Pelosi Puts Republicans in Their Place in McChrystal-Afghanistan Flap

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Speaker-1, NRCC-0.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made the National Republican Congressional Committee—the House Republicans' campaign arm—look foolish when it issued a statement saying: 

If Nancy Pelosi's failed economic policies are any indicator of the effect she may have on Afghanistan, taxpayers can only hope McChrystal is able to put her in her place.

Speaker Pelosi's dignified response is posted on YouTube.

The NRCC reported that the dust-up began when:

General Stanley A. McChrystal, the top American commander in Afghanistan rejected a call to scale down troops last week and reasserted the need for a strategy that will lead to victory in Afghanistan. That wasn't good enough for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) who once called for the same strategy advocated by the military's top ground commander.

It's understandable why House Republicans and their staff would dislike Pelosi: She's an incredibly accomplished speaker, and was the architect of the Democratic take-back of the U.S. House from Republican control in 2006. She has much more star quality than her predecessor, Illinois Republican Dennis Hastert, who was as interesting and effective as a dial tone.

But even jealousy cannot explain the poor choice of words by GOP strategists. One should choose words wisely, in case one may be required to later eat them.

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