Like I said, if MSNBC cared about their ratings, Rachel Maddow would be hosting Meet the Press. Here she does David Gregory's job for him and corrects
February 15, 2010

Like I said, if MSNBC cared about their ratings, Rachel Maddow would be hosting Meet the Press. Here she does David Gregory's job for him and corrects Rep. Aaron Schock for repeating the talking point that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab quit talking after he was read his Miranda rights and she points out that this was not an issue until a Democratic administration took office.

MR. GREGORY: Are Republicans and Republican attacks against this administration helping al-Qaeda?

REP. SCHOCK: Absolutely not. And I think it's insult to most Americans to suggest that their elected representatives who are carrying their views and the message of, of the majority of Americans to Washington and to this debate are somehow helping al-Qaeda. Mind you, these are the--many of these Democrats, including Mr. Brennan who served in the last administration, faced many of these same attacks under then-President Bush from, from the left. So the idea that we can't challenge the administration and their view on the fight on terrorism is completely bogus.

MR. GREGORY: What happened to Democrats when they challenged President Bush in the same way?

REP. SCHOCK: Well, some of the same, some of the same claims were made against them.

MR. GREGORY: Right.

REP. SCHOCK: But at the end of the day, we're representing mainstream America and the majority of views. And, and whether it's closing Guantanamo Bay and moving it to the heartland of America, whether it's the, the--trying these folks in downtown New York, whether it's Mirandizing terrorists who come to this country to attack us, the majority of Americans have not bought, do not believe that Obama and his administration is right on these policies.

MR. GREGORY: So you don't support the way the president is prosecuting the war on terror?

REP. SCHOCK: No.

REP. FORD: I, I, I, I can appreciate the, the politics that are at play here, and we're heading into a cycle, and we just met. I think he's a nice guy and a good guy, but to suggest that this administration is not focused in a right way and determined to keep America safe I, I think is just, is, is just not right and foolish. I think there's a legitimate conversation about whether Khalid Sheikh Mohammed should be tried in my home city. I disagree with the administration, I'm glad now we are revisiting and looking at a different location. I was against it because I think the costs are too high. We're in the middle of a recession. It would cost some $225 million a year to try him there. We could spend that money in a jobs program, an education program or even to pay down the debt. But to suggest--to play politics at this moment--Democrats raised the same concerns when Bush was in office and the same answers were given and--some similar answers were given by Republicans. The truth of the matter is Congress and the Senate ought to be focused on our efforts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and ensuring that our AfPak policy works. The conversation around Pakistan and Kashmir and whether or not a resolution there will help us resolve our issues in Afghanistan are far more important than a volleyball going back and forth about who's at fault. Barack Obama and his administration deserve tremendous credit for what they've done up to this moment.

MR. GREGORY: All right. Quick, quick comment, then I want to move it to domestic matters.

REP. SCHOCK: First of all, I want to make it clear: Nobody's suggesting that President Obama and his administration don't want us to be safe. What we're suggesting is he's taking unnecessary risks.

MS. MADDOW: Well, well, can I just...

MR. GREGORY: All right. Yeah.

MS. MADDOW: I'm sorry, though. What's the basis of the assertion that reading somebody their Miranda rights is unsafe? We did that with every...

REP. SCHOCK: Well, Rachel, you said yourself...

MS. MADDOW: Wait, hold on. We did that with every single person who has been arrested on terrorism charges since 9/11. Nobody's ever made an issue of it until the Obama administration and this case with Abdulmutallab. Literally, what's, what's the problem with being read your rights that wasn't the problem before?

REP. SCHOCK: Well, first of all, you suggested earlier that reading someone's Miranda rights does not--has never indicated that they talk less to our intelligence folks.

MS. MADDOW: We've never heard that from the FBI.

REP. SCHOCK: The fact of the matter is we do know that after the Christmas Day bomber was read his Miranda rights that he did, in fact, stop cooperating with our intelligence.

MS. MADDOW: That's not true, actually. I mean, it's not what we know from the people who've been involved in that. It's just...

MR. GREGORY: But there is--but, but the...

MS. MADDOW: The, the factual basis of these assertions is so thin.

Cue to David Gregory to change subjects...quick!! Sorry we're out of time let's move along here.

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