Beck falsely claimed Obama said he doesn't want health reform protesters to “do a lot of talking”

Written by Andrew Seifter

Published

On his Fox News show, Glenn Beck falsely claimed that President Obama was “reacti[ng] to the health care protests” when he said, “I don't want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking.” In fact, Obama was not talking about public protests or even health care reform; he was discussing “folks on the other side of the aisle pointing at the federal budget and somehow trying to put that at our feet.”

Beck claimed Obama's remarks were a “reaction to the health care protests”

From the August 10 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: Barack Obama's got to be tickled pink with all of the people getting involved and being informed. Yet, here's his reaction to the health care protests.

OBAMA [video clip]: But I don't want the folks who created the mess -- I don't want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them just to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess. I don't mind cleaning up after them, but don't do a lot of talking.

BECK: OK, that's right. I totally spaced that part of the First Amendment -- you know, that it only applies to those who agree. It doesn't count if somebody disagrees.

Obama was actually discussing “folks on the other side of the aisle” who created the financial “mess,” not public protests

From Obama's August 6 remarks at a rally for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds:

OBAMA: So, now, you got folks on the other side of the aisle pointing at the federal budget and somehow trying to put that at our feet. Well, let's look at the history. When I walked in, we had a $1.3 trillion deficit. That was gift-wrapped and waiting for me when I walked in the Oval Office. Without my policies, we'd have an even higher deficit going forward. The one exception is the recovery package that we had to do in order to get this economy moving again.

So you can't go out there and charge up the credit card, go on a -- all kinds of things -- shopping sprees on things that didn't grow the economy, hand over the bill to us, and say -- then say, “Why haven't you paid it off yet?” I got that bill from you.

So, we've got some work to do. I don't mind, by the way, being responsible; I expect to be held responsible for these issues because I'm the president. But I don't want the folks who created the mess -- I don't want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them just to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess. I don't mind cleaning up after them, but don't do a lot of talking. [Obama remarks in Tysons Corner, Virginia, 8/6/09]

Obama spokesman: President welcomes “spirited debate about health care,” but doesn't think “scream[ing]” is “productive”

BILL BURTON (White House deputy press secretary): The President thinks that if people want to come and have a spirited debate about health care, a real vigorous conversation about it, that's a part of the American tradition and he encourages that. ... And so if people want to come and have their concerns and their questions answered, the President thinks that's important. Now, if you just want to come to a town hall so that you can disrupt and so that you can scream over another person, he doesn't think that that's productive. And as a country, we've been able to make progress when people actually talk out what our problems are, not try to shout each other down. [White House press gaggle, 8/10/09]

From the August 10 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: People on both sides -- paid, unpaid, groups, individuals -- aren't they all Americans? All of them, on both sides, that have a right to have their voice heard. And besides, what was it that Barack Obama's wife said, you know, that he was going to make us do?

MICHELLE OBAMA [audio clip]: Barack Obama will require you to work. ... Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual -- uninvolved, uninformed.

BECK: Well, then Barack Obama's got to be tickled pink with all of the people getting involved and being informed. Yet, here's his reaction to the health care protests.

OBAMA [video clip]: But I don't want the folks who created the mess -- I don't want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them just to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess. I don't mind cleaning up after them, but don't do a lot of talking.

BECK: OK, that's right. I totally spaced that part of the First Amendment -- you know, that it only applies to those who agree. It doesn't count if somebody disagrees.