Shh! The GOP has put Nancy Pelosi on Double Secret Probation!

I love this story! The White House lashed out at Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for daring to visit Syria. White House spokesperson Dana Perino said:

I do think that, as a general rule — and this would go for Speaker of the House Pelosi and this apparent trip that she is going to be taking — that we don’t think it’s a good idea. …

I’m not sure what the hopes are to — what she’s hoping to accomplish there. I know that Assad probably really wants people to come and have a photo opportunity and have tea with him, and have discussions about where they’re coming from, but we do think that’s a really bad idea. Think Progress

Of course the White House had a delegation of Republicans in Syria already. This was not mentioned to the press, of course. Why the big secret, Mr. President?

Republican Reps. Aderholt and Wolf are currently visiting Syria. According to a congressional official on Rep. Robert Aderholt’s (R-AL) staff, Aderholt and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) are currently visiting Israel and Syria.

Republican Rep. Hobson accompanying Pelosi on Syria visit. Speaker Pelosi will be traveling with a contingent of members of Congress to Syria. The delegation includes Reps. David Hobson (R-OH), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Tom Lantos (D-CA), Henry Waxman (D-CA), Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Nick Rahall (D-WV).

Moreover, as the AP reports, "Earlier this month, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Ellen Sauerbrey held talks with a senior Syrian diplomat on how Damascus was coping with a flood of Iraqi refugees, the first such talks in the Syrian capital for more than two years."

Michael Lowry, a spokesman for Representative Robert Aderholt, said that the Alabama lawmaker will visit Syria as part of a Republican delegation led by Representative Frank Wolf, a Virginia Republican. Wolf is the top Republican on the House appropriations subcommittee that funds the State Department.

Perino wasn’t available to comment about that trip. Think Progress

Woo Hoo! Everybody is talking about Nany Pelosi!

Romney, taking on Pelosi, said of her trip to Syria, "It's a very bad idea to be carrying out a separate and independent foreign policy from the president of the United States."

"I just don't know what got into her head, to be completely honest with you," he said. "Her going to a state which is without question a sponsor of terror, and having her picture taken with (Bashar) Assad and being seen in a headscarf and so forth is sending the wrong signal to the people of Syria and to the people of the Middle East. forbes

Speaker Nancy Pelosi answered her critics with grace and aplomb, of course.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Monday shrugged off White House criticism of her upcoming trip to Damascus. Speaking hours after arriving in Lebanon, Pelosi indicated the Bush administration was singling out her trip to Syria, but ignoring the recent visits by Republican members of Congress. "It's interesting because three of our colleagues, who are all Republicans, were in Syria yesterday and I didn't hear the White House speaking out about that," Pelosi said; "I think that it was an excellent idea for them to go," said Pelosi, who is to meet Syrian leaders Wednesday. "And I think it's an excellent idea for us to go, as well." Think Progress

So it seems to be perfectly OK with the president and the rest of the GOP when Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) made his little own visit to Syria last month. The message is clear - **It's only OK to go to Syria if you are a Republican.**

Of course the MSM has totally ignored this: Media Matters [2], Think Progress

Right-wing Internet gossip Matt Drudge posted a photo of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) wearing a headscarf while visiting the tomb of John the Baptist inside the Umayyad mosque in Damascus. The right wing is having a hissy fit!


Just read what the are saying about Nancy Pelosi and her daring fashion statment:

Instapundit: "FEMINIST IN AMERICA, subservient in Syria."

The New Editor: “This picture disgusts me. What message is Nancy Pelosi trying to send? Are women equal to men, or not? Why is modesty foisted only upon women?”

Little Green Footballs: “Pelosi in a Hijab. The modern Democratic leadership. How ... quaint.” Via Think Progress

But of course, Nancy pelosi is not the only one sporting terrorist headgear a headscarf recently.

The message is clear - **It's only OK to wear a scarf in the region if you are a Republican.**

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: I just can't believe that Speaker Nancy Pelosi is attempting diplomacy in the region! That's my job!

American Troops in Iraq: But you have totally screwed it up! You haven't even tried any real diplomacy in the region for years!

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: HRUMPH! What's that got to do with it?