Jake Tapper Actually Remembers When Senate Did Its Duty
Back when Obama had nominees for HHS and other cabinet positions, Democrats actually vetted the candidates.. Today's Republicans? Not so much.
Everyone reading this knows about Republican hypocrisy, particularly in the United States Senate under Mitch McConnell. From Obamacare to Supreme Court Nominees to confirmation hearings, what was required of President Obama is now not at all needed from President Trump. It's okay if you're a Republican is happening hourly in the US Senate.
What IS refreshing is to see an on-air media personality actually remember that and call Republicans out on it. Thanks Jake Tapper:
JAKE TAPPER: I want to talk just a second about the nomination of Tom Price to be Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Specifically, I just want to contrast what's going on right now with his nomination versus eight years ago when former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle was President Obama's nominee. Eight years ago I was White House correspondent. I got a tip that Daschle was having problems in the committee as his nomination was being vetted by staff there. I broke the story for ABC news at the time, that there was an issue that he had taken free car rides for several years and had not paid the taxes on it, and it ended up derailing the Daschle nomination -- he withdrew his name from consideration. So two things that are different today than what went on eight years ago when I broke that story.
One, I broke the story, we had the facts, we reported them. Nobody called it fake news. Nobody said we were smearing him. Nobody said that we were lying about him. They accepted the facts of the report, which were accurate, and they dealt with them as they thought best. That's not what's going on with Tom Price with these questions. Tom Price says it was all done through a broker and nothing was inappropriate. That's a fine answer. That's up to the Senate to decide whether or not they accept it. But to just attack facts as fake news is what we're now seeing with this administration. And that's not what we saw eight years ago when I broke the story about Daschle.
Number two, the Senate committee was vetting Tom Daschle. They had issues and questions. I don't see that same sort of diligence going on in these committees.
Yep we don't have tax returns for Betsey DeVos, Tom Price, who else? And we won't because Republicans don't care about ethics when it's them.
As I always say, Both. Sides. Don't.
And my better half notes on this very story, "during the reign of The Bastard President, the most important and dangerous asset to have in your inventory is a functional memory. "