Pelosi Booed for Not Backing Impeachment

By Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who has shunned public forums on the war for the past year, finally held a town hall meeting in San Francisco on January 14. Despite her public criticism of the war and her recent support of Cong. John Murtha’s call to bring the troops home, Pelosi has not used her position as Minority leader to lead her party to adopt an anti-war stance. She has also refused to support other anti-war measures, such as Cong. Barbara Lee’s bill to prohibit permanent bases in Iraq and Cong. Jim McGovern’s bill to stop funding for new deployment.

Protesters were out in the street before the town hall began with signs calling on the Congresswoman to stop funding the war. Security guards at the event would not let people inside with their signs, so protesters had to smuggle them in.

Pelosi spoke for a half-hour, then moved to the question and answer session, taking only written questions. It was during the Q and A session that protesters from CODEPINK and United for Peace and Justice took out their signs and moved to the front of the room, where they stood for the rest of the meeting.

From then on, the meeting turned raucous, with dozens of anti-war audience members heckling and booing Pelosi, then pro-Pelosi attendees booing the hecklers, and Pelosi trying to talk above the din. Pelosi got the loudest “boos