Sunday News Show Roundup: AZ, Jobs, Rangel, and WikiLeaks
[Why leave it to the talking heads? From now on, Ricochet members, you're part of the Sunday roundtable discussions. Emily Esfahani-Smith tees you up with the rundown -- you take the conversation where it should've gone and where it needs to go. Enjoy! -- The Editors]
The three news items on the major Sunday news shows—Fox News Sunday, Meet the Press, and This Week—were the economy, Afghanistan, and the “Rangel conundrum,” as Christiane Amanpour, the new host of This Week, put it. The Arizona immigration bill got a shout too.
Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace hosted Sarah Palin, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner. Then panelists Bill Kristol, Juan Williams, Ceci Connolly, and Liz Cheney weighed in on the issues.
Christiane Amanpour debuted as the host of This Week, appearing sometimes softspoken as she interviewed Nancy Pelosi, Robert Gates, and her panel of commentators (Paul Krugman, George Will, and Donna Brazile).
On Meet the Press, David Gregory spoke to Adm. Mike Mullen about Afghanistan. Then, Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Alan Greenspan, and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell talked economics.
The rundown's below the fold!
Arizona: Obama Has No Cojones
On FNS, Palin didn’t swerve too far from GOP talking points on the show—“We have a jobless recovery and that’s no recovery in the minds of most Americans”—but she did use some colorful language when discussing the Arizona immigration law.
Palin is of course a proponent of the Arizona law. She told Chris Wallace, “Jan Brewer has the cajones that our president does not have to look out for all Americans in this desire of ours to secure our borders and allow legal immigration as was the intent of our country.” She understandably didn’t dive into a legal defense of her argument—that the law does not promote racial profiling nor does it infringe upon federal duties, contra the Arizona judge’s argument—but Palin did seem satisfied, perhaps naively so, that the injunction ordered by the Arizona judge on key parts of the law was temporary.
Jobs and the Economy: Austerity Proponents “have to have a way to make people suffer more”—Paul Krugman
Should the Bush tax cuts stay or go? Pelosi held her ground about expiring the Bush tax cuts, saying the tax cuts don’t increase jobs.
Alan Greenspan, speaking today on Meet the Press, also opposed these particular tax cuts, saying, “I’m very much in favor of tax cuts but not with borrowed money.” Greenspan held, contra Sarah Palin’s argument today on FNS, that tax cuts do not pay for themselves.
Pelosi also told Amanpour that the stimulus bill was a job creator that helped cut the unemployment rate from what it otherwise would have been. Speaking on Meet the Press, Mayor Michael Bloomberg questioned that belief, saying “this stimulus bill started with rebate check … that went to flat screen TVs made in China.” He also said that the money given to government in the bill was “used for operating [expenses], not investing.”
The bottom line, Bloomberg seemed to argue, is that the stimulus was most certainly not a job creator.
Some, like Bloomberg, say the stimulus did not work, others, as George Will argued this morning, think that we need to enter a period of fiscal austerity. And still others, like the rambling Krugman, who was sitting next to Will on This Week, think we need more stimulus, and more government spending. He said “people have got this austerity notion in their mind …. And it appeals to people because they have to have a way to make people suffer more.”
McConnell weighed in on FNS: “Let me tell you how not to stimulate the economy…their [Democrats’] signature job effort was to extend unemployment.”
Republican Strategy: Focus on Policy, Not Rangel
Boehner and McConnell spoke mostly about the economy, though when the issue of Charlie Rangel’s ethics charges came up, Boehner took a defined stance against Rangel while McConnell kept a cool distance from the issue, saying Democrats’ biggest issue is they’re “spending too much, taxing too much” and promoting job killing policies. This echoed Bill Kristol’s remarks on the show later, during the panel, when he said that the Republicans would be stupid to “harp on this” and should “focus on policy” instead in the lead-up to November.
Juan Williams, speaking on the FNS panel, spun the Rangel issue in terms of race: “It becomes highly racial … Rangel is black, Waters is black … the Congressional Black Caucus says ethics people go after black people.” Someone should alert the black caucus that very white Sen. John Ensign is in talks with the Senate ethics committee—and a grand jury—for a sex and lobbying scandal, a story covered by The Hill, TPM, and other outlets. Yet Krugman, speaking today on This Week, strangely bemoaned the fact that Ensign’s scandal was getting no press. He also called the charges being leveled against Rangel “petty.”
Looking forward to November, Chris Wallace pointed out to McConnell that the Democrats might try to paint the Republicans as obstructionists—they voted against extending unemployment, against financial regulatory reform, and against extending lending to small businesses, a bill that McConnell called “another TARP.”
Nancy Pelosi, speaking on This Week, echoed Wallace’s point, saying that Republicans have spent the last 18 months campaigning while Democrats have spent that time legislating.
Afghanistan/WikiLeaks: Did Julian Assange aid and abet al Qaeda?
Afghanistan was another hot news item this morning.
Amanpour, speaking to Robert Gates, asked him about the timetable to withdraw US troops in 18 months time. She noted that the Taliban is running out the clock. It is telling Afghans that the Americans are leaving in 18 months, so who will the Afghans turn to come month 19? Gates soberly said, “We will be there in 19 months and we will be there with a lot of troops.”
Pelosi, for her part, provided a realpolitik rebuttal to Amanpour’s concerns about the fate of the Afghan people. Amanpour asked her if the United States was going to abandon Afghanistan, especially the oppressed women of that country, such as the woman pictured on this week’s Time cover. Pelosi said, “we’re in Afghanistan because it is in our own national interest to be there ....our own national security.”
On FNS, the most interesting remark about Afghanistan came from Liz Cheney, who thinks that Obama should move aggressively to shut down WikiLeaks, the site that leaked thousands of documents about the war. She added that Julian Assange, the site’s founder, should be prosecuted for aiding and abetting al Qaeda.
I’m not sure if the entire site should be shut down—there’s a place for whistleblowers in a democracy, and WikiLeaks reports on issues other than national security—but perhaps Assange should pull the war documents from the site. On the other hand, the damage has already been done.
George Will, speaking on This Week, said the leak was “lethal without being helpful.”
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Comments :
Jun '10
Re: Sunday News Show Roundup: AZ, Jobs, Rangel, and WikiLeaks
I haven't owned a television in four years, but since when did it become okay to use the word "cojones" in polite company? American vernacular is full of many descriptive words without having to make reference to parts of the male anatomy. Am I the only one who feels this way?
Jun '10
Re: Sunday News Show Roundup: AZ, Jobs, Rangel, and WikiLeaks
I wish we could bring FDR back for a day, to opine on the WikiLeaks phenomenon. I believe he'd make Liz Cheney's reaction look wimpy by comparison. "Play with war secrets, and you're playing with fire." I'm sure FDR would say something along those lines, and also expect leakers to get burned.
May '10
Re: Sunday News Show Roundup: AZ, Jobs, Rangel, and WikiLeaks
Mitch McConnell is dead wrong. Charlie Rangel (and now Maxine Waters) are an important part of the conversation. Not only have Democrats utterly failed in their policies, but they have enriched themselves at our expense. Charlie Rangel used hiw power not to serve, as is his duty, but to line his own pockets and build a temple to himself. Maxine Waters used the banking crisis not to help the average American, but to bail out her own distant family members. The Democrats in Congress have spent trillions of dollars and who has been truly helped: Teachers' unions, the SEIU, their families and friends, their campaign contributors. McConnell does us a disservice to ignore what has been in front of us for many months -- the Democratic Party has betrayed a solemn trust with the American people and they do not deserve to retain the power they have abused.
May '10
Re: Sunday News Show Roundup: AZ, Jobs, Rangel, and WikiLeaks
Our elites simply refuse to understand. On immigration, control the border effectively and then we are willing have a dialogue on alternatives re. the remaining problem. On taxes & the deficit, bring spending under real control and then we can talk about what is required. On jobs, stop putting obstacles in the way of small business growth + clean up the toxic mess you have created over recent history.
Not complicated stuff but you have to want to listen, understand and change the operating paradigm. I am not sure they have the ability to do so - hence the need for new players.
Jun '10
Re: Sunday News Show Roundup: AZ, Jobs, Rangel, and WikiLeaks
Cholloy Rengel is this week’s conundrum
Once a Democrat star from Har-lum
He found reporting income a bore
And tax payment a real chore
So he lends a deaf ear to Obama’s dictum.
Jul '10
Re: Sunday News Show Roundup: AZ, Jobs, Rangel, and WikiLeaks
Cas Balicki:
So he lends a deaf ear to Obama’s dictum. · Aug 1 at 12:26pm
Dictum? Damn near killed 'im! :)
May '10
Re: Sunday News Show Roundup: AZ, Jobs, Rangel, and WikiLeaks
~Paules: I haven't owned a television in four years, but since when did it become okay to use the word "cojones" in polite company? American vernacular is full of many descriptive words without having to make reference to parts of the male anatomy. Am I the only one who feels this way? · Aug 1 at 10:39am
Well, there are well-understood euphemisms that address the male aggressive and assertive nature- "package", "testicles", etc. "Cojones" is an understood politer way, because of the language barrier, of saying "testicles", and far more reasonable way to describe "b***$". We understand what they mean, and seldom even think of the precise anatomical representation as we would if the English equivalent were used.
I'm OK with that as opposed to other slang, and it would take many more words to describe what is being expressed. I'm tired of "guts", which is even less classy.
May '10
Re: Sunday News Show Roundup: AZ, Jobs, Rangel, and WikiLeaks
Have to disagree with the wizard of Wasilla this time. It's not about cojones...it's about new voters for the People's Democratic Republic of Amerika that Frank Marshall Davis' most famous student needs to be reelected.
It's no longer "vote early and vote often". It's "stroke of the pen, law of the land...cool" as Paul Begala once said. Only this law creates new American voters. Watch out for that lame duck session. Pelosi and Reid have no shame...
Re: Sunday News Show Roundup: AZ, Jobs, Rangel, and WikiLeaks
Jimmie, do you think McConnell fears that if the GOP starts harping on the Democrats for ethical malfeasance--b/c of Rangel and Waters--that the Dems will turn around and do the same thing to Republicans (via Ensign), launching a dirty, avoidable fight in the lead up to November? Or do you think McConnell sincerely believes that Republicans must focus on policies, not ethics, as the midterms approach?
Steve -- are you critical of both the Republican and Democratic leaders, or just the Dems? One of the things Sarah Palin said, which I didn't mention in the post, is the need for our leaders to appeal to the wisdom of the people (she was specifically talking about the wisdom of moms who love the Constitution and the free market). I take it you agree?
Cas -- nice poem!
Aug '10
Re: Sunday News Show Roundup: AZ, Jobs, Rangel, and WikiLeaks
Jimmie - I read your note and found it persuasive. But, on reflection, I think this election is too important, and perhaps a one-time opportunity.
We as Republicans must use this opportunity to focus our message on the core principles that distinguish us from the Democrat/Marxist Party. We do that, then the DemoMarxicrats get routed in the fall; we continue doing so and actually stay true to those principles until 2012, the DemoMarxicrats lose the Senate and the Presidency. Then we can start undoing the damage.
Given this chance to clearly define the core of the party, focusing on Rangle and Waters would be a distraction.
May '10
Re: Sunday News Show Roundup: AZ, Jobs, Rangel, and WikiLeaks
Emily and Terry,
You both could be right. I think McConnell's message would have to be both clever and consistent. The obvious counter to any Democrat use of Ensign would be two-fold: 1) we have no interest in obstructing the Committee and abide by whatever it decides, and 2) you promised to "drain the swamp" so what happened? From where I sit, the issues of corruption and big government are intertwined so much that they can't be disentangled from each other. The size of the Federal budget makes corruption a certainty; the only way to keep members of Congress from misusing your money is to give them less of it to misuse. The more subtle message is that Rangel and Waters are not evil people. They simply got trapped by the allure of too much money around them and no real oversight about how they spent it. I think that's a powerful argument for smaller government in Washington, but I'm willing to accept that your more clear sell is best.
May '10
Re: Sunday News Show Roundup: AZ, Jobs, Rangel, and WikiLeaks
On the other hand, I'm not much of a McConnell fan. He strikes me as far too temperate in the face of unprecedented government spending and intrusion. He speaks with a bureaucratic dryness that has so little passion he might as well be reading from The Collected Speeches of Boring McBoreyson. A little bit of righteous indignation about Democratic excesses would, I think, resonate with the anger that more than a few of us feel. And it would show the voters that there is some fervor within the Republican Senate leadership to start rolling those excesses back.
Re: Sunday News Show Roundup: AZ, Jobs, Rangel, and WikiLeaks
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I sort of agree with Mitch McConnell. Not totally, of course -- there's a time and place for old fashioned mud slinging (especially when it comes to Rangel and the egregious Maxine Waters) but there's no point in winning an election if your mandate is to do what they were doing, just a little bit cleaner.