Politics California Style: Nancy Pelosi and Henry Waxman

The success of the Chicago-style politics of Dick Durbin, Rahm Emmanuel and Barack Obama, characterized by brass knuckles, intense bullying, finger pointing and public attacks has been mesmerizing. Meanwhile, very little attention has been focused on the California-style politics of obfuscation and intimidation practiced by Nancy Pelosi and her sidekick, Henry Waxman. Ignoring California-style politics is a mistake: these guys are good!

The art of obfuscation is central to California-style politics. Think back on Speaker Pelosi’s byzantine explanation of why she called career CIA employees liars. Incomprehensible, deliberately vague misdirection characterizes the California-style of politics. Never be precise; never say what you mean, and certainly, never let facts interfere with the spin.

Cumbersome, incoherent legislation is another example of obfuscation, California-style: thousands of pages of gobble-de-gook, the Stimulus, at 1000 pages, the Energy bill at 1100 pages and the Healthcare bill version #1 at 1300 pages and the latest House healthcare bill at a whopping 1990 pages.

Pelosi seems to have assembled these monstrosities so that few in Congress can read the legislation in its entirety before she calls the vote. Deceptive executive summaries, with left wing talking points, attached to these gargantuan documents are yet another form of obfuscation.

Stimulus funding is especially ripe with obfuscation. For example, Speaker Pelosi is on record stating that she has not been involved in funding special interest projects out of San Francisco with the Stimulus. One project, the San Francisco Marsh Rat, figured frequently in news stories. In fact, Pelosi’s public relations folks claimed these accusations are a “total fabrication” .

Despite what seems to be her decade-long involvement in the project, Pelosi, did not, technically, endorse earmarks for the Marsh rat since the creature in question is not a rat, but a mouse, the San Francisco Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse. Second, the Departments of Interior and Commerce allocated the funding; Pelosi only ensured the funding stayed in the legislation. Third, the funding cascades through multiple entities, so finding Nancy Pelosi’s fingerprints requires part bloodhound, part Sherlock Holmes, and a willingness to wade through a maze of primary sources that obscure the facts.

Stimulus legislation, Amendment #98, Page 69, appropriates $50 million for Department of Interior to fund the “California Bay-Delta Restoration Act” for “coastal habitat restoration”. The Department of Commerce is also funded in the Stimulus, and Recovery.gov, reports that Commerce, via NOAA, has allocated $167 Million in grants to various States for coastal “restoration” and research projects considered to be of importance or value. The “San Francisco South Salt Pond Restoration ” received $7.5 million in funding, the “American Canyon Salt Pond Restoration in San Francisco” received $8.5 million, and yet another, the Elkhorn Slough Restoration received $3.9M. These projects support habitation for the Harvest Mouse.

If you keep following the breadcrumbs, the San Francisco South Salt Pond Restoration Project has a division, the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project that supports the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse habitation project. The final clue to the connection with Stimulus funding, comes from the Milpitas Post, a non-profit newsletter from March 2009 that gleefully reports their good fortune in receiving a Stimulus grant.

So, thanks to California-style politics, and despite Speaker Pelosi’s obfuscations, millions of dollars of taxpayer money did fund pork projects such as the habitation of the San Francisco Harvest Marsh Mouse.

Another Californian, and close, Pelosi confidant, Henry Waxman, practices California-style politics of obfuscation and intimidation, whether conducting his witch-hunt hearings or whether promulgating faulty energy legislation that will do little to address the energy problems in this country. Waxman’s strategy is to affirm a statement loudly enough and often enough in the press, so eventually the misstatement is perceived as fact.

Waxman’s truth-through-repetition technique has been enormously successful. For example, Waxman cultivates the perception that he is eager for oversight. The reality seems more that Waxman is eager for others to have oversight, but when it comes to his own district in L.A., Waxman is the original Mr. NIMBY(Not In My Back Yard).

For example, a few years ago, the FBI wanted to expand their offices at 11000 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. The General Services Administration supported this decision to expand and improve the GSA-owned building on Wilshire Blvd. Problem was, Waxman didn’t want the FBI to expand their facilities in the middle of his district. Congressman Waxman’s campaign and fundraising headquarters for his PAC are also located on Wilshire Blvd. Probably, the idea of a bunch of FBI agents located in the vicinity of his harvesters of campaign donations was, to Mr. Waxman, totally unacceptable.

Mr. Waxman went into overdrive to kill the idea of so many FBI agents located so near his fundraising efforts. When negotiations didn’t yield the desired results, Waxman applied pressure on the GSA . Mr. Waxman epitomizes the California-style of obfuscation and intimidation. At the very time he is applying pressure to move the FBI out of his district, he is simultaneously posturing himself as a great crusader, supportive of oversight!

Waxman’s technique was successful. Ultimately, the FBI decided to locate its new, expanded facility elsewhere in L.A., out of Waxman’s district, even though the move quadruples the cost to the American taxpayer.

California-style politics relies on deception, on truth-by-repetition, on overwhelming the time and thought processes of opponents with volumes of incomprehensible data and labyrinthine legislation, which successfully hides the details of the bill’s real intent.

America has produced exceptional leaders: Senators, Congressmen, and Presidents who inspired with clear, logical prose and speeches. Those days seem long are gone. The California-style politics obfuscates real intentions to mask unwholesome and despicable acts—and, sadly, its practitioners get away with it.