Sunday, December 22, 2013

Meet The Press – December 22, 2013


Guests:
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Sen. Tom Coburn (R- OK)
Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK)
Rep. Peter King (R-NY)
Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT)
Christine Lagarde (IMF)
Robert Gibbs
E.J Dionne
David Brooks
Ana Navarro

Gregory: OMG some reporter asked
Obama if this is the worst year of
his Presidency ha ha ha

Dionne: no his worst year was 2011

Navarro: it was so bad by next year
Obama will be drinking whiskey!

Brooks: Worst. Year. Ever

Gibbs: he might start drinking
whiskey to celebrate the growing economy

Gregory: Chuck even the liberal
Wall Street Journal says
Obamacare is failing

Schumer: Obamacare is a great law
and most people care about the economy

Gregory: Tom Coburn how you answer
the charge that Obamacare is bad?

Coburn: I must reluctantly agree
that Obamacare is terrible

Gregory: that must have been
hard for you to admit

Coburn: we have been demanding exceptions
and now I can't believe Obama has
granted all these exceptions

Gregory: it's outrageous

Schumer: Obamacare is working in
New York state buddy

Gregory: there has been some bipartisan
agreement but here's the bottom line –
Congress hasn't take on the hard stuff

Coburn: the problem isn't when we
disagree it's when we agree to spend
$80 billion on fraud for Obamacare
which are guaranteed to have

Gregory: will we have another
fight over the debt ceiling?

Schumer: the GOP has learned
its lesson on that

Gregory: Obama said you're trying
to look tough on Iran

Schumer: the best way to get Iran to
give up nukes is to increase sanctions
it's simple and logical

Gregory: right

Schumer: we have to be tough!

Gregory: thanks for coming – happy holidays

Coburn: MERRY CHRISTMAS!

[ break ]

Gregory: Madame how about
the U.S. economy?

Legarde: we sign a lot of good signs

Gregory: a lot of people are worried
about what the Fed is doing and by a
lot of people I mean my Republican friends

Lagarde: tapering is a good sign

Gregory: sure the numbers make Obama
look good but our animal spirits are not roaring

Lagarde: merde! Are you stupide or zomething

Gregory: je ne sais quoi

Lagarde: unemployment iz going down

Gregory: what about the minimum
wage and inequality?

Lagarde: income inequality is important
in that it leads to less growth which
hurts rich people

Gregory: Is American the world's economic
leader or are led by irresponsible idiots?

Lagarde: both

Gregory: what about the debt ceiling

Lagarde: I hope American doez not
flirt with default

Gregory: why aren't more women managers?

Lagarde: it's historically based male chauvinism

Gregory: sounds right

Lagarde: promoting women makes
economic sense all over the world

Gregory: are you running for President of France?

Lagarde: mon dieu! non

Gregory: but you wouldn't rule it out?

Lagarde: you are a very silly person

Gregory: that wasn't Shermanesque!

[ break ]

Gregory: Inhofe is a passionate pilot
but last month his son died in plane crash

Inhofe: we're not sure what went wrong

Gregory: how are you doing?

Inhofe: you don't how it feels
until it happens to you

Gregory: you have a strong faith

Inhofe: yes

Gregory: we hear in Washington nothing
gets done but you got a lot of support
from your colleagues

Inhofe: I got as much or more
support from my Democrat friends

Gregory: even Harry Reid

Inhofe: indeed

Gregory: can you bring this
good feeling to you work

Inhofe: yes but many liberals still
think we don't need a strong military

Gregory: what's your biggest challenge

Inhofe: coping with loss

[ break ]

Gregory: as a person of faith I am
impressed with Inhofe but it's sad that
we were surprised that Democrats
offered him support

Navarro: let's take politics out of this
man's death in a plane crash

Gregory: I can't

[ break ]

Gregory: OMG the health care website
was botched! What makes you think
2014 will be better??

Gibbs: because the website was fixed

Brooks: the American people don't like
individual mandates anymore ever
since a Democrat was reelected

Dionne: Obamacare is a Republican
market-oriented model for
health care reform

Brooks: but that was Obama endorsed it
and Republicans hated their plan

Dionne: oh right I forgot

Gregory: Edmund Burke said
government is bad

Navarro: I am very worried that
people don't trust Obama anymore

Dionne: this is insane! Every advanced
country but America uses government
to deliver health care!

Gibbs: also there is GOP no alternative

Navarro: yes but people will
still be sick and hate

Gregory: isn't the crux of the matter
that people hare

Brooks: America is not France –
we just don't like people telling us what to do

Dionne: no one wants to repeal Medicare

Gregory: some people do

Navarro: Obamacare is like the 
hispanic saying that the
cure is worse than the disease

Gibbs: hispanics want health too

Navarro: but Obama was slow in
building a spanish language website
to give health care to people!

Dionne: yes we're all familiar with
the Republican website in Spanish
to give people health care

Gregory: some guy on Duck Dynasty
hates gays and think civil rights laws
were bad for black people

Brooks: he's disrespectful and
not terribly Christian

Gregory: but he's a victim of political
correctness and conservatives are a
held to a double standard!

Dionne: no that's totally false
conservative spin Fluffy

Navarro: there is no Constitutional
right to say stupid stuff and
still host a tv show

Gregory: there isn't – oh shit

Gibbs: no there isn't – networks
pay you to be their face
in-between advertisements

Gregory: wow an Obama panel recommends
changes to surveillance programs

Gregory: Ed Snowden wrote a letter
saying he revealed worldwide surveillance

King: Ed Snowden is a traitor

Gregory: is Snowden right that
surveillance is collapsing?

King: why we are debating what Snowden
is saying is totally beyond me

Leahy: Snowden is irrelevant –
we need to limit the NSA

Gregory: what about metadata?

Leahy: the NSA let a 29-year old
contractor steal all their stuff!

Gregory: what about metada?

Leahy: we need spying but we
also need accountability

King: there were no abuses!
There's nothing to rein in!

Gregory: but abuse could happen

King: police could abuse their
powers too but they don't

Gregory: no?

King: no Fluffy!

Gregory: what about dialing
back foreign surveillance?

Leahy: a 29-year old subcontractor
stole their secrets!

Gregory: you said that already

Leahy: I did?

Gregory: why not limit the NSA?

Leahy: I tried but can't

King: dammit – I lost friends on 9/11!!
we can't unilaterally surrender to the terrorists!

Brooks: if Dwight Eisenhower were
here he would be outraged and
suggest slight changes to surveillance

Brooks: but Snowden is not a
hero he's a traitor

Gregory: why can't Congress
conduct reasonable rational
oversight over national security

Navarro: what are you drinking
and I can I have some

Dionne: after 9/11 we all went crazy
and now we're calming down

Gibbs: why not house phone information
with phone companies and then
access it with a warrant?

Gregory: my sister-in-law is a cop
and she says its all good

Navarro: privacy vs security
is a tough nut to crack

Gregory: this was great episode –
I got to mention my sister in law and Edmund Burke!