NPR's Nina Totenberg on Friday night was unsure as to whether the tea parties have “any legs are not” since “at almost any given time any cockamamie proposition in America will have at least 25 percent of those polled supporting it.” On Inside Washington she called the anti-tax and anti-spending rallies “a good stunt,” before declaring Americans “pay relatively small taxes” and then lecturing those unappreciative protesters about how taxes provide, as if they want taxes totally eliminated, “a civilized kind of social compact where you don't have massive civil eruptions. That is what taxes are for.”
To which, Newsweek's Evan Thomas chimed in: “I'm all for paying more taxes.”
From the April 17 Inside Washington:
NINA TOTENBERG, NPR: Well, you know, I don't know whether this really has any legs are not. You have to remember that at almost any given time any cockamamie proposition in America will have at least 25 percent of those polled supporting it. It was a good stunt. Whether the stunt really is more than a stunt remains to be seen. Obviously there are people who don't like paying taxes, among them, probably some people at this table and certainly a certain individual whom I share a bed with doesn't like paying taxes at all.GORDON PETERSON, MODERATOR/WJLA-TV ANCHOR: Nobody does, but we pay, actually in comparison to other countries-
TOTENBERG: We pay relatively small taxes. And what you get for it, let us say, what you get for it, even though you don't like this program are this program for this war or that were, what you ostensibly get for it is a civilized kind of social compact where you don't have massive civil eruptions. That is what taxes are for.
EVAN THOMAS, NEWSWEEK: I'm all for paying more taxes, but you've got to get things for it. And it has to be part of a compact. You can't just pay more taxes, you also have to have less spending...
Inside Washington is a weekly show produced and aired over the weekend by Washington, DC's ABC affiliate and its all-news cable channel, but first broadcast Friday night on the local PBS station, WETA-TV.
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Why do liberals like to pay taxes?
April 18, 2009 - 00:06 ET by PopularTechWere they all dropped on their heads as children?
Obama: "Cap & Trade Will Cause Electricity Rates To Skyrocket"
starting
April 18, 2009 - 00:11 ET by RowaneI don't know but, I'm starting to think they need to be today...from a mile high.
Considering the number of
April 18, 2009 - 08:58 ET by NL207Considering the number of tax cheats Obama nominated to his cabinet, I'd say that Liberals don't like to pay taxes but do want everyone ELSE to pay taxes.
This from the Party of tax cheats
April 18, 2009 - 09:23 ET by reelman46Must be the "secular" part of their secular socialism philosophy that allows these clueless dimwits to evade taxes, give precious little to charity and then lecture others.
Sicko libs do sicko lib things....they make the best cowards and liars...sooo much practice.
Doug Schexnayder, Ph.D. (theconservativecrawfish)
Well
April 18, 2009 - 00:10 ET by RowaneWeelll, isn't that SPECIAL, Nina? BUT ITS WRONG!
The taxes have already started to be felt by some. We also do NOT like being considered terrorists by the country we've shed blood for and watched friends die for.
What have YOU ever done for the country Nina? Evan?
/spit worthless libstains
Is that Charles Krauthammer
April 18, 2009 - 00:22 ET by d1carterIs that Charles Krauthammer on the panel? I wonder what he had to say?
Something intelligent, I'm
April 18, 2009 - 02:37 ET by EugeniaSomething intelligent, I'm sure. :)
Wtach it online
April 18, 2009 - 07:04 ET by motherbeltClick on the link.
Krauthammer talks about Obama's "Trinity" of health care, education and energy that he says will spend us into penury (that's why the protests).
Colbert King says we've have protests like this before: pro-slavery, anti-Reconstruction, and the "Southern Strategy." [Wow, didn't see that coming! \sarc]
Totenberg (Jaw-droppingly stupid)
talks about "you can't control costs without some sort of competition" among groups in health care and then says the government should say there is one price for this drug and no more!
They might say "Wow, that sucks!" But at least they'll say "Wow!" -Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes
You First...
April 18, 2009 - 00:29 ET by DustBunny01The I.R.S. has no problem accepting voluntary "gifts" of money from taxpayers above and beyond what the are obligated to pay. If Evan Thomas wants to pay more, be a leader and do so.
However, if the tax records of all those who feel that "we" should all pay more were actually published and examined - how many do you think would be discovered to be taking all manner of deductions, legal or not, in order to reduce their individual tax burden.
As we have seen of those going into President Obama's service, the power elite seems to have no problem not paying their fair share of the tax burden and even go as far as blaming that failure on Turbo Tax...
Yeah, it's cockamamie
April 18, 2009 - 00:38 ET by ConservativeRexYeah, it's cockamamie because the left didn't do it or think it up.
The left holds the franchise for protest, didn't we know that?
How dare we conservatives think we can protest anything. What grievances could we possibly have?
The hubris from the left is astounding in it's idiocy. Now they find out that we bite back. They had to keep poking us with a stick.
Every damn politician we've ever had has wasted our tax money, that is nothing new. But this joker, this joker, tops all of the rest of them combined.
This needs to be kept up, for any occasion. Protest the hell out of them whenever we can for whatever reason we can think of.
The difference is, most of us have employment, and we can't be professional protesters, but we should all be able to fit a few local protest into our lives.
She let the cat out of the bag on this one:
April 18, 2009 - 06:56 ET by kg“at almost any given time any cockamamie proposition in America will have at least 25 percent of those polled supporting it.”
That's doesn't much about the 30% that approves Obama's so called "stimulus" spending.
"DumbAssity of Dope"
the latest liberal spin:
April 18, 2009 - 08:19 ET by puredmashiethe tea parties started to protest excess - too much spending by congress and too many taxes paid by us. the libs are now trying to say that tea partygoers want to eliminate taxes entirely. that is an outright lie.
it's an often-used tactic when the libs are losing an argument. when their opponent has made an effective point, simply convince the audience that he really said something else that sounds similar, but has a completely different meaning. then it's back to the same old tired liberal anti-logic. it's a sneaky, and sometimes effective tactic.
tea parties are not about eliminating taxes, they are about eliminating taxes used to bail out deadbeats, like the banks who gave mortgages based on stated incomes just to get their commissions, or aig execs who take our money then go on a cruise. i'm sure you can think of many other instances. everyone with an ounce of rational thought knows that taxes are necessary to maintain basic services. the tea parties are a protest of excessive taxes and excessive spending.
don't let them change the issue.
swing hard in case you hit it.
Collection of articles
April 18, 2009 - 00:48 ET by AtTheWaterCoolerI've created a new category on Jeremiah Films for NPR's Bias Reporting and linked to this article as one example. I have a growing collection for most of the MSM networks.
As I was scanning the radio channels today I landed on NPR and
April 18, 2009 - 04:27 ET by Rush Fana discussion of income and taxes. It's interesting how the left and the right discuss income and taxes.
The discussion on NPR was strictly on the disparity of income levels between the rich and the poor. To summarize, the rich were making too much money and should pay more taxes to reduce the difference in income between the rich and the poor, i.e. Obama's redistribution of wealth concept.
When those on the right discuss income and taxes, one of our main points is that the top percentage of income earners pays a disproportional share of the income taxes. Moreover, the higher the taxes the more disincentive there is to make more income.
We don't want to bring the rich down, we want to lift the poor up. We want everyone to have the opportunity to be rich.
-----------------------------------------------------
“This is not about creating jobs. This is the exact opposite. This is all about rebuilding the Democrat Party into an unbeatable entity. It's about remaking the United States of America without the Constitution as the guiding light.” ~ Rush Limbaugh
Evan Thomas chimed in:
April 18, 2009 - 04:48 ET by USA4freedomEvan Thomas chimed in: “I'm all for paying more taxes.”
Well no one is stopping you. Just send them an extra check, it’s legal. A$$ Hole.
Ronald Reagan, 1962: I did not leave the Democratic party, the party left me.
Insert: your name, 2008, and the Republican party.
NPR
April 18, 2009 - 06:47 ET by jacktheripperyour tax dollar hard at work( they get state grants)...I would never donate to this leftist "news" outlet
" The Future Is X Rated"
The American Revolution was a cockamamie thing too
April 18, 2009 - 08:09 ET by The Smokin FrogAs far as we can tell from historians only about one third of the people wanted the American Revolution, one third did not, and about one third didn't care, so "this cockamamie" protest may be much more than a liberal can process.
"These People" at least can still think and recognize that our Republic is being replaced with a socialist/fascist government, as opposed to the Obama supporters who seem to be in a swoon over him and never think critically. Didn't that happen with Hitler too?
TSF Protests!
Interesting stats. When I first learned of them a while ago...
April 18, 2009 - 15:25 ET by CKA in Red State USA. . .it encouraged me.
We've got just about that split now in America.
And the liberals and leftists know it.
And they know that when the conservatives -- and all others who love America and respect her Constitution and Declaration of Independence -- get unified and p****d off enough to mobilize and take action, they will be rolled over and flattened.
They're afraid, very afraid, of us, the people who will not buy their tripe and hot-air-vacuous pronuncements.
attention
April 18, 2009 - 08:20 ET by ronevan thomas. call me. since you want to pay more taxes, you can pay mine. i know several other people who might let you pay theirs.
I just figured it out
April 18, 2009 - 08:30 ET by WorriedFirst it was Rush, then AIG heads, and now it's the attendees of the Tea Parties, better known as "right-wing extremists." At least the Obama media is giving them vast attention because come the end of May and the Fourth of July the Tea Parties will be even larger.
Thanks Obama media!
They behave as the dysfunctional addicts and children they . . .
April 18, 2009 - 15:18 ET by CKA in Red State USA. . .really are.
They can neither spell nor comprehend responsibility.
So they continually target someone to distract from what they are not, what they should be doing but aren't, what they should know but don't--and all the hideous ways that set about to destroy America and capitalism.
They wouldn't know a real partriot if one were to come up side their head with a musket or a copy of either the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution.
CKA...
April 19, 2009 - 22:37 ET by dborschjr68"They wouldn't know a real partriot if one were to come up side their
head with a musket or a copy of either the Declaration of Independence
or the Constitution."
When you say stuff like this it makes me wonder if we served together in the military. Or were separated at birth. It's one of those two.
De Oppresso Liber.
Rule #5
April 19, 2009 - 22:30 ET by LindamaeYou have been watching Ridicule and Neutralize brought to you from those who follow Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals - how to destroy the American democratic society and bring in the American Socialsist Party led by the Progressive Democratic Caucus - or is it the Democratic Progressive Caucus - those Congress men and woman who have sworn an oath to serve and protect the Constitution but have also pledged to change America into a socialistic society. I don't know how they can do both - perhaps that is why Barney Frank, Maxine Waters and Waxman cheered Mr. Raines and said that the $90,000,000 that he got for bonuses from Frannie were OK and that in his capable hands, Fannie - and Freddie - were not in any danger of falling. Oh - would that they had heeded the warnings of Bush in 2001 and 2002, McCain's proposed Bill to bring some oversight to the loans so that those who couldn't afford homes would not be given martgages - which Waters called racist - or even Greenspan in 2006 when he testified that the bubble would burst and we'd all get wet - we are up to our necks now because of these members of Congress who also want to destroy the Constitution and replace it with a Socialisic manefesto. At least, it seems their actions support this. You can google the American Socialist Party to review the definition of progressive.
The purpose of the Tea Parties was to remind everyone that it will be the babies of today who will be paying for the spending of today. It is not taxes which will be collected now. It is horrible that we doom our babies by printing more money - hyperinflation is around the corner. Congress always is in charge of creating a Budget based upon what the President requests. Nina must not have any young children in her family so she is not concerned for their future. I have 2 sweethearts - Owen and Aiden - aged 3 and 1 and they deserve better. Nina's liberal agenda has either put blinders on her grasp of reality or she just hasn't spent enought time researching the issue. She should have attended a Tea Party to see that it was supported by Americans of all colors, ages, and political parties. It is our money that is being spent. Our country in jeopardy.
618,000
April 18, 2009 - 09:29 ET by slickwillie2001Attendances at Tea Parties are still being collected, but total is now over 600,000. It's hard to count up attendance at a conservative rally, at a liberal rally you just have to look at the ACORN payroll figures.
PJTV Crowd Estimates Still Climbing: http://pajamasmedia.com
PS: It may also be Lead #1, liberals tend to live in-town and be into restoration and recycling and all that, and that exposes them to Lead. Circular reasoning to some extent, or is it a cycle?
Susan Roesgen Award for Excellence and Objectivity in Journalism
April 18, 2009 - 09:39 ET by krendlerI love this line from Totenberg:
We pay relatively small taxes. And ... what you ostensibly get for it is a
civilized kind of social compact where you don't have massive civil
eruptions. That is what taxes are for.
i.e., Here's the deal: Hand over your money or you're going to get "civil eruptions".
Glad it was a liberal that said it. Anyone else says that and the shrieks of RACIST! start immediately.
Then we have : You have to remember that at almost any given time any cockamamie
proposition in America will have at least 25 percent of those polled
supporting it.
Cockamamie, I suppose, to be concerned about out-of-control government spending in the form of a trillion dollar deficit every year for the next ten years? Yeah, what a bunch of nuts, concerned about something like that.
Nina Totnenberg should be given this week's Susan Roesgen Award for Excellence and Objectivity in Journalism.
Just always consider the source
April 18, 2009 - 10:03 ET by general companyAs I have been saying, you have to remember (always) that they(old media) get all of there talking points from the Obama Admin first hand. I secretly believe that they have become more shrill because Obama has promised them that their efforts will not go unrewarded.
Just always consider the source
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Nina, the poor little dummy who wet her pants in 10th grade
April 18, 2009 - 09:56 ET by Joe BlogsNina Totenburg admitted to doing badly on the SATs. Ever since, she has been trying to make ammends by trying to sound sophisticated by using a new word of the day. Today's word is "Cockamamie."
Liberals Should Take the The More Taxes Pledge
April 18, 2009 - 10:09 ET by allanfNewsweek’s Evan Thomas said “I’m all for paying more taxes”. I think Republicans should ask such people to take the “More Taxes Pledge”.
The More Taxes Pledge
I will not claim any exemptions on my tax return. I will not claim any deductions. I will prepare my return in such a way as to maximize my tax liability.
After all, there is no law that says you have to. Aren't we entitled to know you live what you preach?
I agree completely with you
April 18, 2009 - 11:45 ET by eaglewingz08I agree completely with you Allan. I get appaled when someone filthy rich says we don't pay enough taxes like Buffett or Gates, but then those same people do everything they can to MINIMIZE their tax liability. So which is it, if you feel that paying taxes is right, or you're not paying enough, empty your paycheck cause the IRS never turns down any monies freely donated to the government. Liberals show yourselves to be the patriots you claim to be, donate sixty percent or more of your salaries/income to Uncle Sam and release your tax records so that we can all marvel at your generousity, like we marvel at the generousity of other libs like Joe Biden.
BTW was Nina's use of the word 'cockamamie' a sly dig at 'teabagging' and the juvenile humor libtards have been engaging in for the past couple of weeks? I wouldn't put it past her.
Re filthy rich
April 18, 2009 - 14:11 ET by slickwillie2001The extremely wealthy use family trusts to avoid taxes, and if the democratics and the Bamster get desperate enough for revenue they may go after those family trusts. I am not in favor of such a move, but on another level I might enjoy some of the reaction of the extremely wealthy, most of them supporters of the Bamster.
It's time we closed NPR and stop pay Totenberg and others...
April 18, 2009 - 15:15 ET by CKA in Red State USA. . .the very high salaries they get for bashing America, among other biased things they do and say.
all for paying more taxes?
April 18, 2009 - 15:27 ET by katainkentsweet peas and carrots... these people are clueless
I love to help the helpless but I'm not gonna help the clueless ~Dennis Miller
Taxes are not low
April 18, 2009 - 19:03 ET by ScottyDogTotenberg and her fellow travelers have got it all
wrong actually the Russians pay lower federal taxes than Americans. They only
pay a max of 13% for income taxes.
These people just make it up as they go along which
proves the old Russian Communist saying of “Useful Idiots”.
If Republicans ever ever
April 19, 2009 - 18:33 ET by GeronLIf Republicans ever ever win. Assuming we ever have another election. NPR and PBS must be abolished.
Hey Nina,part of your
April 19, 2009 - 19:56 ET by nadadhimmiHey Nina,part of your socialist pact does not include putting me on a political watch and hit list because of my Catholic religious belief that abortion is murder. Funny, but an Islamic religious belief that murder of Infidels is just fine will NOT put you on a list. Indeed it will PROTECT you from that evil old "Racial Profiling", won't it dear Nina!. Social contract my ass.
Some thoughts about Nina and "social compacts"
April 19, 2009 - 20:06 ET by TheHistorianFirst, Nina's comments on 25% of the people and "cockamamie propositions" explains about half of Obama's voters.
Second, I don't think Nina ever found a government charity program she didn't like. She was against the tax cuts because of the cuts that were done (http://newsbusters.o...)
Third, the "social compact" spending is not even mentioned in the Constitution. The paragraph in which the "general welfare is mentioned" (http://www.law.corne...) puts it at the end of a long list of purposes. Yet in the last 50 years, defense and social programs have roughly shifted funding priority (http://www.realclear...).
Finally, how can you call 60 percent of the budget social "compact". Sounds like bloat to me.
"What experience and history teach is
this - that people and governments never have learned anything from history,
or acted on principles deduced from it."
G. W. F. Hegel