Pelosi argues focusing on debt, process plays into Republican hands

In a meeting on Capitol Hill, Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi repeatedly urged progressive new media types to stop focusing on the legislative process in past and future spending battles.

"Every day we are talking about debt we are not talking about jobs, and that's a victory for the other side," Pelosi said. She asserted that for Republicans the deficit fight "isn't about the deficit, it's about destroying the public space."

According to Pelosi, the focus on process aids Republicans in their goal of destroying the public space. "I have to give them [Republicans] credit," Pelosi admitted, "they made everyone look bad." She said that a lack of confidence in government aids the other side, and that a focus on process contributes to that lack of confidence.

As such, Pelosi said it would be a victory for Republicans if we focus on "the who, what, where of this commission," and that she would take questions that were not about "the hair color of who is going to be on the commission."

Despite Pelosi's desire to avoid process and debt talk, due to intense recent interest online, the questions asked at the meeting were focused on exactly those matters. Key responses included:

• Not drawing any lines in the sand on Super Congress appointments. "You won't see me drawing lines in the sand." Her rationale is that Republicans would look like obstructionists for drawing lines themselves.
• Debt deal was "not the best path we could be taking." Pelosi said that the cuts would likely slow growth, and that was "my way of saying that this is not the best path we could be taking." However, she argued the outcome was better than default.
• Implying that Democrats might be more willing to go through a government shutdown than a default. Close to the end of the meeting, she noted that "default is a much more serious consequence than a government shutdown." As to whether or not this meant a government shutdown was part of a new Democratic plan to avoid getting rolled by Republican hostage-taking, she said, "If I told you [our plan] it would be defanged."

No matter Pelosi's exhortations and whether or not it actually plays into Republican hands, both the meeting itself and subsequent news reports about the meeting show it will not be easy for debt and process talk to quiet down in the progressive online space.

Source: http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/aKcnzuuEwzU/-Pelosi-argues-focusing-on-debt,-process-plays-into-Republican-hands

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