NRC goes after Perriello over Pelosi vote
The National Republican Congressional Committee is airing a radio ad targeting U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Ivy, for his vote to reject a Republican call for a formal investigation into claims by Speaker Nancy Pelosi that the CIA misled her over its harsh interrogation techniques.
The House voted 252 to 172 last week to uphold a parliamentary ruling that the GOP-backed measure was out of order and should be introduced as legislation.
The radio ad, which is running in the Roanoke and Danville markets, features “Mission: Impossible”-style music and a voiceover purporting to be a secret agent.
“Lying to Congress would be a crime. Shouldn’t we investigate a crime?” the ad says. “But on 21 May, Pelosi’s crowd blocked the investigation. Congressman Tom Perriello voted that way too. Perriello voted to protect Pelosi. Why? My sources tell me that Perriello votes with Pelosi 91 percent of the time.”
Perriello’s press secretary, Jessica Barba, called the ad a distraction from the important issues facing the country.
“This is just another example of partisan hackery that does nothing to fix the economy or create jobs,” she said.
The ad, titled “Investigation,” urges listeners to call Perriello’s office and tell him to “stop siding with Nancy Pelosi.”
Barba questioned the veracity of the NRCC’s claim that Perriello votes in lockstep with the House’s Democratic leadership.
“Most votes taken in Congress are procedural and these percentages don’t reflect the congressman’s true record of independence,” she said. “I think people are more interested in what Congressman Perriello is doing for the economy and job creation in Virginia than this inside-the-Beltway partisan nonsense.”
The NRCC is running similar ads against five other Democrats, including Glenn Nye, a freshman who represents the Hampton Roads and Eastern Shore areas of Virginia.
“Given his unwavering support for Nancy Pelosi’s agenda and her most outrageous claims, Tom Perriello should not be surprised that the speaker has become a political liability for him in Virginia,” NRCC spokesman Paul Lindsay said in a statement. “When Perriello’s constituents voted for change in 2008, they weren’t expecting him to willingly side with his party leader after she brazenly accuses the CIA of criminal conduct.”
Perriello unseated Republican Virgil H. Goode Jr. in last fall’s election by only 727 votes, a margin of less than half a percent. Analysts expect that Perriello will almost certainly be a GOP target as he heads toward re-election in 2010.
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“The same goes for George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Condi Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and Karl Rove, among others.“ Especially if by “others” you mean the CIA. Uncovered by the mainstream media are the revelations by several other Reps and Senators who received similar briefings and report the same thing as Pelosi, and barely covered is the fact that the CIA has repeatedly lied about providing the details of these programs to Senator Bob Graham, who as luck would have it keeps impeccable records and the first four dates the CIA claimed to have briefed him were proven false.
Of course the NRC is going after Perriello and other Dems (especially Freshmen). It’s quite literally the only play they have. It’s like their infamous “budget with no numbers” - the light is on, but there’s just nobody home there any more.
That’s not good, because the party in power REQUIRES a loyal opposition. Now, nobody would ever accuse the Republican party of being loyal to anything but their Fox masters, Grover Norquist, and anti-abortion activists, but at this point they can’t even mount a viable opposition. They have marginalized themselves. May not last forever, but it may open the door for a legit 3rd party to replace them.
Yes, lying to congress is a crime, and it should be investigated, vigorously. If Nancy Pelosi did lie to congress, she should be held accountable for it. The same goes for George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Condi Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and Karl Rove, among others. With all the lies that were told to the American public as well as congress to get this country revved up for the invasion of Iraq, where is the call to investigate these individuals as well? I have no great love for Nancy Pelosi and many other members of the Democratic Party; they cowered in fear and voted for the Patriot Act and The Iraq War, and failed miserably in their constituational duties to provide checks and balance to the Executive branch during the regime of George II. But this effort by the RNC is just another publicity stunt. If the Republican leadership really want an investigation into lying to congress and who knew what, when, I say let let them do so. And who better to start with than Dick Cheney. He’s been running his mouth on all the public affairs yak shows of late. If he’s so eager to tell his side of things, then he’ll have no problem doing so under oath, in front of a congressional committee.
Pete Deer
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