Congressman Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, is defending the top Democrat in the House against those who charge she has lied about security briefings she received from Bush Administration officials.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said it is she who was "misled" about the interrogation techniques being used against terror suspects. Braley says Pelosi has become an easy target for criticism.
"She’s required to take high-profile positions on a host of different issues," Braley says. "And she’s a lightening rod for attacks from the Republican Party because it’s easier to attack her that it is President Obama whose approval ratings are very high."
Braley is vice chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Pelosi is due in Des Moines this Saturday to headline a fundraiser for the campaign committee. Braley lauds Pelosi’s leadership style.
"She’s been an enormously effective speaker and one of the most powerful speakers in recent memory because she takes a very diverse Democratic Caucus, which distinguishes us from the Republican Conference, and tries to get us to consensus on a host of very difficult and challenging issues," Braley says.
Saturday’s fundraiser will be at the home of Des Moines lawyer Roxanne Conlin, a former Iowa Democratic Party chairwoman who ran for governor in 1982. All three of the state’s Democratic congressmen are listed as co-hosts of the event, which is closed to the public.
Braley made his comments during an appearance on the Iowa Public Radio program "Talk at 12."