Dick Morris falsely claimed that Obama has "never introduced a bill" in the Senate
On the December 18 edition of Fox News' The Big Story with John Gibson, Fox News political analyst Dick Morris falsely claimed that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has "never introduced a bill" in Congress. In fact, according to the Library of Congress' THOMAS legislative database, Obama was the primary sponsor of 152 bills and resolutions introduced in the last Congress, including a bill (S.2125) that passed Congress on December 8, 2006, "to promote relief, security, and democracy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," which he introduced on December 16, 2005. The bill is awaiting action by the president. In addition, three nonbinding resolutions sponsored by Obama have passed the Senate, and 14 bills that he has co-sponsored have become law.
Obama has also introduced numerous other pieces of legislation in the U.S. Senate. For example:
- Introduced a bill (S.1194) directing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to establish guidelines for tracking spent fuel rods.
- Introduced a bill (S.1426) extending provisions in the Safe Drinking Water Act that relate to preventing and detecting contamination.
- Introduced a bill (S.1920) amending the Clean Air Act to establish a renewable diesel standard.
- Introduced a bill (S.3988) improving benefits and services for members of the armed forces and veterans.
Neither Morris nor host John Gibson mentioned that since Obama took office, the Republican Party has been the majority party in the Senate and thus has controlled the legislative agenda. In such a situation, the opportunities for a bill sponsored by a member of the minority party to see legislative action are limited.
Also during the segment, Morris claimed that Obama has "no foreign policy experience," despite the fact that Obama has served on the Senate Foreign Relations committee for the past two years.
From the December 18 edition of Fox News' The Big Story with John Gibson:
GIBSON: Well, what is it that -- why is she [Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY)] reacting so hard to Obama?
MORRIS: Well, because she's -- because Obama's coming on strong and developing a lot of momentum, and she doesn't want to lose her star quality. But I have a theory. I think that Barack Obama is the best thing that's ever happened to Hillary Clinton. Because there's a vacuum of the anti-Hillary. It's got to be filled by somebody. Better a candidate where you spend five minutes thinking about him and you realize he can't be president than a real contender like [former Vice President Al] Gore or [former Sen. John] Edwards [D-NC] or even [Sen. John] Kerry [D-MA] or [Sen. Joe] Biden [D-DE] or [Sen. Evan] Bayh [D-IN].
Because anybody who thinks about Obama for five minutes knows the guy's never introduced a bill. He's never been important. He's spent 100 weeks in the Senate. He's basically a -- no foreign policy experience. And she'll knock him apart.
And it's just like in 1996. You're too young to remember this, John, but in '96, [Sen. Richard] Lugar [R] from Indiana, head of the Foreign Relations Committee, and [Sen.] Lamar Alexander [R] from Tennessee were trying to develop some traction to take on [former Sen.] Bob Dole [R-KS]. And Colin Powell [then a retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff] said, "I may run for president," and he went on a book tour and he had thousands of people, just like Obama.
And by the time he announced he wasn't running for president, it was too late for Alexander or Lugar to get traction. So the only opponent that Dole had was [businessman] Steve Forbes, because he could write a check any time he wanted. And if there was one guy who was less attractive than Dole, it was Forbes.
And I think that Obama is performing a similar function, inadvertently, for Hillary.
Foreign Policy experience prior to being elected Chief Executive? GHWB (CIA), Carter (Naval Officer), Eisenhower(Military during WW2), TR (Spanish American War), Monroe (Monroe Doctrine)? or????? Obama's bigger problem will be in raising enough money to get his message out. I wish him luck, but fear 2008 will come down to who has the bigger war chest and not who has the brightest, most innovative ideas to solving the problems of the country.
WHEN HE ACTUALLY ENTERS THE RACE.
I wish him luck, but fear 2008 will come down to who has the bigger war chest and not who has the brightest, most innovative ideas to solving the problems of the country. // Oscar the Grouch
Why fear the 'most innovative ideas to solving the problems of the country?'
I'd vote for Scooby Dooby Doo if he were on the Democratic ticket, it could hardly be as bad as the Republican Fascists singing sweet songs of democracy as they surrender our civil liberties, occupy middleastern nations, and spend & borrow our future into oblivion!!
Happy Thoughts;
Dan Grady
What I fear is that money only will buy the nomination. Why did Nadar run as a Green rather than a Democrat? Couldn't raise enough money to fight Gore in the primaries, so went Third Party route. He has some good ideas (and some off the wall ideas) but would get absolutely nowhere as a Mainstream candidate because of $. Look at Kucinich, Kasick, Buchanan, et al and what will happen to Vilsac and a lot of other candidates from both sides. Show me the last time an underfunded candidate won a party's nomination.
MMFA should start using a code system when reporting on repeat offenders like Sticky Dick.
For example, instead of this article beginning with "Dick Morris falsely claimed...", it would begin "#23..."
And, MMFA could reserve those special numbers for the mega-repeat offenders - #69 would have to be assigned to Bill O'Reilly.
Are you insinuating by using that number in reference to Bill O'Reilly that he has the same capabilities of my dog? Can his tongue really reach that far.
Morris has less credibility than even "Baghad Bob."
For Fox (har har) "news" to continue putting him on their programs shows just how deserate they are getting.
I think you're being completely unfair to Baghdad Bob. At least he delivered his lies in a believable way. Morris can't stand up to the slightest scrutiny.
Hell, even Alan Colmes b-slaps him.
a billionaire, I would give over half my money to Media Matters so they could have their own TV network, or even their own radio station. Hey, why not both?
I would clone Bill Clinton and give the copy to Dick Morris to take home.
Then I wouldn't have to watch the little jilted pansy pine away about his schoolgirl crush, and how BC betrayed him.
What an embarrassing closet case he is.
embarrased that he's staying in the closet? Would you rather he "came out"? I don't get your drift.
to see a 60 year old man on TV on a regular basis whining about what was obviously an unrequited crush.
And I would rather see everyone who's in the closet come out, I think that would really cut down on problems like Mark Foley's antics, as well as preventing much violence and war.
If you watch Fox news or listen to righty radio, pay attention to how worked up many of the pundits get about homosexuality, as compared to anything else except war.
Morris, Medved, Savage-- No heterosexual man spends as much time thinking about homosexuality as these guys do.
this isn't Fox news or righty radio and you are the one who brought up homosexuality. I'm just curious why you're concerned one way or the other about Morris' sexual orientation. Seems kind of odd, that's all.
the item is from Fox news.
I'm only concerned with Morris' orientation because it's sad to see so much anger and self loathing in a person in the public eye.
If you're still confused, re-read more slowly.
concerned with Morris' sexual orientation? Isn't that his business and his alone? Forgive me but I still don't understand your infatuation with something so private.
You got us! We're actually deeply homophobic. We give up.
Who's "we"?
illiteracy is not a crime.
Why does anybody listen to this guy at all. He has a horrible history of being factually challenged or put more plainly he tends to lie to make his point. This topic is just one example.
I dont get why lying is such an accepted norm in our punditry class.
get the toes out of your mouth and DO SOME!!
It would be nice if MMFA reminded everyone why these two jokers are disgraced and how Fox News is doing them a favor (basically a wink and a nod that what they did was OK since they hate democrats/blacks). This should remove any bit of credibility Fox has left.
Another tip to MMFA, on 12/19/06 (yesterday), OReilly challenged a Republican senator who was against the war by saying "is it ok with you if the two factions just slaughter eachother in Iraq?", when MMFA recently documented that OReilly said he didnt CARE if they killed eachother he just wanted to get the troops out.
Another flip flop lie by oreilly....but his show is still fun to watch.
"Another tip to MMFA, on 12/19/06 (yesterday), OReilly challenged a Republican senator who was against the war by saying "is it ok with you if the two factions just slaughter eachother in Iraq?", when MMFA recently documented that OReilly said he didnt CARE if they killed eachother he just wanted to get the troops out.
Another flip flop lie by oreilly....but his show is still fun to watch."
Definitely needs to be brought up.
Well, even so, he would have a hard time screwing up foreign policy any more than our current MORON IN CHIEF has. Sheeesh.
I tried desperately to remember what vast foreign policy experience Dubya has... so I looked it up. Prior to acquiring the presidency he had... well... none. Defeated in a run for the House, then served two terms as a Texas governor. Should we count relations with Mexico? I think not.
Perhaps Obama's two years on the Foreign Relations Committee are looking a little better now?
...that Bush had never left the country.
Yikes.
Perhaps Dubya counts on Jeb's foreign policy experience as all he needs. Jeb, after all, married a Mexican woman and lived and worked in Venezuela for a few years.
I love the depth of Media Matters examples of Obama sp0nsored legislation in response to Morris and Gibson's partnership in lies. I don't think either of them know that they have no credibility left. They constantly makes state-'ments and surmises that they just can't back up. Peg
is getting neurotic enough. Now he's getting on the Barack Obama bandwagon. The least he could have done is get his facts straight but what do you expect? He's on Fox.
I just long for the day he runs into Bill and has to explain himself. I would wager Morris would be lucky Clinton doesn't whoop his *** for all the things he's said about the Mrs.