Gregory Asks Emanuel About Obama: Will Demonizing Wall Street Create Jobs - 'Is This Not a Reverse Tea Party Tactic?'
By Noel Sheppard | October 09, 2011 | 17:48
David Gregory on Sunday's Meet the Press asked former Obama Chief of Staff turned Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel a rather surprising question about his previous boss's support for the Occupy Wall Street protests.
"Is demonizing Wall Street the way to create an environment to get the banks to hire? Is this not a reverse Tea Party tactic?" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
DAVID GREGORY, HOST: How about the--what's going on in the streets of Occupy Wall Street?
RAHM EMANUEL, MAYOR CHICAGO: Yeah.
MR. GREGORY: Complaining about the unfairness, railing against Wall Street. The president has sympathized with those protesters in the street. Is, is demonizing Wall Street the way to create an environment...
MAYOR EMANUEL: Well...
MR. GREGORY: ...to get the banks to hire?
MAYOR EMANUEL: The--it's not...
MR. GREGORY: Is this not a reverse Tea Party tactic?
Yes, that really was NBC's David Gregory asking Obama's former Chief of Staff if the president's support for the protests represents a demonization of Wall Street that could disincent banks from hiring.
I was probably just as shocked as Emanuel especially given what Gregory said about this movement on Friday's Today show:
How does the President try to harness this anger, this sense of unfairness about the economy, about income inequality in this country, about the middle class stagnating for the past 30 years? That's what the President wants to try to tap into here. Yes, it's difficult for the President because it manifests what people are anxious about, what they're angry about. But at the same time, it allows the President to drive a populist message again. You heard him yesterday – the Vice President, too – talking about banks being part of the problem, complaining about the fees that Bank of America is charging on ATM use. Here the President wants to say "Look, I'm on the side of the middle class here. I want more fairness in our country. The Republicans want to take you backward."
Two days later, he's concerned that the president is demonizing Wall Street with his support for this movement? Seems a bit contradictory, doesn't it?
Consider, too, what else members of his network have said about this movement in recent days:
- NBC: Occupy Wall Street Like an ‘Arab Spring,’ is ‘Drawing Historical Comparisons’
- Networks Again Trumpet What NBC’s Williams Celebrates as ‘the Protest of This Current Era’
- ABC and NBC Champion Left-Wing Anti-Capitalist Protests, Fueled by Cookies from a ‘Grandmother in Idaho’
- NBC Cheers Wall Street Protests As Liberal Version of Tea Party But Denounced Actual Tea Party
- NBC Celebrates 'Occupy Wall Street' Protests 'Gaining Ground'
Makes you wonder what got into Gregory's tea - er, I mean coffee on Sunday.
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Comments
I Think...
Submitted by GeneralAl on Sun, 10/09/2011 - 5:57pm.
I think Gregory changed his stripes while away from Washington. He was on with Don Wade and Roma on Friday and seemed to be much in agreementy with them. That rarely happens!
"Old Soldiers never die, they just fade away"!
I am not surprised. While I
Submitted by Immortal Fish on Sun, 10/09/2011 - 5:59pm.
I am not surprised. While I agree that the media is in camp with the left, they also cannot help themselves when it comes to their second passion--pitting each side against the other. Heaven forbid they merely report.
Seems that David went off the plantation,
Submitted by syvyn11 on Sun, 10/09/2011 - 6:14pm.
Guess that means he'll be sent to a re-education camp. He'll be back to sprouting off whatever the White House tells him next Sunday.
well what did Rahm say?
Submitted by kata on Sun, 10/09/2011 - 6:36pm.
you guys always cut off the video at the best part.
Rahm basically said a lot of
Submitted by amyshulk on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 3:45am.
Rahm basically said a lot of "It could have been worse" and "We did our best" and "I feel their pain"
Ronald Reagan
Rahm actually sounded like a
Submitted by amyshulk on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 6:40am.
Rahm actually sounded like a C - he said "Gov't. doesn't create jobs, they create the environment to create jobs"
Ronald Reagan
thanks amy
Submitted by kata on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 10:57am.
sometimes impatience gets the best of me :) I've heard Rahm speak a few times about his mayoral duties and sometimes he does indeed sound like he could almost be conservative but after a few sentences you can come to realize that's it's a "for me but not for thee" system for him.
Kata, you are most welcome!
Submitted by amyshulk on Tue, 10/11/2011 - 1:03am.
JUST like Pres. Obama huh? Starts out sounding sane, like a C, then takes an odd turn and makes NO sense!!!
Ronald Reagan
WHAT THE HELL DID RAHM SAY?
Submitted by HelloDare on Sun, 10/09/2011 - 8:07pm.
Noel Sheppard,
I have never used all caps in my life. Let me repeat in a calm voice: What the hell was Rahm's response?
This is not the first time NB has cut video short. Hey, this is not Twitter.
No, it isn't. But in your case, three years and three weeks...
Submitted by Dave. on Tue, 10/11/2011 - 1:25am.
...of comments that don't even rate a full page, may as well be Twitter Lite.
-Dave
THE BIGGER QUESTION NOEL.....
Submitted by Tomorama on Sun, 10/09/2011 - 8:11pm.
Noel, the bigger question to me is, DID Gregory ask him about Solyndra and the FACT that Rahm said he knew NOTHING about it?
BUT THE FACTS dictate that HE INDEED KNEW about Solyndra and the e-mails prove it.
Or did Rahm not read his e-mails as he get's thousand a week....... and it seems these smart people "don't read much of anything" except polls.
"Reverse Tea Party tactic" ?????
Submitted by Galvanic on Sun, 10/09/2011 - 10:33pm.
I don't even understand what this buffoon is saying. I've never heard the Tea Party(ies) praise Wall Street or banks. The Tea Party is against enlarging government at the expense of future generations who get stuck with the bill.
Gregory's question is nonsensical.
Never, ever trust a liberal.
Submitted by pbthinker on Sun, 10/09/2011 - 11:03pm.
There's some serious thinking going on about supporting these protesters. George Will, on This Week, thinks it will be good for Republicans if the Democrats support them and they get a lot of press, especially for deficating on police cars, etc. The more of that they do, the less they're able to compare them to the tea party protests and the worse they look.
I don't trust Gregory because he's in the tank for Obama and the Democrats so, if he asks this question, he must be thinking along the lines of George Will and be worrying about the adverse affect it will have on the Democrats if these protests go wrong.
Playing Devils Advocate -
Submitted by amyshulk on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 3:46am.
Playing Devils Advocate - that's their job, right?
Ronald Reagan