[L]ast Sunday morning on CNN's State of the Union, fill-in host Ed Henry and Darrell Issa [the new House Oversight Government Reform Committee chairman] have this exchange about Issa's remarks about Obama on my show back in October.
HENRY: Right before the election you went on Rush Limbaugh's radio program. You have since said you regret saying that --
ISSA: I corrected what I meant to say. You know, on live radio with Rush going back and forth -- and, by the way, that was because Rush had me on to answer the question of about coming together, having compromise. He didn't like the compromise word when I said, we're gonna agree to disagree and then we're gonna find the kind of common ground, the kind of compromise that makes and gets things done. In saying that this is one of the most corrupt administrations, which is what I meant to say there, when you hand out a trillion dollars in TARP just before this president came in, most of it unspent, a trillion dollars, nearly, in stimulus that this president asked for plus this huge expansion in health care and government, it has a corrupting effect....
RUSH: So here's Issa trying to walk all this back. Now, just to set the record straight, I have no problem with Congressman Issa, literally no problem. He called the program wanting to get on. He called and wanted to get on to set something straight, to correct something I had said.... I was mad at him over compromise is sort of right. But when I hear Republicans say, "We want to work together to get things done," with any liberal Democrat, particularly Obama, red flags go up. There's no working with these guys. There's beating these guys, which happened in November. And what's going on now is an attempt to erase that, the fact that there was a big win. The mainstream media is trying to erase that fact. So Sunday morning on Face the Nation, the fill-in host was Harry Smith, and he talked to Darrell Issa and they had this exchange again about Issa on my radio program in October.
SMITH: I want to go back to something you told Rush Limbaugh not so long ago that you thought President Obama's one of the most corrupt presidents in modern history --
ISSA: But you know I walked -- I walked -- I walked back very quickly and said it's about the money the administration has had in a loose fashion. It's more about Congress' mistake in funding.
SMITH: Okay, 'cause my question was, do you think the Obama administration is corrupt?
ISSA: Time and time again what we've seen with the Obama administration is they played fast and loose with the walking-around money Congress gave 'em.
RUSH: Congressman Issa, look, I have no business here to be handing out advice, but no matter what you do, sir, they're gonna hate you. No matter what you do they're gonna twist and turn what you say. I mean this happened in October and they couldn't have cared less. Now it's January, it's the eve of you guys being sworn in and you assuming the chairmanship, and now all of a sudden you are some reprobate. Well, you're always gonna be a reprobate to these people in the media. There's nothing you can say. It's not worth trying to tie yourself in knots, congressman, to please 'em because it isn't gonna happen, you are the enemy. It's like I told the freshman class in 1994, "The media doesn't like the fact that you won. They're not happy you're here. They're not gonna treat you like winners. They're not gonna afford you the respect that they offer people like Debbie Wasserman Schultz or other B players. They're not gonna afford you any respect at all. They are gonna try to humiliate you, embarrass you, and try to get you to take back things that you meant, that you said, through intimidation or what have you. So you may as well just say what you think."
There's no question this administration's corrupt. Why do they care about it all of a sudden? They fear somebody's out to prove it, and actually do more than prove it, to actually act on it. Here's Margaret Carlson last night with Maude Behar on the Headline News channel. Maude Behar said, "What's he up to, Issa? Is he looking for a little time in the sun or something trying to improve his image in his party, what's going on here?"
CARLSON: In fairness to Congressman Issa, he was bullied by Rush Limbaugh when he said the thing about corruption, and no Republican wants to go up against Rush Limbaugh. Even if you have an investigatory commission, you are nothing compared to Rush Limbaugh, and they all know it.
RUSH: Okay, there we have it. So he was bullied by me. He has an excuse, you see. If he'll just change his mind, if he'll just walk it back, they'll let him get away with having it blamed on me, that I bullied him into saying something he doesn't really believe, that I, a harmless lovable little fuzzball, El Rushbo, on the radio intimidated a congressional committee chairman. And as long as he flies with that, then they'll give him a pass. Here's Chris Matthews last night on Hardball, just to show you the template that's been created here.
MATTHEWS: When you say "the most corrupt government," you are pandering to Rush Limbaugh. That's not true. This president's clean.
RUSH: (laughing) And articulate. You forgot articulate.
January 5, 2011
Was Issa just "pandering to Rush Limbaugh" when he called Obama "one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times"?
That's not the way Rush Limbaugh sees it:
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48 comments:
'One of the most' is a pretty meaningless modifier. Similarly, what does 'Modern Times' mean?
Issa got played by Limbaugh. Issa the (R) never would have said such a thing about any President with an (R) after their names. This is why Americans think politicians are hypocrites who can't speak plainly.
Now what evidence could possibly exist that Obama is corrupt?
Let's see, he's the first presidential candidate to refuse Federal campaign funding because he could collect more in campaign contributions in the open market.
He pocketed $1 billion.
Liberals, to whom public campaign financing was once a treasured principle, gave him a pass.
From whence came the $1 billion?
We'll never know, because the press doesn't want to know. Why? Because Obama is black. He's got a free pass.
He is from Chicago. Corruption is what he knows. He may well have other aims, but as far as he knows, corruption is how you get things done in politics.
That not the way I see it either. I've followed Issa for a long time. He's my Congressman.
Nice guy. He replies on Twitter too, unlike some "famous" people.
Oh Boy--here comes the meaningless invective against Darrell Issa.
Why don't we know anything about Obama's Czars?
Glenn Beck was on this a while back, but now we never hear anything. Have palms been greased?
Did Obama threaten to pull the plug at Fox if anything more was mentioned about the Czars?
The Czars -- isn't that a Russian update on Caesars?
And where is Michelle in all this?
Julius Sees Her.
*Harry Smith* hosted "Face the Nation"?? LMAO
Issa = coward.
Of course the Administration is hopelessly corrupt, the question is Obama's culpability. Did he deliberately surround himself with thieves and conmen or did they insinuate themselves into his circle under false pretenses?
I say he knew or he would've removed and made public examples of his tax-evading Treasury Secretary and/or that convicted influence peddler, "car czar" Steven Rattner. The fact that he consistently chooses to ignore or gloss over the crimes committed in his name makes it kinda tough for him to play the ignorance card.
Michelle got a $200,000 raise when Obama got elected U.S. Senator from Illinois (sacred scholarly precinct!), which means that the University of Illinois was being used as a conduit to augment his salary from un-named sources with his knowledge.
You go along with this, you are corrupt.
Professor;
Once again by quoting Mr. Limbaugh you are asking us to not only validate his viewpoint but establish his importance in "the discussion".
I don't listen to him and I don't care. His business is throwing out commentary, informed or otherwise, to get listeners. It's "pop politics" but (just for Red Staters.)
Not interested.
PS I'm sure he loves embarrassing those on the Right. It reinforces his position as "The One"
CZARS!
For the past two weeks I have lived like a typical Barack Obama Democrat voter. I was completely oblivious to the news and the real world.
What a great line! And so true (at least the part about being oblivious to the real world).
AllenS said...Issa = coward
Step away from the keyboard!
How eager Republicans are to disavow Tricky Dick Nixon! I guess he sent the plumbers into Watergate from the noblest of motives.
But if Obama is corrupt, where is the money? Cui bono? It's not like Obama is shoveling money to the large government contractor his VP used to run, like Bush did to Halliburton.
Further, I liked this classic case of projection from Rush: with any liberal Democrat, particularly Obama, red flags go up. There's no working with these guys.
What did Rush say when Obama was inaugurated? According to Rush, a "major American print publication" asked him and several other people to send them "400 words on your hope for the Obama presidency, we need it by Monday night, that would be ideal."
Rush's reaction: So I'm thinking of replying to the guy, "Okay, I'll send you a response, but I don't need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails."
A commenter wonders why the University of Chicago -- a private institution founded by the Rockefellers, by the way, not a taxpayer funded entity -- gave Mrs. Obama a promotion and big raise?
Hard to imagine the academic employer of Milton Friedman and Richard Epstein could have promoted Michelle for any reason other than merit. We must conclude she was doing a heckuva job.
Ha ha, back to Nixon are you? Classic.
But if Obama is corrupt, where is the money? Cui bono? It's not like Obama is shoveling money to the large government contractor his VP used to run, like Bush did to Halliburton.
You don't hear much about that Halliburton bribe to Nigeria to settle the first Halliburton bribe, to keep Cheney out of jail do you? I can just imagine the hoot and hollering if that was Al Gore.
The Zero has used the Constitution like a doormat and has cut a lot of deals about which we know almost nothing - GM, ZeroCare, etc. He doesn't associate with the foot soldiers, but I don't doubt, when a problem arises and he says, "Handle it", how does not come up. It's called plausible deniability, but it didn't work for Nixon or Willie and, if the economy stays bad, it won't work for him.
Agree with Hagar on the Chicago Way and Lincoln, especially with regard to Rattner.
Kirby Olson said...
Why don't we know anything about Obama's Czars?
Glenn Beck was on this a while back, but now we never hear anything. Have palms been greased?
Did Obama threaten to pull the plug at Fox if anything more was mentioned about the Czars?
The Czars -- isn't that a Russian update on Caesars
In answer to the last three questions, leaned on is more like it (especially through Soros), yes through the FCC, and yes.
But if Obama is corrupt, where is the money?
I just told you one instance of the source of the money. The $1 billion in campaign contributions. Oh, for those halcyon days when liberals thought that wallowing in campaign graft was prima facie evidence of political corruption!
But the bigger payoff is in quotas and set-asides. Here's what happened in Chicago.
Jesse Jackson's race hustling machine and Mayor Daley's political machine fought a turf war for decades, until the light went on in the noggins of both sides.
"Why fight when there's plenty of plunder to go around."
Construction projects, for instance, that feature a designated minority as its leader are exempted from the lowest bid rules in contracting with the government.
Voila! There's your money, fls. The race scam is incredibly profitable. The Daley and Jackson machines united behind Obama because they understood that the race quota and set-aside racket produced a bucket of swag that was big enough for everybody.
And, Michelle Obama's job was a $325,000 no-show job as a diversity enforcer. The job was eliminated (i.e.,deemed unnecessary) the moment her husband was elected president and she chose to leave.
You don't hear much about that Halliburton bribe to Nigeria to settle the first Halliburton bribe, to keep Cheney out of jail do you? I can just imagine the hoot and hollering if that was Al Gore.
So, you're argument is that Obama is no more corrupt than you imagine the Bush administration to have been?
And...
Investigate away. Could care less ST
Corrupt as Cheney? No way.
FLS as a GM bonholder who got screwed out of forty grand by the Obama administration to bail their UAW buds looks to me Obama bought votes with my money for his personal benefit. And what about his funny credit card fundraising without bothering to validate that the charges were made in the US? And since you brought up Nixon, just where did Nixon get a personal benefit from Watergate?
Cb, it goes beyond verification. By DEFAULT, verification is active on the software he used to process payments.
...meaning he turned it off.
Hard to imagine the academic employer of Milton Friedman and Richard Epstein could have promoted Michelle for any reason other than merit. We must conclude she was doing a heckuva job.
Quite so. In fact she did such a heckuva job that no one else on the planet has been able to meet the high bar she set for that job. Large shoes indeedy.
You don't hear much about that Halliburton bribe to Nigeria to settle the first Halliburton bribe, to keep Cheney out of jail do you?
Probably because 'bribery charges' coming from a nation notorious for generating some of the biggest internet financial scams might give a lot of people laughing fits.
YMMV
Michelle Obama's job ... was eliminated (i.e.,deemed unnecessary) the moment her husband was elected president and she chose to leave.
Michelle's job was eliminated along with hundreds of others as part of budget cuts in February 2009.
But Michelle's work saved the Medical Center money, according to Crain's Chicago Business:
>University of Chicago hospital policy boosts profits as it trims ER traffic
By: Mike Colias March 03, 2010
.(Crain's) -- The University of Chicago Medical Center's controversial program to redirect routine cases in favor of more-complex ones has produced a sharp drop in emergency room visits -- and a big boost to its bottom line
...
A report issued last week by bond rating firm Standard & Poor's says the patient declines are "primarily attributable to reaping the benefits of the Urban Health Initiative."
...
The program began more than four years ago, spearheaded by now-first lady Michelle Obama when she was a U of C executive. But hospital officials ramped it up early last year as part of a broad financial restructuring that also cut 600 full-time positions and $65 million from the annual budget.
Sorry if the facts conflict with your fervent beliefs.
Probably because 'bribery charges' coming from a nation notorious for generating some of the biggest internet financial scams might give a lot of people laughing fits.?
And yet Halliburton paid them a couple hundred million. Doh!
But Michelle's work saved the Medical Center money, according to Crain's Chicago Business:
University of Chicago hospital policy boosts profits as it trims ER traffic
(Crain's) -- The University of Chicago Medical Center's controversial program to redirect routine cases in favor of more-complex ones has produced a sharp drop in emergency room visits -- and a big boost to its bottom line
Curious that a position that provided such a 'big boost to the bottom line' would be targeted for elimination. Yes, most curious.
And yet Halliburton paid them a couple hundred million. Doh!
Oh my, corporate bribery in a Third World Country
The horror....the horror!
...fans self....
Speaking of fervent beliefs, fls,
One of the more remarkable things about the Nixon administration is, that for all the dirty deals that went down, I cannot remember any instance that involved improper financial gains by any "high official" or person of Nixon's "inner circle."
Now, if you want to claim that Mrs. Obama's $200,000 raise was purely coincidental to her husband's rise in Illinois politics, how will you justify his house dealings with Tony Rezko?
That was Mr. Obama himself, and I hope you will not try to claim he did not know who Tony Rezko was!
Hard to imagine the academic employer of Milton Friedman and Richard Epstein could have promoted Michelle for any reason other than merit.
Yes, if there's a libertarian at the law school now, and there was a libertarian in the econ department in the 70s, the medical school is obviously beyond reproach.
It's kind of a funny coincidence, though, that Michelle got paid $121K the year before Barry was elected to the Senate, and $317K the year after. (Which was the year Barry got the million dollar earmark for his wife's employer.)
Michelle's work saved the Medical Center money
Saving money for a big private institution is good when it benefits important people in the Party.
This Rush Limbaugh of whom you speak, it says over there on that site where this transcript is that one must be a member to listen to the podcasts or to view the shows. Clicking through, it appears that membership is $60.00 a year. That's bullshit. I can do without listening to all that when I can read it 10X faster when directed to something interesting, although I'll admit the bit about the harmless lovable little fuzzball is amusing.
I can see why Limbaugh scares the likes of Matthews and why they tend to attribute to him more power than he actually possesses. Limbaugh seems to penetrate their little reindeer games most acutely and that's got to set one on edge -- to have one's own modus ponens so clearly splayed.
Even if you have an investigatory commission, you are nothing compared to Rush Limbaugh, and they all know it.
Issa is sorry, Rush! Sorry, sorry, so sorry.
Curious that a position that provided such a 'big boost to the bottom line' would be targeted for elimination.
Once you persuade the neighbors -- who see you as an elitist, cold, selfish institution trying to balance the budget on the backs of the poor -- to visit community clinics instead of the ER for routine health care, what do you do for an encore?
(Which was the year Barry got the million dollar earmark for his wife's employer.)
That was the year Obama requested a million dollar earmark for his wife's employer. They didn't get it.
That was also the year Obama requested a five million dollar earmark for his wife's employer's competitor, Northwestern University Hospitals. They didn't get it, either.
Obama also requested $12.5 million for the Children's Hospital of Illinois. In all he requested a total of $26 million for various hospitals around the state of Illinois.
Do ya think Obama might just care about sick people, especially sick children?
Or should his wife's employer be the one hospital in Illinois unworthy of federal tax dollars?
how will you justify his house dealings with Tony Rezko?
Beware of Syrians bearing gifts.
Tony Rezko was a real estate guy Obama knew. Obama asked him about this real estate deal -- a two lot parcel with a house on one lot. Rezko offered to buy the unbuiltupon lot. At that point Obama's ethics detector should have gone off. But no.
Would I want Tony Rezko to build a house right next to mine? No.
Another interpretation of this deal is that it was Chicago SOP.
A young politician on his way up, the organization arranges to give him a helping hand - "not a big deal and everybody does it" - and they have a handle on him if he ever should forget who is boss.
Cf. Gov's Kerner, Ryan, Blagojevic, etc.
Now Obama has gotten to be too big a deal for Chicago to spoil, so Tony Rezko went under the bus rather than Obama, but who knew that was going to happen back then?
"former law student said...
Curious that a position that provided such a 'big boost to the bottom line' would be targeted for elimination.
Once you persuade the neighbors -- who see you as an elitist, cold, selfish institution trying to balance the budget on the backs of the poor -- to visit community clinics instead of the ER for routine health care, what do you do for an encore? "
Basically what they did was dump the poor on to other hospitals. For that she got paid the big salary. They needed a politically conected person to pull it off, that's why she got the big salary jump.
Honestly Ann needs a better class of troll.
So, fls, what about the $1 billion in campaign cash?
Used to be that collecting that kind of cash was proof in itself of corruption.
You know... like buying the office?
Not any more?
Basically what they did was dump the poor on to other hospitals.
Basically, somebody needs to read the Crain's Chicago Business article, because, basically, that's not what they did at all. Basically.
So, fls, what about the $1 billion in campaign cash?
If you want to know who contributed to Obama's campaign, I suggest
http://www.opensecrets.org/
so Tony Rezko went under the bus rather than Obama
The Tony Rezko who co-hosted a $3.8 million fundraiser for George W. Bush in 2003? The Tony Rezko who donated to Republican Governor Jim Edgar? That Tony Rezko?
Taxing Peter's unborn grandchildren to pay off Paul is inherently corrupt.
Taxing Peter's unborn grandchildren to pay off Paul is inherently corrupt.
Good point. By this criterion the rot started with Reagan, who borrowed money just to pay the interest on the national debt. Both Bushes increased the national debt as well. Clinton is the only non corrupt President since Carter.
Go back to FDR, FLS. And the last balanced budget was in the 60's. The Rep. Congress & Clinton spent the SS surplus on something besides SS--not truly balanced.
Balancing a budget isn't my point, anyway. Government takes someone's lawful earnings and gives them to someone else, not always for a necessary government function. How can manna from Heaven not be corrupting?
Now it does the giving like a tsunami--later it will have to do the taking, probably by debasing the currency and blighting the economy.
Investigate away. Could care less ST
Corrupt as Cheney? No way.
Garage, I see your "CZARS!" and raise you a "CHENEY!"
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