House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was in a determinedly good mood when she sat down to lunch with reporters yesterday. She entered the room beaming and, over the course of an hour, smiled no fewer than 31 times and got off at least 23 laughs.
But her spirits soured instantly when somebody asked about the anger of the Democratic “base” over her failure to end the war in Iraq.
“Look,” she said, the chicken breast on her plate untouched. “I had, for five months, people sitting outside my home, going into my garden in San Francisco, angering neighbors, hanging their clothes from trees, building all kinds of things — Buddhas? I don’t know what they were — couches, sofas, chairs, permanent living facilities on my front sidewalk.”
Unsmilingly, she continued: “If they were poor and they were sleeping on my sidewalk, they would be arrested for loitering, but because they have ‘Impeach Bush’ across their chest, it’s the First Amendment.”
She should have expressed empathy for all of the people who were protesting her actions–if only to disarm them. Instead, Pelosi’s outburst will only serve to invite further demonstrations outside her home and office.
And the netroots. Don’t even get me started on the netroots. They will see that she is susceptible to and painfully aware of the pressure and ratchet things up. I would understand if the Speaker switched parties if only to get the netroots off her back.