Fox News' Hemmer did not challenge GOP strategist's false claim that Obama "has not authored a single piece of legislation"
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SUMMARY: America's Newsroom co-host Bill Hemmer failed to challenge Republican strategist Andrea Tantaros' false claims that "[Sen.] Barack Obama has not authored a single piece of legislation" and that "Barack Obama has dealt with zero foreign policy." In fact, Obama has sponsored or been a key co-sponsor of numerous bills, including an initiative to secure unguarded weapons stockpiles in foreign countries.
During the September 8 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom, co-host Bill Hemmer failed to challenge Republican strategist Andrea Tantaros' false claims that "[Sen.] Barack Obama has not authored a single piece of legislation" and that "Barack Obama has dealt with zero foreign policy." In fact, Obama has sponsored or been a key co-sponsor of numerous bills, including the "Lugar-Obama nonproliferation initiative" to secure unguarded weapons stockpiles in foreign countries -- which became law in January 2007. Obama was also a lead co-sponsor of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, and Sen. John McCain, a co-sponsor of the bill, thanked Obama for his work on the bill, which became law in September 2006.
Obama also sponsored the "Democratic Republic of Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act of 2005" (S.2125), signed into law by President Bush on December 22, 2006. In the 110th Congress, Obama has so far introduced 59 bills for which he is the primary sponsor.
From the September 8 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom:
TANTAROS: Look, this is not a fight that the Democrats want. They do not want to debate their top of the ticket on experience versus our bottom of the ticket. You know, Barack Obama has not authored a single piece of legislation. His motto is, "When the going gets tough, the tough vote present."
I mean, this is so different than Sarah Palin, who manages a budget in Alaska of $6 billion. She has 24,000 employees underneath her. She shares a border with Canada and Russia; nobody else can say that. She's got a breadth and depth on the energy issue; Obama can't say that. And effectively, McCain has ripped the change mantra out of Obama's hands. McCain chose an outsider; Obama chose a Washington insider with Joe Biden.
BECKEL: She shares a border with Canada and Russia?
TANTAROS: She has to deal with --
BECKEL: First of all, it's not a border with Russia, number one. But number two --
TANTAROS: Yes, it is.
BECKEL: -- what is that supposed to mean? Does that make her an expert in Soviet affairs? I mean, what does that mean?
TANTAROS: Bob, it's still something that no other governor has to deal with, and Barack Obama has --
BECKEL: Has to deal with?
TANTAROS: -- dealt with zero foreign policy, Bob. Three weeks in Karachi does not make him a foreign policy expert.
BECKEL: Does she have the Alaska National Guard defending herself?
TANTAROS: Three weeks in Karachi. That's what Barack Obama said makes him more experienced than Hillary Clinton and John McCain. That is laughable.
"Republican Strategist"
Another term for "pathological liar".
How long do you think it'll be before your stalker (LIBERALSAREANTI...)shows up asking about Jeff Christie?
I'd say it was Jeff himself who's taking a "special interest" in you but I know you're not an underage little boy so there goes that theory.
The best part is that he's copying & pasting the exact words- as if it were the most perfectly crafted post ever, and he doesn't want to tinker with it.
Imagine the look of satisfaction as he worked through all of those rough drafts, to come up with that death blow " Me thinks... you pedophile you!"
Dear MMfA,
I realize that its important to expose rightwing lies...... but I'm beginning to wonder if its even worth the bother as it pertains to FoxNoise?
ABC, NBC, and CBS and CNN..... these I understand.... they were all once media.... but Fox was created as nothing more than a propaganda noise maker..... it is hardly 'news' and is most certainly not media.... it only seems that way because we have allowed it to become that.
ILike I said..... we all know that FoxNoise is a purely lying and vile propaganda machine for the corporate owned Republicans...... I don't know.... maybe its the way you guys write this stuff......
We know they lie.... its their only reason for existing.... perhaps I'm thinking this because you guys point out those obvious lies and it just doesn't seem necessary with a group like us that come in here?
Or something like that? The fustration of it all is simply mind numbing!
How long do you think it'll be before your stalker (LIBERALSAREANTI...)shows up asking about Jeff Christie?
Who cares? I flagged that "moran" a couple of times yesterday - hopefully, the powers that be at MMFA have handled it.
I used the term "moran" because that clown reminded me of the guy in this picture:
It's just so unfair. I mean, if he lived in a state near Russia he'd have experience by osmosis.
But wait! He lived in Hawaii, the home of the U.S. Pacific Fleet! All Palin's got is a few missles and a snowmobile race to match up against a man who by osmosis knows everything about the 3rd fleet and 7th fleet! Let's see, carriers, subs, destroyers, battleships, helo assault carriers, compare that to a bobsled team and I'll take the fleet any day!
TANTAROS: Three weeks in Karachi. That's what Barack Obama said makes him more experienced than Hillary Clinton and John McCain. That is laughable.
This is a lie too. He said he had a better understanding of the world than either Clinton or McCain. It's debatable in regards to Clinton but he certainly knows and understands the world better than most republicans including McCain. I don't think republicans even attempt to know or understand the world in which we live.
Where is Michele Malkin? Looks like some house cleaning is going on.
Palin is heads above Mr. 9/11, Huckabee, Mitt etc. Goodbye boys, the Senator drove the Greyhound over all of you.
Annie, Michele..looks like there is a new,and younger girl in town. Adios ladies, it sucked when you were here but have a nice time.
Slightly OT, but any second now that door is gonna open and expose us to another brittney spears moment:
Eeeeewwwww!!!
BAD DOG!!!
Geez, Sarah even looks like Brittney in this photo :-O
She looks like someone different everyday...kinda scary.
Is it just me, or does Obama need a new gang of surrogates that have some b**ls. This guy was getting it handed to him by this pretty face "strategist". PLEASE! She shares a border with Canada, so she therefore has foreign policy experience!! Man, the Canadaniens can be very, very tricky enemies to deal with, indeed. How does that shape her views on Sunni vs. Shia?
BTW, just where is that border that Alaska shares with Russia? Was that from before the last ice age?
I especially like his bill to recognize the Chicago White Sox:
Obama's resolution for the White sox
A lot of no show's in the 109th...he wasn't even running for Prez then...
Co-sponsoring is not authoring a bill.
The transparency act had 47 co-sponsors, it didn't require alot of convincing of the other members, unless he did 'senate-community organizing' behind the scenes! Lugar authored the Lugar-Obama bill, which is why it is named as such. He was an important co-sponsor, not author.
Most of his work did not make it out of committee. When compared with McCain's work, Obama doen't even deserve a footnote.
1998 - McCain co-authored the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) governing the online collection of information about children younger than 13 years of age and giving parents greater control. COPPA became law in 2000.
1999 - McCain authored the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) requiring libraries and schools receiving federal funding to filter, from their computers with Internet access, pornography and other material considered harmful and inappropriate to minors. CIPA was signed into law in 2000 and upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court in 2003.
2000 - McCain authored the Consumer Internet Privacy Enhancement Act requiring Internet websites to post privacy policies regarding the collection and use of consumers' information. The bill and subsequent hearings on online privacy spurred the top commercial websites to post consumer privacy policies.
2002 - McCain co-authored the Driver's License Fraud Prevention Act prohibiting the display of social security numbers on state-issued driver's licenses, motor vehicle registrations and other state identification cards. This provision was included in the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004, also co-authored by Senator McCain, which became law on December 17, 2004.
2003 - McCain co-authored the CAN-SPAM Act to regulate the sending of unsolicited commercial e-mail ("spam") to consumers and enable them to opt out of receiving such email. CAN-SPAM was signed into law in 2003 and became effective in 2004.
2004 - McCain co-authored the National Intelligence Reform Act, in which Congress adopted the majority of the recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission, including reforms to protect the personal security of individuals, including the creation of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, the designation of privacy and civil liberties officers in the federal government, and other consumer privacy protections such as the prohibition of social security numbers on state driver's licenses noted above.
2005 - McCain co-authored the ID Theft Protection Act to set federal standards for business' protection of consumers' personal and financial data and notification to consumers in the event any data security breach creates a risk that they may become victims of identity theft. 2005 - McCain co-authored the U.S. SAFE WEB Act to provide the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with the essential authority to combat fraud perpetrated on Americans from locations beyond our Nation’s borders. The Act was signed into law in 2006.
2007 - McCain authored the Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online (SAFE) Act to enhance reporting of online child pornography.
2007 - McCain co-authored the Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators (KIDS) Act to require convicted sex offenders to register their e-mail and instant message addresses with the National Sex Offender Registry. The Senate passed the Act unanimously in May 2008.
Most of his work did not make it out of committee. When compared with McCain's work, Obama doen't even deserve a footnote."--PC
Can you please provide a credible and/or neutral source to back up that assertion. I am not finding anything that makes that claim. Are you just making things up again? Hmmmm.....
Lugar made no objection to commercials run by Obama discussing the co-sponsorship. Lugar even went so far as to verify the commercial was accurate.
Good points, and short answer: No. Because it would not attract an audience and is way beyond their level of expertise anyway.
Much more entertaining and easier to grasp are one-liners about community organizers and flag pins.
can'tbealiberalmind,
Those comments were all mine! Lugar's bill is just like how most legislation is labeled. Someone has an idea, they look to have someone from another party to serve as a liaison to the party to move it through. I think that Lugar went as far to say that it should be called the Obama-Lugar bill for all of his work. Obama's co-sponsorship was important but bill was only about putting goverment information on spending available for googling. Hardly earth shattering and with all senators co-sponsoring the bill except the guy with brain damage from one of the Dakotas. But give him his due on this one.
When someone co-sponsors a bill, they often do it for political reasons, both parties. That's also why some bills have huge numbers of co-sponsors. They sign on to many bills as co-sponsor when they know that it will have no chance to come out of committee or its passage is a slam dunk. It makes them look good but hardly an advocate of the proposal. It is not unusual for someone to vote against a bill they have co-sponsored.
"Those comments were all mine!"--PC
That's what I figured. No wonder I couldn't find anything to back them up. I should have known you were merely arguing from assertion. Thanks for clearing that up.
And just how many of those bills was he for before he was against them?
National Security Policy
1. McCain thought Bush’s warrantless-wiretap program circumvented the law; now he believes the opposite.
2. McCain insisted that everyone, even “terrible killers,” “the worst kind of scum of humanity,” and detainees at Guantanamo Bay, “deserve to have some adjudication of their cases,” even if that means “releasing some of them.” McCain now believes the opposite.
3. He opposed indefinite detention of terrorist suspects. When the Supreme Court reached the same conclusion, he called it “one of the worst decisions in the history of this country.”
4. In February 2008, McCain reversed course on prohibiting waterboarding.
5. McCain was for closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay before he was against it.
6. When Barack Obama talked about going after terrorists in Pakistani mountains with predators, McCain criticized him for it. He’s since come to the opposite conclusion.
Foreign Policy
7. McCain was for kicking Russia out of the G8 before he was against it. Now, he’s for it again.
8. McCain supported moving “towards normalization of relations” with Cuba. Now he believes the opposite.
9. McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Hamas. Now he believes the opposite.
10. McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Syria. Now he believes the opposite.
11. McCain is both for and against a “rogue state rollback” as a focus of his foreign policy vision.
12. McCain used to champion the Law of the Sea convention, even volunteering to testify on the treaty’s behalf before a Senate committee. Now he opposes it.
13. McCain was against divestment from South Africa before he was for it.
Military Policy
14. McCain recently claimed that he was the “greatest critic” of Rumsfeld’s failed Iraq policy. In December 2003, McCain praised the same strategy as “a mission accomplished.” In March 2004, he said, “I’m confident we’re on the right course.” In December 2005, he said, “Overall, I think a year from now, we will have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course.”
15. McCain has changed his mind about a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq on multiple occasions, concluding, on multiple occasions, that a Korea-like presence is both a good and a bad idea.
16. McCain was against additional U.S. forces in Afghanistan before he was for it.
17. McCain said before the war in Iraq, “We will win this conflict. We will win it easily.” Four years later, McCain said he knew all along that the war in Iraq war was “probably going to be long and hard and tough.”
18. McCain has repeatedly said it’s a dangerous mistake to tell the “enemy” when U.S. troops would be out of Iraq. In May, McCain announced that most American troops would be home from Iraq by 2013.
19. McCain was against expanding the GI Bill before he was for it.
20. McCain staunchly opposed Obama’s Iraq withdrawal timetable, and even blasted Mitt Romney for having referenced the word during the GOP primaries. In July, after Iraqi officials endorsed Obama’s policy, McCain said a 16-month calendar sounds like “a pretty good timetable.”
Domestic Policy
21. McCain defended “privatizing” Social Security. Now he says he’s against privatization (though he actually still supports it.)
22. On Social Security, McCain said he would not, under any circumstances, raise taxes. Soon after, asked about a possible increase in the payroll tax, McCain said there’s “nothing that’s off the table.”
23. McCain wanted to change the Republican Party platform to protect abortion rights in cases of rape and incest. Now he doesn’t.
24. McCain supported storing spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Now he believes the opposite.
25. He argued the NRA should not have a role in the Republican Party’s policy making. Now he believes the opposite.
26. In 1998, he championed raising cigarette taxes to fund programs to cut underage smoking, insisting that it would prevent illnesses and provide resources for public health programs. Now, McCain opposes a $0.61-per-pack tax increase, won’t commit to supporting a regulation bill he’s co-sponsoring, and has hired Philip Morris’ former lobbyist as his senior campaign adviser.
27. McCain is both for and against earmarks for Arizona.
28. McCain’s first mortgage plan was premised on the notion that homeowners facing foreclosure shouldn’t be “rewarded” for acting “irresponsibly.” His second mortgage plan took largely the opposite position.
29. McCain went from saying gay marriage should be allowed, to saying gay marriage shouldn’t be allowed.
30. McCain opposed a holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., before he supported it.
31. McCain was anti-ethanol. Now he’s pro-ethanol.
32. McCain was both for and against state promotion of the Confederate flag.
33. In 2005, McCain endorsed intelligent design creationism, a year later he said the opposite, and a few months after that, he was both for and against creationism at the same time.
34. And on gay adoption, McCain initially said he’d rather let orphans go without families, then his campaign reversed course, and soon after, McCain reversed back.
35. In the Senate, McCain opposed a variety of measures on equal pay for women, and endorsed the Supreme Court’s Ledbetter decision. In July, however, McCain said, “I’m committed to making sure that there’s equal pay for equal work. That … is my record and you can count on it.”
36. McCain was against fully funding the No Child Left Behind Act before he was for it.
37. McCain was for affirmative action before he was against it.
38. McCain said the Colorado River compact will “obviously” need to be “renegotiated.” Six days later, McCain said, “Let me be clear that I do not advocate renegotiation of the compact.”
Economic Policy
39. McCain was against Bush’s tax cuts for the very wealthy before he was for them.
40. John McCain initially argued that economics is not an area of expertise for him, saying, “I’m going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues; I still need to be educated,” and “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.” He now falsely denies ever having made these remarks and insists that he has a “very strong” understanding of economics.
41. McCain vowed, if elected, to balance the federal budget by the end of his first term. Soon after, he decided he would no longer even try to reach that goal. And soon after that, McCain abandoned his second position and went back to his first.
42. McCain said in 2005 that he opposed the tax cuts because they were “too tilted to the wealthy.” By 2007, he denied ever having said this, and falsely argued that he opposed the cuts because of increased government spending.
43. McCain thought the estate tax was perfectly fair. Now he believes the opposite.
44. McCain pledged in February 2008 that he would not, under any circumstances, raise taxes. Specifically, McCain was asked if he is a “‘read my lips’ candidate, no new taxes, no matter what?” referring to George H.W. Bush’s 1988 pledge. “No new taxes,” McCain responded. Two weeks later, McCain said, “I’m not making a ‘read my lips’ statement, in that I will not raise taxes.”
45. McCain has changed his entire economic worldview on multiple occasions.
46. McCain believes Americans are both better and worse off economically than they were before Bush took office.
47. McCain was against massive government bailouts of “big banks” that “act irresponsibly.” He then announced his support for a massive government bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Energy Policy
48. McCain supported the moratorium on coastal drilling ; now he’s against it.
49. McCain recently announced his strong opposition to a windfall-tax on oil company profits. Three weeks earlier, he was perfectly comfortable with the idea.
50. McCain endorsed a cap-and-trade policy with a mandatory emissions cap. In mid-June, McCain announced he wants the caps to voluntary.
51. McCain explained his belief that a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax would provide an immediate economic stimulus. Shortly thereafter, he argued the exact opposite.
52. McCain supported the Lieberman/Warner legislation to combat global warming. Now he doesn’t.
53. McCain was for national auto emissions standards before he was against them.
Immigration Policy
54. McCain was a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to illegal immigrants’ kids who graduate from high school. In 2007, he announced his opposition to the bill. In 2008, McCain switched back.
55. On immigration policy in general, McCain announced in February 2008 that he would vote against his own bill.
56. In April, McCain promised voters that he would secure the borders “before proceeding to other reform measures.” Two months later, he abandoned his public pledge, pretended that he’d never made the promise in the first place, and vowed that a comprehensive immigration reform policy has always been, and would always be, his “top priority.”
Judicial Policy and the Rule of Law
57. McCain said he would “not impose a litmus test on any nominee.” He used to promise the opposite.
58. McCain’s position was that the telecoms should be forced to explain their role in the administration’s warrantless surveillance program as a condition for retroactive immunity. He used to believe the opposite.
59. McCain went from saying he would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade to saying the exact opposite.
60. In June, McCain rejected the idea of a trial for Osama bin Laden, and thought Obama’s reference to Nuremberg was a misread of history. A month later, McCain argued the exact opposite position.
61. In June, McCain described the Supreme Court’s decision in Boumediene v. Bush was “one of the worst decisions in the history of this country.” In August, he reversed course.
Campaign, Ethics, and Lobbying Reform
62. McCain supported his own lobbying-reform legislation from 1997. Now he doesn’t.
63. In 2006, McCain sponsored legislation to require grassroots lobbying coalitions to reveal their financial donors. In 2007, after receiving “feedback” on the proposal, McCain told far-right activist groups that he opposes his own measure.
64. McCain supported a campaign-finance bill, which bore his name, on strengthening the public-financing system. In June 2007, he abandoned his own legislation.
65. In May 2008, McCain approved a ban on lobbyists working for his campaign. In July 2008, his campaign reversed course and said lobbyists could work for his campaign.
Politics and Associations
66. McCain wanted political support from radical televangelist John Hagee. Now he doesn’t. (He also believes his endorsement from Hagee was both a good and bad idea.)
67. McCain wanted political support from radical televangelist Rod Parsley. Now he doesn’t.
68. McCain says he considered and did not consider joining John Kerry’s Democratic ticket in 2004.
69. McCain is both for and against attacking Barack Obama over his former pastor at his former church.
70. McCain criticized TV preacher Jerry Falwell as “an agent of intolerance” in 2002, but then decided to cozy up to the man who said Americans “deserved” the 9/11 attacks.
71. In 2000, McCain accused Texas businessmen Sam and Charles Wyly of being corrupt, spending “dirty money” to help finance Bush’s presidential campaign. McCain not only filed a complaint against the Wylys for allegedly violating campaign finance law, he also lashed out at them publicly. In April, McCain reached out to the Wylys for support.
72. McCain was against presidential candidates campaigning at Bob Jones University before he was for it.
73. McCain decided in 2000 that he didn’t want anything to do with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, believing he “would taint the image of the ‘Straight Talk Express.’” Kissinger is now the Honorary Co-Chair for his presidential campaign in New York.
74. McCain believed powerful right-wing activist/lobbyist Grover Norquist was “corrupt, a shill for dictators, and (with just a dose of sarcasm) Jack Abramoff’s gay lover.” McCain now considers Norquist a key political ally.
75. McCain was for presidential candidates giving speeches in foreign countries before he was against it.
76. McCain has been both for and against considering a pro-choice running mate for the Republican presidential ticket.
Charlie'sdog,
Thanks for laying out how McCain has at times, followed his conservative instincts. His pick of Palin has truely energized the conservatives in the Republican party and jump-started his campaign. The country is becoming more enthusiastic about his candicy because of her addition to the ticket.
Your posting gives those of us who believe in the wisdom of applying conservative principles in government, solace in the fact that maybe he will govern with those in mind and welcome anyone across the isle to join in seeing how those will make our country an even stronger force for freedom in this world.
I have copied and forwarded your exhaustive listing to my conservative friends. I'm sure they will be thrilled as I was to see what you were able to do. Thanks so very much!
"Will you do really, really stupid stuff as President?"
McCain - yes. Obama - no. Palin - yes. Biden - no. This isn't close.
When the republican party begs forgiveness in 12 years and morphs into something respectable, such that all four people answer no to that question, then we can talk about basic policy differences and qualifications. Until now, that's much deeper than the voter can go.