Pelosi, McConnell Address State Legislators

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell separately addressed a general session of the National Conference of State Legislatures meeting in Louisville, Kentucky today.

Ms. Pelosi presented fiercely partisan remarks in which she angrily denounced Senate Republicans for obstructing Democratic initiatives and encouraged state legislators essentially to become lobbyists and demand that Congress send more money to the states. She also again repeated recent bizarre remarks that extending unemployment benefits is "the most efficient way" to increase economic growth. While many good reasons can be given for extending benefits, that statement invites ridicule and causes one to wonder why the Speaker continues to use it.

For his part, Mr. McConnell began by stating that Republicans and Democrats in Washington "get along," but simply have honest disagreements on spending and federalism. He emphasized the unpopularity of Democratic proposals in recent polls and urged state lawmakers to notice that increasing federal authority resulted in a reduction in state authority and flexibility.