Buyer's Remorse

Lindsay Beyerstein is none too pleased with Nancy Pelosi's explanation as to why she was silent on the CIA's use of torture when she was briefed in 2002. She also is skeptical about Pelosi's claim that she "concurred" with ranking House Intelligence Committee member Jane Harman's (D-CA) protest over the tactics delivered in 2003. And finally, she notes that Pelosi actually removed Harman from her post after attaining the majority, replacing her with Sylvestre Reyes (D-TX), who has recently gained some unwelcome attention of his own for calling Jose Rodriguez, architect of the CIA's destruction of its videotaped "harsh interrogation" sessions, a real-life "Jack Bauer".

Fair enough, and I can't say I disagree with her. But I distinctly remember a significant liberal contingent that was actively pushing for Harman's removal, and her replacement with Reyes, when the Dems obtained the majority in the House (e.g., Matt Yglesias). Certainly, Pelosi's long feud with Harman played a role, but the fact is many liberals really dislike Harman anyway, primarily because she is seen as too close to Israel. I don't know if Beyerstein was one of them, but I know that it was left-ward pressure that kept her out of the chair. At least some folks are expressing remorse now, anyway.