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Loading ...RachelWatch: âGenial But Not Credibleâ
Smells Like Team Spirit
Well. It only took the Democrats 11 months to notice that they have some legislative power. Iâm excited that theyâre thinking about using it! (Hint: To use it, you have to do more than think about it, Democrats. Step lively!)
A very nearly recovered Rachel started us off with the news that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D) came out in favor of a public option with her game face on.Rachel gave us a look at the numbers for getting health care reform through and then Senator Amy Klobuchar (D â Minnesota) gave us a couple of scarier numbers.
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Whoa. Someone Actually Did Stay Classy.
Rachel showed a clip of President Obama in New Orleans defending Governor Bobby Jindal (R) when the crowd started booing at the mention of Jindal’s name.
To clarify, Obama didnât pretend he couldnât hear the booing, he didnât subtly encourage it, and he didnât work in a dig. He said something nice about a political opponent, made a self-deprecating joke, and moved on.
I was impressed. I would have at least brought up the volcano monitoring thing.
Sen. Johnny Iselin Lives!
Rachel filled us in on a scandal so dumb that I couldnât type this segment all in one go because my fingers kept absorbing the stupid and abandoning the keyboard to go play with matches or try to watch that Jeff Dunham show.
Essentially, four House Republicans are working under the premise that all Muslims are evil and must be conspiring against the United States any time they, you know, do things.
An unusually bubbly Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post dropped in to make fun of the great swathes of dumbness involved and then note that, yeah, itâs also appallingly racist, so letâs nip this one in the bud.
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Jiffy Populism
Get ready for a great big plate of awesome with some awesome on the side and, because the server thinks youâre cute, some free awesome for dessert.
Do not skip the dessert. You are about to see Rachel deliver a pummeling.
Tim Phillips, still of Americans for Prosperity and still the owner of a terrifying fake smile, made the mistake of coming back on the show and using soundbite tactics instead of actual facts when Rachel asked him questions.
I canât help but notice that Phillips used the same technique that Rick Berman used of consciously making his face completely blank while being asked questions, lest he reveal anything or accidentally let his long, forked tongue dart out.
He also uses the standard far-right tactic of immediately claiming deeply wounded victimhood when called on his bullpuckey â like when he claimed Rachel âvilified and demeanedâ the leaders of Americans for Prosperity by pointing out that they are rich and politically connected.
But my favorite realization is that Phillips uses the beauty pageant Interview Portion technique: Learn four or five vague, good-sounding sentences, get to one of them as quickly as possible no matter what the question is, and keep repeating it if you are outmatched and start to panic.
Way to go ovaries to the wall, Rachel. My goodness.
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Go ahead and take a break to towel off. Iâll be over here, watching that last clip again.
I wonder what went through Phillipâs head when Rachel brought up his sleazeorama Max Cleland smear ad or his involvement in the revolting Marianas lobbying.
It must have been like having the Ghost of Christmas Past show up. Only Scrooge still wants to make sure Tiny Tim doesnât get a dime off the $300Â Bob Cratchitâs insurance company is charging him for that crutch.
Life During Wartime
Rachel reported on another round of devastating Taliban attacks in Pakistan and noted that the situation will always be tangled with the issue of how to handle Afghanistan, perhaps with more of an emphasis on the word âalwaysâ than weâd all like.
Rachel turned to Dexter Filkins of The New York Times to shed a little light on the subject, but itâs not the kind of light that actually brightens your day.
Go ahead and watch that second Phillips clip again if you need to. Youâve earned it.
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Ugh Tim Phillips.
TerrOR.
TerrOR.
TerrOR.
Not ‘Terra’. That’s the earth. We might enjoy destroying the earth but that’s not the war you’re looking for.
I should also say that I think Rachel is very courageous and has incredible self control. I don’t have the intestinal fortitude to say to someone’s face “I think what you’re doing is very harmful to our country, and I hope you fail,” and not have it get ugly and out of hand.
As a lesbian friend of mine would say, “She’s got brass tubes!”
Amy Klobuchar? A Democrat who can speak persuasively and concisely! Yay! (Gerry does a happy dance.)
John Kerry? Step aside. Let Amy speak….
Tim Phillips? I’d have to disagree with your assessment. Yes, Rachel did a great job…but I think he effectively fended her off without looking smarmy. Depending on your point of view, if you judged this one just on logical points being made–no using your gut, heart, or reading between the lines–then you’d have to say that Phillips argued her into a tie or won the debate. Let’s hope people engage their hearts, guts, and ability to read between the lines…then Rachel wins in a landslide.
I try not to use hyperbolic descriptions of Republicans like “evil,” but I’m having a very hard time not going there with Phillips. I thought the marketing he did for the firms doing slave-wage business with Chinese workers was particularly telling. He clearly wasn’t concerned about furthering Christianity–otherwise, he would have cared more about the rape and forced abortions. When you peel away all his B.S. arguments, what’s left? What drives a guy like this?
I think it’s money. And power. As a Republican toady said in a CNN clip about a month ago, “If you think this is about health care, you’re mistaken…[health care is just a metaphor]….”
I felt very shaken after watching Phillips. He’s a very disturbing man; he disturbed me on a far deeper level than the previous interview with Rick Berman.
“Essentially, four House Republicans are working under the premise that all Muslims are evil and must be conspiring against the United States any time they, you know, do things.”
For some reason, I am not surprised.
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