Reid calls CNN's Dana Bash 'irresponsible and reckless' during interview

[Newsjock]

Source: CNN

... Asked by CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash if the Senate would follow the House's plans to vote for a bill to fund the NIH during the shutdown, Reid blasted the GOP-controlled House and insulted Bash.

"What right do they have to pick and choose which part of government is going to be funded? It's obvious what's going on here. You talk about reckless and irresponsible, wow," he said.

... Pressed further if Reid would move legislation if it meant helping even one child, the Nevada Democrat grew more irate.

"Why would we want to do that? I have 1,100 people at Nellis Air Force base that are sitting at home. They have a few problems of their own. To have someone of your intelligence to suggest such a thing means you're as irresponsible and reckless," he said to Bash.

Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/02/reid-gets-fiery-over-question-about-shutdowns-effect-on-clinical-trials-for-kids

[BeyondGeography]

1. Reid's bringing a lifetime supply of whoop ass to this saga

[ProSense]

2. LOL!

[MADem]

4. And he does know how to do that. He's got a quiet voice, though, and some people don't

see him as tough because of that--at their peril.

[BeyondGeography]

8. A boxer from Searchlight

That place is the end of the earth, man.

[MADem]

21. Well, they make 'em tough as nails out there!!!

found here (which has some funny graphics as well):

http://www.andhrafriends.com/topic/427678-nevada-v-r-no-1/

[BeyondGeography]

23. Awesome find

This made me laugh:

[enlightenment]

28. And do not EVER

speed through Searchlight. Aside from the casino, most of their revenue seems to come from traffic stops - and I gotta tell you, the temptation to blow through that one-horse burg perched halfway along an 80 mile stretch of absolute boredom is very, very, very strong.

But don't do it. The speed drops from 65 to 25 in a quarter mile stretch - and they are watching!

[MADem]

42. The whole thing is pretty cool, I thought.....

I just did the google, and started sorting, and found that, and loved it!

[japple]

73. If you squint, Harry's opponent in the picture above looks a bit

like Boner, doesn't he?

[MADem]

78. DOWN goes Bonehead!!!

(You've got to picture that said in Howard Cosell's voice! )

e.g.

[IrishAyes]

31. My dad was the same way, so naturally that tends to be my favorite type of man.

Seldom heard him raise his voice. But when he did, Slewfoot himself had better turn tail and run.

[MADem]

41. Ahhh, yes........... the "command voice!"

I had a few soft-spoken ancestors who had a soft tone, until they were pushed...and then out came this ... THING ... that would peel paint off a house!!!!

Whoever that child is in your avatar, that is one stunningly beautiful human being.... btw!!!

[chillfactor]

12. OMG!

I love this! bash is an asshat like everyone else on FAUX-lite.

My mother always told me to watch out for the quiet ones....they could deliver the most destructive punch! and Reid did just that!

[TheDebbieDee]

27. Yep! Good ole Harry had a Golden Gloves moment with Dana.....

[questionseverything]

3. if one part is funded separately at this point

we can kiss baby formula for poor infants good bye...that can not happen

[northoftheborder]

5. Wow glad to hear Reid telling it like it is. He must be terribly irritated and frustrated..

[Avalux]

6. I always know Harry had a hell of a fight in him.

He's clever and he's not taking shit from anyone. I love it.

[IrishAyes]

33. Beware the wrath of a patient man.

[Supersedeas]

50. so hard to find these days

[noiretextatique]

7. excellent

fuck those entitled, religiously insane, racist asshiles!!!

[louis-t]

70. 'asshiles'! I like it!

I'm gonna use that one.

[noiretextatique]

80. typo...typing from my phone

But I like it to

[Robbins]

9. Reid

He's earning his pay during this crisis.

Hey CNN what about people working for government contracters who are losing their job under shutdown?

Or poor mothers and their babys without help?

Or kids who can't go to headstart which hurt lower income familys especilly single mothers?

I say fund all government or keep it shut down.

[Whisp]

10. give her hell, harry.

Bash is Blitzer without the facial hair. Ignorant and store bought by the Pugnicans and that kind.

[montanacowboy]

11. She has been pulling this shit since yesterday

what a tool she is - good for Reid to shut her horse face up

[Jamastiene]

13. I love it when Democrats fight back! n/t

[maindawg]

14. how dare you sir

I challenge you to a duel.

[Hutzpa]

15. Go Harry.. Go Harry... Go Harry...

shut the tool up

[KeepItReal]

16. Bash said she was "Playing the Devil's Advocate"

Yeah, right.

[seabeckind]

48. She wasn't playing n/t

[tsuki]

63. You mean, she is? :)

[bluesbassman]

69. Why bother playing? There are already 232 actual devils in the House.

[Shrike47]

17. I would like to see more 'journalists' called on the content of their questions.

Also, public discussions of their failure to address truth versus lies.

[Amonester]

34. They don't know the difference between lies and truth.

For them, lies = truth, and truth is a stranger.

[uponit7771]

35. +1

[Cha]

18. Thank you, Harry!

[GatorOrange]

19. This side of Reid never really comes out.. but it's great when it does n/t

[UTUSN]

20. He didn't call BASH those words. n/t

[Bernardo de La Paz]

60. You deny he said this? "To have someone of your intelligence to suggest such a thing means you're as

To have someone of your intelligence to suggest such a thing means you're as irresponsible and reckless," he said to Bash.

[gopiscrap]

22. Good for Reid

[sheshe2]

24. Go Harry!!!!

Tell it~

[ffr]

55. Give 'em Hell Harry!

[neverforget]

25. Good for Reid!

[budkin]

26. Wish Harry was like that all the time.

[Ilsa]

29. Host on TRMS said it's become the FUX News story of the day:

"Reid hates kids with cancer."

[pangaia]

74. Of course. That's to be expected.

Wait and see how it is edited and taken out of context.

[pacalo]

30. Dana, when one half of congress is full of spoiled brats with delusional ideas,

"playing devil's advocate" for their case only serves to legitimize their behavior to the viewers. The old "devil's advocate" questions directed at one side of congress (when it used to be full of legislators with philosophical differences who sincerely wanted to come together to do what's best for the majority of citizens) no longer applies.

Where have you been?!

You should be directing your so-called "devil's advocate" questions to the Republicans. Do you not see that there's something amiss on that side? Or were you trying to impress your corporate bosses?

[mulsh]

32. The guy covering for Rachael Madow tonight played an edited clip of this as an example of Dem's

saying exactly the wrong thing.Something didn't seem right to me as I watched it.

Reading the transcript of the whole incident I'm positive the guy was working to put a negative spin on the incident.

It makes me less inclined to watch his week end show.

[demgrrrll]

37. He leans right. I don't like him at all. He has an insidious way of bending things

right. When he was on the Cycle SE Cupp agreed with him from time to time. Need I say more.

[Shemp Howard]

36. I'm going to be in the minority here.

I want reporters to ask all politicians the tough questions, the embarrassing questions, and, yes, even the loaded questions.

And I'll tell you why. All politicians need to be challenged. To do any less is to give them a free pass. And that's dangerous. They are not nobility. They are not above reproach.

I don't see Bash's question as all that bad. It's her job to challenge Reid, and dig for details and any hidden agendas.

It's Reid's job to civilly answer, or deflect, questions, as the case may be. IMHO, Reid went a bit too far here.

[SoutherDem]

38. I have no problem at all with tough questions if they are to ALL politicians

I do get a bit tired of tough questions only to Democrats.

[Shemp Howard]

39. Ain't that the truth.

I still think back to 2003 and the build-up to the Iraq invasion. No one wanted to ask the tough questions to Bush, Rumsfeld, or Powell.

Everyone was afraid of being slapped down as unpatriotic, or soft on terrorism. That stain on the Press will take years to wash off, if ever.

[Snake Plissken]

44. Answering idiotic questions politely gives the impression they are legitimate questions

One of the main problems we are facing right now is the media legitimizing the right wing extremist insanity. Harry Reid did the right thing.

[Shemp Howard]

59. But there is a danger there.

I really don't want to give politicians such an easy leeway to determine what an "idiotic question" is. Soon, every difficult or embarrassing question will be an "idiotic question."

Remember all those arrogant Rumsfeld news conferences?

I do agree that there are some questions that are so very beyond the pale that they truly are idiotic. But as a society, we have to be very careful with that label.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

61. You got your wish. She asked the question and she got pwnd.

He didn't duck her question. He challenged her on it which is his right.

[Rex]

40. Well CNN and Foxnews are propaganda sites.

At least he told it like it is.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

43. What is going on? Reid having a backbone?

Holding news media accountable? Goodness.

[Supersedeas]

45. Danner Bash giving lip service to GOP Talking Points....no way!?

[City Lights]

46. Nicely done, Harry!

[librechik]

47. Harry's finally losing it. About time!

so many opportunities wasted due to Harry's delusional hesitance. No Harry, they were NEVER going to help and compromise.

[flamingdem]

49. Love it!

GO HARRY

[joeybee12]

51. Dana Bash is a mess and a joke...good for Harry...knr

[IdaBriggs]

52. Fricking nervy of her to suggest she can rate the pain level of the people affected!

Did they really think shutting down the NIH was a good thing? If not, here's a crazy solution:

PASS THE CONTINUING RESOLUTION!

If anyone is STUPID enough to let the Republicans pick and choose, we all know,

WE ALL LOSE!

Go, Harry!

[Paulie]

53. Thank you Harry for using a pinch of that dry powder

Ya have a decades worth in stock feel free to use as many handfuls as necessary.

[L0oniX]

54. False equivalency asscarrot ...epic fail. GFY Dana!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

56. Republicans hold a gun to a kids head and its the Dems fault if the trigger gets pulled.

[Snotcicles]

57. Her and her tool husband make me gag. nt

[hamsterjill]

58. I don't think this was one of Harry's finer moments.

I like Harry, and I like his delivery - quiet until he gets fired up.

But I don't think it served him well to respond to Dana Bash the way he did. She is what she is, but there are still people who listen to her and his exchange with her sounded very negative to me.

I heard the exchange live and Bash was asking about clinical trials for children with terminal cancer being shut down. Harry's response sounded uncaring.

Just my opinion.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

62. Then you weren't paying attention.

The ploy by Republicans was specifically to get talking points to TRY to turn the tide of public opinion away from Dems. It is cynical game playing. Danna played the stooge by helping advance their false narrative.

[hamsterjill]

64. I was paying attention.

I don't think you were paying attention to my post.

I, like many other Americans, heard Harry's comments in the soundbite. He sounded snarky and rude. He should have remained calm and explained himself better.

If, as you say "the ploy by Republicans was specifically to get talking points to TRY to turn the tide of public opinion away from Dems"...then it is Harry Reid who played into that game.

He should have explained himself better than he did.

[orleans]

75. i also thought his response was terrible. i posted this a few posts down from yours

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3777566

[hamsterjill]

77. Thank you for responding

It may be unpopular here, but I can still be a loyal Democrat yet still be honest when, in my opinion, one of them makes a goof.

I simply feel that Harry could have handled his response in a much better way. As it is, he gave CNN fodder to play over and over today.

[judesedit]

65. Just one thing, Harry. Could you please use your U.S.Marine voice when talking to these bimbos

I really think it would help. The soft spoken polite crap isn't working in case you didn't notice. Talk plain American to your constituents, please. Get tuff!

[judesedit]

66. Above all, thank you for speaking out.

[orleans]

67. ugh.

i think he gave a crappy answer.

question: would you blablabla to help even one child
answer: "Why would we want to do that? I have 1,100 people at Nellis Air Force base that are sitting at home. They have a few problems of their own."

buzzzzzzz. wrong answer.

the correct answer is:
we *are* trying to help that child. we're trying to help thousands of children, and their families. ask the republicans why they only want to help a select few children when they should be willing and ready to help them all. every child deserves our help, not just a a hand-picked group the republicans deem worthy enough. every child is worthy enough. and so is every child's family.

i get what he meant but he phrased it like a piece of crap. i bristled when i heard his response.

so kill me. i know everyone here is in his corner.

i think he should come out and make a special statement to amend his "off the cuff" response. i'll even turn over the rights to the above paragraph i've written and allow him to use it.

[LukeFL]

68. I love him

He's got a quiet demeanor but when he speaks he's a fighter

[DefenseLawyer]

71. TV news people loves them some Gotcha. Doesn't matter how stupid the premise

"Ah ha! So I guess your position is that you want babies to die. How do you respond?" It's gold, Jerry!

[EC]

72. Well, yeah,

if we let them pick and choose, the program they hate would never be funded and essentially be closed. I'm glad Harry is holding firm too.

[steve2470]

76. I think it's great Harry gave a forceful direct answer

I'm sure Harry is terribly frustrated with Boehner, Cantor and their idiot gang, and Ms. Bash got on his last nerve. I'll give him a pass, even if it wasn't "the perfect answer".

[hopemountain]

79. thanks, harry

reckless and irresponsible is right - and even more so when it is one advocating for the devil and one who uses every opportunity to slam the work of democrats and supports the bashing of the president. the gloves come off when the fighting gets dirty, right harry?
oh waaahhh, for dana.

harry deserves to be afforded some bluster on his part. a "real" journalist would have taken a few moments to "read" the person she was interviewing - and perhaps she did and went for the juggler, anyway. she got what she had coming given the circumstances. i don't get how cnn and fox pundits think they can bash the dems for every thing, and twist and lie day after day and get off without ever being bashed.

[lonestarnot]

81. Horseface didn't get it though.