Tag Archives: Meet The Press

Things go Badly for Darrell Issa When David Gregory Fails to Be a GOP Shill

Darell Issa

PoliticusUSA

Darrell Issa (R-CA) made a fool of himself on “Meet the Press” Sunday as he tried to defend his Benghazi conspiracy. David Gregory (R-TV) pushed back hard, even bringing up the GOP’s defending of security.

Issa even accused General David Petraeus of lying for the administration. As soon as Gregory would call Issa on one thing, he’d say he was investigating something else. Issa accused Tom Pickering of refusing to testify when in fact, Issa had not invited him to speak and Pickering was told that the Republican majority did not want him there. Issa ended up backtracking on that one, too, and it was super awkward when it came out that Issa never asked for him to appear. Turns out, Issa was just making inaccurate, unfounded accusations so as to falsely infuse his Benghazi hearings with nefarious dark secrets, because that is what Issa does for a living.

The worst news for Issa was that Gregory refused to be his usual GOP shill, which is an alarming indication that Republicans have pushed their Benghazi conspiracy one wingnut too far.

Watch here via NBC

 

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Filed under Meet The Press, Rep. Darrell Issa

David Gregory To Boehner: ‘Mr. Speaker, That’s Just Not True’

NBC News

I’m not a David Gregory fan, for too many reasons to write about in this post.  However, I must say in the last few weeks, he has called out a few MTP guests when they spew false talking points….

TPM Livewire

NBC’s David Gregory and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) butted heads during an interview when the speaker insisted that President Obama did not have a plan to replace sequestration and Gregory disagreed. The interview was taped Friday afternoon after Boehner met with the president to discuss sequestration and aired on “Meet the Press” Sunday.

“Mr. Speaker, that’s just not true,” Gregory said. ”They’ve made it very clear, as the president just did, that he has a plan that he’s put forward that involves entitlement cuts, that involves spending cuts. That you’ve made a choice, as have Republicans, to leave tax loopholes in place and you’d rather have those and live with all these arbitrary cuts.”

Boehner called Gregory’s objection “nonsense.”

“Well David, that’s just nonsense. If they had a plan, why wouldn’t Senate Democrats go ahead and pass it,” he said.

Boehner returned to this point throughout the interview, insisting that Democrats do not have a plan because the Democratic-controlled Senate has not voted on one.

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Colin Powell Calls Out The GOP’s Racism Problem: There Is ‘A Dark Vein Of Intolerance’

I’ve been dealing with flu symptoms and somehow missed posting this yesterday…

Think Progress

On Sunday, during an appearance on Meet The Press, Colin Powell condemned the GOP’s “dark vein of intolerance” and the party’s repeated use of racial code words to oppose President Obama and rally white conservative voters.

Without mentioning names, Powell singled out former Mitt Romney surrogate and New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu for calling Obama “lazy” and Sarah Palin, who, Powell charged, used slavery-era terms to describe Obama:

POWELL: There’s also a dark — a dark vein of intolerance in some parts of the party. What do I mean by that? I mean by that that they still sort of look down on minorities. How can I evidence that?

When I see a former governor say that the President is “shuckin’ and jivin’,” that’s racial era slave term. When I see another former governor after the president’s first debate where he didn’t do very well, says that the president was lazy. He didn’t say he was slow. He was tired. He didn’t do well. He said he was lazy. Now, it may not mean anything to most Americans, but to those of us who are African Americans, the second word is shiftless and then there’s a third word that goes along with that. The birther, the whole birther movement. Why do senior Republican leaders tolerate this kind of discussion within the party?

Watch it:

Powell added that the Republican Party is “having an identity problem,” noting that its significant shift to the right has produced “two losing presidential campaigns.” “I think what the Republican Party needs to do now is a very hard look at itself and understand that the country is changed,” he said. “If the Republican Party does not change along with that demographic, they a going to be in trouble.”

Powell also called on Republicans to focus on a more equitable and progressive economic policies that help middle and lower income Americans, as well as immigration reform. “Everybody wants to talk about who is going to be the candidate,” Powell said. “You better think first about what’s the party actually going to represent.”

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Filed under GOP Extremism

Monday Blog Roundup – 12-31-12

Harry Reid (D-NV) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Harry Reid (D-NV) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

You Say 2012 Was Bad?
More trouble than ever is brewing, not only in Afghanistan but across the border in P..

Obama on NRA Proposal
Obama on Meet the Press: “I am skeptical that the only answer is putting more guns i..

Fiscal Cliff Fiasco Part CCXXVIII
We’ve seen these budget talks break down so many times now that it’s hard to get too..

Obama Lobbying for Marriage Equality
The Sun-Times Lynn Sweet reports that President Obama is personally lobbying home-st..

The national debt? Republicans built that
As President Obama and Congressional leaders negotiate in Washington, the American p..

Year in Review: Take TIME’s 2012 News Quiz
Year in Review: Take TIME’s 2012 News Quiz

Settlement Expected With Banks Over Home Loans
Banking regulators are said to be close to a $10 billion settlement with 14 banks tha..

Who Paid For The Log Cabin Republican Ad Against Hagel?
That’s the question Glenn Greewald wants answered. I do too. The background: the Log..

Obama Calls Newtown Shooting ‘Worst Day’ of Presidency
President Obama said the Newton, Conn., shootings on December 14 were the “worst day”..

Obama’s Top 35 Accomplishments – Looking Back On A Historic Presidency (So Far)

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Filed under U.S. Politics

Obama To Appear Sunday On ‘Meet The Press’

Obama Meet The Press

This will be a rare occasion for the POTUS…

The Huffington Post

President Barack Obama will appear Sunday for an exclusive interview on “Meet the Press,” as fiscal cliff negotiations come down to the wire before the Dec. 31 deadline.

Obama didn’t sit for interviews on any of the Sunday public affairs shows while running for reelection in 2012. He last made the Sunday show rounds when pushing for health care reform in Sept. 2009.

“Meet the Press” host David Gregory, who sparked controversy and prompted a D.C. police investigation after holding up an empty gun magazine during last Sunday’s interview with National Rifle Association executive Wayne LaPierre, will return from vacation to conduct the interview with the president. NBC News has not commented on the police investigation.

Obama’s Sunday appearance will be his 11th on “Meet the Press” and second as president.

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Filed under Meet The Press, President Barack Obama

Far Right Website Newsmax Shoots Down NRA Israel Myth

This should tell you everything you need to know about their politics

This should tell you everything you need to know about their politics

The NRA can’t rely on truth to support their positions so they resort to such blatant lies that even a far right publication has to call them out on it…

Addicting Info

Whatever side of the gun control debate you’re on, everyone can agree: there’s something different this time. Whether we’ve reached a tipping point and we are collectively tired of the unnecessary violence or the crime was so shocking that it can not be rationalized, it’s clear that the usual bag of NRA tactics is not working.

Nothing has made this more clear than the outright rebellion from reliable right-wing sources. The New York Post  labeled NRA Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre a “Gun Nut.” Fox News has been uncharacteristically subdued and now, even Newsmax, a website known only for being an outlet for right-wing propaganda has turned its back on the NRA in a bit of rarely seen journalistic integrity:

Israel’s policy on issuing guns is restrictive, and armed guards at its schools are meant to stop terrorists, not crazed or disgruntled gunmen, experts said Monday, rejecting claims by America’s top gun lobby that Israel serves as proof for its philosophy that the U.S. needs more weapons, not fewer.

Far from the image of a heavily armed population where ordinary people have their own arsenals to repel attackers, Israel allows its people to acquire firearms only if they can prove their professions or places of residence put them in danger. The country relies on its security services, not armed citizens, to prevent terror attacks.

This is not a right-wing knee jerk defense of Israel in any sense. It is simply a statement of reality that stands in stark contrast to the NRA’s Wild, Wild west fantasy. Newsmax goes on:

“Israel had a whole lot of school shootings until they did one thing: They said, ‘We’re going to stop it,’ and they put armed security in every school and they have not had a problem since then,” LaPierre said on the NBC News show “Meet the Press.”

Israel never had “a whole lot of school shootings.” Authorities could only recall two in the past four decades.

Israel didn’t mandate armed guards at the entrances to all schools until 1995, the Education Ministry said — more than two decades after the Maalot attack and two years after a Palestinian militant wounded five pupils and their principal in a knifing at a Jerusalem school.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor spelled it out.

“We’re fighting terrorism, which comes under very specific geopolitical and military circumstances. This is not something that compares with the situation in the U.S,” Palmor said.

The only terror we’re fighting on American soil is the one instilled by groups like the NRA itself. Newsmax goes on to fully describe how superior Israel’s gun policies are in relation to America’s in the sense that the Israelis take the time to know who is buying a gun, why and to check whether they are a risk to public safety. All of this would be considered “tyranny” but gun “rights” advocates. It’s OK for the rest of the country to live in fear of the next gun massacre as long as a well-funded minority tells us they have the right to buy as many guns as they want.

This particular episode of America’s addiction to guns has not yet played itself out and the NRA may yet prevail with its bag of distractions and nonsense. This time, though, it will not be with quite the same amount of automatic support from the usual suspects. Hopefully that means the tide is finally turning and America can reverse the “shoot first, ask never” mentality that has overtaken us.

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Filed under Gun Control Legislation, Gun Lobby, NRA, NRA's Wayne LaPierre

David Gregory: No Pro-Gun Rights Senators Would Go On Meet The Press

David Gregory

Pro-gun rights politicians are wimps when it comes to facing the public with their gun advocacy stance, especially in the aftermath of a horrific event like the Newton massacre.  Yet behind closed doors they accept “campaign contributions” and endorsements from the National Rifle Association (NRA) with no hesitation.  The hypocrisy is astounding…

The Huffington Post

‘Meet The Press’ host David Gregory said that no pro-gun rights senators would agree to go on the show on Sunday.

“We reached out to all 31 pro-gun rights senators in the new Congress to invite them on the program to share their views on the subject this morning,” he said. “We had no takers.”

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) joined the show to discuss a greater need for gun control. She announced that Senate Democrats would intrduce a new bill banning assault weapons on the first day of the new Congress in January.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a staunch advocate for gun control, also appeared on the show. Bloomberg helped found the group “Mayors Against Illegal Guns.”

MTP Executive Producer Betsy Fischer Martin confirmed that none of the 31 senators invited would agree to come on.

Pro-gun rights have been mostly quiet since a gunman walked into a Connecticut elementary school on Friday and shot 26 people, including children, and then himself.The NRA on Friday refused to comment on the shooting.

One exception? Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) told Fox News Sunday that he believed more guns are the answer to violence in schools.

“I wish to god she had had an M4 in her office,” he said of Sandy Hook Elementary School principal Dawn Hochsprung, who was killed in the shooting.

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Filed under Gun Control Legislation, Newtown Shootings, NRA

Norquist Issues Tea Party Threat In Warning To Obama

Oh, Mr. President.  Be afraid, be very afraid.  Not…

The Huffington Post

As elected officials from both sides of the partisan aisle embed themselves in fiscal cliff negotiations, Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist remains at the center of the conversation.

In a Sunday roundtable discussion on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” Norquist issued a warning to President Barack Obama.

“Tea party two is going to dwarf tea party one if Obama pushes us off the cliff,” Norquist said. “Let’s not pretend who’s pushing us over the cliff.”

Thanks to his anti-tax pledge, Norquist has been a prime target since fiscal cliff discussions picked up steam in November. Democrats have gone so far as to create an online petition against Norquist.

Several Republicans, headed by Sens. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Lindsey Graham(R-S.C.) have broken away from Norquist’s pledge. Despite those movements,Norquist vowed last Monday that “nobody is turning on me.”

 

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Vice President Biden Says He Supports Gay Marriage

Upworthy

Despite being against marriage equality in 2008, everyone’s favorite Veep now says: “I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual men marrying women are entitled to the same exact rights.” Where you at, President Obama?!

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Top Republican Strategist Denies Women Are Paid Less Than Men

I have to wonder if this is willful ignorance or being just plain stupid!

Think Progress

This morning, during a heated discussion with Rachel Maddow on Meet The Press, GOP consultant Alex Castellanos denied that women make 77 cents for a man’s dollar in the workplace and noted, “there are lots of reasons for that.” Maddow expressed shock at the assertion, but concluded that it explained why Republicans and Mitt Romney are so hesitant to embrace the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, a law that helps women hold accountable employers who discriminate in the pay practices based on gender.

“Now we know, at least from both of your perspectives,” Maddow said, pointing to Castellanos and Romney surrogate Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), “women are not fairing worse than men in the economy that women aren’t getting paid less for equal work.” “It’s about policy and whether or not you want to fix some of the structural discrimination that women really do face that Republicans don’t believe is happening,” she added. Castellanos responded to Maddow’s policy argument by remarking on her passion, to which the MSNBC host took offense:

CASTELLANOS: It is about policy and I love how passionate you are. I wish you were as right about what you’re saying as you are passionate about it. I really do.

MADDOW: That’s really condescending. This is a stylistic issue. My passion on this issue is actually me making a factual argument on it.

Watch it:

In an interview with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer earlier this month, Romney refused to say whether he would sign the Lilly Ledbetter Act, but claimed that he would not change it. Romney’s women surrogates — including McMorris Rodgers — all voted against the legislation. Castellanos himself consulted Romney during the 2008 presidential election.

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Filed under Women's Rights