It’s a PelosiPalooza and You’ll Never Guess Whose Side the MSM is On (UPDATED: Good for the RNC!)

Jennifer Rubin says the Washington Post buried its lede badly when it didn’t mention until late in its story that lawmakers from both parties not only approved EITs but asked briefers if there was some authority Congress could give them to help.

But there, you see, is the nub of the matter. At the time no one in their right mind would have thought to (in fact, no one did) quibble with harsh measures. It would have been absurd for a country still reeling from attack and fearful of another to second guess good faith efforts to extract vital information from the worst-of-the-worst terrorists. No, that sort of second guessing is saved for 2009 when the moral preening and sneering at others’ “fear” is quite in fashion. Only now is it acceptable in some circles to vilify and indeed prosecute those who kept us safe.

So allow me to re-write the Post’s lead: “While Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi denies she was briefed on the CIA’s enhanced interrogation methods and has accused the CIA of lying to her, two witnesses now confirm she received an extensive briefing on efforts to extract information from a high-value al Qaeda captive — an effort that Pelosi enthusiastically supported and for which she offered any needed assistance.” Not the pithiest, but what it lacks in brevity it makes up for in exactitude.

Meanwhile, Andie Coller is being what my Brit friends would call “a silly git” over the RNC’s new Nancy Pelosi-based ad. I do agree that the ad does send the wrong message. Nancy Pelosi is not a Bond villain; she’s much worse than that. Here’s the ad. Judge for yourself if the RNC is calling Pelosi “Pussy Galore” or if they’re saying that Pelosi’s craven weaseling is emblematic of the Democratic Party over the past six years.

(Rubin link via Stacy McCain)

UPDATE: Darleen Click is getting a giggle out of the lefty reaction (and asking why Ms. Coller’s editorial is part of the news section) but Allah isn’t laughing at all.

I don’t agree with his assessment. By now, it’s a given that the left is going to shriek bloody murder about any ad the RNC puts out, no matter if it’s the most polite ad in the history of political commercials. So why not put one out there that throws a stuff little jab then, when the inevitable wave of outrage arrives, simply shrug, point, and say “There they go again”? The GOP should take every opportunity to show the left as led by two-faced whining hacks followed by fawning, uncritical media lackeys.

It also wouldn’t hurt for someone to point out to Ms. Coller that Pussy Galore wasn’t actually a villain in Goldfinger. She helped James Bond defeat the bad guy.

UPDATE 2: Linked by Joe Gandleman who decided that a “moderate” roundup of reactions to the ad should include 10 left-wing blogs, 3 right-wing blogs, and Allah’s dissent at Hot Air. Yeah, that’s even-handed all right.

I suppose the rest of the right-wing blogs (like protein wisdom) were hiding from him or something.

William Jacobson isn’t a fan of the video but he’s much less a fan of the bad op-ed at The Politico and the hypocritical whinging from the left.

Actually, I don’t disagree strongly with William. He has a point that the video would have been better released by some other group than the RNC, which does have to play on a higher level than this video plays. Still, after a few years of real meekness in the face of unrelenting nastiness from the Democrats, I think the RNC has to come out with ads just like this. You certainly can’t deny that it got a lot of buzz today, more even than it might have gotten if they had put it out on cable television. It’s gotten all the right noses way, way out of joint and has given those of us on the right yet another chance to point to the progressive left’s rampant hypocrisy and ridiculous overreactions.

So, sure, you can make the point that the RNC has to be above the fray, but I’d say that they’d done exactly that for the past few years and it’s gotten them, and all of us, unfettered Democratic rule of Washington.

UPDATE 3: Jeff Goldstein is considerably less than amused with the tut-tutting from William and Allah.

Little Miss Attilla hits the point dead-on.

What are they smoking? The President of the United States once made degrading remarks about Hilary Clinton’s menstrual cycles as part of his vicious primary battle against her; if the RNC is comparing Nancy to a femme fatale, that’s pretty small potatoes.

Alas, both AllahPundit and William Jacobson think the RNC shouldn’t have made the ad, since they should have known that it might be “distorted” by the opposite side. What are we permitted to say that cannot be distorted by the opposite side?

UPDATE 4: Miss Moneyspendy? I like the ring of that. Also, this:

f you don’t like the way that we mock the Speaker of the House for being a not only a liar, but a stupid liar, here’s a thought: replace her with someone who isn’t a stupid liar.

Tags: Fighting the Islamists, Media Bias, Nancy Pelosi