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Pelosi chides GOP criticism of stimulusKara Rowland Saturday, February 7, 2009 WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Saturday disavowed what she termed as Republican "personality attacks" over President Obama's stimulus bill, reiterating previous arguments that the legislation allowed for bipartisan input. "The people who can't win on policy always resort to process and then they stoop to their personality attacks," Mrs. Pelosi told reporters here at the Kingsmill golf resort, where about 200 House Democrats gathered for a three-day retreat. "The process afforded Republicans every opportunity to put their suggestions forward and they know that." Her defense of...

Mary Ann Akers 02/ 7/2009 House Democrats Party Like Boom Times House Democrats let it all hang out last night. They danced, sang, drank and whooped it up at their annual retreat in Williamsburg until after midnight, forgetting, for a few hours at least, the misery of the free-falling economy, punctuated by the grim news that unemployment is hurling toward Great Depression levels. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (S.C.) danced together to a blues tune performed by Reps. David Obey (Wisc.) on harmonica and John Hall (N.Y.) on guitar, eyewitnesses tell the Sleuth. Hall, of...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich issued a sharp critique of President Barack Obama's speech before House Democrats in Williamsburg, Va. "It shrinks his presidency," said Gingrich Friday at the American Enterprise Institute. "I thought last night's speech in Williamsburg actually was a lot more like Carter and a long way from Reagan." The former Speaker's remarks referred to the more partisan tone adopted by Obama Thursday evening in addressing Republican objections to the stimulus package and to the President's assertion that critics want to return to "the same policies that for the last eight years doubled the national debt and...

"So then you get the argument, well, this is not a stimulus bill, this is a spending bill. What do you think a stimulus is? (Laughter and applause.) That's the whole point. No, seriously."

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — A fired-up Barack Obama ditched his TelePrompter to rally House Democrats and rip Republican opponents of his recovery package Thursday night – at one point openly mocking the GOP for failing to follow through on promises of bipartisanship. In what was the most pointedly partisan speech of his young presidency, Obama rejected Republican arguments that massive spending in the $819 billion stimulus bill that passed the House should be replaced by a new round of massive tax cuts. “I welcome this debate, but we are not going to get relief by turning back to the same policies...

President Obama is heading to Virginia Thursday night for a retreat with House Democrats, as Senate leaders on Capitol Hill continue to wrestle with the president's contentious economic stimulus package. But whether they'll be any closer to an agreement on the more than $900 billion bill by the time he gets back is anyone's guess. A couple of senior Democratic aides told FOX News late Thursday final passage of the current bill is very likely Friday despite the efforts of a group of 18 senators who have been negotiating a compromise package to get more senators on board. The group...

Congress retreats, luxuriouslyBy LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer AP - 2 hours 40 minutes ago WASHINGTON - Members of Congress were quick to shame corporate executives for over-the-top extravagance during the economic crisis, flying private jets and taking luxury junkets. But some lawmakers are strolling fancy resorts spending tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars and mingling with lobbyists. "We're very mindful" of perceptions, House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson told reporters Thursday camped outside of the sprawling Kingsmill Resort & Spa in Williamsburg, Va., where House Democrats spent about $100,000 on their three-day annual retreat. "It's serious and it's from...

Politicians not welcome at massacre memorial service [Published: Saturday 6, January 2007 - 09:21]By Claire McNeilly Ulster politicians were yesterday absent from an annual memorial service after victims' group FAIR asked them to stay away. More than 30 relatives of the victims gathered at the site of the IRA Kingsmill massacre in order to commemorate those who perished 31 years ago. The short 15-minute service took place at 11am at the site of the 10 killings, half-a-mile from the village of Whitecross, Co Armagh. FAIR spokesman Willie Frazer said that both the prospect of Sinn Fein in government and...