All I have to say to Secretary LaHood is:
Posted on 09/23/2009 4:36:12 AM PDT by 50mm
A Republican member of President Barack Obama's cabinet blistered conservative talk-radio hosts and cable-television news yesterday, saying they have eroded civility and impeded the nation's ability to solve big problems. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told The Dispatch that the level of "harsh discourse in Washington has probably reached an all-time high," and he partly blamed it on "all of this trash talk about the process and about politicians 24/7" on cable television and talk radio.
LaHood referred to criticism Obama received for appearing Sunday on five television news shows to promote his health-care overhaul. The secretary also indicated that even the president's bully pulpit is no match for the cacophony over the airwaves from the political right.
"He can't even compete with all this stuff that people are saying about him, so the idea that he did five interviews on Sunday, that's just minuscule compared to the kind of trash talk that goes on all week prior to that," LaHood said.
Story continues below Advertisement "All of this background, all of this trash talk in the background, it does not contribute to civil discourse, and it does not contribute to the government or the country's ability to solve big issues."
LaHood made his comments while in town to tout the benefits for Ohio of the federal economic-stimulus bill. LaHood, a former 14-year member of the U.S. House from Peoria, Ill., is one of two Republicans serving in Obama's cabinet. (Defense Secretary Robert Gates is the other.)
A moderate known for his ability to get along with both parties in Congress, LaHood was chosen to preside over the 1998 House impeachment vote of then-President Bill Clinton, and he voted to impeach.
LaHood is the second high-ranking Republican in the past dozen days to decry the influence of conservative talk-show hosts on civil political discourse.
On Sept. 11, retired longtime Ohio GOP Chairman Robert T. Bennett told the state party's governing board that the party should stand up against "some of our talking heads" who led the opposition to Obama's televised speech to schoolchildren or risk "losing the battle with middle America."
Bennett singled out Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. Yesterday, LaHood named them and Fox News commentator Sean Hannity for diminishing civility. In the rural central-Illinois congressional district LaHood used to represent, he said, Beck, Limbaugh and Hannity dominate the daytime airwaves.
"Now, when you get farmers picking their corn and beans, driving around in their (tractor) cabs listening to, from 9 to 3, these guys all revved up against Obama, against everything that he's trying to accomplish, that gets people stirred up. They're making an enormous amount of money by trashing politicians and trashing the process."
Referring to cable TV news shows, LaHood said, "Look, you know as well as I do that there's not enough news for 24 hours, so what happens is that these channels keep repeating politicians yelling at one another or people that are all exercised, and that gets people all revved up.
"And it also gives the idea that maybe these politicians don't know what they're doing."
Asked whether he envisions any changes in the media that might reverse the trend of incivility, LaHood replied, "In a word, no. Unless the people decide that the way, you know, (is) to shut it off, turn it off."
Oh for pete’s sakes, Ray LaHood is the republican that Obama paid off to trash Sarah Palin!
This guy attempting to lecture me is just flat out the giddy limit!
“And it also gives the idea that maybe these politicians don’t know what they’re doing.”
...BINGO!!
This guy doesn’t see critics on the left?? What a moron.
The level of leftist extremism in the White House has also reached an all-time high. Obama's the most dangerously left president we've ever had.
Yeah, we need to muzzle those right wing crazies!
These morons don't get it that it is Middle America that is standing up to Obama, because they sure as hell ain't doing it.
Bush’s fault
That's because you all suck 24/7.
You work for us. Shut up and get back to work.
Was LaHood ever a real Republican, or was he always a RINO?
This is another Marxist-style attempt to silence the people.
One more instance of one Republicrat party member defending another.
Hey LaHood: STFU.
Its not an impression that politicians don’t know what they are doing: as evidenced by the crap squirting out of Congress, its a freakin fact.
Nice try, Benedict Lahood.
This RINO apparently has never read our political history back in the 1800s when political cartoons were much more robust than the rather timid criticisms we hear now. And where was Lahood during the eight years of Pres. Bush, when he was called every ugly name the Left could think of? Lahood will apparently do or say anything to keep his government job as the resident RINO.
An imposter, and a weak link, and a wishy-washy Charlie Brown - get him out.
RINOs are a strange breed of arrogant, clueless, spineless weasels.
One definition of RINO is: any Republican willing to serve in a Democrat administration.
“And it also gives the idea that maybe these politicians don’t know what they’re doing.”
They don’t, Ray. Would you have the public remain ignorant and mute? Dissenters should go to the back of the bus?
We must be winning, folks. Their entire argument has disintegrated into calling the opposition racists and meanies. Poor President WeeWee.
Either they were not around when President Bush or RonaldReagan was in office or they are lying. My vote goes for lying.
Tey hope that by betraying thirCountrymen/womem that the Socialists will spare them.But they will learn, as the Jewish Counsel in Warsaw during WWII, that when te peasants they betrayed are gone, they will then come after them.
The fact he hasn’t resigned tells you all you need to know.
Pray for America
My finger goes up to this So called Republican.
The flying fickle finger of fate.
Crooked IL Combiner. He ran out Sen. Pete Fitzgerald, a reformist Conservative, so that Zero could get his Senate seat. This was his payoff.
“A Republican member of President Barack Obama’s cabinet blistered conservative talk-radio hosts and cable-television news yesterday,....”
If “Republican” meant anything like it used to, I’d be disturbed by this accounting.
Gains a Yawn here today.
Trash talk?
But the fools on the Left said dissent was patriotic. Over and over and over again.
We’re just being patriots - and following their example.
http://www.progressillinois.com/2008/12/17/ray-lahood-really
Good thing I’m a conservative, not a Republican, or I might have to give a s***.
All I have to say to Secretary LaHood is:
King George III did not consider the Declaration of Independence to be very civil either.
The GOP has hung onto the concept of civil discourse with the opposition for way too long. It has accomplished and gained conservatives squat. The democrat party has never been civil and it has played out throughout our history. One of the more notable incidents was when Congressman Preston Brooks, a democrat pro-slavery racist beat Senator Charles Sumner almost to death on the floor of the United States Senate because he gave an anti-slavery speech that southern democrats found to be “offensive”. The democrat party is the domestic enemy of the Republic and unlike the GOP they understand that demanding civility while never offering any in return is a winning formula. Nazi socialists all.
What LaHood doesn’t seem to understand is that we the people are in a revolt. Loud talk is the first step.
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