Pelosi: * Misguided Priorities, Mistaken Policies, & Misdirected Blame

[paineinthearse]

Pelosi: President's Misguided Priorities, Mistaken Policies, and Misdirected Blame Fail to Address Needs of Middle Class Families

5/31/2005 3:42:00 PM


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: National Desk

Contact: Brendan Daly or Jennifer Crider, 202-226-7616, both of the Office of House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi

WASHINGTON, May 31 /U.S. Newswire/ -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in response to President Bush's press conference this morning:

"President Bush's press conference is the latest example of how his misguided priorities, mistaken policies, and misdirected blame fail to address the real needs of middle-class families.

"Congress should be working in a bipartisan way on policies helping the middle-class, but the Republican leadership in Congress is unwilling to put partisanship aside for the public good.

"The President and the Republican Congress have had five years to put forth a commonsense energy policy. As energy lobbyists wrote the Republicans' energy bill and gas prices climbed to record levels at the pump, the President missed every opportunity to help middle-class families.

"The President and Republicans in Congress will miss an opportunity to strengthen Social Security if they continue to insist that private accounts are the solution when the facts tell a different story. Privatization makes Social Security weaker by necessitating trillions of dollars in new debt and benefit cuts of more than 40 percent for middle-class families. The President's Social Security plan moves in the wrong direction - it turns a guaranteed benefit into a guaranteed gamble.

"President Bush and Republicans in Congress went from record surpluses to record deficits in record time. Rather than being a statement of our national priorities, the Republican budget is yet another missed opportunity.

"The Bush Administration's trade policy is a 'race to the bottom' rather than one focused on expanding markets, spurring economic growth, and raising living standards in the U.S. and abroad. America needs free trade, but also fair trade. By being neither free nor fair, CAFTA is another missed opportunity.

"Middle-class Americans can not afford any more missed opportunities. Democrats are fighting for a meaningful energy policy that will lower gas prices now, a bipartisan approach that strengthens Social Security so that all Americans receive the benefits they have earned, restored fiscal integrity through pay as you go, and trade agreements with strong labor and environmental protections."

http://www.usnewswire.com/

-0-

[autorank]

1. Nancy, next time you're in the WH, here's what you do with *

:spank: Great post, like that fighting spirit.

[paineinthearse]

2. Great post, like that fighting spirit

Unfortunately you and I are the only ones who appear to support NP :shrug:

[Toots]

3. A sad lonely voice from the Democrats

Why is there not a chorus of voices from every single democrat saying the exact same thing. Key words here being "They have had five years with total control to fix America's major problems", instead they have made them worse. What is really being determined here is just how much BS Americans will buy.

[paineinthearse]

4. "a chorus of voices from every single democrat "

We hear whining at DU that is no leadership, yet when a leader steps forward and makes such remarks, they go largely ignored.

[Yoda Yada]

7. There is no chorus of voices...

....because we don't know how to do it!

Look, when Howard Dean was on Meet the Press, he said that one of the things President Bush does so well is.....he picks two or three words or phrases.....repeats them 4X a day.....for a hundred days!

There, that's how he does it, and how we SHOULD do it. Democrats must 1) Choose two or three words/phrases, 2) Repeat them 4X a day...for 100 days!

During the campaign, in one form or another, EVERY Republican on any show, or in front of any camera, used the words "strong....determined....resolute...." (during the entire campaign!) Now, the words-of-the-day for ALL Republicans are "liberty....democracy....freedom...." No Republicans speak to any camera without incorporating these three words into the interview. They are so on message. It's the wrong message, but the sure know how to deliver it!


Howard Dean was correct. Now we just have to do the same thing.

[Independent_Liberal]

5. Way to go Nancy!

Say it like it is.

[Yoda Yada]

6. Nancy,...your reframing is perfect...

She's got it! What has been so frustrating to hear for such a long time is how Republicans use the word "Congress". When things are not going well for them, they "zoom-out" and use the word "Congress" in order to include the Democrats in their blame game.

When Nancy Pelosi was interviewed by Judy Woodruff last week, she (Woodruff) brought up the latest poll about America's dissatisfaction with President Bush and Congress. She asked Nancy Pelosi if she agreed with the poll. Pelosi responded, "I do not agree with the wording"....the American people are dissatisfied with the REPUBLICAN-CONTROLLED Congress! (Perfect example of perfect reframing.)

In her statement....Nancy Pelosi refers to the "REPUBLICAN leadership in Congress", and the "REPUBLICAN Congress". This is a very important distinction. If we can all reframe in this way, the groundwork will be set for the 2006 election.

Slogan: If you don't like what is happening in the REPUBLICAN-CONTROLLED Congress, change it. Vote for the Democratic candidate.

[Yoda Yada]

8. O.K...This is what we do

This is what every Democratic Senator and Representative in Congress, every host, interviewee, blogger, and DU member should do whenever they get a chance to SPEAK OUT (whether it is in front of a camera or in a letter to an editor)...

Follow Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi's lead and REPEAT these four words or phrases about Bush... 4X a day for 100 days:

1. "misguided priorities..."

2. "mistaken policies..."

3. "misdirected blame..."

4. "Republican Congress..."

If the American people hear these phrases about Bush often enough, they should remember them.