NBC's Williams: Who in GOP Decided 'Let's Go After Reproductive Rights'?
In an obnoxious question to MSNBC Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough during NBC's Super Tuesday special coverage, Nightly News anchor Brian Williams mocked the GOP as he pondered: "Who woke up in the Republican Party one day recently and said, 'I know what let's go after, let's go after reproductive rights in the United States'? What was that about?"
Later, Williams teed up correspondent Savannah Guthrie on the topic: "How much gender gap repair do you think the GOP nominee is going to be faced with?" Guthrie replied: "There's no question that there's been some damage done with all the focus on contraception. The comments from Rush Limbaugh certainly didn't help, because the way Rush Limbaugh talked about this issue was not "it's a issue of religious liberty," but rather, "it's an issue about sex," which is not something that Republicans necessarily are on the strongest ground on."
Earlier in the coverage, Guthrie lamented how "There have been a lot of distractions in the Republican primary because of the strength of social conservatives..."
Tuesday was not the first time Williams pleaded ignorance on the origin of the contraception debate. On the February 23 Nightly News, he declared: "Birth control seems to have become, as one headline writer put it today, 'The Third Rail of American Politics Right Now,' and this happened really out of nowhere."
Of course, Williams knows very well the Obama administration made it an issue with its decision to attempt to force religious institutions to pay for birth control in their health insurance plans.
Here are portions of the March 6 coverage:
10:20PM ET
(...)
BRIAN WILLIAMS: And yet, Savannah, parties are resilient. Everyone says this is doing such damage to the Republican brand name. People so quickly forget the Democrats went at it till June. People thought they'd be bloodied to a pulp, could never win in a general.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Yeah, well, a couple points on that. First of all, in the Democratic primary, which we all know was hard-fought, the Democrats in that scenario didn't exactly run to the left flank of their party. So they didn't perhaps do as much damage with independents.
As we are seeing Romney has done, if you compare him to McCain, where he was at this point in 2008. Frankly, any of his recent predecessors, he's got higher negatives than any of them. The other problem for Romney is, if he can't close this sale, he can't pivot to that general election message. He can't make the argument that perhaps is his most effective against President Obama, getting out there and prosecuting this argument on the economy every single day.
There have been a lot of distractions in the Republican primary because of the strength of social conservatives, who are demanding certain other features of their candidates. That's where some of the fights have been. And whenever Romney's on that turf, he's not on his strengths. And that's been a problem for him.
(...)
10:38PM
WILLIAMS: Our family has grown by two members. You know them both. Former congressman from Florida, the veteran Republican – who was that we were just hearing? Someone talking – Joe Scarborough. He of Morning Joe fame. Welcome.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: It's great to be here.
WILLIAMS: Andrea Mitchell's here as well.
ANDREA MITCHELL: Great to be with you.
WILLIAMS: This is a setup, because I heard you out on this topic. Who woke up in the Republican Party one day recently and said, "I know what let's go after, let's go after reproductive rights...
SCARBOROUGH: Oh, no doubt about it.
WILLIAMS: ...in the United States"?
SCARBOROUGH: Let us debate-
WILLIAMS: What was that about?
SCARBOROUGH: Yeah. Let us debate 1965 cases, Griswold v. Connecticut. It's caused a real problem. And it looked like, for a while, that Rick Santorum was doing everything he could do to hand the advantage back to Mitt Romney, the presumptive front-runner.
(...)
10:57PM
WILLIAMS: And Savannah Guthrie, how much gender gap repair do you think the GOP nominee is going to be faced with?
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Well, I think that's something we just talked about with Joe. There's no question that there's been some damage done with all the focus on contraception. The comments from Rush Limbaugh certainly didn't help, because the way Rush Limbaugh talked about this issue was not "it's a issue of religious liberty," but rather, "it's an issue about sex," which is not something that Republicans necessarily are on the strongest ground on.
(...)
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Maybe not so stupid, purposeful?
RU FN serious?
Bri-Bri your presentdent and the HHS secretary MADE this crap an issue by YOUR CHANGES in the HC bill.
That is what started the conversation and when Obysmal was getting hammered the media "flukes" ran to his defense by making it about Women's rights.
He just beat Matthews for the stupidest thought of the day............................
It was not from changes in
It was not from changes in the Obamacare bill. It was the interpetation from Sebilius that did it. Even as stupid as Biteme is he warned him about it. Sebilius is the one that pushed full speed ahead. That won't be the end of her interpetations from the bill. They are going to wind up much worst than that. Don't look for all those rules to come out until after the election. Some how or some way she will have the death panels in the rules as well as taxpayer funded abortions. If she did it now it would spell doom for Obama. After the election there is nothing we can do. The only hope we have is that SCOTUS strikes it down as unconstitutional.
Planned " interpretation".
Changes to what is the norm.
We are on the same page.
I knew rhe rule making would be bad
I remember the Occupational Safety and Health Act, OSHA. When it was turned into rules it became a nightmare for business and industry. With Obamacare the IRS also has to write some rules. I don't know how many more federal agencies will have their hand in it.
LMAO! Brian, Brian Brian.
LMAO! Brian, Brian Brian. You are the silly one. It was Obama in a deflection away from his record and attack on religious liberty. You remember the memo you received from the White House with these talking points. Do you really think your listeners are that ignorant?
"DumbAssity of Dope"
"Reproductive" rights?
"I know what let's go after, let's go after reproductive rights in the United States'? What was that about?"
So, using a contraceptive is actually a form of reproduction? Hay, I have a great idea: let's describe clear cut logging as Forest Preservation! It makes about as much sense as describing the access and use of a contraceptive as a "reproductive" right!
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
The answer, Mr. Williams, is Nobody -- and you know that
WILLIAMS: "This is a setup, because I heard you out on this topic. Who woke up in the Republican Party one day recently and said, "I know what let's go after, let's go after reproductive rights..."
This strawman was concocted by the White House and the DNC when they realized that the RCC and other religious organizations were not going to cave in to their mandate.
But you're right about one thing: It was a "set up."
George Stephanopolous.
George Stephanopolous.
He kicked over the ant-hill
Remember Mitt's befuddlement at the question during one of the January debates? He was like "say WHAT?".
There's a democrat brain-trust behind it, probably the old Clinton operatives who are quite a bit smarter than Barky's crew. But in typical fashion, The Won overplayed his hand with the Catholic mandate.
Game over.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
DOH!
you beat me to it, Jeff. :-)
Who was the genius in the
Who was the genius in the Obama administration who decided to go after religious rights?
Bloody Sebilius!!!!!!
Bloody Sebilius!!!!!!
What are reproductive rights?
Is the federal government guarenteeing me the right to reproduce whether or not I am able? How do they do that.
Imagine the uproar
Imagine the uproar that the liberal press would create if, say, a republican president mandated the coverage of fertility drugs!
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
MSNBC
The propaganda media, they know their liberal socialist candidate (Obama) cannot run or talk about his accomplishment over the last three years; he has none only the many failures of an incompetent organization.
They created the diversion to stop anyone from asking Mr. Obama to explain his pitiful administration and his lack of anything like a coherent plan.
See this is why the
See this is why the Republicans have such an uphill battle. With people like Brian Williams dominating the mainstream media, the Republican message can never get out. Obama attacks religious freedom and yet the media portrays it as the Republicans attacking women. These "journalists" should be forced to put a "D" next to their name.
Good idea- require DEM subtitle when they are talking.
Truth in advertising baby! Maybe the public would wise up when they see "D" under 90% of journalists.
-- Maximusbraveheart -- Is TRUTH knowable? Moral Relativism is the abandonment of Truth. Truth is knowable. Truth conforms to Reality. Reality is observable by evidence & witness in this day & from history. Relativism is Sesame Street play land.
This really angers me! How
This really angers me! How can they lie without conciqunces to the American public. Too many people will believe this lie because they do not check things out on the web nor are in touch with web sites like NB.
Same here.
Even on the conservative side, my parents seemed to be voting for Romney because they never heard all of the liberal things he endorsed (and still likely would if not running for President). I hope not, but we could have Bush III on our hands. How about when you vote, you pick your No.1 pick AND a No. 2 pick, in order. If your #1 pick does not win, your vote ROLLS OVER to your number 2 pick. I think with that, Romney would be out. The Gingrich and Santorum votes would be largely combined and over take the more liberal Romney. Also, this thing with "winner take all" is wrong! That too should be changed IMO! It gives large states way too much influence where the guy may have won by 1 vote!!!!
-- Maximusbraveheart -- Is TRUTH knowable? Moral Relativism is the abandonment of Truth. Truth is knowable. Truth conforms to Reality. Reality is observable by evidence & witness in this day & from history. Relativism is Sesame Street play land.
Brian Williams
Brian Williams is a serial liar and a fraud. He has reached the point where lies every day of his life. Every lie Williams spews must be confronted.
Honest to Pete
This kind of malarkey reminds me of when I was a kid and my siblings would start a pinching match (I was the target) and, as soon as Mom's footsteps were heard rushing toward the room, they'd jump up on chairs, sit quietly with their hands folded neatly in their laps, then point at me with their "we're the good kids" faces upon Mom's arrival in the doorway.
I simply cannot believe the rampant and all-consuming delusion sweeping through the ranks of lib talking heads and politicians.
It's gotta be be something they're all eating or drinking or wearing. It's all too pervasive.
Sheesh.
Williams
is explaining just how ignorant and bias he is. He must be constantly dizzy from all his spinning. He is pathetic and is said to be the most popular "news giver" on tv. Who came to that conclusion? He couldn't pronouce his name, without a teleprompter, just like his messiah.
The correct term is non-reproductive rights.
Don't do anything, and you're likely to reproduce.
(Not you of course, Sandy baby.)
Williams must have an extremely short attention span...
... or think that we do. Let's see:
Sebellius says the mandate is that religious-based organizations that provide health insurance for their employees must fund contraception coverage for those employees.
Religious-based organizations say that's against their belief system and the First Amendment.
The Obama administration pulls a weak little magic trick and says "No problem, we'll force the insurance companies to provide this coverage for free!"
Insurance companies chuckle. Yeah, sure, we'll give it to them for "free".
Religious organizations and people who don't believe the government has a right to force a business to provide a service free of charge push back against this affront.
A 30-year-old political activist masquerading as a law student says that insurance plans should still be forced to cover contraceptive coverage, even those of a religious-based organization, and that contraceptive coverage could cost her and her fellow students up to $3k over the three years they're in law school.
When some folks do the math and show that contraceptive coverage costs like these would be better suited to a porn star than law student, and again ask "Why can't you pay for this yourself?", people on the Left and in the media (redundant, I know) decry "How dare you say these things to this sweet innocent college student! All you hateful right-wingers are against reproductive rights!"
Did I get that right?
Note: I'm assuming Ms. Fluke is not too far into law school, because based on the experience of a friend who went through law school, I think her expectations of having the time to use those all those contraceptives are a little high.
I say that was a perfect way to sum it up
Well done!
RON BURGUNDY HAS SPOKEN!
Sorry - Ted Baxter has spoken.
As long as you have an
As long as you have an eloquent speaking voice and are pushing all the right agenda items in what you choose to cover or not cover, you are considered an intellectual giant by the left. If this tool is that ignorant of the truth of the situation, living in his insular liberal bubble, then he's a complete moron. Either that or just an outright liar who will say anything to re-elect The One. Pretty disturbing in either case.
We all know that the elite
We all know that the elite media are coordinating their coverage with White House...Brian Williams thinks we are stupid...November is going to a sad time for him. Then maybe we can go on with the dismantling of the elite media.
Boycott Brian Williams' sponsors!
Hey folks! How about this? Check out every company who sponsors the "National Barack Channel" news with Brian Williams and boycott it! Let's send a clear message to this obnoxious Obama toady...
I can't be bothered to watch any news channel other than...
Fox News, so I guess I'll never know who sponsors his DNC outlet.
Do Not Call Them "Reproductive Rights"
They are "Non-reproductive Rights". With embryocide and fetuscide attached.
To more fully comprehend the Left, one must read “Leftism As Psychopathy” by John Ray, M.A., Ph.D. Caution, it might scare you a little bit.
http://jonjayray.tripod.com/psycho.html
Hey Brian Williams, you idiot, it was one of your own, by...
name of George "Steffie" Stephanopoulos who brought it up in one of the Republican debates. He tried to ambush Mitt Romney with it (contraception), but it didn't work. Romney said he wouldn't answer such a nonsensical question.
You guys are persistent so you kept asking the question until someone finally finally answered it and off to the races you went.
I guess to be a news anchor, you don't need brains, just marching orders from the Democrat Party.
Another good reason to support Romney. He won't fall into traps set by the non-Fox News media quite so easily!
BTW, Williams used the term "reproductive rights" instead of "contraception" in order to cover Stephanopoulos' trail (or tail).