Pelosi's New Palace

"Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under"   H.L. Mencken

My congressional "representative" here in San Francisco is Madame Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and I am definitely ashamed to admit this.

Since becoming the Speaker of the House in 2002, she has already had quite the legacy:

• Pelosi was briefed on Bush's torture regime and not only said nothing, but actively supported it.
  
• She removed the section of a bill passed by the House which would have barred the US from going to war with Iran without congressional approval.
• Has never met a bailout that she didn't like.
• Although she called the Iraq War "a mistake," she has consistently refused to end it or even cut its funding.
• Supported the "Share the Sacrifice Act," a proposed tax increase on Americans to help cover the costs of Obama's expansion of the war in Afghanistan (the largest "surge" since the initial October 2001 invasion).
• Helped pass Obama's corporatist health care bill (enough said).

In other words, she's been behind nearly every major expansion of state power in the last decade. So why not throw some more chains around our legs?

This time, it's for a brand new throne office. From SFGate:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has more than quadrupled the rent on her San Francisco district office, making the $18,736-a-month cost of her new South of Market space the highest in the House, according to a new report.

The rent - part of Pelosi's budget, which is funded by taxpayers - is nearly double the next-highest rent in the House: Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., pays $10,600 a month for his Manhattan office, while representatives from Sacramento, Boston and Los Angeles pay nearly that much, the report said.

Unfortunately, "liberal" San Francisco keeps re-electing her with overwhelming victories, and the looting continues. Power breeds money, friends, and votes, and she will likely breeze into office again this November despite a peacenik challenger.

Pelosi's legacy consists of the confiscation of private property and the centralization of power that inevitably results.

And apparently, with a new luxurious office, business is good.