Look, the flag pin is irrelevant. I’m as Democrat-y as they come. But asking someone how much they love America is just trolling for an excuse to point at someone and insist they’re not patriotic enough. It’s inappropriate, and is not an argument with any substance or integrity.
Use more lube.
Nonsense. It is a perfectly appropriate response to politicians putting their partisan interests ahead of the good of the nation, as in the current Republican hostage-taking stunt.
OK, I re-read the OP twice, and I still don’t get it.
Is it because she once said they had to do “everything” to stop Obamacare, and “everything”, by definition, includes shutting down the government?
Is that it? If not, can someone explain what it is she did?
It’s not inappropriate or irrelevant when that particular politician (*and *their entire political party) has built up their reputation based on said patriotism.
Cripes, you people are idiots.
Regards,
Shodan
Much as I enjoy a good petard-hoisting, dancing a jig over some D-list pubbie’s clumsy reaction to a gotcha question is one of the weaker varieties of sauce.
Yeah, I didn’t quite get the direct connection myself, but if I may give my interpretation, it goes a little something like this:
She said we’re going to do “everything we can do” to stop Obamacare. Therefore, stopping Obamacare comes before everything else, including love of country. It’s a stretch, but if you squint, you can kinda see it.
Plus, she said good things about Ted Cruz, so she obviously hates America. That’s a given. And why are the House Tea Partiers, in particular, lapping at Ted Cruz’ butt (or other groinal area of your choice)? He’s a Senator … why is he calling the shots in the House? Every crazy idea the House TPers have come up with lately have Cruz’ filthy, filthy little Canadian fingerprints all over them.
I agree that ‘do you hate Obamacare more than you love America’ is about as fair as the Republican ‘Why do you hate America’ strategy of the Bush years. It’s silly.
However, that interview did give the lie to “we didn’t want a shutdown.”
At least own that your party caused the shutdown, is responsible for it continuing, is a strategy to try to defeat Obamacare, and only that, and is putting their hatred of Obamacare over a properly functioning government (and as of tomorrow, perhaps America’s credit rating).
I’m not a Republican and I think this “gotcha” is stupid. “Would you rather impeach Obama or save a million babies?” Who the fuck cares? Yes, the Republicans are doing something dumb. No, it’s not because they hate America and want to grind it under their bootheels. It’s because they have an honest disagreement over government policy and have chosen a poor method of making themselves heard.
I disagree with those who are saying this was a “gotcha” question. To me, a gotcha is a trick question that the interviewee couldn’t have anticipated. Being asked about the shutdown was not such a topic. If Blackburn stumbled over what should have been an easy question, it’s a reflection on her and not the interviewer.
“What evidence do you have to suggest the implementation of Obamacare will adversely affect the Nation more than defaulting on the debt?” Is the same question without the nonsense.
Mind you, tripping an interviewee up with a loaded question can be a useful tactic to get at the truth (ala Frost V Nixon) but any answer to that question itself isn’t something to hang your hat on, that’s where the ‘gotcha question!’ people are coming from I suspect.
It’s not a ‘gotcha,’ it’s just a rhetorical question that is worthy of the best Fox News would ever have to offer. The partisanship of any “how much do you love America” question ought to be blindingly obvious to everyone.
Ultimately, shutting down the government and letting the country default does not mean that one does not love America, and implying that it does is rhetoric of the worst kind. There is no correlation between an un-measurable and arbitrary “love of country” and one’s position on what is happening in government right now.
OK, it sounds like your interoperation is basically the same as mine. So, every time we here Obama talk about doing “everything in his power” to do X, we’ll expect to to see the OP back here with another Pit thread.
Oh, and half those fingerprints are :eek: Cuban…
“I’ve worked hard and have made sacrifices to serve the public so I have no time for people who question my love for this country” would’ve changed the interview dynamic quickly.
But I disagree with the idea of calling any question that the subject doesn’t want to answer a “gotcha”.
In this case, it was an obvious question and Blackburn should have been prepared to answer it if it was asked.
“Do you hate Obamacare more than you love your country?”
“No, Tom, we hate Obamacare because we love our country. We believe Obamacare is a bad law that will hurt Americans. So while we didn’t want a government shutdown, we felt that allowing Obamacare to go into full effect would be worse.”
See? Blackburn could have answered the question if she hadn’t gone deer in the headlights.
Fine, so what’s that worth? You’re strutting on an unprepared response to a poor question because it wasn’t the stock answer you know she would have given if she hadn’t been surprised?
Burrrrrrn. I guess. :rolleyes:
How to tell the difference between assholes taking a knee-jerk anti-Obama position without any consideration or deliberation regarding its effect and those with a reasoned policy disagreement?
Certain politicians (higher percentage amongst teapartiers) and pundits (almost uniform at Fox and talk radio) start their consideration of the president’s choices with figuring out how to rationalize the opposite stance and why what the president did is wrong. When there’s time, they do this for all possibilities so they’re prepared for whatever he does. It’s not a matter of rational debate, it’s a matter of fuck this guy, no way can we give him any credit or be seen agreeing with him about anything.
No, I’m saying a competent professional politician, going into a pre-scheduled interview, should have been prepared to answer a question about the biggest topic in the country and one which she is directly involved in.
If this question caught Blackburn by surprise, then she must be kind of stupid.
Yes, you are seeing what you want to see. I get it.
Our nation needs to stop increasingly borrowing more and more money. Our congress needs to figure out how to raise more funds and spend less. Until then, this looming debt crisis staring us in the face every few months is healthy because the alternative is worse.
I think the ACA is a wise policy course and a solid investment, so do the American people apparently or the GOP stunt wouldn’t have failed. But it does cost at the front end so lets not pretend the Debt Ceiling has nothing to do with beginning a massive government program and anyone who stands in the way is an obstructionist moron.
Or you could just cherry pick quotes to support your prejudice. That works too.