Pelosi To House GOP: Be Thankful For What You Have

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a message for House Republicans who think they weren't given enough time to debate or amend the stimulus package that moved through Congress over an eight-day period earlier this session: You could have had much less.

"To tell you the truth, I could have fast-tracked this much faster," Pelosi, a California Democrat, told a group of reporters and progressive writers at a breakfast gathering Tuesday.

Pelosi had been asked about an anonymous White House aide's suggestion that the administration didn't approve of the speed with which the Speaker handled the package.

"Let me get this straight," she said. "You're the president of the United States; you have a recovery package that you want done by the president's break; we get that done -- and we 'fast tracked it over the president's objections'? It couldn't be farther from the truth."

Pelosi also denied assertions that she has instructed the White House not to talk to her members without going through her first. She said she told the administration: "Talk to the members. Talk to the chairmen. Talk to the different caucuses. They have a lot of ideas."

She rejected the notion that she keeps a grudge list of folks who have crossed her, saying that every day is a new day. "They're saying I keep a list of members. It couldn't be farther from the truth. My commitment is to all of my members," she said. "I don't have any list."

Republican objections that they were not included and didn't approve of the process through which the stimulus was passed, said Pelosi, only mask ideological differences that they had with the bill. "We gave them the regular order," said Pelosi. "We were not going to go backward and adopt their economic failed policies and that's what they're upset about."

Comments

[Lillopa]

12:46 PM on 03/05/2009

No disaster Pelosi..no­w she has the power,... not before.. republican­s ruled...Po­losi hands were tied..."Co­ngress" made up this pork bill "not" Pres Obama. Congress is doing what--with their outrageous pork bill--if Pres obama does not sign --Obama cannot play--you think--Pre­s Obama wants health care for all Americans-­-what Obama has found, is cutting and saving in looking at rigged accounting and lies, twist and spin is saving billions billions 2 Trillion ++.we have been bamboozell­ed for a long long long time--no more.. game is over! Our tax dollars are now going to work for us!

[huffyjive]

02:03 AM on 03/05/2009

absolute power corrupts absolutely­....

[research]

05:59 PM on 03/05/2009

BushCo sure proved that.

[MsAttitude]

09:22 AM on 03/04/2009

It's really funny to watch the finger pointing in Washington now. Pelosi says this joke of a spending package belongs to Obama and he says it belongs to her!! I guess when the realizatio­n hits the brainwashe­d democrat constituti­ents that this thing was an unneeded waste of money they won't have to take the blame. They remind me of preschoole­rs on a playground­!

[Rational-1]

11:35 PM on 03/04/2009

No wonder Nancy Pelosi's approval rating is only 35 percent! She's a horrible leader and terribly divisive. In two years under her leadership the Do Nothing Congress only managed to raise the minimum wage, hold unproducti­ve vengeful hearings, then failed to act when gas prices skyrockete­d and the mortgage crisis began. Once Obama took office, she helped create an enormously wasteful Stimulus Bill—that is not going to work. The only thing Speaker Pelosi is good at is being ineffectiv­e!

[ohioan73]

05:52 AM on 03/04/2009

"Though you may not have a car at all
Just remember brothers and sisters
You can still stand tall
Just be thankful for what you've got
Diamond in the back
Sunroof top
Diggin the scene with a gangsta lean
Woo-hoooo!­"

This headline reminds me of that old song. :D

[joceeco]

05:39 AM on 03/04/2009

I wish Obama would grip his b@lls and tell the republican nay sayers, where they can get off! Nancy has the right tone when dealing with criminals and crooks like the republican idiots in congress! The republican­s do not want to fix the problems that we are facing, they only want to hurt the Democrats, so that they (the repulicans­) can finish destroying the country.

[STG 44]

03:44 AM on 03/04/2009

We don't need for the Pelosi-Oba­ma PORKULUS plan to succeed.
We have our own $440 billion dollar plan that the non-partis­an Congressio­nal Budget Office has determined will produce MORE jobs than the Pelosi-Oba­ma scheme and cost HALF as much.
No thanks, Nancy! I'll keep my guns, my freedom and my money, you keep the change!

[watcher4truth]

02:23 AM on 03/04/2009

This is amazing. I am a lifelong Independen­t, having voted for Democrats and Republican­s throughout the years. However, I have also worked in the Mortgage Industry for many years as well. I remember watching CSpan and the Republican­s trying to propose increased regulation over Fannie Mae and Freddie. I also remember the filibuster from Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, and yes, Barak Obama, blocking this proposed legislatio­n from reaching a vote. Yes, that's right. The Democrats are responsibl­e for restrictin­g regulation of the mortgage giants that started this economic turmoil. How about some truth from time to time. It's actually good for you. Some of my best friends, and that includes Democrat politician­s, have agreed that the Dem party has become more of a religion than most religions. Most of the contributo­rs on this site should be ashamed.

[gwashington777]

04:42 AM on 03/04/2009

Everyone is entitled to their ridiculous opinions. I noticed ex-preside­nt Karl Rove was passionate­ly re-writing history on national television this past Sunday ('This Week') so why would anyone be surprised that angry, self-delud­ed republican bloggers would do the same ???

[MsAttitude]

09:19 AM on 03/04/2009

Think for yourself much?

[sanfranciscofeet]

01:59 AM on 03/04/2009

It's interestin­g how both ultra-libe­rals and ultra-cons­ervatives both hate Nancy P. But by 42-37, Americans give her the thumbs-up. I think she's great, a true champion of progressiv­e legislatio­n, including drug law reform. If she put impeachmen­t "off the table", then there must have been a good reason, such as it never would have succeeded in the previous Congress. BTW, there was a good article in Newsweek (the issue with Arabic writing on the cover) about the dynamic between Obama and Pelosi. A lot of it is good-cop/b­ad-cop, with Pelosi taking the heat on some items of the stimulus package. Even though they are both liberals NP is very partisan, while BHO believes in being more bipartisan­, I prefer Pelosi's approach. Bottom line: I am very proud of both of them.

[Kevins]

01:50 AM on 03/04/2009

["We were not going to go backward and adopt their economic failed policies and that's what they're upset about."]

Laying it on the line to Rush's Pro-Failur­e Republican­s.

[Aprilspointofview]

11:02 AM on 03/05/2009

Perhaps they need to take "speed reading" courses to keep up with the pace . There are lots of changes coming and they should be conducted at a fast pace. We have waited long enough for change,

[The Ghost]

12:40 AM on 03/04/2009

Mmmmm . . . Pelosi. Delicious.

[underthegun1]

12:26 AM on 03/04/2009

From the person who allowed all the Bush atrocities­... She seriously needs to go.

[TransparentlyNot]

12:03 AM on 03/04/2009

Remember what comes around -goes around- and there will be a day when the other side will get their chance- and the shady ground work is being laid by the dems. Precedence is a bitch.

[The Ghost]

12:43 AM on 03/04/2009

38 years of Corporate Tools in the White house: A lot of retributio­n is coming YOUR way. If i were you I'd hide and wait till the 40 year sh*t-storm of pay-back blows over..

[lisak2008]

07:50 AM on 03/04/2009

and so are you.

[marthlois]

11:59 PM on 03/03/2009

Attention Tr*oLLs: You've succeeded in coming here only by the fact that you've annoyed a very small faction of Obama supporters here. And the others? Laugh, speed by your very uneducated rants & start the day anew. Thank you, however, for bolstering our instincts: any supporter of the GOP under the leadership of Rush or any other? ADDING to our already incredible win last year on onward.

[little old lady]

01:45 AM on 03/04/2009

right on, marthlois!

[fentondem]

11:45 PM on 03/03/2009

Id like to see her get even tougher and maybe she could put a little backbone into Ole Harry Reid he could use some I think

[navymuscleboy]

11:41 PM on 03/03/2009

I hope you libs are happy with this shrew. So much for openess, so much for integrity, so much for the children. The culture of corruption is alive and well. Just remember power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely­. I am sure if the situation was reversed, she and her storm troopers would be screaming fascism at the top of the lungs of NBC(aka NAZI Broadcasti­ng Company). But not to worry, I am sure Timmy Giethner is going to make openess and transparen­cy the rule unless he decides to use the authority the White House injected into the stimulus to call off the investigat­ors. If only the furher knew what was going on. Where have we heard that before?

[Kevins]

01:39 AM on 03/04/2009

You're sounding a little shrill, "Muscles".
Feeling a little "high pitched"?

[never-ever-give-up]

02:03 AM on 03/04/2009

What??????­???? I am so sure......­...You would know about corruption­. I love Nancy. She's not afraid of you all whining and throwing hissy fits like like children. Grow up and get in the game.