Meet The Press - February 20, 2011

Guests:
Dr. Susan Rice - Amb. to the U.N.
Sen. dick Durbin - (D-IL)
Sen. Lindsey Graham - (R-SC)
Jennifer Granholm
Harold Ford
Ed Gillespie
Rick Santelli
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Gregory: What’s happening in the Middle east?

Rice: we will stand up for freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of protest whether in strong allies of America like Bahrain
or states like Wisconsin

Gregory: I heard Khadaffi killing people -
how dangerous is Libya?

Rice: It’s extremely dangerous

Gregory: how much

Rice: Protesters are at almost as a great risk as a cast member of Spider-Man

Gregory: my god - what about Bahrain?

Rice: we’ve been very clear in demanding that they please stop crushing democracy

Gregory: can the government survive?

Rice: sure - Obama will probably even be reelected

Gregory: how much democracy are we willing
to tolerate?

Rice: why not have representative government and human rights?

Gregory: but people are confused - you say don’t support abuse of human rights and yet you
come on my show

Rice: good point

Gregory: Doesn’t the U.S. get to determine what happens in every country in the Middle East

Rice: no it doesn’t

Gregory: oh - so sad

Gregory: the U.S. chose to make Mubarak leave Egypt without imposing a new friendly government - wasn’t that a mistake?

Rice: you have some funny ideas Fluffy

Gregory: what if dangerous scary religious
fanatics take over?

Rice: I’m not prepared to talk about the 2012
GOP primary

Gregory: aren’t you terrified of Muslims?

Rice: No I’m not Fluffy

Gregory: Didn’t you anger scary arabs by not condemning Israel at the U.N.?

Rice: I don’t care - we’re trying to make peace Greggers

[ break ]

Gregory: Lindsay isn’t Obama terrible and inconsistent on Middle East democracy?

Graham: no actually - but he’s too timid on Iran

Gregory: will there be a government shutdown?

Durbin: we can’t allow that to happen - our troops could run out of bullets

Graham: after years of lean spending from 1980-2008 Obama suddenly increased the federal budget 80%

Gregory: is there any room for compromise?

Durbin: we already cut $40 billion

Gregory: no you didn’t cut anything - you just spent less money than before

Durbin: balancing the budget is the last thing you want to do in a recession

Gregory: what about ending collective bargaining for state workers?

Graham: Obama is biggest spender since
World War II!

Gregory: wow

Graham: it is inappropriate for a federal official to weigh in on whether the Wisconsin policy is right

Durbin: the governor is trying to destroy unions

Graham: there was referendum held in Wisconsin to end collective bargaining and it was approved

Durbin: no there wasn’t

Graham: But if there had been I wouldn’t be lying

Graham: it was wrong for Obama to express a position on Wisconsin because the governor there is right and we must all support him

Durbin: you’re from South Carolina - how is it
your business?

Gregory: Bowles and Simpson says we should cut social security OMG I knew it!

Durbin: members of the debt commission are meeting in a local Washington DC Starbucks trying to find a way to cut Medicaid

Gregory: why won’t your cut entitlements!?!?!
[ starts sobbbing ]

Durbin: well--

Gregory: hold on - I want to challenge Graham on whether Obama is a terrible President for not cutting Medicare

Graham: We must be courageous and raise the retirement age to 70

Durbin: Social Security has no impact on the deficit

Gregory: [ hands over ears ]
lalalalala I can’t hear you

Graham: let’s be like Saint Reagan and Saint Tip O’Neill and make old people work it’s very disappointing we’re not doing this

[ break ]

Gregory: Is Wisconsin the Tunisia of labor rights?

Granholm: public employees accepted cuts but the governor insisted on breaking the union anyway

Gillespie: Obama shouldn’t have inserted himself on the Wisconsin debate - he should leave that to Senators from South Carolina

Gregory: is this about energizing the base?

Ford: Obama is right - this is an assault on unions

Santelli: those fucking coddled public unions are costing America

Gregory: I see

Santelli: union are terrorists attacking the rest of us

Gregory: Don’t we need to slash spending?

Granholm: People don’t care about spending or the debt - they want goddamn jobs

Gregory: who is winning the austerity conversation?

Ford: I am

Gregory: aren’t all Democrats a bunch of demagogues?

Ford: we must give up all Social Security benefits until we are 70!

Gregory: are the GOP willing to strike a Grand Bargain?

Santelli: the public is going to be thrilled with any politician who promises to eliminate Social Security- so Obama should definitely go first

Gregory: Government shutdown

Granholm: oddly people don’t seem like that

Gillespie: Obama increased spending 24%!

Gregory: wow!

Gillespie: Consumers won’t buy stuff because of the high federal debt and interest rates are so high no business can borrow

Audience: that’s not true

Ford: people don’t want jobs -- they want Social Security slashed

Christie: we must raise the retirement age!

Santelli: we have no choice we must slash spending now!!

Ford: Clinton created a surplus

Santelli: that was a totally different era - there was a dot com revolution and the cold war was ending

Gregory: Of course - and that’s Meet the Press

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