Today in crazy: Liz Cheney defends the Birthers

[babylonsister]

http://www.salon.com/opinion/walsh/politics/2009/07/22/liz_cheney_and_birthers/index.html

Liz Cheney defends the Birthers


You'll have to see it to believe it, and the video isn't up yet. But Tuesday night on CNN's "Larry King Live," rising GOP shill/star Liz Cheney refused to denounce the "Birthers" -- the right-wing fringe movement devoted to denying (for a changing array of reasons) that Obama is eligible to be president. Instead, Cheney defended the Birthers by blaming Obama for their rage.

I wasn't planning to blog so I took notes in real-time, and I can't promise Cheney's quote is verbatim. But she said the same thing twice, so I'm confident I caught her drift. After King showed video of the crazy birther who disrupted a meeting with poor GOP Sen. Mike Castle, demanding he acknowledge Obama was born in Kenya (that's one birther claim); and after Carville denounced them as a "poor, pathetic" fringe group, King gave Cheney a chance to distance herself from them. But Cheney demurred, telling King the Birther movement exists because "People are uncomfortable with a president who is reluctant to defend the nation overseas."

The rarely shocked Carville seemed briefly speechless, and even King, not known to be the most combative interviewer, tried a second time to get an honest reaction from Cheney -- which I read as expecting her to separate herself from the crazies. But Cheney repeated her talking point about Obama inadequately defending the nation overseas. Unbelievable.

Now, I've debated Cheney, so I know she'll do anything from rudely interrupting to lying to make her point, but even I expected her to take King's opportunity to distinguish her brand of Republicanism from the hooligans who run with the Birthers. But she didn't. Wow. The GOP keeps coughing up younger, supposedly more compelling, "new" leadership, from Sarah Palin to Mark Sanford to, now, Liz Cheney -- and they keep making clear they're not ready for prime time. It's remarkable.

Look for Cheney to try to "clarify" her remarks in the next few news cycles, but she made her true colors clear on CNN tonight, and they're even uglier than I thought.

-- Joan Walsh

[malaise]

1. Go Liz

Keep on playing to your crazy base. It'd sll good!

[itsrobert]

2. Larry King was a bad moderator

When even James Carville can't get a word in edge wise, there is something wrong there.

[mwb970]

3. I'd take Joan Walsh over the Lizard every time!

It's brains vs. batshit. For me, brains win.

[ErinBerin84]

4. I saw it

It was bad, even for her. What a disgusting person. I can't believe that the assholes who did nothing to prevent September 11th have the nerve to go there...actually, I guess I can believe it.

[Gabi Hayes]

21. on top of all the shrill mendacity, the mere sound of her flat, screechy, nasal voice

made me wish for closed captioning

love to have seen the captioner trying to keep up with her constant overtalking.

[marmar]

5. Anyone else feel like this woman has just been forced on us by the media?

Other than being Satan's spawn, what's her claim to fame?

[tavalon]

6. Sort of

I guess I only feel forced when I see her name and her clips here. I don't subscribe to the Big Brother Tube so I avoid the temptation to shout at an idiot box.

[KharmaTrain]

7. She's All The Sweetness Of Both Parents...

Honestly...I'd be embarassed to send my daughter out to fend for me. This goon is hiding behind her skirt as he knows not only he's guilty of war crimes but that there are sure to be more of those crimes revealed.

Her claim to fame? Birthrite...that's all important in the GOOP world; their "affmirmative action" program.

Lizzy says she wants a future in politics...all the ditz of Mooselini with the "charisma" of Bay Buchanan. What a wonderful future she has.

:puke:

[marmar]

10. Yep. She's definitely a beneficiary of Wingnut Welfare.

n/t

[tanyev]

12. She's the spawn who once and for all kept Daddy out of Vietnam.

[C_U_L8R]

16. I think her press time must be paid for

she's certainly not very interesting or newsworthy

[Ganja Ninja]

8. This birther thing is going to end up with more than a few people

getting pepper sprayed and clubbed over the head with a riot sticks. And that might be the only way to bring these idiots back to reality.

[704wipes]

9. The Republicans really are looking for a woman to run

against Obama, before they cave and hand the ball to Jebbie...

[WeDidIt]

11. That means she IS a Birther

As a Republican there are two choices. Either you clearly disavow the Birthers or you are a Birther.

[Vinca]

13. If anyone should have provided a birth certificate it was Dick,

He's like some strange, dark, evil blob that might have originated in a petri dish.

[malaise]

15. LOL

Choking with laughter :rofl:

[OneTwentyoNine]

14. Oil Dick and Rove never challenged this to any degree

But now AFTER Obama is in office SHE does?? Boy...is she being played for a FOOL by the RW NeoNuts. Pretty soon they'll toss her aside once they've used her up.

[Solomon]

17. Read "The Eliminationists" There is a reason Cheney

didn't separate herself. She's trying to legitimize the complaint so that it gets more airtime. So that it's taken seriously by the mainstream media as an issue.

The right wing has been doing this for some time. Start out with an absurd view from the extreme right; have hannity, Limbaugh, Coulter, etc., talk about it on the radio thereby giving it false credibility until sooner or later, the main stream, which wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole in the beginning, now starts to report it as a "story."

Liz Cheney knows the truth, but that won't stop her from playing the game.

[Atman]

18. "Look for Cheney to 'clarify' her remarks..."? Fat chance. Cheney's don't misspeak.

When they say something evil and/or ludicrous, especially twice, you know it's been carefully scripted and well thought-out. Personally, I won't be looking for Liz Cheney to clarify. I'll be waiting for her to reiterate.

.

[FSogol]

19. Tried to get an honest answer from a Cheney? LOL, good luck. n/t

[Gabi Hayes]

20. she was so nauseating I started a thread about her as soon as she opened her yap:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6118845

[Javaman]

22. because in their last desperate attempt to derail the publics attention from torture man

liz and dickhead crashcart are wildly trying to keep the stink off them. If hair brained is the answer to their dreams (so they believe) then hair brained is what they will push. Playing to the ultra right wing fringe fundie element is a surefire backfire.

[slackmaster]

23. Birthers are irrelevant - they need to be ignored - K&U

:kick:

[Name removed]

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