The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell: Rewriting Palin’s Response
“Today, Sarah Palin said, ‘Like many, I’ve spent the past few days reflecting on what happened, and praying for guidance.’ Her prayers were not answered, leaving her obviously without divine guidance about what to say today. Instead, she sunk into a self-involved, defensive, inappropriate ramble about - well, I guess it was supposed to be about the Tucson massacre…”
Lawrence O‘DONNELL: Time for tonight‘s Rewrite. During a discussion on extending the Bush tax rates and extending unemployment benefits for out of work Americans on “MORNING JOE,” Arizona‘s Republican Congressman John Shadegg showed a stunning ignorance about basic economic principles. Mike Barnicle asked Congressman Shadegg if he‘d vote for the unemployment benefits extension if they were paid for and if Congress extends his beloved Bush tax rates for everyone, including the top tax bracket. Shadegg dodged the question, and then this happened. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MIKE BARNICLE, MSNBC ANCHOR: What about the fact that unemployment benefits pumped into the economy are an immediate benefit to the economy? Immediate— REP. JOHN SHADEGG ®, ARIZONA: no, they‘re not. Unemployed people hire people? Really, I didn‘t know that. BARNICLE: Unemployed people spend money, congressman, because they have no money. SHADEGG: So your answer is it‘s the spending of money that drives the economy. And I don‘t think that‘s right. It‘s the creation of jobs that drives the economy. BARNICLE: But if you spend money at the variety store— SHADEGG: The truth is—the truth is the unemployed will spend as little of that money as they possibly can. Job creators create jobs. (END VIDEO CLIP) O‘DONNELL: Whoa. Congressman Shadegg got everything wrong he could possibly get wrong in that statement. He said he doesn‘t think the spending of money drives the economy. The spending of money not only drives the economy, nothing else drives the economy. Without the spending of money, we would have no economy. I spent a lot of time today trying to find less harsh-sounding adjectives than the word stupid. I actually do everything I can in this show, especially in this segment, to avoid harsh, condescending sounding adjectives like that. I asked your help with this. Please, submit your suggestions to our blog about how to describe what congressman Shadegg said. Here‘s what he should have said to Mike Barnicle: “I really don‘t know how to answer your question because we are under orders here in the Republican party to push the lie that the only way to create jobs in this country is to help the rich get richer. And I can‘t figure out a way to make that sound halfway intelligent in response to what you‘ve asked me. So please ask me something else.” Now, given that Congressman Shadegg‘s actual response will live in cyber video forever, the University of Arizona should consider either revoking the BA degree he was granted in 1972 or retroactively enter an F for economics in his college transcript. The good news is we won‘t have John Shadegg to kick around anymore. He‘s being replaced in the House next year. He‘s retiring at the end of this session. And yes, of course, after good news like that comes the bad news. He will be replaced by Dan Quayle‘s son.
GM, the auto giant returned to the big board with an initial public offering topping 20 billion dollars, making it the biggest IPO in American history. The biggest, bigger than UPS, Kraft Foods, AT&T Wireless, even bigger than Visa.
“does anyone really believe that politicians and bureaucrats in Washington can successfully steer a multinational corporation to economic viability? It‘s time for the administration to fully explain what the exit strategy is to get the U.S. government out of the board room once and for all.” - Rep. John Boehner, summer of 2009
“Billions have been wasted and tens of thousands of jobs have been lost. Now the government has forced taxpayers to buy these failing companies without any plausible plan for profitability. Does anyone think the same government that plans to double the national debt in five years will turn GM around in the same time?” - Senator Jim DeMint, June 1st.
“no matter how much the president spins GM‘s bankruptcy as good for the economy, it is nothing more than another government grab of a private company and another handout to the union cronies who helped bankroll his presidential campaign. This is the real change President Obama has in mind for America, government ownership of our economy, financed with irresponsible and reckless government spending and debt, and no jobs to show for it.” - RNC Chairman Michael Steele, June 1st.
“You know you don‘t have to speak just because it is your turn, right?”
Elisabeth Hasselbeck:
Do you think that the problem though, Bill [O’Reilly], is that if we go back in time, early in this administration, the president himself said we weren‘t allowed to use the word terrorist early on. So then he started using the word—hang on. He started saying the word radical Islamist, radical Muslims. So then there was then a closer association with what happened and the religion. I think if he would have just let us say terrorists, because there are terrorists across all religions and all faiths, then this wouldn‘t even be a problem.
Lawrence O’Donnell:
Whoa, whoa, whoa, Elisabeth, Elisabeth, Elisabeth! The president, himself, said we weren‘t allowed to use the word terrorists? I think that if he would have just let us say terrorists—ugh.
OK. So Elisabeth, you have heard of the First Amendment. It is the one that actually has the phrase freedom of speech. And what that means, of course, is that this is the country where you can say anything you want. It always has been.
So, even if the president, himself, said we weren‘t allowed to use the word terrorists, which he didn‘t, you could still use the word terrorist. How do I know? Because I did. I use the word terrorist all of the time.
Yeah, on TV.
Now, Elisabeth, you know you don‘t have to speak just because it is your turn, right? You know that. I have done a lot of panel shows, “The McLaughlin Group” and others. And inevitably they get around to talking about something that you just don‘t know anything about. Now most of the time, not all of the time, but most of the time when I have nothing to say, I just shut up. I have even been known to say, I don‘t know, when I have nothing to add to something I know nothing about.
Yes. You can say I don‘t know on TV. I have done it. So, Elisabeth, your Rewrite for tonight is nothing. You should have said nothing. And the next time you find yourself in this situation, you should just say nothing. Yes, I know how hard that sounds to you. But if I can do it, you can do it. I know you can do it.
OK. If you find that impossible, then there is one thing that you can always say, and you can never go wrong saying this on your show, and it is always what most of the audience is thinking anyway. And it is simply this: “I agree with Barbara.”
Watch here
“That‘s not fear mongering. That‘s moron mongering.”
Sarah Palin:
Americans will never stand for Sharia law being the law of the land. Americans will not stand for this Because Americans are smart enough to know Sharia law, if that were to be adopted, allowed to govern in our country, it will be the downfall of America. And too many Americans are on to this already, and are starting to rise up and send that message to our federal officials and stay, you know, we will not put up with any hint of Sharia law being any sort of law of the land.
Lawrence O’Donnell:
I am so on board with that. Luckily, so are the founding fathers. They‘ve got us covered on this one with a little thing they like to call The constitution of the United States of America. I guess I do have one little rewrite note for Sarah Palin, just three little words: needless to say. That‘s what most of us say before we say something that everyone already knows and agrees with.
Of course, saying needless to say would make some of her statements seem a bit less scary to the very, very few people who can be scared by such innocuous language. And if she is trying to scare people that way, these statements don‘t qualify for the label fear mongering. You can‘t scare anyone who already knows we have a Constitution with talk of Sharia law becoming the law of the land.
That‘s not fear mongering. That‘s moron mongering.
video here
Lawrence O’Donnell Grills Levi Johnston… Using Exact Same Questions Couric Asked Palin
O’Donnell’s interview was entirely tongue-in-cheek, which made it ultimately less about informing than about entertaining. But it was undeniably entertaining - Mediaite
“MSNBC’s heavily-promoted debut of “The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell” was the cable news channel’s most-watched program on Monday.”
“I think Snooki highlights the problem in public education… Watch the ‘Jersey Shore’, watch it. and tell me what teacher could have possibly reached any one of them, to get any one of their scores (school grades) up, in any subject?” - Lawrence O’Donnell
MSNBC: Beginning Monday at 10 p.m. Lawrence O’Donnell’s show goes live Like his prime-time colleagues on MSNBC, Mr. O’Donnell is staunchly liberal: he is a pacifist, he is opposed to the death penalty in every circumstance, and, he said, it is “impossible to be to my left on health care — there’s no space.” But as a product of the compromising body of the Senate, he comes across as much more pragmatic (and perhaps more understanding of the administration’s situation) than Mr. Olbermann and Ms. Maddow. Mr. O’Donnell’s conversations about campaigning and governing are predominantly tactical, not fantastical. “I think a lot of people on both sides have extremely naïve views of what government is capable of,” he said. “Republicans believe that tax cuts can build buildings, all sorts of miraculous things. A lot of Democrats and liberals believe that spending more money in a school is going to up the test scores, no matter how much evidence there is that it won’t, or hasn’t.”
MSNBC Gives Lawrence O’Donnell 10 p.m. Show
Developing: MSNBC is giving regular Countdown fill-in Lawrence O’Donnell the 10 p.m. hour, a spokesperson for MSNBC confirms.
O’Donnell will start developing the program immediately, though no format, title or date has been set.
“I’ve had a part-time job at MSNBC for 14 years…I’m thrilled to be going full time.” - O’Donnell in release via mlcalderone
OMG!!! I’ve been calling for this for I don’t know how long. I may actually have some clout ; /
Seriously, I could not be happier about this. HUGE O’Donnell fan.
Here is that O’Donnell piece I tried to to link directly to on the lying healthcare IRS nonsense (the embed wouldn’t work). Great job by O’Donnell (as usual) check it out.
Lawrence O’Donnell thoroughly dismantles this untruth put forth by (R) Sen. DeMint and his ilk.
“
Senator McCain, deep breath, calm down. You are not the only senator who lost a presidential election and returned to work in the senate. There is a model on how to do this with dignity while fulfilling your oath to serve the people without violating your loyalty to your party.
He’s a bit younger than you are but served in the same war. Like you he is a decorated Navy man. And he has much to teach you about controlling your temper and preserving your dignity. He’s right there, across the aisle. You can talk to him. He still likes you. The Navy bond is stronger than the senate bond. Go ahead. Ask John Kerry how he does it.
Lawrence O’Donnell on John McCain deciding to take his ball and go home.
I’ll keep begging; MSNBC please give Lawrence O’Donnell the 10:00pm slot. PLEASE!
Bill Maher visited Lawrence O’Donnell last night, who by the way is doing a fantastic job sitting in for Olbermann, PLEASE MSNBC GIVE THIS GUY THE 10:00pm SLOT!
Maher stuck around for two segments. First, of course they covered the whole former Rep. Massa insanity. Then, watch here, they spoke about health care, Pres. Obama, the Dems etc.
Everyone knows Lawrence O’Donnell, right? The teevee pundit who really should have his own show by now? The one who hosts Countdown better than Keith Olbermann? (Oh yes he does.)
You might have known he was an executive producer for The West Wing.
But did you know he played Jed Bartlet’s abusive father? The one who Mrs. Landingham called “a prick”.
I didn’t.
give this man the 10:00 pm slot already msnbc!
