Impeachment, Nancy Pelosi and Israel/ Palestine

Nancy Pelosi has her work cut out for her. She has a Congress to clean up, many of her crop of new Senators are young and inexperienced, and she lost the battle for John Murtha. For the record, I don't believe this was a "stumble" as reported by Time. To me it seemed like a carefully choreographed dance, rather than a knockdown drag-out fight. Do I have any sources that support this? No, it's just a feeling.

Then there's impeachment. She's going to have to answer to many progressive democrats and others who feel that we have farther to go as a nation. Pelosi has said that democrats are not interested in revenge and many respond that the idea of "revenge" is a red herring. Impeachment is not about revenge, but about holding those who are in positions of power ultimately responsible for the lies and spin that lead to war. Impeachment is about discovering the depth and breadth of those lies.

Pelosi also faces another major challenge. For those who watch the conflict between Israel and Palestine, Pelosi has been an influential figure in shaping the debate. Recently, with her anticipated move to Speaker of the House and the media coverage of the Middle East which has been slowly acknowledging that the war on Iraq is not simply about Iraq, but also about Iran, Israel, Palestine, Syria, et al., Pelosi's feelings toward Israel in particular have come under some scrutiny.

It remains to be seen whether she can be less the idealogue and more a leader for peace in the U.S. and abroad.

Annotated Links

The Pelosi-Harman Fault Line

Nancy Pelosi and Jane Harman have been on a collision course for some time. They are both very tough-minded, opinionated, media savvy Democrats on the rise, and they have been knocking into each other for some time while still feigning mutual admiration ...

The Huggington Post

Is the "Israel lobby" distorting America's Mideast policies?

Two leading academics have tried to break the taboo against criticizing Israel's powerful U.S. lobby. It's a worthy aim, but their clumsy argument may backfire.

For Pelosi, Israel is Personal
"She [Pelosi] likes to say that, growing up in Baltimore, she went to a bar or bat mitzvah ... JTA also quotes a speech that Pelosi gave before an AIPAC crowd three years ago. Talking about her Jewish son-in-law, Pelosi told the crowd: ...

NJDC's Blog - http://njdc.typepad.com/njdcs_blog/

Jim Kirwan - Pelosi Revisited
by FOREIGN PRESS FOUNDATION
Nancy Pelosi, the darling Democrat from the Bay Area who leads her party in the House. Pelosi's recent speech to the Israel-American lobby AIPAC, the second largest lobby in Washington, was monumental - truly unparalleled in its candor. ...

FPF - HENK RUYSSENAARS - http://forpressfound.blogspot.com