CNN's Beck, Fox & Friends continued smearing Pelosi over Syria trip
On the April 2 edition of his CNN Headline News program, Glenn Beck characterized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) trip to Syria as "a little sun and sand and an ... unauthorized negotiation with our enemies" and referred to it as "Nancy's little play date in the Middle East." Beck also hosted deputy White House press secretary Dana Perino, who said that Pelosi's trip "does sort of defy common sense" because "[w]e, as an administration ... discourage them [U.S. officials] from going to Syria. It does not help the situation." At no point, however, did Beck mention that a delegation led by Republican Reps. Frank Wolf (VA), Joseph R. Pitts (PA) and Robert Aderholt (AL) met with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus on April 1.
On the April 3 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-host Brian Kilmeade and Boston Herald columnist Howie Carr also attacked Pelosi, with Kilmeade suggesting the Pelosi-led trip is "bad for America" and Carr claiming that Pelosi is "helping out terrorist sponsors." Co-host Steve Doocy reported that Pelosi responded to the White House's criticism of her visit to Syria by noting that three Republican congressmen recently met with Assad as well. Carr, however, dismissed that fact, saying, "I've never heard of two of those three Republicans. ... They don't get much more obscure than that." Kilmeade appeared to agree with Carr's response, responding, "Neither did I."
Later, co-host Gretchen Carlson noted that Pelosi's office stated that Pelosi was following the recommendation of the Iraq Study Group (which Carlson wrongly identified as the 9-11 Commission) that the United States "actively engage Iran and Syria in its diplomatic dialogue." Carr also dismissed that claim, saying simply, "I don't buy that, Gretchen."
Carr also falsely claimed that Pelosi "refused" to take up a resolution proposed by Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), which calls for "the immediate and unconditional release of [15] British marines and sailors held captive by Iran" because, according to Carr, "she said the House had no business trying to do foreign policy for the United States." In fact, as the Associated Press reported on March 30, "Pelosi's spokesman Brendan Daly said the speaker was reluctant to weigh in on the incident without knowing that such a message would do more good than harm."
As Media Matters for America documented, Fox & Friends attacked Pelosi on April 2 for her visit to Syria while ignoring the Republican delegation's April 1 trip and the White House's inconsistency in criticizing Pelosi but remaining silent on the GOP-led visit.
From the April 2 edition of CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck:
BECK: Actually, Nancy, I don't think there is a new Congress in town. The real story tonight: Is it the new, spineless, overspending Democratic Congress that replaced the old, spineless, overspending Republican Congress has left for a vacation? Yeah! With no troop funding yet approved. Nancy led a delegation, including a Republican, for a little sun and sand and an authorized -- unauthorized negotiation with our enemies in Syria. But don't worry, don't worry. The new Secretary of State Pelosi says everything's going to be just fine.
PELOSI [video clip]: We think it's a good idea to establish the facts, to hopefully build some confidence between us. We have no illusions, but we have great hope.
BECK: Oh. Oh, well, all we have to do is just hope that the nutjobs in Syria will listen to reason. No, no, that's -- why didn't you just say that? You know, maybe you can swing by Iran, you know. We could use a little of that hope to maybe free the hostages and end the nuclear program standoff. Go ahead. It's great.
Unfortunately, Nancy's little play date in the Middle East is distracting everyone from what she's not doing here. Hello? Is anyone concerned about the emergency part of the emergency war spending bill?
[...]
BECK: Quickly, Pelosi, what does this say to people like -- you know -- the leaders of Syria when we have the leader of the House coming over to do a fact-finding mission and try to build trust between each other?
PERINO: Well, it does sort of defy common sense. We, as an administration, have a policy of asking all U.S. officials to, you know, to be -- we discourage them from going to Syria. It does not help the situation.
President Assad likes to have these photo opportunities. He likes to broadcast them to the world. It does not make him change his behavior one bit, and it alleviates the pressure on him to change it.
From the April 3 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:
CARLSON: Welcome back, everyone. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Syria as part of her Mideast fact-finding tour, but is it her place to be discussing foreign policy on behalf of the U.S.?
KILMEADE: See, I don't know the answer to that, but I bet you Howie Carr does. He's live from Boston. He's got an opinion on everything. Is this bad for America, Howie -- welcome back, by the way -- for the speaker of the House, the third most powerful person in the country, to be out there talking with Bashar Assad?
CARR: Yeah, I think it is, Brian. I don't think that she has any business doing this. Remember when [former House Speaker] Newt Gingrich [R-GA] was just running around the United States, he didn't even leave the country, and he was accused of having delusions of grandeur when he was attacking Clinton. Now she's in a foreign country.
This is the same woman -- last week, the Senate passed a resolution condemning Iran for taking the British Marines and sailors, and she refused to take it up in the House because, she said, the House had no business trying to do foreign policy for the United States -- and now she's over in the Mideast. Her colleague Tom Lantos says they're presenting an alternative Democratic foreign policy. That's wrong.
DOOCY: Yeah. The White House, Howie -- Dana Perino said, you know, "We just discourage this sort of thing. It's a bad idea" and, yet, yesterday, Madam Pelosi responded: "What are they talking about? There were three Republican congressmen over here just this weekend."
CARR: Yeah, I don't know about you guys, I've never heard of two of those three Republicans.
KILMEADE: Neither did I.
CARR: They don't get much more obscure than that. And the White House responded, "Well, we didn't want them to go either." I don't know. What is she going to talk with Bashar Assad about in Damascus this morning? The fact that she tried to kill the John Doe bill in Congress last week that would have protected whistleblowers --
DOOCY: That's a good ice-breaker.
CARR: -- from being sued if they reported --
CARLSON: But Howie, she says that she's going because the 9-11 Commission [sic] came out and said that this is what politicians should do.
CARR: Well, I just don't -- I don't buy that, Gretchen. I think that she's presenting an opportunity for people who sponsor terrorists to get a photo-op with an American leader. It advertises the discord in American foreign policy -- which, granted, there is -- but should she really be helping out terrorist sponsors? These guys are the people who are one of the groups behind Hezbollah, which has killed hundreds of Americans over the years --
CARLSON: Right.
CARR: -- if you count the Beirut bombing.
KILMEADE: But the message is --
CARR: Ninety percent of the suicide bombers come over from Syria.
KILMEADE: Howie, the message is --
CARR: What is she doing?
KILMEADE: Yeah, wait out this president. We don't like him either. It'll be a lot better -- blue skies are coming in 2008, perhaps.
I know I'm a little slow, but since when is Syria our enemy?
And if they're our enemy, why were we rendering prisoners to them under our quaint "Extraordinary Rendition" program?
If we're our sending prisoners to Syria, don't we have to talk to the Syrinas first, so they can get all of the accommodations in order for the prisoners. And if it's OK to talk to them about interrogating people who we consider a danger to our way of living, why would it not be OK for the Speaker of the House to talk to them?
Clear this up for me Glenn.
I think it's the effect of 6 or 7 years of these chickenhawk bedwetters hammering in the idea that talking to other countries is weak and sending our troops to fight them is strong.
The idea of somebody having the courage and intelligence, the confidence, to travel to these "enemy" countries and handle things as adults, it just doesn't compute with them.
SAVE DEMOCRACY, VOTE FOR DEMOCRAT!!
Listen to the cheerleaders of the Iraqi War spin their little stories, telling the nation that Syria is our enemy though we allways had diplomatic ties, and have made the connection between Isreal & Syria the cornerstone of a overall solution in the Palestenian peace effort until Bush/Cheney was elected!! We nearly had the Isrealis & Syrians in an accord over the Golan Heights before 9/11/2001, and the Syrians denounced the attack, and sent an envoy to voice their concern and support of America after 9/11/2001!
The axis of evil rhetoric got them what the rest of us feared the most! An American influenance so deminished as to be a cause of unrest instead of a broker of peace!
Happy Thoughts;
Dan Grady
The Beaver would know something about little play dates, but nothing about play dates in the sand because as we all know The Beaver decided to opt out of this war.
faux news leaving out facts to smear a democrat? why does that self-proclaimed "balance" of theirs always end up repeating right wing talking points?
As well they should. What she is doing is worse than anything Hanoi Jane did. I suggest you learn the modern meaning of Dhimmi.
By going to Syria and wearing the scarf in the minds of the radical Islamists is an act of submission. I'm sure she thought she was being polite. No go will come from her efforts.
You forgot to take in the fact that Republica Representatives did the same DASTARDLY thing the day before this bipartisan group arrived. So please, at least be ea bit evenhanded and say some hateful thing about the 4 Republicans who were there in syria the day before.
There's a difference between republicans going there with the same message as Bush and Pelosi going there and sending mixed messages. It's quite simple. I don't understand the confusion on the part of the democrat party.
Bluepike, I hope you get over Jane Fonda before you die. It must be horrible to carry that around.
Au contraire. Far from being horrible, it is like a security blanket. Jane Fonda in one hand, Bill Clinton being the thumb in the mouth. They help keep the scary monster of coherence under the bed where it belongs.
Actually, we need to understand that the right wing nuts have little evenhandedness nor highly developed thought processes. They just pick on the people who are doing the right thing for the people of this country. Amazing to me though, how anyone can say one word about this trip led by Pelosi made up of both Republican and Democratic Representatives (notice I even know how to spell and pronounce the last easy syllable in both of these parties correctly) They failed to harass the group of only Republicans who were in Syria the day before Pelosi arrived there. Their blatant partisan, situational ethics are showing what they really are, they care less if some one other than State Dept. visits with Syria.. But oh well, it is a function of how worried the far right is getting at the success of Pelosi. I notice that the Israelis have very warm feelings for her family. I do not say we should ignore their childish criticism, but these critics do give me a big chuckle in their childishness and their lack of true concern for our country or evenhandedness. Makes them look intellectually dishonest and very childish!!!!
mJ
How is it that MediaMatters is in a coniption fit over this, had a hissy fit over the firing of 8 US Attornies, and have been overwrought about VP Dick Cheney exerting undue influence to aid Halliburton winning federal contracts while COMPLETELY IGNORING Diane Fienstein's resignation from the Senate Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee where she was in a conflict of interest that involved tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to her husband's company?
If you hypocrites were actually concerned about corruption and the appearance of corruption you would be hammering this story just like Mark Foley's sorry escapades.
I have never undertood anyone calling giving an opinion having a fit, but then I have little insight into some folks minds. If in fact what was said about Feinstein was factual, and I intend to check to see that it was not some tale like the one badmouthing Pelosi for her trip to Syria while letting the Day-before Republicans off the hook, then I too will condemn it if she did indeed get contracts awarded in an irregular manner. However, I must say, dragging it into this conversation just muddies the waters.
And if you MORONS could ever stay on topic instead of constantly saying but, but, but Clinton, Feinstien, dont look at the man behind the curtain look over there, we MIGHT be able to have a decent discussion about THE TOPIC.
Allow me to direct you to this page:
http://mediamatters.org/about_us/
...where all will be made abundantly clear, even to a tool such as yourself.
I have come to understand, this is a Conservative Missinformation watchdog group. Even if what is said about Diane is true, and I am sure there is some truth to it, it would not be reported on here. PERIOD.
This is a one sided website.
Compared to... say, the wide-open minds at LittleGreenFootballs, or Michelle Malkin, or even Fox News.
Yeah. Lotsa balance there. Your complaints fall upon deaf ears Republican.
Pardon me for this off topic discussion but I felt the facts were needed here.
Hmmm, here they go again. This supposed rip-off happened when Feinstein was the Ranking member, not the Chairman of the Armed Services Committee and even in the most jaded opinions about this issue, it is plain that the majority, ie Republicans, had to vote for those contracts. Are you telling me that the Republicans voted to fund fraudulant contracts for under the table payments to Ms. Feinstein's husband. You will need to try harder to hang Ms. Feinstein. She did the ethical thing, she recused herself. Same goes with the committee that supposedly kept up the medical facilities. Also controlled by Republicans. I had two girls, only 13 months apart. I always knew who was the guilty party when she tried to convince me the other kid was the one who did the naughty deed. This story sounds much like my 4 and 5 year olds. charges. So now, back to the Pelosi story.
mJ
NL207's overwrought conniption/hissy fit aside, I think Feinstein's involvement and influence re: military contracts to her hubby's company should be checked out at some point.
After the investigation into Cheney & gangs, of course.While Feinstein may have indirectly profited (may have, we don't know, nor does NL207), I don't think she had as much power to plan and start wars as the others.
Now NL, why are you not as twisted up over Bush & Cheneys deliberate and documented fabrication and instigation of a war in which they have benefitted as you seem to be over Feinsteins possible conflict of interest?
I'm looking forward to your answer.
Don't hold your breath.
Beck, Kilmeade (he's the guy who called for a Department of Censorship, btw), Doocy, Carr don't like Pelosi? What a surprise! Nancy, this is the best endorsement you could possibly have gotten to support the purpose and fact of your mission. If the corporate fascist lap dogs of Fox and the Bush propagandistr from the Herald say you're wrong, you must be right!
Maybe Ms. Pelosi can persuade the Syrians not to torture any more priosoners we send them?
The British sailors will be released and you can thank Rep. Pelosi for talking to Syria and arranging their release.
She got them released? Link to the news site please.
Um...is that a joke?
try todays whitehouse briefing for confirmation.
Jesus, so I guess its only a matter of time before Howie Carr gets his own cable "news" show, right?
Last summer, Carr on his radio show responded to Governor Romneys request that people limit the time they spent in their cars during a heat wave in order to limit pollution by saying that he intended to keep his SUV running in his driveway. He is what you might call a "professional prick"- a guy who is just an a-hole for the sake of being an a-hole. Come to think of it, Im surprised he hasnt landed his own Cable show a long, long time ago.
He is very popular in Boston, especially with the beer-drinking, baseball-cap-at-all-times wearing blue-collar crowd that thinks that anyone who speaks in words of more than two syllables is an "elitist" trying to pick their pockets. The only experience more brain-numbing than listening to Carr is listening to his obnoxiously clueless callers. Speaking in thick Boston accents no less.
At least PElosi's doing something. Where's Condaleeza? Out shoe shopping?