Norah O'Donnell exposes Republican hack John Feehery's talking points in about a second and leaves him scratching his head like a dimwit when he had no response after he was asked to name one "pork barrel" project contained in the stimulus bill. (rough transcript)
Feehery:.... They go first with this huge pork bill.
O'Donnell: Name one piece of pork.
Feehery: Ahhh, bhah,,,You can't do that to me right now, I can't think of it right now, but it was a huge bunch of stuff that we don't even know what's in there.
O'Donnell: Well the reason I ask and it's not to put you on the spot and everything, but it's not pork. A lot of people say what it is, it's infrastructure spending, it is spending that is stimulative. That's what the White House says.
{snip}
O'Donnell: Let me get this straight: Republicans want to come out and be against helping people who are unemployed?
Feehery: No, they don't want to do that, but they...
O'Donnell: But that's what it sounds like...
Feehery: What they don't want to is go bankrupt in the off years and that's why Republican governors are having a hard time with this legislation ... the relief is temporary, but the changes are costly forever.
O'Donnell: Well it doesn't sound clear that the republican party knows exactly what to do quite frankly since there's this disagreement between the government on what to do. I want to read from the Politico, which has an interesting story today which says: Republicans are hatching a political comeback by dusting off a strategic playbook written nearly two decades ago.
Its themes: Unite against Democrats’ economic policy, block and counter health-care reform and tar them from spending scandals.The key point, a playbook from two decades ago. This is really I guess the grand old party.
Is that really the best Republicans have?
Feehery: Well, hopefully not ...
O"Donnell: Is anybody a thinker in that party?
I'm really shocked that Norah actually put him and Republicans on the spot for a change. It's not her usual MO, and it suggests just how bad Republicans are starting to look. Wow, Feehery probably expected the usual on-air time to freely slam anything Obama. She painted him in the corner over Republican governors refusing to accept unemployment aid and then hit him over the head by pointing out that the only new ideas they have are out of Newt Gingrich's 20-year-old playbook.
Republicans are hatching a political comeback by dusting off a strategic playbook written nearly two decades ago. Its themes: Unite against Democrats’ economic policy, block and counter health care reform and tar them with spending scandals.
Those represent the political trifecta that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich bet on in 1994 to produce a historic Republican takeover of Congress.
This normally would work, as our librul media usually gets sucked in by the Gingrich playbook. But I have a hope that maybe, just maybe, more TV hosts will call this out for what it is: Pure lunacy in a time when this country cannot afford these political games.
Republicans who adopt this philosophy should remember that Gingrich got his butt kicked over this plan. And they are terrified that we may get universal health care in the future and will do anything to undermine that. Even if it means digging up Newt's bones to do it.
