Protesters Building Large "Buddha" Outside Pelosi's House

From Roll Call's Heard on the Hill:

One might think it would be great to have Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as a neighbor (imagine the block parties!). But the Speaker apparently is not making herself popular in her high-dollar 'hood, telling reporters on Tuesday that protesters have taken up residence outside her house and are driving the natives wild.

"I've had four or five months of people sitting outside my home, going into my garden in San Francisco and angering my neighbors," Pelosi said at a gathering sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.

Pelosi added that the squatters have engaged in decidedly non-neighborly behavior like hanging their clothes from the trees; moving in sofas, chairs and other "permanent living facilities"; and, oddly, building a large Buddha on the sidewalk in front of her home. "You can just imagine my neighbors' reactions to all of this," she said. "And if they were poor, and they were sleeping on my sidewalk, they'd be arrested for loitering, but because they have 'impeach Bush' across their chest, it's the First Amendment."

Comments

[sendthebushtwins]

Like we Dems all give a flying f**k about Nancy Pelosi's upscale neighbors!? She needs to buy a clue. She's so caught up in her political ego, always spouting her credentials, making promises she has no intention of keeping. Hey, Nancy...hope you take the time to read all these comments and you'll understand why you and Congress are so disrespected by at least 3 out of 4 Americans these days. We're fed up with lies out of the mouths of Washington politicians. Be thankful all you've got is a few dedicated activists in front of your house at this point. Put IMPEACHMENT back on the table! That IS the people's business!

[rwe]

This is your leader. do you realize how stupid she is, besides all the obvious reasons, No one knew of this until she said so. Now , the ammo against her for not whining about the protests in Crawford will abound , especially since President Bush took the high road , as he usually does

[abbiehoffmansghost]

President Bush's 'high road' is littered with the dead, many innocent. Glad you can find it in your heart to walk beside him.

[Balzac]

Pelosi loves Bush.

[Imhotep]

If you can't stand the heat, get out of politics. In the meantime move into the country and let your neighbors have some Peace. Lord knows your not allowing the Iraqi's any. Peace

[jdcccc]

Remember when Stinky Cindy was camped out at Crawford.

Endless news coverage, photos all over the MSM, day after day.

Wouldn't one think it would be a bigger story that a similar group is camped out at the Pelosi compound.

Same cause, same protestors but completely different coverage from the MSM.

Surprising?

Hell No.

[Balzac]

Go lick Bush's boots.

[ExposingCommunists]

Well, where's Cindy the Great? Since the media covers her every fart, they will surely be there when she sticks her foot in her mouth!

[transendentilist]

Your vulgarity is very telling.

[gappytoofcondi]

They may be covering Cindy, but the MSM is not reporting on the real news of our liberties being taken away all in the name of fighing terrorism. How isn't our Democracy being destroyed by the mentality of this WH that the constitution is just a piece of paper?

The only amendment that will be left after this administration is done is the 2nd- the right to bear arms. Guess we'll all need that one to protect us from the fascists that have taken over.

Trolls suck.

[BushSunkOurShip]

That correct, but the worst of it is, the poor soldiers in Iraq and soon to be Iran , get no damn coverage at all.
Since the election of 2006 , how many around 1,000 soldiers dead and lord knows how many wounded, mentally inflective, and the count goes on, and the democrats sit on the A.. passing any bill the republican wish, in secret behind closed doors.
Hope Cindy runs in 2008.....

[RogerHWerner]

Why would you think people camped out in front of Pelosi's street a bigger story than people camped out on the road to Bush's ranch? I don't wish to so dense but I don't see how these two activities compare as newsworthy events. Frankly, I suspect most progressives would love to see more publicity ofthis protest since the it would advance the call for Bush's impeachment. However, I suspect that the MSM doesn't publicize this protest because it is largely about impeachment and we can't be having that discussion in the MSM. What may be newsworthy are the differences in how San Francisco and Crawford treat protesters. In Texas, protesters were harassed by police and other public officials. There has been no such harassment by San Francisco. I rather suspectthat if Pelosi or her neighbors complained to the Mayor's office they'd be told to live with the protestors. That obviously didn't occur in Crawford.

[UtahLiberal435]

I totally empathize with Ms. Pelosi and her neighbors. The street-theater freak show must be totally outta hand.

[rwe]

then i am sure totally emathized with President Bush . But then that would never fall in the blind lib hatred

[BushSunkOurShip]

Maybe you should join the military service and help the soldiers out some.
What we really need is a recall for our members if they do not perform their duties, the law and that of the constitution in which they took an oathe to uphold.

[roxnev]

But Nance could end it by bringing impeach Bush before the house, until then she should shut up and impeach or lick boots.

[bethinCary]

How about empathicizing with the families of those armed service members?
Or those military kids who don't have a parent now.
Or those who have lost a leg or arm?

Or those who have come back with PTST or traumatic brain injuries?

Or the Iraqi people who live in fear every day?
Or the refugees trying to seek asylum in Turkey, Syria, or Jordan and get turned away with no place to live?

Do you have any empathy about them-or is it "out of sight-out of mind" mentality?

[ZingoBonMot]

Hey, look, opponents of Republican Senator Mitch McConnell are doing the same thing in front of his house, and there's no MSM coverage of that either.
It's called civic disobedience.
It's not pretty, but then again, neither is WAR.

[KeysDan]

Like so many, I was excited by the prospects of Mrs. Pelosi as Speaker of the House. We all cut her some slack, knowing the difficult position she was in herding the the various cats that make up the Democratic majority. But her taking impeachment off the table so we could do the other important "peoples business", was chillingly like then majority leader Tom Daschle's idea to let Bush have his little Iraq war, since the 2002 and 2004 elections were going to hinge on the Democrats strength anyway, the economy. Even if the actual impeachment did not come to fruition, the impeachment investigation itself would have been beneficial to the country. No stonewalling of documents, no executive privlege--these are all, constitutionaly, off the table in an impeachment inquiry. Her skin is now so thin, that she is becoming reactionary and showing that she is not ready for prime time; her neighbors (who, until it got a little nasty, likely basked in the real estate sunlight of her celebrity) are more important than her constituents--all of us, not just SF, since she is Speaker of the US House of Representatives and second in line of succession to the Presidency.

[Retrofuturistic]

Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Maybe it's her constituency, trying to tell her they think she should work to "Impeach Bush". Duhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Maybe it's a bunch of people who wonder why no one in their government will listen to them. Duhhhhhhhhhh. Maybe it's someone who is concerned about why the Democrats haven't impeached Bush and Cheney and rescinded every piece of legislation they instituted.

[philinburb]

Amen. To paraphrase: If you're not impeaching, then you're with Them. Impeach the bastards now and watch congress's poll numbers rise.

[rwe]

no grounds for impeachment DUHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[micdago]

That's not a Buddah.

That's Rush Limbaugh.

[wndrwrthg]

"And if they were poor, and they were sleeping on my sidewalk, they'd be arrested for loitering, but because they have 'impeach Bush' across their chest, it's the First Amendment".
This statement sounds very ominous. If they were poor we could have them rounded up and disapeared, removed so they do not blight our vision, but they have that pesky 1st admendment thing going so we have to tolerate them. This woman is sounding more and more like der fuhrer.

[GuiltyByStander]

No it doesn't.

She said that if they were poor they would be badly treated for the same behavior.

As protesters, they are being treated with respect. She finds that annoying, but has to accept it, and does. If it were your front window, you might feel the same way.

[roxnev]

The first amendment is a bitch for all Republicans

[PMyshkin]

A more extensive account of the interview is in the WaPo in Dana Milbank's column. This comment that struck me particularly was the one where Pelosi described herself and members of congress as "leaders" and those protesting her actions as "advocates." I thought that in the American representative form of government, Pelosi, and the other members of Congress were elected to reflect the opinions of those advocates - in other words, to serve, rather than "lead" by ignoring the will of their constituents. I am very pessimistic that the political class to which Mrs. Pelosi belongs really understand that point. As a group, they now act as a Brahman class accountable to no one, but themselves. This includes both Republicans as well as Democrats. Where arrogance used to be the purvue of Republicans, I now foresee little change in responsiveness when the Democrats take control of the white house and congress.

[bikerdude]

Lets hope that she can see past her minor discomfort and understand that she is shirking her duty to represent the citizens of the United States. As Speaker of the House, she holds a very powerful position and we progressive democrats expect her to represent our concerns. Perhaps if she started standing up to the Bush bullies and put impeachment back on the table, the crowds around her may be much more pleasant. She needs to feel the heat. The rest of us who can't be on-site can continue to pepper her with phone, email and regular reminders that we are very concerned about her lack of action in supporting our interests. My congressman sympathizes with our plight and feels frustrated by both Reid and Pelosi acting in such a meek, submissive way.

[martinspringfield]

No, she is right. She is elected to represent her constituents using her best judgment. We're a democratic republic, not a pure democracy, which would be like California's referendum madness on steroids.

That's why you don't elect issues, you elect leaders. The problem is that until we have government financed elections we will never get leaders free to act in our best interests; they have to act in the best interests of the money they think gets them elected (and more often than not it does).

In the meantime, we should work to replace the reps thwarting our will - but Pelosi, while I dislike her and despise these remarks, would not be anywhere near where I would start.

Which would be Steny Hoyer.

[freespeach]

So why doesn't she lead on impeachment martinspringfeld?

Why doesn't she lead by refusing to fund the criminal immoral occupation of Iraq?

Why does she not lead by opposing Bush on his FISA wiretap abuses?

Why does she not lead on opposing the march to war with Iran?

Her best judgment? She is a Bush enabler, Bush apologist DLC stooge. Your defense of her is a difficult task isn't it martin? Nice try, but the facts prevent you from making sense.

[robinlynne]

Guess who appointed Steny Hoyer: Nancy Pelosi.
So if you want to start with Steny Hoyer, you have to start with Nancy Pelosi. Steny was her doing.

[Chinampas]

Pelosi worked all of the liberals up into a frenzy by saying she would end the war. She did not do that, and she is getting the treatment she deserves. One thing you don't want to do is make a bunch of liberal protesters mad. Conservative protesters would have already gotten bored and gone home. She has bitten off more than she can chew.

[Choirboy]

Keep your promises Nancy and the Buddha will go away.

[RickO]

In the mean time, Nancy, why not order them a bunch of pizzas and bottled water. They might dig it. We're all on the same side here...aren't we? You're just not doing your part.

[bikerdude]

Spot on, ricko...

[robinlynne]

Actually we protested outside a republican congressman's office to end the war, and he did just that; sent us food.

[bookish]

Add a stupa. See if that helps.

[Doug]

Finally, a hint of reason from Pelosi.

[claytongrayum]

Pelosi is a loser. Im a Democrat and not voting Dem in 08 because Pelosi refuses to have a spine. She will not stand up for the middle class. She just likes the power she has... and giving into Bush and the Repubs.

Pelosi is a joke.

[MrBluebird]

Maybe Pelosi won't do as you want. Maybe she has reasons. Maybe she is a joke, but you are infantile. Nancy won' t play by your rules so your're gonna take your jacks and go home. Todaloo..loser.

[Ipanema]

The lady is so lost that she does not know her mouth from her rear end (like Hillary)! Another idiot Bush enabler who is gonna continue to betray those who voted for her.

[martinspringfield]

yeah well look how well that worked out for us in 2000

Pelosi needs to be replaced but let's start with the biggest losers - Cheney, his pet chimp, his fellow chumps - then work our way toward the Russ Feingold/Jim Webb end of the decency spectrum.

[freespeach]

Ah yes, the Nader guilt/fear card. The last card in the hand of any loyal DLC propagandist.

weak martin, very weak.

[SadAmerican]

While I do NOT agree that protesters should be squatters outside her home; I pray that the voters in her District will resoundly vote her OUT of office.
She is a total disappointed to the Democrats, across the country who supported.

Good Riddance to Nancy!!!
You have only yourself to blame.

[robinhood1]

Congresswoman Pelosi has represented her San Francisco district for over 20 years. The likelihood of the people who actually vote turning her out in 2008 is pretty small. In her role as Speaker, she has an interest in maintaining a Democratic majority in the House. Many of the recently elected Democrats are from districts that are much more conservative than San Francisco. I am sure she realizes that if she does what her liberal base would like her to do, she could easily cost the Democrats their House majority in 2008.