Frisco Nan In China- Then & Now

The Wall Street Journal published an insightful editorial contrasting House Speaker Frisco Nan Pelosi's visits to China years ago, and now.

Consider these passages,

"Back when Mrs. Pelosi was a rising liberal star her signature issue was human rights in China. In 1991, she famously unfurled a pro-democracy banner in Tiananmen Square. During the Clinton Administration, she argued against normalizing trade relations with China unless linked to human-rights progress. Yet throughout last week's China tour Mrs. Pelosi said nothing of note about human rights -- despite the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre this week.

Mrs. Pelosi told us in a brief interview in Hong Kong that she had raised human rights "privately" with Chinese leaders. She explained that her previous human rights lobbying had been in a "personal capacity" as a mere Congresswoman, but now that she is Speaker she "speaks for Congress" and has to take a softer approach. That argument would be more credible had Mrs. Pelosi not regularly excoriated Republican Presidents for not doing more about Tibet and the other billion or so Chinese who lack basic political freedoms.

The reality is that her former convictions have fallen to the new liberal imperative of saving the world from carbon: "Workers rights, human rights, people's rights are part of environmental justice," she declared, in language that the leaders of a "People's Republic" can appreciate. With China now the world's No. 1 CO2 emitter, Democrats are desperate to sign up China for the follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol lest the exercise again be pointless.

A student at a Beijing university returned fire, asking Mrs. Pelosi what could be done that might convince American voters and Congress to cut back on emissions. "We have so much room for improvement," Mrs. Pelosi replied, according to the Associated Press. "Every aspect of our lives must be subjected to an inventory . . . of how we are taking responsibility."

Whatever Chinese leaders do collectively on climate change, they must be relieved that Mrs. Pelosi no longer wants to press very hard for individual rights."

So much for convictions and values. This is a fine example of what's wrong with our national politics in both parties.

Republicans capitulated on spending after Gingrich was ridden out of town as Speaker. Democrats switch from issue to issue, depending upon whose is in power and what they feel is most damaging to Republicans.

It's awfully chilling, is it not, to envision the absolute Green Police state Nan has in mind for all of us,

"Every aspect of our lives must be subjected to an inventory?"

Tax-cheat Geithner isn't the only one at whom Chinese must be laughing.

With Frisco Nan bent on handicapping her own country's economy, and Geithner overseeing crippling 'stimulus' spending and further national indebtedness, the Chinese are, I'm sure, salivating at the prospect of defeating American global hegemony without firing a shot.

They simply have to slow-roll Congress on the environment while ditching the dollar as a reserve currency. In time, the US will suffer unemployment, high taxes, low productivity, energy shortages, crippling inflation and debt.

All the while China will continue to employ military prisoners as workers whose product is exported to America and the world at large, while persecuting political dissenters.