Brit Hume on Sunday took Juan Williams to task over the Democrats adjourning Congress without voting on extending some or all of the Bush tax cuts.
As host Chris Wallace moved the panel segment of "Fox News Sunday" to last week's decision by legislators to head home to their states and/or districts in preparation for the upcoming elections, he asked Williams for his opinion.
Williams said that he had spoken with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cali.) on Friday, and she told him she had the votes to get an extension passed for all but the top wage earners.
This led Hume to ask, "Then why didn't she call the vote?"
And that's when the fun started (video follows with transcript and commentary):
CHRIS WALLACE, HOST: Juan, who do you think's got the better side of the argument?
JUAN WILLIAMS, NPR: Well, I think Republicans have been dominating this argument for some time by making it out that somehow the Democrats want to raise your taxes by not extending the Bush tax cuts. But what we see on the ground I think is contradicts what we just heard from Congressman Boehner, because even he said he was willing to compromise with President Obama, in terms of going ahead with the tax cut for I guess it's 97-98% of Americans who make less than $250,000. He was immediately accused of capitulating by other Republicans who said, "Hold the hard line, we've got to have the additional tax cuts for that 1.5 or whatever percentage of Americans." So I mean, that has become the narrative. So, Nancy Pelosi, I saw Nancy Pelosi on Friday, and she said, you know what, she thought she could have won the vote even though there were several Democrats, I think 30 plus, who said that they wanted to extend the tax cuts for everyone. She thought she could have won it by actually getting some Republican votes.
BRIT HUME: But then why didn't she call the vote?
WILLIAMS: Because, if you'll give me a moment, Mr. Hume, she said...
HUME: A moment.
WILLIAMS: She said that she didn't want...
HUME: A moment.
WILLIAMS: ...to give the Republicans another chance to misrepresent it because Republicans are out there making the case that this tax cut...
HUME: So this poor little Speaker of the House, presiding over this massive majority, has the votes she says to win on this issue and send her members home having voted to, to, to stave off the tax cuts for nearly everybody, and she was afraid of what the minority Republicans were going to say about it? Do you seriously -- do you believe that?
WILLIAMS: Did you just say "Stave off tax cuts for everyone?" That's (unintelligible), that's distortion.
HUME: Tax increases, I'm sorry. Tax increases.
Indeed. The gullibility of liberal media members is staggering at times.
That this Congress adjourned last week without voting on this issue OR passing a 2011 budget is a disgrace that would be pummeled by the press if the Republicans were in power.
Instead, folks like Williams opt to carry the water for their Party.
Shame on you, Juan.
