Fox & Friends outrage over Franken-Lieberman exchange undermined by Lieberman himself
During the December 18 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, hosts Steve Doocy, Gretchen Carlson, and Brian Kilmeade repeatedly attacked Sen. Al Franken -- calling him "uncivil," a "newbie," and "an angry clown" -- for denying Sen. Joe Lieberman extra speaking time on the Senate floor. The Fox & Friends hosts ignored that, in fact, Franken, Lieberman, and Majority Leader Harry Reid all stated on December 17 that Franken was following Reid's orders not to grant any speech extensions.
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Fox & Friends hosts attack Franken for denying Lieberman extra speech time
Kilmeade: Franken "is an angry clown. He's a liberal who's mad at Joe Lieberman." Kilmeade stated that Franken was an "angry comedian" and "now he's an angry senator." Kilmeade also stated that Franken "needs to be chastised by Senator Reid. ... He needs somebody in his own party that has power over him to say, 'Al, you're embarrassing us.' " He later stated, "He's an angry clown. He's a liberal who's mad at Joe Lieberman for standing up for his conscience."
Carlson: Franken is part of "trend" of "newbie politicians that don't know exactly the protocol." Carlson suggested that Franken is part of a "trend" of "newbie politicians that don't know exactly the protocol." She later added, "You have the senior senator John McCain saying I've never seen this happen before, and the freshman senator Al Franken maybe not knowing how the rules are played."
Doocy: "Stay classy, Al Franken." Doocy stated during the program that Franken was "uncivil" and "not very polite" in the "snippy" exchange. He later added, "Stay classy, Al Franken."
But Franken, Reid, Lieberman say Franken was following request not to grant extensions
Franken: "I really just had no choice." Minnesota Public Radio reported on December 17 that "Franken says Majority leader Harry Reid ordered all senators who presided today to keep speeches to their ten minute limits and not grant any extensions" for senators of either party:
Franken says he wasn't trying to slight Lieberman and in fact supports the amendment to the health care bill Lieberman was discussing.
"I agreed with every word he said for the entire 10 minutes, and I think he probably only had maybe 30 seconds left," he said. "He didn't take it personally at all."
Franken says Majority leader Harry Reid ordered all senators who presided today to keep speeches to their ten minute limits and not grant any extensions.
"Usually you're allowed to do this and, just, today we were told not to let it happen because there's been some attempt to string out the debate," Franken said. "So, I really just had no choice."
Reid's office reportedly said Franken was adhering to his request. Minneapolis Star Tribune correspondent Eric Roper reported on December 17: "A spokesman for Majority Leader Harry Reid said that Franken was merely adhering to a request from Reid to strictly enforce the rules because the Senate is already in session practically 'round the clock.' " Politico reported on December 18 that Reid spokesman Jim Manley stated of Reid's request, "We did that to maintain order and that no senator had an unfair advantage over another in terms of speaking. ... It was a simple request of the leader and Sen. Franken was adhering to the request of his leadership."
Wash. Post: Lieberman said Franken "was following procedures ... handed down by Senate leaders." On December 17, The Washington Post's Joel Achenbach reported:
Lieberman laughed off the incident as much ado about nothing when he returned to the chamber a couple of hours later. He said that Franken apparently was following procedures for sticking to time limits that had been handed down by Senate leaders. Franken had made a good-natured gesture with his hands, Lieberman said, "as if to say 'There's nothing I can do'."
Lieberman said he appreciated his good friend McCain coming to his defense.
"No hard feelings," he said.
Sen. Begich similarly objected to request by Sen. Cornyn for more time earlier in the day
McClatchy: Begich also "asked to limit everyone to 10-minute speeches." Politico reported that "[e]arlier on the floor, Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), presiding over the Senate, objected to Sen. John Cornyn's (R-Texas) request for additional time to speak -- clearly annoying Cornyn." McClatchy reported that Begich "had been asked to limit everyone to 10-minute speeches to speed up proceedings" and that "Cornyn's spokesman Kevin McLaughlin said they quickly figured out it was 'obviously procedural.' "
1. Senator John McCain baselessly smeared another Senator in an offensive display of political partisanship by attacking Franken unfairly.
2. People with preconceived notions assumed that Franken was being spiteful, and had those notions come back and bite them in the butt when it turns out that Franken supports Lieberman's amendment and was only following orders!
3. All the news media that reported this story (it was lots more than just FoxNews, let me tell you) failed to do any research before they smeared Franken without cause.
4. This attack was targeted at Franken, because Sen Begich from Alaska did the same thing to Senator Cornyn and IT didn't get news time!
5. That attack on Franken extended to a distortion of what Franken actually said, which was quite polite, despite what Doocy said.
He did no such thing. Smeared? Ridiculous. Franken did nothing wrong, McCain may have jumped the gun a little fast but he did not smear Franken at all. My you liberals are thin-skinned, or is it just you?
Vilification. Slander. An attempt to besmirch one's reputation. To stain the good name of someone with a false allegation.
Vilify - to make someone into a villain, to defame. Synonyms -
depreciate, disparage, malign, abuse, blacken.
This is what McCain did. Franken did nothing wrong, yet McCain alleged that he did something so offensive that McCain has never seen the like of it in all his years in the Senate. That's a smear. This episode could be in the dictionary under the definition of 'smear'.
It's you who apparently either doesn't know the definition or doesn't care that you're once again making a fool of yourself by making a personal attack on me!
McCain had clear intent to paint that picture about Franken.
Sorry if you somehow missed that!
MCCAIN: I’ve never seen a member denied an extra minute or so, as the chair just did.
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D-MI): If the chair would yield for that…I think the same thing did occur earlier this afternoon, for reasons which have to do with trying to get this bill going. […]
MCCAIN: I think it harms the comity of the Senate
And
"I've been around here for more than 20 years, yesterday on the floor of the Senate, the senator from Connecticut was finishing up his remarks - and was objected to by the newest member of the United States Senate - and in the most brusque way.
"That's how the comity in this body has deteriorated," the Arizona Republican told reporters. "We got to stop - we got to stop this kind of behavior. I've never seen anything like it. And I hope that I don't see it again."
If that's not a baseless smear of Franken by McCain, I don't know what is! Franken did absolutely nothing wrong, yet McCain says that it's the worst behavior he's ever seen!!!
But again we see that your personal animus towards me denies you the ability to see anything I post clearly and fairly.
That doesn't change the fact that it's an unfair smear, like I originally said. It's undeniable that it's a smear, in fact, despite your repeated attempts to deny it.
I provided the exact quotes that were the smears, I provided the definition of a smear, and you were 100% wrong.
So, what does that make your posts challenging me on these simple facts?
Personal attacks because of your personal animus towards me.
Which hurts your credibility.
Please continue your pattern. I understand you used to have some shred of credibility - you used to be considered one of the 'reasonable' righty's who posted here. Please continue to contradict anyone who ever thought you had a shred of respectability or comity yourself.
But please, continue to make a fool of yourself. Hurt your very minimal credibility even more. Please.
Definition of smear - {note it doesn't say that it must be a horrible, terrible, worst one can possibly imagine kind of damaging insult. That part is RightON's distortion of reality.}
Vilification. Slander. An attempt to besmirch one's reputation. To stain the good name of someone with a false allegation.
Vilify - to make someone into a villain, to defame. Synonyms -
depreciate, disparage, malign, abuse, blacken.
But thanks for the support. No one is buying what he's selling - that's why he gets so teed off. I suspect he used to get away with a lot more baloney than he does now, and it's got to be frustrating!
You should have just shut your pie-hole, but no, you're all butt-hurt, and keep coming back for more abuse.
Keep up the good work, moron.
F&F have NO PROBLEM and did not elaborate Senator Franken's remark to Thune:
"Your entitled to your own opinion, not your own facts."
Gee, I wonder why Franken said that to Thune??
NOBODY INTEREST?
FOX is still (as of 5 minutes ago) selectively editing the C-SPAN video to distort what went down.
Now, of course, they're adding the host's and the righty guest's outrage at Franken's horrible behavior.
FOX NEWS - We Distort, You're Deceived
FOX NEWS - We Distort, You've been Deceived
It's going to be the phony smear of the weekend. Just wait and see.
Oh well, I guess I was over-interpreting.
And someone said that they'd never seen this happen - it happens all the time that Senators and Congressman ask for x number of minutes to speak, go over, and get called on that. Now, most often, time is not of the esssence, and so they get to go on.
And that's the difference between what McCain did years ago and Franken did yesterday. McCain didn't HAVE intense time pressures, yet wanted to deny someone the right to continue talking longer than he had originally asked for.
And many Republicans were upset over him doing it. It's not true that they weren't. What they failed to do because of their partisanship that has hog-tied them since they became the minority party was to react in a reasonable way to censure motions.
2. I have no pals here. No one here should have a "pal". This is the anonymous internet - it's stupid to think of someone here as a friend.
3. I never look at a post based upon who typed it up. I only look at the content. That's the way it should be.
4. I don't care if he apologizes or not. Your equating a guy who distorted comments on a blog to a member of Congress shouting out "You Lie" to the President of the USA when he was speaking to a joint session of Congress is laughable, and only shows us that you aren't really sincere here.
5. Rep Joe Wilson never apologized to his fellow members of Congress or the American public for his lack of civility. Apologizing to Obama wasn't enough, but he was forced to do that by fellow Republicans. The shame the Republican Party still carries is that they didn't also force the second apology that was necessary. Greater shame is held by Rep Wilson.
So, you really haven't got a leg to stand on here 'wondering' if some random poster will apologize for his error.
One, since so many people are hung up on the You lie, boy! canard, that was from, I believe, an opinion piece by Maureen Dowd who said that Wilson's "You lie!" outburst, due to his Southern roots, (not mentioned were his past racist activities in support for the Stars & Bars; membership in a secessionist organization whose members believe that slavery was not an abomination) felt to her like he was shouting "You lie, boy!" So, no, that was not a direct quote by Wilson. We should not post something like that unless you have verified it.
"… Joe Wilson yelled “You lie!” at a president who didn’t.
But, fair or not, what I heard was an unspoken word in the air: You lie, boy! "
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/opinion/13dowd.html
As for Republicans, some, including McCain, did, if fact, call Wilson's actions unacceptable.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/09/joe.wilson/
I would say that not enough did, however, that is a personal opinion, and, as for the individual who believes the only mistake Wilson made was to apologize at all, however meekly, to the president, to you I can only shake my head at your ignorance and ask that, if you truly believe that, is there really any comity left to harm?
Three, none of this touches on the fact that, McCain, while claiming he had never seen any actions such as those taken by Senator Franken despite the fact that he personally and his Republican colleagues had, in fact, done the same thing on multiple occasions. Nor have any of the defenders of this anti-Franken outburst on the right addressed the "fact" that right-wing media slandered Senator Franken. Claims by FOX hosts, et al, are demonstrably false (and have been demonstrably false since the five minutes following the incident).
Admit that defense of this anti-Franken screed by the right is wrong in this case and move on to your next "battle." To simply deny what is right in front of you makes you… well, in the words of Bill O'Reilly, "a blind ideologue."
Also, can someone help me? I'm trying to track down footage of Doocy and Kilmeade's outrage at VP Dick Cheney when he told Sen. Patrick Leahy to go F** himself. Can anyone find that footage?
"Flashback: McCain Refused To Grant 30 Seconds Of Time During Iraq War Debate"
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/12/18/mccain-hypocrisy-franken/
The hypocrisy is stunning. Not sure if you already did it or not, but I've emailed MMFA with this info.
The man seems to be forget a lot lately.
Should be Whitman, and I left off the closing ). Jeesh!!
He did it himself. Maybe he's too old and should just retire.