Opinion: Pelosi pulls chair out from under Hastings
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A few weeks ago the Times editorial board piped up in favor of naming Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice) to the chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee, rather than Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D-Fla.). Harman’s role is yet to be determined, but Hastings is toast. Incoming speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) gave the acquitted-of-bribery congressman the bad news in a closed door meeting.
While Pelosi may be through kicking Hastings around, the Almighty is not: ‘Sorry, haters, God is not finished with me yet,’ Hastings announced in a statement.
Special Hymietown Update: Michael McGough notes that Hastings is repeating a 1984 statement by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, which was generally interpreted as an apology for his famous anti-Semitic slur against the Big Apple. Jackson’s quote:
If, in my low moments, in word, deed or attitude, through some error of temper, taste, or tone, I have caused anyone discomfort, created pain, or revived someone’s fears, that was not my truest self. If there were occasions when my grape turned into a raisin and my joy bell lost its resonance, please forgive me. Charge it to my head and not to my heart. My head—so limited in its finitude; my heart, which is boundless in its love for the human family. I am not a perfect servant. I am a public servant doing my best against the odds. As I develop and serve, be patient: God is not finished with me yet.