Brokaw's Bad Memory or Historical Revisionism? Claims GOP Was Thrown Out of House After '95 Shutdown
NBC's Tom Brokaw was invited on Thursday's Today show to discuss a wide range of topics ranging from the Supreme Court ruling on the Westboro church to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal polling results and in discussing the poll Brokaw warned Republicans risked political peril if there was another government shutdown. The former Nightly News anchor actually claimed that after the 1995 shutdown the GOP was "turned out" of the House "not too long after that." However that historic budget fight wasn't as politically lethal as Brokaw made it out to viewers, as the Republicans maintained control of the House until 2006.
(video, audio and transcript after the jump)
The following is the relevant exchange between Vieira and Brokaw about the most recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll as it was aired on the March 3 Today show:
MEREDITH VIEIRA: You know there is another debate brewing in D.C., this one over the federal budget yesterday. The, the President signed a resolution funding the government for two more weeks, but essentially America is living paycheck-to-paycheck. And now Vice President Biden has been assigned the task of trying to bring the parties together to deal with this crisis. What can we expect him to do?
TOM BROKAW: Well it's a delicate game. You know, the Republicans remember what happened when they were swept in 1994, then shut down the government and were turned out not too long after that.
At this point Vieira should've interrupted the venerable Brokaw to remind him that not only did the Republicans maintain control of the House until 2006, but that between 1994 and 1996 the GOP lost a meager four seats. So much for the myth that the shutdown was some sort of catastrophic political failure.
After that bit of hazy recollection Brokaw went on to insist Boehner didn't want a repeat of the 1995 shutdown, as he and Vieira, using results from the poll, depicted a budget fight full of minefields for the GOP and none for the Democrats.
BROKAW: John Boehner doesn't want that to happen, but he has to deal with the Tea Party people on his right. He has to deal with his traditionalists in the middle. And he has to deal with Vice President Biden. At the end of the day, this is a political game as much as it is a financial game. And the Vice President would like to be seen as the guy who kept the government open or if he can't, to be able to blame the Republicans. That's what we'll see play out here in the next couple of weeks.
VIEIRA: Yeah in our latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll we asked Americans where they think the government should be focusing its attention. Top priority, according to those polled, job creation and economic growth. Not budget cutting. So does that suggest that the government is out of touch with the people?
BROKAW: Well, the core group, however -- the Republicans who are in the House and their constituents who got them there, especially in the Tea Party group -- they, in this poll, said that the deficit is the most important thing. When you move into the largest block of American voters that there are, the independents, they put jobs in front. They want to get back to jobs. And the Democrats, who were polled as well, would put jobs on top. So that's another tricky piece for the Republicans who are in the House. And we're all getting lined up for 2012, you know. And so this will play out into the coming months on the campaign trail as well.
—Geoffrey Dickens is the Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here
- Geoffrey Dickens's blog
- Login to post comments
Comments
This is another case of the
Submitted by Van Halen on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 2:50pm.
This is another case of the JounOList media throwing bad information out there that they know is wrong but they hope it will percolate a bit before and if they issue a very hard to find retraction.
I wonder what JournOList will do with Michelle Bachman
Submitted by TheHistorian on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 6:36pm.
Michelle (Bachman, not the Clydesdale) is going on the rampage over the $150 billion in funding that she says Nancy Pelosi slid into the Health Care bill. So it cannot be defunded for 2011 (expect to spend about $5 billion) or the next 1 or 2 years. My suggestion is to 0 out DHHS and let them spend the $150 billion on offset funding. They can then shut down whatever they cannot finance. I will bet that JournOList has some additional stuff about what the Republicans are doing as they try to cut off the funding.
Dennis Prager
Definition, Tom Brokaw
Submitted by swim-r-sink on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 3:20pm.
Tom Brokaw-Proglodyte Marxist professional Obama promoter and apologist G.E. crony who's pronouncements sound like they come from the orifice at his southern most end! I guess I am just another one of those southern RED Neck racist remember your gushing eloquence on MSNBC talking about the BO nomination?
Brokaw needs to retire and
Submitted by kg on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 5:38pm.
Brokaw needs to retire and get a life.
"DumbAssity of Dope"
Well, at Brokaw's advanced age . . .
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 3:22pm.
. . . twelve years qualifies as "not too long after that."
The GOP also gained Senate
Submitted by redfish on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 3:26pm.
The GOP also gained Senate seats, governorships, and later went on to win the Presidency. The shutdown was hardly a catastrophe for Republicans, although honestly it was a test of faith -- most people sided with Clinton over the GOP.
Wishful Thinking.
Submitted by Ashrak on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 3:36pm.
The GOP lost majority in the House, and the Senate for that matter, because Democrats has the media in their pocket and McCain- Feingold hamstrung any other message from getting through. Fo four years, the people got one message and that was BLAME REPUBLICANS.
To be sure, by 2007 and 2008 the spending got stupid, but then Congress was majority DEMOCRATS by then.
Brokaw, like Colmes, ducked out when it came time to defend Democrats. Now, both of them and their ilk are back to the same old game, absolve Democrats, praise them, and point all blame at Republicans. Pure Intellectual Dishonesty.
This is a typical example of
Submitted by MightyMouth on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 3:47pm.
This is a typical example of saying somthing with 'authority' and no one in the room challenges the statement. This happens all the time on MSM (including Fox News). I am thinking the people asking the questions are too stupid to challange the answer. Either too stupid or complicit with the response. Either way, stupid!
In regard to Brokaw I will go
Submitted by Beukeboom on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 4:06pm.
In regard to Brokaw I will go with Occam's Razor and blame it on his age and being a live interview with no producer talking in his ear.
But....
"Vieira should've interrupted the venerable Brokaw to remind him that not only did the Republicans maintain control of the House until 2006, but that between 1994 and 1996 the GOP lost a meager four seats"
In Viera's case I contend it is lack of knowledge of political history on her part. And plausibly also she was in sheer awe of The Brokaw. All bow to The Brokaw at NBC/MSNBC.
Precisely
Submitted by Lord-come-soon-... on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 4:20pm.
Merideth Viera reminds me of that old aspirin commercial, when the guy says "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV". She's not a reporter, she's a ventriloquist dummy who says what the teleprompter tells her. And Brokaw reminds me more and more of Dan Rather. Won't these old fossils ever go away?
Ok...
Submitted by retrocon on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 4:59pm.
So, Brokaw is senile, and Viera is stupid.
If we can get Maddow in there, we would add malicious.
That would cap the trifecta of liberal journalism.
I give Brokaw the benefit
Submitted by megapotamus on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 4:43pm.
I don't assume that he DOES no the facts. As Viera let it slide whether from her own ignorance, deference to this droning hairdo or both, you can be certain that it is the same in his life as it is on this set. No one is going to disturb the Conventional Wisdom. You just have to laugh though. Really, it harms these doofs profoundly. No wonder they don't know what to do now, they don't know what was done yesterday.When you are slanting the news all the time...
Submitted by Red Jeep on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 5:21pm.
...it is hard to remeber the truth.
So who are you going to
Submitted by motherbelt on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 5:24pm.
So who are you going to believe....Tom Brokaw or the lying facts of history???
Facts
Submitted by grammajane on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 5:34pm.
Seems, lately, Brokaw is becoming more and more a lib bias reporter and is loosing much respect from viewers of his so-called knowledge. Viera has no mind of her own and goes along with anything said, to keep obama in office and bash conservatives. Used to have some respect for Brokaw but no more.
This same bunch...
Submitted by P. Aaron on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 6:01pm.
...wanted to say Reagan had Alzheimer's.
Zinger
Submitted by Red Jeep on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 6:52pm.
Bullseye!
Mr. Dumas
Submitted by mojavemark on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 4:42pm.
Give him a break folks! Remember that he is a far leftwing,progressive, socialist (bordering on communist) democrat! Which means that there are no facts, the truth must be ofuscated, that the obvious is not and that the only sources that are accutate are the one's that he agrees with. Hence you may as well be talking to a wall. Well at least that wall can't talk and make an ass out of itself!