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House Republicans Speak

By: Brian Faughnan (Diary)  |  January 29th, 2010 at 11:33 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

As noted earlier, I had the opportunity to attend much of the GOP Retreat in Baltimore today. I interviewed several Members about the session with President Obama, and I interviewed Congressman Pete Sessions about the upcoming midterm elections. Here they are, unedited:

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  • NeoKong

    That’s a hell of goal.
    It can’t happen soon enough.
    There is something just so fundamentally wrong with that woman having so much power.
    Let’s roll.

    • Scope

      and make her go pick grapes.

  • http://itsaboutfreedom.proboards.com/index.cgi IronDioPriest

    It’s the fact that old, traditional media is truly on it’s way to the graveyard.

    When a blogger with a video camera and a microphone can garner the detailed attention of several committee chairs, and disseminate their message in total, in one place, my, how things have changed. The alphabet channels couldn’t compete with that if they wanted to. More and more people are turning to where they can get the news directly, and RedState is an excellent place for that.

    Oh…. and Issa? He needs to get a clue.

    • MetaCosm

      It is a sea-change isn’t it… with cheap, hand-held HD video recorders with mic in (for stereo mics) and the computing power to quickly render and get those videos online… and army of people recording and posting video will be impossible to compete with for sheer volume of content.

      Better mics and steadier hands(gorilla stand) and the differences between the alphabet networks and the bloggers in video / audio quality becomes a wash… add in the fact that youtube now has real HD… and many channels aren’t HD, and the bloggers might well have the quality edge soon.

  • burgerkang

    It’s interesting, that the “consensus” of the economists about the stimulus that Obama talks about is very similar to the “consensus” of the scientists about global warming.

    • http://www.suvstrategery.blogspot.com SoFiMil

      .

    • http://www.suvstrategery.blogspot.com SoFiMil

      Read your profile after I read your post and commented.

    • E Pluribus Unum

      –this month, unemployment “unexpectedly” went up.
      –another “unexpectedly” cold winter

      Yeah those guys are pips, aren’t they? And they’re as much scientist as I am Notre Dame fan.

      • eburke
  • blaze422

    Ryan is presidential timber? I solicited opinions several months ago and was met with crickets chirping.

    • tjexcite

      not 2012 unless needed. At the rate Obama is going, a ham sandwich with a R can win or a any D with the guts to offer a challenge. Ryan has many years to try as he is still very young in age (just turned 40) and politic terms.

    • mriggio

      also mentioned Ryan’s presidential potential, as an “out of the box” far-out prediction, as I recall. I think it was Steve Hayes, but might have been the Hammer, I slept since then….

  • bigalsouth

    Or does anyone else have a problem with the nomenclature “GOP Retreat”?

    How about GOP ATTACK CONFERENCE. Come on Republicans, you have the momentum, Attack! Attack! Attack!

    • redryder

      Near panic attack when I saw it.

    • http://www.suvstrategery.blogspot.com SoFiMil

      Micro dittos to ya.

      http://www.redstate.com/brianfaughnan/2010/01/29/the-house-gop-retreat/#comment-9323

      To be fair and balanced, I’ll repeat something I said earlier as well.
      Lose the exclamation points. — Now!

      http://www.redstate.com/dan_perrin/2010/01/30/sen-hatch-warns-of-outright-war-if-the-dems-try-reconciliation/#comment-7136

      • http://itsaboutfreedom.proboards.com/index.cgi#general bigalsouth

        Just “attack attack attack” didn’t have that snippy-ness I was lookin for.

        • SoFiMil

          PLEASE!

          It?s NOT A RETREAT! It?s a CONFERENCE.

          And take off your caps-lock while your at it. I know you didn’t like the use of the word “retreat,” but what did you think of the rest of Brian’s diary?

  • RedBeard

    If I were to describe Obama’s performance at the Republican gathering, the words would be:

    Defensive

    Petulant

    Childish

    Ego-centric

    Angry

    Un-presidential

    Obama reminds me of the kings and queens of old who struggled to hold absolute power in the face of opposition from their privy councils and parliaments. He is seemingly convinced that he is blessed with the divine right to rule, and therefore gets furious when anything or anyone gets in his way.

    • Scope

      When he was talking about when they were all over there (in Washington), doing nothing but worrying about their poll numbers, did you notice the face scratch with the middle finger. That was not a mistake.

      I also cringed when he said “You guys don’t have alot of room to negotiate with me.” Why did he agree to meet with them then?

      He knew he was on camera, his team requested the cameras. It didn’t stop him form making very frustrated and childish faces when any of the Republicans asked him questions.

      When one of the Republicans mentioned that the Republicans have come up with their own bills, and that they have been ignored, he made some idiotic remark about them claiming to have a healthcare bill that they claimed did not raise costs. He asked,” how can you come up with a bill, that covers 30 million more people, and say that it wouldn’t cost anything.” So, by saying that, he was saying that he is lying himself. He claims that 30 million more people will be covered, but, the legislation proposed would lower the deficit.

      I really like Jason Chafetz, but, he was on fox this morning saying that it was a very productive meeting, that he wants to have more of them, and that he really wants to work with the Democrats on crafting legislation. It seemed that he fell under Obama’s spell yesterday.

      The only thing gained by the Republicans in inviting Obama to the meeting, is Obama is on tape lecturing the Republicans, and, showing that this was just another photo op for him. He didn’t budge an inch.

      • Scope

        mirrored his comment in the SOTU address when he talked about the Debt Commission (or whatever it was called) that he wanted set up, but was not passed in Congress. He very arrogantly then stated that that was OK, he will just do it by executive order. He seems to forget that it was a bipartisan vote, as the Republicans could not have voted it down by themselves.

      • RedBeard

        …I would have stood up and said the following to Mr. Obama:

        “Mr. President, have you ever read your job description? By that I mean the one in the Constitution. Your job is to administer the law and act as Commander-in-Chief, to make treaties, and to nominate judges and ambassadors and such, the latter two powers only with consent from the Senate. Nowhere in your official job decription is there anything calling for you to legislate anything. That, Sir, is the exclusive power granted to Congress.

        We will listen to your opinion, but will not be bullied by someone who over-reaches his authority and presumes to set himself up as some sort of super-legislator, or even, as it appears at times, a would-be monarch.

        My advice to you, Sir, is to spend your time learning how to be a better C-i-C and a better executive. A start would be for you to read the Constitution, a document with which you seem wholely unfamiliar.

        Thank you for coming. We will call upon you if we desire further input from you.”

        • Scope

          and then we would have been sitting across from each other in the paddy wagon on our way to the gulag.

  • http://www.skiloveland.com skicougar

    and he should have. He, his staff and the democrats in congress have been flat out mistating to the extreme or lying in some cases what the GOP has done the past year.

    Hopefully, today Obama gets his just desserts. He meets with Bush Sr. today.

    If I were Bush Sr., I’d pop him and tell him to lay off my son, act like a man and do the job that you asked for. Unfortunately, the Bushes are much more civilized than I am.

    • Scope

      has always been a little to cozy with the Democrats, particularly Clinton. There was also an article recently that claimed that Bush Jr. said he always talked with Clinton.

  • http://www.skiloveland.com skicougar

    in case you missed it. very important IMO

    paraphrasing-
    the president’s spending bills have resulted in an “84%” raise in spending from the treasury.

    84% ?

    and the results in jobs are ?

    next time a democrat is defending Obama, you should throw that number from Ryan at them.

  • redryder

    that have kept the Trojan Horse from getting it s viruses through Congress this year. The Progressives have the Media, they have the leadership and majoirty in House and Senate, they have permeated the White House and are attacking every institution that has made this country great and strong and the Hope of freedom loving people everywhere.

    These guys are not just the party of NO. They are the FIREWALL!

  • E Pluribus Unum

    Very nice, and you got some of the biggest guns on camera. Also, as somebody alluded to above, we didn’t get this kind of candor even from the FNC coverage.

    Here I was afraid that these Repubs were too trusting, and from these interviews I find quite the contrary. They’re on their game, just like we need them.

  • muffin

    and I wish he were my congressman. Remember this?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewafPV2brQA

  • samhouston

    The President’s appearance at the House GOP retreat yesterday was the most enthralling televised event I’ve seen in politics in a long time (so it’s no wonder faux news gutlessly cut away from it halfway in).

    The House Repubs, especially Mike Pence deserve a great deal of credit for inviting the POTUS and for agreeing to have the cameras there. The televised exchange was good for the country.

    Seeing the President single-handedly clean the collective clock of the House Repub delegation with his ready command of the facts and his superior ability to speak cogently has truly re-energized his supporters.

    I hope they do this again soon…if the Repubs have the cojones (though at least one told Luke Russert off-record that this was a bad idea because the Prez dominated them for the whole nation to see…except faux viewers of course).

    • Scope

      I suppose you especially liked the part where Obama descended from the heavens on a cloud, and then walked on water to get to the meeting. I hate to tell you this though, the Republicans cleaned Obama’s clock. He showed himself to the nation, once again, just how much of a complete fool he is. You just can’t shine sh!t.

      • samhouston

        ..meanwhile people of ideological bents who actually saw the whole thing and have a sense of reality can come to the more sensible conclusion.

        This is exactly what the POTUS’s supporters needed. It is the most energizing event since election night 08.

        It is also good for the country for events like this to take place regularly. I doubt though that the Repubs will have the guts to do something like this again in front of the cameras – even if it is 100+ to 1 – after the way they got owned.

        • Achance

          Another of Comrade Obama’s useful idiots chiming in. ‘Course, he does need the young and the mindless to survive, doesn’t he?

          • eburke
        • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

          Fascist shills not welcome.

          • eburke

            well, at least it was until ‘certain people’ got rid of him.

            Kill joy.

      • SoFiMil

        at least for another hour or so.

        • Achance
          • Richard Mullins

            All Neil has done so far has been to white his comments out. No killing yet. I think Neil is getting too soft hearted today. I’m sure I’m going to find out what kind of puff-ball he is in August. Oh well.

          • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

            I’ve reported to the powers that be that this 15 minute caching of user pages is a bad idea, but we’ll see.

          • Richard Mullins
        • SoFiMil

          nt

        • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

          …Not when I just got robbed in a round of Mario Kart. :-)

          • eburke

            so that we know those times at which we need to be especially polite and nice?

          • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

            Having played in one of the RS Editors and Alumni games recently, I decided to try to unlock the last stuff I had to unlock. I’m down to Dry Bowser (working on it now) and Rosalina (actually renting Mario Galaxy from GameFly to get it).

            Once I get the (one?) star I have left for Dry Bowser I’ll be done, done, done.

    • http://slcliberty.blogivists.com randy streu

      I’m thinking that’s how this glowing lovefest was typed.

      • samhouston

        I must admit that’s a good one. Nicely done. I’m not the only one who sees it this way though.

    • Richard Mullins

      Also, are you by chance the Democrats nominee for a Texas Supreme court office in 2008? I want to know. BTW, the President did badly when came to speaking with the GOP at their retreat. Even watching CNN could tell me that. It really seemed that he wasn’t at his A Game and he was fumbling all the way. I hope we can get more of his fumbling of speech in the coming months. Getting out his environment hurts him.

      • eburke
        • SoFiMil

          Love the repair shop angle.

    • eburke

      *Please* tell me you were just being sarcastic.

      Otherwise, my loving concern for your health compels me to remind you that typing with one hand can lead to blindness.

      Just tryin’ to help.

    • SoFiMil

      and do town hall debates with McCain. The “Orator” wisely didn’t, because even now he knows he as POTUS is nothing without TOTUS.

  • graciegirl

    Paul Ryan and Pence. I also happen to think Boby Jindal is one of the most capable people in America. So much more so than last year’s speech showed him to be. But who is ready Now? 2012?

    We need someone who is kick ass or we won’t hold onto it long enough to fix this mess. Ideas?

    • acat

      Yes, the Repub candidates for POTUS in 2012 are starting their exploration. So what? There’s no need to embrace one yet – that’s like getting married in high school – it’s right for some, but not for most.

      The most important things now are to support the best 2010 candidates we can find in *every* race (remember Massachusetts hadn’t been contested in years…) and get conservatives into the ground level (precinct-men or equivalent) of the GOP so, when “the party” makes a decision, it’s the right one.

      Any leaders who try to emerge will be immediately landed on by the media. So what? We don’t need leaders to know what to stand for. The longer we deny the raving leftists a target, the less time they’ll have to react to our eventual leader. This is a Good Thing.

      Calm down and be patient.

      Mew