Sorry, Joe Scabby...The wrong frame at the wrong time...

[babylonsister]

Scarborough is on m$m right now blaming Pelosi wholeheartedly. Those rethugs follow their own talking points if nothing else, despite the failure of their frame...

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_09/014943.php

THE WRONG FRAME AT THE WRONG TIME.... I can appreciate how ridiculous House Minority Leader John Boehner looks right now. I can even appreciate the fact that the Republican Party is looking desperately for someone to blame. But the GOP really hasn't thought this one through.

Several Republican aides said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had torpedoed any spirit of bipartisanship that surrounded the bill with her scathing speech near the close of the debate that blamed Bush's policies for the economic turmoil.

Without mentioning her by name, Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla., No. 3 Republican, said: "The partisan tone at the end of the debate today I think did impact the votes on our side."

Putnam said lawmakers were working "to garner the necessary votes to avoid a financial collapse."

But the defeat was already causing a brutal round of finger-pointing. "We could have gotten there today had it not been for the partisan speech that the speaker gave on the floor of the House," House Minority Leader John Boehner said. Pelosi's words, the Ohio Republican said, "poisoned our conference, caused a number of members that we thought we could get, to go south."

Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., the whip, estimated that Pelosi's speech changed the minds of a dozen Republicans who might otherwise have supported the plan.

On its face, this is comically stupid. House Republicans wanted to vote to prevent a financial collapse, the pitch goes, but the Big Bad House Speaker made them mad with a speech. You can read Pelosi's remarks yourself -- if it strikes you as the kind of speech that's worth risking the economy over, let me know.

But more important that than is the truly ridiculous frame Republicans are establishing for themselves by using Pelosi's speech as an excuse for their own failure. The House GOP, for reasons that defy comprehension, has decided to characterize itself as a caucus of cry babies. Worse, they're irresponsible cry babies who, according to their own argument, are more concerned with their precious hurt feelings than the nation's economic stability.

It's a great slogan for the election season, isn't it? "Vote Republican -- We're More Concerned With Our Feelings Than Your Future."

Make no mistake -- this is a failure of the Republican Party of historic proportions. When push came to shove, the Democratic leadership delivered the votes on the rescue plan, while Republicans voted, 2-to-1, against it.

If they're going to rationalize their failure, they're going to have to do better than rejecting the proposal because of Pelosi's harmless speech.

[livetohike]

1. Rep. Kantor was railing against Pelosi

and he looks like a former manager I had 15 years ago. Also a big whiner! I'm waiting for the Dem. leadership to call the Rep. caucus a bunch of whiners :-).

[babylonsister]

4. They ALL are; they think they can blame Pelosi because their

party didn't produce enough votes. What is wrong with that logic? :crazy:

[livetohike]

8. Typical finger pointing B.S. and I agree with Chris

Matthews on this....he has been around D.C. a long time and knows the game playing that goes on.

[SoCalDem]

9. Cantor-Blunt-"Opie"-Crybaby.. these four are locked in "leadership" battles

They are singing to the choir... Blunt "should have been" the minority leader but he lost to crybaby by SIX VOTES... He and his little pal, Kanter are doing everything they can, to appear STRONG..DECISIVE..MANLY, because they want crybaby and his little buddies ..O U T !!

[livetohike]

11. Kantor is an idiot - oh well so are the rest of them

They can't explain things to their constituents. I'm convinced they don't understand all of it themselves. It's better for them to point fingers at the Dems. They (G.O.P.) all make me sick. There are so few of them with ANY intellect, imo.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

2. Well Newt shutdown the government when he didn't get a good seat on Air Force 1

so there is precedent for Republican hurt feelings trumping every other consideration.

[leftofcool]

3. On the other hand, if Nancy could just shut her mouth

and say thank you and keep going.........ya know?

[babylonsister]

5. Let me get this straight. When the rethugs aren't happy with a speech

she gave, she should have known better and kept her mouth shut? Do I have that right?

Are you serious?

Sadly, I think you are.

[crappyjazz]

6. oh come on

this board rails against Nancy for keeping her mouth shut ... then when she doesn't, she should have?

geez

[stillcool]

12. No I don't. You think the republicans..

were so crushed by what Nancy said that they couldn't vote for a bill? Or shouldn't Democrats talk about the policies of the last 8 years?

[Virginia Dare]

15. Sure, then let's blame Boner for the Democratic "no" votes...

see, we're all in this together.

[Cleita]

7. They would have voted it down without a speech by Pelosi.

They want to steam roll through the 3 page version of Paulson's bill where Congress justs hands him the money with no oversight. It's all political. Pelosi has nothing to do with it other than rolling over for the Republicans time and time again. It's time we dig in our heels and get Congress to come up with a long term plan that benefits all not just an elite few.

[babylonsister]

10. You mean Nancy's 'big mouth' didn't convince the rethugs to vote

the way they did? Funny, I agree with you. Try convincing others of that.

[Supersedeas]

13. You know Joe's lil' sidekick Meeker will be knodding her approval tomorrow

[babylonsister]

14. I don't think they'll have a leg to stand on, especially since all

Pelosi did was praise the bipartisanship. That hurt their feelings? And you know Tweety, KO and Rachel are going to be all over this. Even cnn's Henry couldn't find anything wrong with what she said.

Pelosi’s speech mentions the word “Republican” once — in the context of praising them for bipartisanship: “Over the past several days, we have worked with our Republican colleagues to fashion an alternative to the original plan of the Bush Administration.” After looking at Pelosi’s speech, CNN’s Ed Henry said he couldn’t “find the partisan thing that they say sort of inflamed Republican members.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4123113&mesg_id=4123113