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I have a hard time in general with the language police, even when it’s Rahm Emanuel we’re talking about and especially if Sarah Palin is leading the charge. But I agree Rahm does owe an apology for using the expression “f&*king r%!ards” — to MoveOn.
Because that was who he was addressing.
Stroll down memory lane to the end of July, when the Blue Dogs were holding the care bill “hostage” the Energy and Commerce Committee. On Friday July 31, the committee was scheduled to vote and MoveOn announced that it would run radio ads against any Blue Dog who voted against it. Gregg Sargent ran the script.
Three Blue Dogs voted “no”: Melancon (LA), Barrow (GA) and Matheson (UT). MoveOn produced the spots, and on Tuesday morning August 4 announced their intention to begin running them the next day:
That afternoon, Rahm showed up at the Common Purpose meeting and told MoveOn what he thought of them for doing this: “fucking retarded.”
Rahm was already angry that MoveOn had pushed back on him earlier in July, telling their members to contact the President in protest after Rahm told the Wall Street Journal that he liked the idea of triggers. But after the Common Purpose meeting he knew he’d gone too far. He immediately went to Jonathan Martin at Politico and told a highly sanitized tale of what had happened. But too many people had been present at the meeting, and it was only a matter of time before the story came out.
It wasn’t the first time that the White House had upbraided liberal groups at the Common Purpose meeting for pushing back when the Blue Dogs tried to sell the party to lobbyists and let them write the health care bill. The very purpose of the weekly event is to enforce message discipline, and both CAF and USAction had been upbraided in front of their peers by administration staff for criticizing Blue Dogs in the past.
The White House has a long history of treating “liberal” groups with high handed arrogance and disrespect after they were extremely strong allies of Obama during the campaign. Rahm isn’t alone. He just says what everybody else is thinking. Rahm and others in the administration owe MoveOn — and liberals — more respect than that.
His great misfortune as far as the media is concerned was to say it in a very Rahm-esque way and get language nannied by Sarah Palin. He is meeting with disability advocates today, and after the Special Olympics indicated they did not accept his apology, he is sincerely apologizing again.
Rahm should publicly apologize to MoveOn and promise to respect their independence in the future. And if he wants to put the “R” word incident behind him, here’s an idea: he’d be the perfect spokesperson to do a PSA for R-word awareness. You know, speaking straight into the camera. With feeling. And March 3 is R-word Awareness Day.
I’ll personally pledge a hundred bucks toward putting it on the air.
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I can’t afford that much but if it will really truly happen I WILL chip in what I can!!
Rahm is just a street punk.. I know I grew up with those kind of inner city chumps… They are just bullies in a disguise!
I’ll double your $100.
WH and David P need to realize that the folks who are doing all the OFA work are for HCR and the public option.
We have been polled by OFA and we told them so.
Someone thinking in the WH needs to remind Rahm that when he says of liberals: “Where are they going to go?”
MA sent their answer: stay home to the tune of 900k voters.
That was the difference between the coakley vote in 2010 and the Kerry/OB vote in 2008.
Brown got basically the same as the senate gooper did in 2008 and so did McCain 1.1 million votes.
900k progressive, young, liberal, swing, independent voters stayed home.
Apologize to Move on and, while you are at it, you can apologize to all those young, liberal, progressive and independents who comprise most of OFA.
Moveon was created to save clinton’s butt from impeachment. You would think the center right would be more appreciative.
As far as I’m concerned, the only thing that rahm can do to apologize is turn in his resignation while saying that he was wrong to use the word. I don’t want to chip in any money for him to clean up his image. He IS the image of the obama admin operation. Just let it hang out there for what it is.
Exactly the right response. He has until March 3.
And while we’re on the subject of Rahm talking, maybe he should go ahead and give us a full rundown on his involvement in the Freddie-Fanny thing about a month back. Some shady stuff there, I’m guessing…
I, for one, find it embarrassing that it took Sarah Palin to wring an apology out of this sociopath. Why weren’t the liberals demanding an apology? Oh, because we have to present a united front to the enemy Republicans. Sure
PAH!
[Moderator Note: Please do not use all capital letters - it's considered shouting.]
AMERICA HAS A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH THE OBAMA ADMISTRATION WITH HONESTY AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND MOST IS TRANSPARENCY , WITH WILD RUN AWAY SPENDING ON PROGRAMS THAT DONT WORK AND THEN THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS WAS A REAL DUD AND ONLY THING AMERICANS HEARD WAS TO SPEND 4 TRILLION OF A JOBS BILL WHICH IS CLIMATE CONTROL WITH THE NAME JOBS BILL AND ALL OTHER PROGRAMS THAT WILL FAIL AND COST AMERICA OVER 15 TRILLION IN DEBIT AND BY THE WAY WHICH IS OUR ECONOMY ! HOW CAN YOU BRING 125,000 FOREIGN BORN WORKERS EACH MONTH WITH WORK PERMITS TO TAKE AMERICANS JOBS AND THAT NOT COUNTING ALL THE ILLEGALS EACH MONTH COMING IN TAKING JOBS AND THEY ALWAYS SAY THERE JOBS NO ONE WANTS , WELL JUST LOOK AROUND AT ALL THE HOME DEPOTS AND OTHER PLACES AND WILL SEE 30 TO 50 STANDING WAITING TO BE PICKED UP TO BE TAKEN TO SOME SMALL JOBS TO TAKE AMERICAN JOBS AND FROM BUISNESS THAT OUR LOCAL CUTTING TO THERE WORK LOADS. WE MUST BE HONEST . WORKING PEOPLE LIEFS OUR BEING TAKEN AWAY FROM THEM AND ITS NOT RIGHT ! ITS COSTING AMERICAN CITIZENS MUCH HARDSHIPS …. IN SO MANY WAYS , LETS HAVE A HEART FOR AMRICANS !
Ha! I won’t hold my breath, but I agree that not only does he owe MoveOn an apology (and the rest of us), but he should move on outta of DC, himself. Again: won’t hold my breath. But if a miracle occurs, I am good for some cold hard cash (seriously) towards the PSA. Would sure make my day.
speaking of apologies and message:
can democrats get together and start talking about majority rule.
The constitution enshrines majority rule. It protects it vigorously.
The constitution reserves a two thirds vote for a very FEW things:
and it is explicit about them:
conviction after impeachment — and that is two thirds of those senators present, not those elected.
treaty verification in the Senate
veto override both houses
amending the constitution both houses
25th amendment for incapacity of president.
that is it. there is nothing else that says particular legislation requires bipartisanship or overwhelming majorities or super majorities. in this country, majority rules.
we should get back to it and back to making clear that the goopers dont have a majority.
We do have majority rule. The majority of congress is Rs and R wannabes.
Apologize? No. He simply needs to go.
Emanuel’s apologies are meaningless. He said what he thinks, no apology in the world will change that.
While we’re at it, anyone think Palin will call out Limbaugh for the same language? Didn’t think so.
True dat.
jane – you’re wrong on this one. liberals get creamed on message cuz they’re whiny and they’re ineffective in messaging and … lots of other messaging sins. there is NO price to pay for bashing us (see ‘ineffective in messaging’)
IF there was a price for fucking with us, and the price was higher than people wanted to pay – sell out fascist lite fucks like rahm wouldn’t fuck with us.
you’re actually falling into 1 of the liberal messaging traps right now! ;)
you’re writing, this time, is kind of “I’m right & you’re wrong & I’m honest & you’re not & you should be right and honest …”
please accept my apologies – I feel lakoff-ish —– I’ve identified the problem, BUT I don’t know the magic words to un-kerry-gore-dukakis-mondale … it.
rmm.
HUMAN NATURE IS TO WAR AGAINTS HUMANITY , MUST BE EXTINGUSHED IN THE WORLD!
THE MORE WE KNOW ABOUT ANTURE THE MORE WE WILL UNDERSTAND OUR SELFS , WHILE OBAMA WAS IN FRANCE IN JUNE OF 2009 THE PRESIDENT OF FRANCE ASKED OBAMA TO COMMEMORATE D -DAY WITH HIM , OBAMA REFUSED TO JOIN HIM TO COMMEMORATE D-DAY , WHAT MESSAGE DOES THAT SEND THE WORLD AND TO ALL OUR FIGHT FORCE THAT IN AFGAN , IRQE AND ALL OVER THE WORLD FIGHTING FOR OUR FREEDOM AND OUR DEMOCRACY ! WE HAVE A CONSTITUTION IN THE UNITED STATES AND HAS BEEN WORKING VERY GOOD FOR OVER 200 YEARS AND ITS TAKEN 1,000′S OF YEARS TO HAVE A SOCIETY THAT HAS CAME TO BE TO HAVE A DEMOCRACY WHICH COMES FROM THE GREET WORK MEANING DEMO , WHICH IS TO DEMONSTARE FREEDOM FOR ALL ,
WHAT WE HAVE IS ILL MINDED PEOPLE WHO GET INTO POLITICS TO CHANGE THE GOOD OF THE WHOLE OF AMERICANS AND IN THE WORLD FOR THERE OWN IDEOLOGYS AND IN TURN BECOME BIGOTS , DISCRIMINATORS AND FULL OF OBLOGUY WHICH LEEDS TO UNDECUTTING THE LAW AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE USA AND ALL THE STATES.
seabos, you’re wrong on this one. You’re actually falling into 1 of the liberal messaging traps right now! ;)
You’re writing, this time, is kind of “I’m right & you’re wrong & I’m honest & you’re not & you should be right and honest …”
please accept my apologies – I’ve identified the problem, BUT I don’t know the magic words to unf*ck … it.
He’s been this way since the beginning. If he was to apologize everytime he offended someone, he’d spend his entire day, every day apologizing.
go away
Please stop screaming.
I’ve got a script for that PSA, Jane.
Please stop screaming.
and go away
FROM THE DAY OF OUR FOUNDING FATHERS WE HAVE PROCLAIMED THAT EVERY MAN AND WOMEN ON THIS EARTH AND THE DIGNITY AND THE MATCHLESS VAULE, BEACUSE THEY BEAR THE IMAGE OF THE MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH , ACROSS GENERATIONS , WE HAVE PROCALIMED THE IMPERATIVE OF SELF GOVENMENT, BECAUSE NO NOE IS FIT TO BE MASTER AND NO ONE DESERVES TO BE A SLAVE
WHAT IS THE CHANGE THAT AMERICANS HAVE SEEN IN THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION AND CONGRESS AND THE U S SENATE AND HIS STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS , HE IS GOING TO KEEP FIGHTING THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE AND SPENDING OUT OF CONTROL WITH NO HONESTY TO HEALTH CARE REFORM , OD ACCOUNTABILITY , TRANSPARENCY AND LISTEN TO THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE … HE SAID HE IS GOING TO KEEP FIGHT AND WONT GIVE UP , AMERICANS OUR TO TO STRONG TO LET OBAMA, CONGRESS AND THE SENATE FIGHT OR LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE , WE WILL VOTE OUT CANCER AND CORRUPTION ALL OF CONGRESS WILL BE UP FOR ELECTION AND 1/3 OF SENATE , AMERICANS OR VOTING FOR CHANGE AND EVEN IF GETS LIKE THE CLINTON DAY . AMERICANS WILL IMPEACH OBAMA FOR THAT HOW BAD WE FEEL OBAMS IS , WITH CORRUPT CHICAGO TACTICAL POLITICS AND BACK ROOM DEALS , ITS TIME TO CLEAN UP WASHINGTO . LOTS ASK WHAT OBAMA NAME MEANS , ANSER ONE BAD ASS MISTAKE AMERICA .
[Mod Note: without even getting into the merits of your argument, please know that ALL CAPS is considered shouting in the blogosphere.]
Obama’s remarks at the D-Day 65th anniversary ceremony, as prepared for delivery.
Good afternoon. Thank you President Sarkozy, Prime Minister Brown, Prime Minister Harper, and Prince Charles for being here today. Thank you to our Secretary of Veterans Affairs, General Eric Shinseki for making the trip out here to join us. Thanks also to Susan Eisenhower, whose grandfather began this mission sixty-five years ago with a simple charge: “Ok, let’s go.” And to a World War II veteran who returned home from this war to serve a proud and distinguished career as a United States Senator and national leader: Bob Dole.
I am not the first American president to come and mark this anniversary, and I likely will not be the last.
I love hearing that the insufferable R.E. is apparently suffering. It’s not often that a figure with his status runs afoul of even the Special Olympics. That takes a certain outstanding ability to offend.
I’m glad you brought this up. Many are taking Rahm’s side in this, but let’s face it. Rahm HATES liberals as much as Sarah Palin does. Palin, however, is a conservative. She’s SUPPOSED to disagree with liberals (and hate them a little too). Rahm doesn’t deserve any sympathy from progressives because they’re “f***ing retarded” anyway.
Rahm won’t apologise to Move On because it’s a liberal organisation.
He will, however, cower at the feet of Sarah Palin and apologise because she’s a conservative. Whenever the conservatives say jump, Rahm, Obama, and all the Dems jump and ask “how high”.
I think this Emanuel dude has single handedly ruined the 1st year of Obama’s Presidency. I can only hope that the bi party “movement” to remove him from his position gains momentum and there is only one word that will descrive Rahm in the near future: “Gone!”
Between the “ALL CAPS” and the typos, I’m having a hard time understanding the details of your comment.
But then again, I may be a better person for not trying to figure them out.
Jane, the message in the TV ad should be, “Why does President Obama hate ‘(the current politically correct term)’ people? The President allows his Chief of Staff to use the “R” word whenever he feels like it, several times. The President should take the necessary steps to see that this is corrected.” or some such language that implies in no uncertain terms the removal of Rahm.
I would certainly contribute to that kind of TV ad.
Not bad, must be 100 words and 1 period.
What is a republican advertisement doing on a liberal blog?
Hamsher:
If we are going to have that smarmy picture of Rahm with that smug little smirk on his face, can you please doodle on a moustache-glasses graffiti? Some sort of abuse, so well deserved?
I just can’t get that upset over this.
Not too long ago the word police at Kos were after Jane for using the phrase “off the reservation.” She was blamed for everything from the Trail of Tears to Wounded Knee. In my opinion it was baloney.
Rahm deserves a great deal of criticism, but not much for this infraction.
At first blench I looked at this post and wondered, “Why is Jane going on about old history??!!!” but it quickly came to me:
This is where these guys start to rewrite and “bend the curve” of recent history–that part where he got tarnished for not doing his job. So this is how he does it? Obama goes to the GOP, plays Daniel-in-the-Lions-Den and does his ol’ POWER HARVESTER routine, and then on that tide — he doesn’t directly come back to the Dem side and play “punch the DFH”. No, he comes back with his bounty and does a softy-sell like:
“You know, don’t forget that you still have an 18 vote majority.” Borrow a few lines right from the people you’ve been ignoring and dissing.
Isn’t that great: NOW he says, we shouldn’t forget that we had the majority. Excuse me what was he doing way back last summer when we were in the first (and maybe what could have been the only round??!) of the HCR debate? When, BTW, there was 70% support for Public Option?!!!
So Jane says: The White House has a long history of treating “liberal” groups with high-handed arrogance and disrespect after they were extremely strong allies of Obama during the campaign. Rahm isn’t alone. He just says what everybody else is thinking. Rahm and others in the administration owe MoveOn — and liberals — more respect than that.
(Yea, like I care about any respect from THEM anymore… if I ever did! HA! After all, I voted for them but I didn’t respect them; I expect them to do the job they were hired to do, but that doesn’t mean I respect them. Why should I respect them? They don’t even respect themselves!)
So anyway, here’s Obama saying: I’m really a nice guy (I may have let Rahmmy sneak into the bedroom last night and butt-f–k yea, but this is another day…. and you’ll whine a little — (wow! you really did take awhile to foget that abuse) — but eventually you’ll come around and start acting like part of the family again. We all gotta work together. Blah-blah-blah…”
You just wait, Obama and gang just waiting…. and waiting…. and HARVESTING POWER, and a few more minutes, days, weeks whatever…. and then WHAM! He’ll send Rahmmy round to play punch the DFHs: “It was the DFH fault that you didn’t get any Health Care Reform!” Gloat-Gloat-Gloat.
THAT’s why this post is so important—to remember the long and true history!
A POWER HARVESTER and a BAD ABUSIVE RamRod— branded… for eternity.
A POWER HARVESTER and a BAD ABUSIVE RamRod— branded… for eternity.
Even if they do get off their lazy butts and go over to the Senate and FINALLY start doing the arm-twisting they need to do to get Public Option (or anything good in HCR) passed I will still NEVER respect them.
For playing this kind of politics, don’t respect themselves!
Branded for life! Pathetic.
Yup!!
What exactly would an apology do? Nothing. Now his resignation…..
Abuse of words has been the great instrument of sophistry and chicanery, of party, faction, and division of society.
John Adams
Fuck you, Rahm!
Asshole!
Much ado about nothing.
I join Rahm. After all, MoveOn was instrumental in getting us Obama when I still belong with them. They really have no clue or as Rahm said: #$#%$$#.
Mods, since this lunatic is NOT responding to your gentle hints, could you please do us all a favor and delete the post(s)?
Thank you.
Oh. This is bad. Take a look at this.
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/naming-names-by-digby-so-palin-is.html
So – are funds for developmentally disabled Americans included in the freeze or not? My bet is Rahm is going to double down and add injury to insult.
For all his bluster, Rahm is a patsy,
a pushover–
everybody knows he’s a soft touch with a bad case of the Napoleonic complex
the Obama administration has become known for caving to the least pressure from any direction.
Rahm is a wuss…
Jane, we know you hate Rahm. You have cause and we hate him too. But all this apology stuff is pure nonsense, on both sides. I rather like the fact that Rahm said what he did, though I’d prefer he had used slightly different language. But the fact that he was definitive did us all a favor–no one can seriously doubt where Rahm, and by extension, Obama, stand with respect to progressives. A lot of us who voted for Obama were in denial well into the summer. Anyone paying attention should no longer claim Obama is anything but a corporatist.
Fuck Rahm sideways. With teeth.
I do want rahm gone, but MoveOn and all the other groups that have allowed themselves to be put in the “veal pen” (as Jane called it) so they can have access are also to blame for rahm treating them as he does. By not pushing back, those in the veal pen are showing themselves to be easily cowed. rahm will give in to the blue dogs because he is one, and to the repugs because they will strike back.
While you are learning about not using all caps, you might also undertake a few lessons in spelling, grammar, punctuation. You know, learn to use the language.
Oh, yes, before I forget: Rahm Emanuel is one of Obummer’s largest mistakes.
I have a son who’s retarded and I was not the least bit offended by his remarks. It is what it is and the chief of staff is what he is. A Chicago thug politician. I was a Kennedy liberal back when the sun was shinning in Camelot. How any one in their right minds can defend this administration is beyond my wildest comprehension. This President and his fellow thugs have not a clue. He’s fixated on the Donald Trump idea of money management. OPM. Other peoples money. My money. Your money. Our kids money. Make no matter. Spend-spend-spend. If this is the change you all voted for ( me included) then be careful what you wish for in the future. You very well might get it! I’m finished with this B.S. Oh and BTW, the attorney general is, oh well, is BAD. Super BAD. Who picked these clowns?
A sincere apology from a person like this?
This guy says what he feels and means what he says. He is apologizing because he is being told to.
Apologies from this guy are worthless and meaningless.
2010 will be this crooked politiician’s undoing and then it will be off to the lobbying races.
It works for me!
And it is also true that Rahm does not “do” apology. I do like the idea of fundraising around a fund for his PSA: another nice touch from Jane.
He’s a thin-skinned putz. AND his Veal Pen management skills suck *big* time. Without this bullying, he’s got nothin.’ Absolutely nothin.’ No skillz at all.
Go Sarah. :-? ‘Cause it’s all we got on this file.
most of you bloggers are absurd ….he was talking about an idea not a person …this political correctness crap is getting out of hand …what limbaugh said was a hundred times worse than emanuel said …so would it have been ok if he said that the idea was “f—-g mentally challenged”…and if it was so offensive why did it take tha alleged liberals 3 months to ask for an apology …the thing that bothers me is that emanuel is even apologizing for using a word …a word that is used hundreds of times a day much like the “N” word or the “B” word which are highly offensive…you all should learn the difference between using a word to describe an idea or action as opposed to describing a person …
This uses the noun, not the adjective; he was referring to people. On your assertion that many bloggers are absurd, we might be able to find some common ground.
i appreciate your reply but after rereading the quote i still feel he was addressing the liberal grops IDEA as “effin r—-d”…but don’t you think what rush said was way over the top in comparison …i can’t wait for palin to call for the radio station to fire him …but that will never happen to the darling of the right wingers
It’s not the term “retarded” that they find offensive. If somebody compared me to moveon.org, I’d demand an apology, too.
Right on Jane. Rahm’s target was progressive democrats. Republicans targets are any democrats. By the way, The Association for Retarded Citizens (as in ARC) of Ventura County (until recently, their thrift store there was called “The Retarded Children’s Thift Store”) and its counterpart, the Foundation for Retarded Citizens of Ventura County, recently changed it’s name to The Arc Foundation of Ventura County. Who do they think that they are kidding with the acronym “Arc”? That’s hardly a name change. The Arc is a nationwide organization that describes itself as “the world’s largest community based organization of and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.” Let’s see Palin and other repub-thugs go after them. Love you Janey:)