Heard on the Hill Online Update: GOP Pulls Satiric Web Video
The new “movie” produced by the House Republican Conference starring House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had a short run.
The “No Party” video, a takeoff on a widely aired Capital One credit card ad featuring comedian David Spade, was removed from the Conference’s Web site today after complaints by Democrats that the movie was a partisan, political commercial paid for with government funds.
Sources say the minority staff of the House Administration Committee complained to the majority staff who, in turn, asked the GOP Conference to pull the video, which, for the record, was pretty funny.
House franking regulations stipulate that “comments critical of policy or legislation should not be partisan, political or personalized.” The video was all three.
The spoof features a Republican actor playing the role of a dorky, badly dressed aide to Pelosi who fields a phone call from a constituent asking whether the Democratic Party will save Social Security, boost the economy, improve health care and strengthen border security. “No” is the response to each question. A picture of Pelosi sits on the desk and a sign on the staffer’s computer reads “No is the Democrat Policy.”
In the last line of the video, the staffer tells the angry constituent, “No. That’s Democratic Policy, buddy. Start liking it.”
Pelosi’s office was outraged by what it viewed as an unethical use of taxpayer funds for political purposes.
“Having gutted the ethics process and removed the Members and staff who dared act in a bipartisan way, Republicans apparently now feel empowered to violate the ethics rules with impunity,” Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly told HOH.
The House Republican Conference did not immediately provide comment.