health care" accurate reflect what Pelosi said.
Now, you of course went to great lengths to spin Pelosi's words to make it seem as if the crazy blogger was right, but yours was a lame attempt. There is room for health care reform in Pelosi's view. Just not short term.
Crazy did not say Pelosi spoke about short term. He used a sweeping statement: "no room for Obama's health care reform" period.
But of course, you don't like me so you are going to pretend that the mediocre post is better than mine, even though it terribly distorted Pelosi's words.
November 7, 2008 7:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
He did not provide a direct quote,
Neither did you. You provided a snippet that happened to fit your attack ... well, it fit well enough for freeper logic. I provided a link to the full transcript.
And of course there's room for health care reform in Pelosi's view in the, as she put it, "long term long term." Duh. But "Obama's health care reform" isn't a vague plan to do something eventually in the vague indefinite long-term long-term future.
And hey, what's this about me not liking you? You're my favorite freeper! Watching an actual freeper try to pretend to be a progressive is frickin' hilarious.
November 7, 2008 4:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Pelosi and Obama are going to butt heads over and over. I suspect she'll be one of his biggest foes in the Senate, and I suspect that she'll attempt to do to Obama what she did to people like Dennis Kucinich when he tried to bring Articles of Impeachment to the floor of the House: stall, subvert, send to committee, and deflate. And I suspect Rahm Emanuel will kick her feckless, obstructionist old lady ass.
November 14, 2008 11:37 AM | Reply | Permalink