Berlusconi's Buffoonery

Well, how about closer to home, Amy, it's not like Barack's "Austrian" gaffe "was not, by a longshot, a one-time gaffe." Nor was Obama's mean-spiritedness towards Nancy Reagan . . . .
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Maybe that's just how Barack rolls.

File this under who gives a crap. Berlusconi is not any ballot here and is not our problem. We do however, have our own politicans right here in the good ole USA saying all sorts of wacky and crazy crap why don't report on those?
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We had a state rep here in TX telling Asian Americans they should change their names so real Americans can say them easier. We had Barney Frank calling a law student right wing because he had the nerve to ask about Barney about his own role in the housing crisis, you got Cantor's, Inhofe's, Cheney's, Bachmann and others daily over-the-top rhetoric. You got 90% of the GOP bowing down to Rush every time he said boo and you choose not to cover any of that but instead to pick on a man who has not said a peep (Bush)in 4 months and another we can't do anything about even if we wanted to because he is a foreign leader.

"how he rolls"? So hip it hurts.

gysgt
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Thats not how it went down with Barney Franks. Don't know if you actually saw the whole video but I can provide it for you if you haven't.

The video is damning. The guy asked a legitimate question . . . .

SG the only videos I have seen are from Greta and Morning Joe. Both are cut up.

PNNTO
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Here is the whole thing. It really was a lesson in PWNING someone who is clueless. Barney Franks set the record straight and corrected the student's incorrect assertions. But always beware the cut up video.
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http://www.oliverwillis.com/2009/04/07/they-hate-liberals-that-fight-back/

Thanks SG that's why I mentioned it.
Not that I don't trust FNC or Scar.

Okay having watched it I have to respectfully disagree with gunny's characterization. The young man was calmly, to give him credit, repeating republican talking points. Rep Barney was more respectful to the student than the student was to Rep Barney.
And not hugely important but did that kid have chew in his mouth? Classy.

PNNTO
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Exactly! Its amazing (not really) that just a few weeks ago Joe Scarborough was complaining about Jon Stewart saying he would take video out of context just to try to score cheap political points and then he promotes the kind of bullsh*t that they did with that clipped video.

"How much responsibility, if any, do you have for the financial crisis?"
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I guess that's an illegitimate question for a citizen to ask a member of Congress.

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Wow.

Best part of the video was when Barney Franks made fun of the student's statement about him criticizing the stimulus package having an effect on the subprime crisis
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“Oh my God he's being critical, lets default”
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LOL I love to see Barney Franks debate.

Ha, it's true, Berlusconi's a narcissist – a psychopath with a mirror.
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"Part of Berlusconi's poor performance abroad also stems from his desire to dominate every situation, and his frustration at having to take a backseat at international gatherings. When Berlusconi explained that he would not be attending Obama's inauguration ceremony in Washington, he made a revealing remark: "I am not an extra in a movie cast; I'm a lead actor."

Yeah Barney does have that Happy Warrior vibe that's fun to watch.

Just throwing something out there...
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I wonder how long it will be, if ever, before the right wing, pro lifers call Sarah Palin out for calling her grandson a "mistake" in a press release last week criticizing Levi Johnston for going on Tyra Banks. Or will they just keep silent because she is a Republican?
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http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20270152,00.html
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The statement ends, saying, "Bristol realizes now that she made a mistake in her relationship and is the one taking responsibility for their actions."

From the TNR link
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"in 2002 he called the Danish prime minister Anders Rasmussen the most handsome politician in Europe and suggested he might make a good match for Berlusconi's own wife, who at the time was rumored to be having an affair with the then-mayor of Venice, Massimo Cacciari. "He's much better looking than Cacciari," Berlusconi said at a press conference. "I'll explain later," he added to the puzzled Rasmussen."
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I have to say, that's pretty funny.

A conservative friend of mine gave me a book of "Bushisms" for Christmas. A whole book of them. Berlusconi is a novice. Remember when McCain went to the White House after he got the republican nomination and they had their little dance trying not to be photographed together? What did Bush serve McCain for food? Hot dogs. The cheapest meat-like substance you can get. After eight years of nonstop buffoonery here, Berlusconi's gaffes are barely worth mentioning.

"The young man was calmly, to give him credit, repeating republican talking points."
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My beef with the Barney thing is that Frank could have answered or not answered the question without saying the question is from the right. Even if it is question posed more on the right than the left or center. As far as I know that student has the right to vote and if he has that right he can ask any question he wants of a public servant. But you guys are right the part of the video I saw was run on hardboil last night. So it was not the entire thing from start to finish.
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At any rate you all proved my main point anyway that it was a much more germaine to us topic than what some leader of another country said about his own.

Barney made your points gunny. He said the student had every right to ask any question but challenged the student's dishonest framing.
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As to your larger point, no sane man would disagree.

Paul-So you are saying that Barney called the talking points from the right not the student himself. It that is the case I stand corrected

gysgt
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I don't know if you noticed but the wingnuts have been blaming everything on earth on Barney Franks so its pretty reasonable that he is sick of that sh*t. Besides that the student self identified as a conservative and said the subprime crisis happened on Barney's watch. One thing about Barney Franks is that he has never embraced bipartisanship and he gives no apologies for that no matter who he is talking to. And he said that the kid had every right to ask his question but on the other hand he had every right to ask the kid what HE thought Barney should have done. And when the kid tried to answer predictably he had his facts all wrong.
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And if you ask me he DID answer the question in the video by stating that he shouldn't have backed off on regulating the hedgefunds when he came into office as chairman. He gave the kid his record what more was he supposed to do? I tell you what Barney didnt do and thats shout the kid down the way most conservatives do when challenged on an issue.

PNNTO, are you kidding? Are you really kidding? There is nothing, absolutely nothing, wrong with this question:
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"How much responsibility, if any, do you have for the financial crisis?"
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It's not poorly framed; it doesn't assume anything. Frank is a power member of Congress, and he's being asked if he has any blame, and this is bad?
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And people in here call me an ideologue. Wow.

Thanks for the Barney Frank link. I gotta say I really enjoy listening to him debate and wish there were more Democrats like him who knew how to kick a$$ and take names.
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(Sg, if Harry Reid were more like Barney Frank, the Senate Democrats would be substantially more effective)

" I tell you what Barney didnt do and thats shout the kid down the way most conservatives do when challenged on an issue"
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That's an interesting observation SG.

piper1
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There was a story in Politico the other day talking about how Republicans are now ambushing Freshman House Democrats whenever they are on the floor because freshmen Congress persons usually don't have a good grasp of how floor debate is supposed to go. Later in the piece almost every Dem interviewed held up Barney Franks as the gold standard of debate and thats who they wanted the freshmen Dems to aspire to be like. The guy kicks ass and takes names. I am going to try to find the clip from a couple of weeks ago when he literally had two GOP members of the House trying to take him on at the same time and he kept slapping them upside the head with procedural rules. Dude is straight AWESOME SAUCE.