Posted on 08/06/2003 8:00:50 AM PDT by Pikamax
Pelosi’s August recess memo takes the cake By Bob Cusack and Hans Nichols
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) made sure Democrats left for their home districts armed with a recess brief full of suggested talking points to bolster her party’s national prospects.
So far, so normal.
But her recess packet also includes detailed instructions on how to throw a local party—a 38th birthday bash for Medicare.
The minute instructions have raised concerns among Democratic aides and lobbyists that Pelosi is developing a didactic style that can be too patronizing to be helpful.
Leaders on both sides of the aisle commonly provide briefing books to be used during congressional breaks by lawmakers as a means of synchronizing their party messages.
But they do not usually contain suggestions such as: “Order your cake! Order a sheet cake with ‘Happy Birthday Medicare’ written on it.”
patrick g. ryan
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) instructs her troops.
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The Democrats’ section on Medicare is unusual in providing a day-by-day plan for lawmakers to highlight their policy differences with a Republican plan they charge will privatize the program.
The cake instruction was for the Monday of the week of July 28.
The orders go on: “Buy additional party supplies. Be creative. Buy a ‘Happy Birthday’ tablecloth for the center table. Purchase disposable plates and utensils if the facility will not provide them. You may also wish to purchase additional party favors — horns and whistles can be very useful to ‘boo’ the Republican agenda,” suggests the document.
For Tuesday, lawmakers are reminded to “review supply check list. Confirm cake/food orders and make sure supply checklist is complete. Provide writing utensils and paper for seniors to complete letters to the editor.”
On the day of the meeting, lawmakers are told to “arrive early” and then: “Set up tables. Spread a ‘Happy Birthday’ tablecloth on the center table, where cake will be placed. All other tables should have pens/pencils, writing paper, and copies of the sample letter to the editor.”
In bold bullet-points the document commands lawmakers: “Know where the restrooms and telephones are located.”
The Medicare issue is one of four that Pelosi’s leadership team is encouraging lawmakers to discuss over the long August recess. Others are the economy, education, and protecting national parks.
On the economy, the recess packet suggests an event at a highway construction site.
The instructions read: “Host a press conference in front of a highway construction site — great visual!”
Democratic aides said this year’s packet is unusual in its attention to minor details.
“It’s a bit patronizing,” said a senior Democratic aide: “It’s counterproductive because it keeps people from reading the good stuff.”
A Democratic lobbyist said: “I thought this was a joke. The Medicare stuff is so detailed, it’s laughable.”
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) said most lawmakers read the recess materials on the plane, but then don’t pay much attention to them.
As he put it: “They have some good points, but I don’t go with the scripted stuff. If I had gone with the scripted stuff in 1994, I would have been slaughtered like everyone else. You’ve got to know your district.”
Jennifer Crider, a spokeswoman for Pelosi, dismissed the criticism: “This is just one page out of a 78-page packet, and it’s a suggestion of an event that has worked successfully in other districts.
“It’s an issue that is very important to seniors in the country and that Democrats have been focusing on.
"This is the type of information that members in our caucus have found helpful have requested more of,” she added.
Pelosi loyalists also said Republicans had scripted each week’s message over the recess with a level of detail and coordination quite beyond what came out of their own caucus.
“We do have broad thematics, but our members don’t need detailed instructions because they understand the issues,” said John Feehery, spokesman for Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.).
“We always give suggestions to our members. The reason why she needs to script her caucus is because she’s marching them over the cliff,” Feehery said.
Not to mention the question of what goes where and why? That's a safety issue as well.
---Now put on your hat, clap your hannies and sing....Happpppyyyyy Birrrrrrthhhhhh----dayyyyyyy toooooo youuuuuuuu"
Is she out of her mind?????
| Pelosi is developing a didactic style that can be too patronizing to be helpful.
There should be a law that no woman who has raised children should be allowed to hold any supervisory position which involves interacting with adults. Women who go into "mommy mode" when they are explaining things to adults are a curse in every office in the land. |
I think the whip has gone to Nancy's head.
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I'm putting on the flame suit for this one.