From this Sunday's Meet the Press, it seems Marsha Blackburn has forgotten all about her own track record of inflammatory rhetoric and habitually lying to the electorate and fearmongering when she made this statement in regards to the lack of civility in our political discourse.
GREGORY: But do we as voters celebrate the friction too much?
BLACKBURN: I think that what we have to remember is what was just said, learn to agreeably disagree, to make your point because when the rhetoric gets too loud it's like I was saying, voters are saying don't yell at me, listen to me, and give me the facts. They want to be well informed and they're seeking to be well informed. That's why you've seen the rise of so many grassroots organizations. And quite frankly, I think it speaks to E.J.'s point of why the pundits are wrong so much now. Because the American people are going directly to sources, getting their information and they want us to respect them. And respect that they give us the opportunity to represent them I seek to honor that in everything I do every day.
This from the same woman who gave this little rant on the floor of the House of Representatives immediately after the Affordable Care Act passed -- Marsha Blackburn Attacks Social Security. She wasn't too terribly worried about civility in our political discourse or facts for that matter at the time. And unfortunately there are plenty more examples where that one came from of Blackburn regularly resorting to the same sort of hyperbole.
And the negativity among our political class was not what led to the AstroTurf "tea party" "movement" she's talking about in the first video above from this Sunday. Republicans took advantage of the hatred towards our first black president and the backlash among their base that were mad they lost the last presidential election, wanted to forget George W. Bush ever existed and used over the top political rhetoric to feed that hatred, not the other way around.
Of course David Gregory wasn't going to point that out since he was playing a little game of aren't both sides equal when it comes to the nastiness we've seen over the last couple of weeks out of the likes of Rush Limbaugh and the talking heads who have come out to defend him.
Full transcript below the fold.
MR. GREGORY: Let me talk about something bigger, as I've been alluding to throughout the program. We had this moment this week, the president at the press conference walking about why he called Sandra Fluke after Limbaugh had attacked her. And he was doing it for his daughters, he said. And it brought up this question of where civility has gone in our public discourse, in our political discourse, in the campaign and in Congress. Olympia Snowe talked about how polarizing Congress is as the reason she wants to leave.
Reverend, you talked about it when you were down South this week in Montgomery during your march. This was one of the points you made that had such resonance. I'll play it.
(Videotape, Friday)
REV. SHARPTON: We are not each other's enemies, we're not each other's competition, we are not each other's adversary. If we lock arms like we did coming down Highway 80 and cooperate rather than compete, we can make America work for everybody.
(End videotape)
MR. GREGORY: A Democrat saying that, it could be a Republican as well. It's a--it's a very important message. How does it ultimately resonate?
REV. SHARPTON: I think the problem is that we've got to be mature enough to say we can be passionate and we can have some firm feelings, but that we don't have to poison the atmosphere. And I learned that in my own development. I used to say things that I really believed any kind of way I felt them. Ironically, the president mentioned his two daughters. As my two daughters got older I started worrying about what I was saying because they would question me. It's not cute to just exacerbate things. You could be right and do it wrong, or say it wrong. And I think that that would be the appeal that I would make, that yes, be passionate. I still march, I still protest, but don't get in the way of your message. And the ultimate goal should be to bring people together in the country to make progress. Even if we disagree how, we don't have to be disagreeable.
MR. GREGORY: But do we as voters celebrate the friction too much?
REP. BLACKBURN: I think that what we have to remember is what was just said, learn to agreeably disagree, to make your point because when the rhetoric gets too loud it's like I was saying, voters are saying don't yell at me, listen to me, and give me the facts. They want to be well informed and they're seeking to be well informed. That's why you've seen the rise of so many grassroots organizations. And quite frankly, I think it speaks to E.J.'s point of why the pundits are wrong so much now. Because the American people are going directly to sources, getting their information and they want us to respect them. And respect that they give us the opportunity to represent them I seek to honor that in everything I do every day.
