Syrian Trips: White House Slams Congressional Republicans

Well maybe not as we read this CNN story:

The White House has criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plans to stop in Syria next week during a Middle East trip that began Friday. She will be the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Syria since relations deteriorated between Damascus and Washington. The United States has accused Syria of aiding the Sunni insurgency in western Iraq with weapons and fighters. Syria also is accused of supporting the militant extremist groups Hezbollah, a Shiite political party and militia, and Hamas. “We do not encourage and, in fact, we discourage members of Congress to make such visits to Syria,” said White House deputy spokeswoman Dana Perino. “This is a country that is a state sponsor of terror, one that is trying to disrupt the (Prime Minister Fouad) Siniora government in Lebanon and one that is allowing foreign fighters to flow through its borders to Iraq. “I don’t know what she is trying to accomplish, and I don’t know if anyone in the administration has spoken to her about it,” Perino said. “In general, we do discourage such trips.” Responding to a follow-up question, Perino added, “We think that someone should take a step back and think about the message that it sends … to our allies.”

OK, Dana Perino is playing the Democrats are traitors canard but why couldn’t CNN remind us that there are Congressional Republicans in the Pelosi delegation? ThinkProgress notes 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). And why didn’t the White House blast Rep. Robert Aderholt’s (R-AL) staff, Aderholt and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) who are also visiting Syria? I guess Republicans visiting the Middle East is supporting the troops, while Democrats doing the same are supporting the enemy. How incredibly stupid!