Grayson’s Comments Spark Congressional Flame War
The partisan nonsense meter hit a high Thursday following a protracted bout of bickering in the House that heated up after Florida Rep. Alan Grayson made his views about his Republican colleagues eminently clear, but he’s not sorry, and he’s not apologizing — at least not yet. This does not please said colleagues, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn’t in a hurry to appease them either. –KA
Wait, before you go…The Washington Post
“If anybody’s going to apologize, everybody should apologize,” Pelosi said. “It’s time for us to talk about health care. Typically, the Republicans would like to use this as a distraction from the fact that they have no plan to take us forward.”
But Republicans have argued that Grayson’s comments were much worse than anything their members have said.
“His despicable remarks were not an impassioned speech gone awry. They were part of a premeditated effort that was followed up with another insulting barrage of insults and attacks on the floor of the United States Congress,” said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ken Spain. “He is unfit to hold public office, and if he is unwilling to apologize for his appalling behavior, Speaker Pelosi should call him out on it.”
On Wednesday, Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) prepared a privileged resolution declaring that the House disapproves of Grayson’s remarks, but he declined to introduce it, saying instead that he wanted to give Grayson time to apologize on his own. A Price spokesman said the resolution would not be introduced Thursday, either.
In addition to calling for an apology, Republicans are also hoping to capitalize on Grayson’s remarks at the ballot box. The NRCC has created a Web site called … wait for it … AlanDisGrayson.com that seeks to solicit campaign contributions for whomever emerges as the GOP nominee against Grayson in Florida’s 8th district in 2010. No big-name Republican candidate has emerged yet, though several are mulling the contest.
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