Tucker Carlson, Editor-in-Chief: “I don’t remember Diane Sawyer scolding her colleague Sam Donaldson for heckling President Reagan. And she shouldn’t have. A reporter’s job is to ask questions and get answers. Our job is to find out what the federal government is up to. Politicians often don’t want to tell us. A good reporter gets the story. We’re proud of Neil Munro.” – The Daily Caller
TUCKER CARLSON’S CREW over at the Daily Caller are high-fiving after his reporter Neil Munro interrupted Pres. Obama during remarks about his new immigration policy announced today. Politico has declared “Obama interrupted by heckling reporter” in their headline. Interrupted or “heckled,” you decide.
I’m all for having a discussion that no politician deserves deference when rambling on and on. Across the political spectrum there is too much genuflection to politicians who work for us.
But I bet this discussion falls along political lines, going something like this: Democrats will say only Pres. Obama is disrespected like this and it’s because he’s African American; Republicans will cheer loudly because this happened to Pres. Obama, but would be ready to draw and quarter any liberal reporter daring to do the same to Mitt Romney.
As you’ll see in the transcript of Obama’s remarks, Munro’s involvement is included in the official email going out to reporters.
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON IMMIGRATION
Rose Garden
THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. This morning, Secretary Napolitano announced new actions my administration will take to mend our nation’s immigration policy, to make it more fair, more efficient, and more just — specifically for certain young people sometimes called “Dreamers.”
These are young people who study in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods, they’re friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag. They are Americans in their heart, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper. They were brought to this country by their parents — sometimes even as infants — and often have no idea that they’re undocumented until they apply for a job or a driver’s license, or a college scholarship.
Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine you’ve done everything right your entire life — studied hard, worked hard, maybe even graduated at the top of your class — only to suddenly face the threat of deportation to a country that you know nothing about, with a language that you may not even speak.
That’s what gave rise to the DREAM Act. It says that if your parents brought you here as a child, if you’ve been here for five years, and you’re willing to go to college or serve in our military, you can one day earn your citizenship. And I have said time and time and time again to Congress that, send me the DREAM Act, put it on my desk, and I will sign it right away.
Now, both parties wrote this legislation. And a year and a half ago, Democrats passed the DREAM Act in the House, but Republicans walked away from it. It got 55 votes in the Senate, but Republicans blocked it. The bill hasn’t really changed. The need hasn’t changed. It’s still the right thing to do. The only thing that has changed, apparently, was the politics.
As I said in my speech on the economy yesterday, it makes no sense to expel talented young people, who, for all intents and purposes, are Americans — they’ve been raised as Americans; understand themselves to be part of this country — to expel these young people who want to staff our labs, or start new businesses, or defend our country simply because of the actions of their parents — or because of the inaction of politicians.
In the absence of any immigration action from Congress to fix our broken immigration system, what we’ve tried to do is focus our immigration enforcement resources in the right places. So we prioritized border security, putting more boots on the southern border than at any time in our history — today, there are fewer illegal crossings than at any time in the past 40 years. We focused and used discretion about whom to prosecute, focusing on criminals who endanger our communities rather than students who are earning their education. And today, deportation of criminals is up 80 percent. We’ve improved on that discretion carefully and thoughtfully. Well, today, we’re improving it again.
Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security is taking steps to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people. Over the next few months, eligible individuals who do not present a risk to national security or public safety will be able to request temporary relief from deportation proceedings and apply for work authorization.
Now, let’s be clear — this is not amnesty, this is not immunity. This is not a path to citizenship. It’s not a permanent fix. This is a temporary stopgap measure that lets us focus our resources wisely while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven, patriotic young people. It is –
Q (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: — the right thing to do.
Q — foreigners over American workers.
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me, sir. It’s not time for questions, sir.
Q No, you have to take questions.
THE PRESIDENT: Not while I’m speaking.
Precisely because this is temporary, Congress needs to act. There is still time for Congress to pass the DREAM Act this year, because these kids deserve to plan their lives in more than two-year increments. And we still need to pass comprehensive immigration reform that addresses our 21st century economic and security needs — reform that gives our farmers and ranchers certainty about the workers that they’ll have. Reform that gives our science and technology sectors certainty that the young people who come here to earn their PhDs won’t be forced to leave and start new businesses in other countries. Reform that continues to improve our border security, and lives up to our heritage as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.
Just six years ago, the unlikely trio of John McCain, Ted Kennedy and President Bush came together to champion this kind of reform. And I was proud to join 23 Republicans in voting for it. So there’s no reason that we can’t come together and get this done.
And as long as I’m President, I will not give up on this issue, not only because it’s the right thing to do for our economy — and CEOs agree with me — not just because it’s the right thing to do for our security, but because it’s the right thing to do, period. And I believe that, eventually, enough Republicans in Congress will come around to that view as well.
And I believe that it’s the right thing to do because I’ve been with groups of young people who work so hard and speak with so much heart about what’s best in America, even though I knew some of them must have lived under the fear of deportation. I know some have come forward, at great risks to themselves and their futures, in hopes it would spur the rest of us to live up to our own most cherished values. And I’ve seen the stories of Americans in schools and churches and communities across the country who stood up for them and rallied behind them, and pushed us to give them a better path and freedom from fear –because we are a better nation than one that expels innocent young kids.
And the answer to your question, sir — and the next time I’d prefer you let me finish my statements before you ask that question — is this is the right thing to do for the American people –
Q (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: I didn’t ask for an argument. I’m answering your question.
Q I’d like to –
THE PRESIDENT: It is the right thing to do –
Q (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: — for the American people. And here’s why –
Q — unemployment –
THE PRESIDENT: Here’s the reason: because these young people are going to make extraordinary contributions, and are already making contributions to our society.
I’ve got a young person who is serving in our military, protecting us and our freedom. The notion that in some ways we would treat them as expendable makes no sense. If there is a young person here who has grown up here and wants to contribute to this society, wants to maybe start a business that will create jobs for other folks who are looking for work, that’s the right thing to do. Giving certainty to our farmers and our ranchers; making sure that in addition to border security, we’re creating a comprehensive framework for legal immigration — these are all the right things to do.
We have always drawn strength from being a nation of immigrants, as well as a nation of laws, and that’s going to continue. And my hope is that Congress recognizes that and gets behind this effort.
All right. Thank you very much.
Q What about American workers who are unemployed while you import foreigners?
Oy. This is sad
What’s sad?
That reporter’s rant! McCain decided to help Mitt today as well by slamming his super pac etc and going after sheldon adelson-
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/06/15/500435/mccain-corporations-not-people/
It’s nice how you stand up for the Unions unless a Democrat is about to a$$-fu@k them. What jobs do you expect these now legalized workers take? They are going to take the high paying private sector union jobs.
Private sector unions already have a tenuous relationship with Bigger, why make it worse?
I think PWT has the answer to the reporter’s question about American workers: We are a$$-fu@ked!
“I think PWT has the answer to the reporter’s question about American workers: We are a$$-fu@ked!”
Only if you are as ignorant and disassociated from reality as Po Widdle Troll is.
The “reporter” basically spews a lie disguised as a question. Brietfart apparently has become the gold standard for repugnantklan/teabagger rags.
Did undocumented workers crash the economy and put 10 million people out of work who, effectively, are still out of work four years later? This change of policy simply reverses what had been one of the most draconian immigration policies ever. It only applies to people under thirty who haven’t committed a felony or multiple misdemeanors. That’s not a lot of people.
And if it keeps people like Jose Antonio Vargas from having to leave the only country they’ve ever really known, then I don’t have a problem with that.
If you want better job prospects, you’re a lot more accurate to criticize this Administration’s uncompromising support of the financial industry, at the expense of all the rest of us, and its refusal to lobby for a real stimulus program. You can keep all the Mexicans in Mexico and it still won’t mean jack in terms of job creation. Our problems are our own, and largely created by us.
BTW, the never-ending war in Afghanistan costs us something in the neighborhood of a million jobs. That’s probably lots more than the folks covered by this new edict would have represented, even assuming they’d all been caught and sent back to wherever they are supposedly from.
I’m a bit conflicted over this incident. Did the President announce that he would take questions after his address, because he doesn’t always do so. If he did not, it’s fair to interrupt- it should not be a reporter’s job to simply sit in quiet submission while being drowned by flowery, self-aggrandizing rhetoric. If he did, the reporter was incredibly rude and disrespectful.
I think that if the president does not agree up front to take questions after he finishes speaking, he should expect to be interrupted. As I said, reporters are not there to submissively jot down whatever the President is saying and then helplessly shout questions as he hustles off to the next fundraiser.
1. Why is asking the President of the United States a question “heckling?” I’ve heard it called “heckling” several times, especially on MSNBC.
2. Since when is “Because its the right thing to do for the American People” an “answer” to any question? That’s not an answer for any person with two brain cells to rub together.
Maybe if the President stopped treating us like children who need to be spoon-fed bumper sticker talking points and who should not have the temerity to question his pronouncements, he wouldn’t get interrupted by (gasp!) questions concerning those pronouncements.
He wouldn’t get asked questions by FOREIGNERS taking a job away from an AMERICAN you mean?! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
Hmm. From that Politico link:
I haven’t been paying attention to what goes on at presidential press conferences lately. Presumably, this sort of thing doesn’t go on during the President’s remarks. Generally speaking, White House reporters seem like a pretty tame bunch, so I was surprised to read this happened.
And that statement if you either listen to the video or read the transcript is a plain old outright lie.
The repugnantklan/teabagger noise machine has been steadily draging “reporting” down into the sewer along with their gutter level politics.
As someone who is often interrupted when he’s speaking, I can say that it’s not obvious from the transcript. There are people who will just blurt out whatever they’re thinking almost any time they feel like it. Munro may be one such person. I have neither the time nor the desire to sit through a long, dissembling speech by a serial liar to figure out anything more.
I’ve also noticed that with you, if someone is a conservative that is proof of guilt right there.
I stopped wasting time trying to decipher secular’s stale blather quite some time ago. He’s a one-trick pony whose entertainment value went south about 200 “Republikant/teabagger” posts in.
You apparently are not very observant then. Name one instance when I have supported or endorsed any “reporter” from Rolling Stone or any other actual “Liberal” publication behaving in such a unprofessional, disrespectful way? You won’t because you can’t.
“I have neither the time nor the desire to sit through a long, dissembling speech by a serial liar to figure out anything more.”
Then my question would be why the frack are you there? This was not a “reporter” asking a question. This was a political act of the caliber of the juvenile repugnantklan/teabagger assmonkies who drove the mittens mobile around the Obama event blowing the horn.
Joe “You Lie!” Wilson
Jan “Fingers” Brewer
Neil “I Thought It Was Over” Munro
Coincidence? I dunno…
Watch it Sandmann, somebody’s gonna notice you holding repugnantklaner/teabagger assmonkies accountable there!!
Taylor, I have read your blog consistently since 2008. I know you were a Hillary supporter, and I greatly appreciate that. She has proven herself to be an outstanding political player, and McCain should go down in history as a fool for bringing Palin in to our political dialog. Compared to Hillary and her years of preparation for high office Palin is a fool, but an extremely damaging one. So is McCain since he lost.
I know that Obama has disappointed you, but as an old white woman I am astounded at our politics. The first president I remember was Eisenhower, as a very young woman. I adored John Kennedy, and Bobby was my hero. I worked my heart out for him.
But I have to say I am getting very bored with your constant carping on Obama. I agree with Sandmann:
Joe “You Lie!” Wilson
Jan “Fingers” Brewer
Neil “I Thought It Was Over” Munro
Coincidence? I dunno…
Birth certificates, racist filth in commentary on websites about Michelle Obama, on and on. I remember those fire hoses in the south and the death of those little girls in that church. I lived in southern Missouri in the late seventies and was surprised at the racism. I love the history on CSpan from the Civil War era.
Your post was weak, very weak. What that reporter did was outrageous. What our politics have become is outrageous. That night in Grant Park in 2008 gave me hope that our country had finally grown up just a little. Instead, it unleashed the dogs of racism, and it is not all due to Obama–they are so sick with hatred it wouldn’t matter what he did. They hate him because he’s in the White House.
I agreed with your posts about Joe Scarborough awhile back, but I must tell you that you have a little of Scarborough in you.
I weep for my country. After Gabby Giffords was shot Obama gave that eloquent speech in Arizona about that beautiful little girl that deserved to see the best in her democracy. Until this hatred is put where it belongs and broadly condemned by decent citizens of all persuasions and our pathetic “mainstream” media, it’s hopeless.
I am looking for solutions, not the constant carping that I have been seeing in your posts for awhile now.
You know Rose, you’d better watch it along with Sandmann!!
I agree with 99% of what you said however I would dissagree on “carping on Obama”.
Ms. Marsh has always, to my knowledge anyway, been a very equal opportunity observer of the body politic. I myself am perfectly fine with anyone pointing out President Obama’s shortcomings as a Democratic Party member and the deals he has been not only ready to make but eager to make. I was vociferous in my condemnation of him during and after the primary to the point of not voting for a Presidential candidate while voting Dem down ticket. But I have also supported him loudly when he did the right thing. As has Ms. marsh.
I tend to agree with what you said. Sometimes I’m not sure if I stumbled onto the wrong site by mistake. I tend to stay away when its all about bashing the President, which I find in a election year a waste of my time and energy. I must say I have never considered Obama a left of center politician, so I tend not to get my undies in a bunch when he acts like the center right democrat he is. I also have to say that I do see a big difference between him and the right wing republicans. so I will refrain for now with the President bashing because I refuse to help the wing nuts who will destroy this country.
Again, Bingo!
Bingo!
At the heighth of the McCarthy era, an aide came into the Oval Office to present Harry Truman with a political “gift.” It was a file filled with the senator’s faults, bad behavior, and overall sleaze. Truman was told that the information would once and for all sink McCarthy.
True to form, Truman instructed the aide to get that file out of his office and never bring something like that in there again. As he explained it, “Sure, that file might help Harry Truman now, but it would leave a stain on the walls of this office that would never wash off.”
As we all know, presidents since than have left many stains on those walls without much in the way of regret. This is because the presidency now revolves around the man (or woman someday I hope). A president is also human, with faults that may or mat not interfere with his/her proper respect for the presidency itself.
My own opinion of Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama is low, and to that opinion I am entitled. However, the presidency itself is a separate issue. It must not be confused with the office holder, otherwise it demeans the office. We, the people (and that includes reporters) are the sovereigns of the republic. Therefore the lack of respect for the presidency by current or former office holders is no excuse to cheapen that institution ourselves.
I thought Pres. Obama handled himself quite well, considering this latest example of what I call Toddler Politics. This “reporter” did not report news; he created it, with himself as part of the story. To my knowledge that is not journalism.
If one is going to pitch a toddler tantrum in the presence of a president, they don’t owe the president an apology. The owe the presidency an apology.
What an interesting thread. I tend to agree with the folks who think that the office should be respected and that racial hatred is the fuel to many of the wing nut fires. It must not be forgotten however that this is also how Republicans treat Democratic Presidents it just keeps getting notched up.It is deplorable.
I get Taylor’s pont about reporters not being stenographers but people present said this guy had his hands in his pockets, no recorder or notebook at the ready. He was performing a political stunt.
I guess ole Tucker is going to move into Brieitbarts (sp?) space now. What a total ‘born on third, thought he hit a triple’ prick he is.
SWEET JEEBUS CRISPIES ONNA POPCICLE STICK!!!!!!!!!! The wingnut repugnantklan/teabagger ISN’T A US CITIZEN!!!!!!!!
http://www.examiner.com/article/hypocrite-tea-party-reporter-who-heckled-obama-on-immigration-isn-t-an-american
AND HE’S TAKING A JOB AWAY FROM AN AMERICAN!!!!!! AND THE REPUGNANTKLAN?TEABAGGER PUTZ CARLSON EMPLOYS HIM!!!! BWAHAHAHAHA!
GOSH!! Seems all the supporters of and apologists for this repugnantklan/teabagger/ALIEN hack have STFU and crawled back into the woodwork since it came out the scumbucket was taking an Americans job doesn’t it!