Examiner Compares Pelosi with John

No comparison between Nancy Pelosi and John Dennis
by Jill Flyer

Remember writing “compare and contrast” essays in school? The assignment may have been something like: compare and contrast the American and French Revolutions, or compare and contrast the Boston and Charleston Tea Parties, for example. Invariably, research revealed enough areas of commonality and distinction to provide sufficient and substantive examples in both the compare and contrast categories to complete the assignment.

However, the task to compare and contrast is decidedly more difficult when it comes to Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has represented California's Eighth District in the House of Representatives since 1987, and Republican John Dennis, a successful and respected businessman and entrepreneur seeking to unseat her in the November 2010, mid-terms election. That’s because there really are no bona fide areas of overlap in the compare department, notwithstanding superficial, trivial and meaningless connections made solely for the effort of including something in that category, i.e.: they are both candidates for the position.

John Dennis could not be more different than Nancy Pelosi in both style and substance. And, in the shadow of Massachusetts’s historic election of Republican Scott Brown, the message Americans are sending is a clear and resounding call for striking contrasts and concrete change.

[…]

But, perhaps the greatest contrast between John Dennis and Nancy Pelosi may be found in the attributes of honor and integrity.

A self-made man, John Dennis exemplifies these qualities and has earned a solid reputation based on trust, fidelity and an exemplary work ethic. Creating, innovating, leading and succeeding in business to the degree to which John Dennis has excelled, demonstrates not only acute business acumen, but also personal responsibility and strong ethics. The private sector demands competence, honesty, fairness, and accountability of business owners, or they do not flourish to the level John Dennis has. No one knows better the lessons of pulling ones self up by the bootstraps, as it is said, than someone who starts life in public housing, then builds a successful life and organizations through education, hard work, tenacity and the simple yet demanding decision to constantly earn the trust and confidence of those who rely on his use of good judgment.

By contrast, Nancy Pelosi has spent the better part of her adult life as a politician, and has much to account for in terms of public trust and accountability, not only with California voters, but also with Americans at large.

[…]

Confusion, tricks, deals, marginalization and a 23-year incumbency appear to be some of Pelosi’s tools of the trade for undermining the voters’ will.

Most recently on the national level, despite a clear majority rejection of a what many consider a fundamentally flawed, 2000 page, pork-infested health care reform bill, Pelosi continues a push even Scott Brown’s election does not deter. Growing numbers of Americans feel Pelosi has no connection to the people she was elected to serve while others believe her obstinate refusal to listen reflects a distinct disdain for the will of the American people. Those sentiments are given credibility when she describes opposition to government run healthcare as “Un-American.” Demonizing dissent has done nothing but fan the flames of those who refuse to be marginalized by such tricks and tactics. Speaker Pelosi has created an unbridgeable gap between herself and all but a shrinking contingent of the people she was elected to serve. She merits so little respect from the American people, she is rated # 8 on Washington's ten most corrupt politicians for 2009, according to this American Thinker article, and the situation is untenable.

As the Massachusetts message continues to resound loudly and clearly throughout the country, Pelosi continues to put her fingers in her ears and forge forward. Tenacity in the face of struggle is an attribute. But, there’s a major difference, or contrast, between tenacity and dogmatism. Nancy Pelosi continues to wag the dog (healthcare reform) while unemployment skyrockets and the economy plummets. She’s sunk her teeth in so far extraction will require the Jaws of Life. Even her own senior health advisor calls her push for passage through reconciliation, a “trick.” The thing is, Americans are fed up with tricks. Bribes and payoffs like the Landrieu Louisiana purchase and the Nelson Cornhuskers embolden and animate an increasingly impassioned populace eager to replace those who employ “tricks,” or close their eyes and ears to calls for Constitutional conformity.

John Dennis, on the other hand, has demonstrated genuine tenacity; the kind required to create and build successful businesses, overcome obstacles and make tough budgetary decisions that ensure a company’s longevity. He understands the consequence and value of listening to the people to whom he owes his success and to those who depend on him to make the best possible decisions while employing good judgment and thoughtful, deliberate consideration. Accordingly, John Dennis has signed the Tenth Amendment Center’s 10-4 Pledge, 10 Promises to be kept while holding public office. Not so, Nancy Pelosi.

Speaker Pelosi, by contrast, has not only alienated Americans who feel their voices go unheard, but also those with whom she is sanctioned to serve for the good of the country. Last year, for example, her obstinate insistence that she knew nothing specific about the CIA’s interrogation methods, started a firestorm of controversy and finger-pointing that undermined not only the integrity of her office, but that of the CIA. In April 2009, the Speaker said, "We were not -- I repeat -- were not told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation methods were used." But, according to an article by Ryan Wenger, entitled Did Nancy Pelosi know about waterboarding? CIA records showed Pelosi was briefed on “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques" (EITs) by the CIA in 2002. Wenger states, “During the briefing, Pelosi and other lawmakers were told about use of EITs on Abu Zubaydah, background on authorities and a description of particular EITs that had been employed." For a week, Speaker Pelosi continued to make one excuse after another, finally insisting that she and Congress had been “misled” by the CIA, before refusing to answer any more questions.

Nancy Pelosi made a great deal of noise about holding President G.W. Bush accountable for his decisions regarding the Iraq War. But, her desire to hold others accountable, is not apparently, a self-imposed expectation. In 2008, records revealed she funneled nearly $100,000.00 of PAC funds to her husband’s firm over a ten year period, yet supported a ban on paying spouses with political donations, as reported in this Washington Times article by Jennifer Haberkorn. Pelosi’s office defended the payments saying they were legal compensation at fair market value for the work her husband’s firm performed for the PAC. The article states ethics watchdogs said the arrangement “sends the wrong message” and is considered ‘problematic.’ Haberkorn’s article quotes Melanie Sloan, executive director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a nonprofit ethics and watchdog group, as follows, “‘From what I understand, Mr. Pelosi doesn't need the money, but this isn't the issue. As speaker of the House, it sends the wrong message. She shouldn't be putting family members on the payroll.’”

Speaker Pelosi’s recent betrayal of public trust occurred this past December when flying high on the proverbial hog with her Copenhagen congregation at tax payer expense, she employed two military jets and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on what amounted to a Christmas, European family vacation under the guise of attending the “Climate Summit.” A Newsbusters article detailing the trip’s expenses begs the question: Why? Why would Nancy Pelosi’s judgment be so skewed to believe an extravagant, tax-payer funded trip was a good idea at a time when millions of Americans are losing their jobs and the national debt’s trajectory is so far north even Santa Claus can no longer see it with the naked eye? Either she possesses an alarming lack of judgment or a blatant indifference for the current American condition. Speaker Pelosi’s pattern of obtuse disregard for, in essence, her employers, would warrant dismissal in any private sector job.

The good news is Californian’s CAN fire Nancy Pelosi - at the voting booth. She’s had plenty of time behind the wheel. It’s time for a new driver; one whose integrity, character, business experience and innovative ideas can help pull California out of the ditch.

Republican John Dennis makes such a striking contrast to Nancy Pelosi; there is simply no comparison.

Read original post in full: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-24812-Ventura-County-Headlines-Examin...

This was also re-posted on the 10th Amendment Center's website: http://california.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2010/02/get-rid-of-nancy-pelo...