MSNBC's Wolffe Chides Texas Voters, Some GOPers 'Should Never Have Been Elected'
On Wednesday's PoliticsNation, MSNBC.com Executive Editor Richard
Wolffe asserted that Republicans like Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert "should
never have been elected [to] office in the first place," as he joined
host Al Sharpton in lambasting several Republicans who have talked about
impeaching President Obama.
Wolffe, who was a regular on Countdown with Keith Olbermann and other MSNBC shows during the years when the subject of impeaching Bush administration members was sometimes raised, was critical of Texas voters as he responded to several soundbites of Texas political figures talking about impeachment. Wolffe began:
Well, what's remarkable is, you got to think, look, some of these people should never have been elected [to] office in the first place. I don't know what's happening with Texas, but Louie Gohmert really, the whole state, it's a great state, but somebody voted for the guy. And it's not just one offense, it's everything that comes out of his mouth. Look, but there are other people, you know, we've been talking about Senators who get elected statewide who feel that they can pander to something.
He continued:
There are people who want to hear this stuff. They know that this stuff is nonsense. I mean, even Ted Cruz knows there's not the votes there. How extreme does it have to be? And I do think as statewide officials, if not national speakers, they have to know that they are driving their brand and their party into an unelectable place, even just pandering to this stuff.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Wednesday, October 16, PoliticsNation on MSNBC:
AL SHARPTON: We are waiting for the Senate to vote finally to end the
government shutdown and avoid a government default. The House is
scheduled to vote late tonight. While Republicans have lost this whole
process, it has made one thing clear. The GOP thinks if they can't beat
the President they should just try and get rid of him, impeach him. This
week, Sarah Palin railed against Obama's impeachable offenses. And so
did a truly great mind of the GOP.
REP. LOUIE GOHMERT (R-TX): If the President instructs the Treasury
Secretary, though the money is there to pay interest, if he instructs
them to default, I think we're getting close to a high crime and
misdemeanor.
SHARPTON: You heard him. It would be a high crime and misdemeanor. But
let's not forget the President's other impeachable crimes. Since his
inauguration in 2009, Republicans have wanted to impeach him because he
really wasn't born here. They've called for his impeachment over
immigration reform, over the Defense of Marriage Act, over Fast and
Furious. They wanted impeachment if he didn't extend the Bush tax cuts,
because he made recess appointments, because of the Dream Act, because
of the war in Libya, because of gun control, because of, quote, "all
the czars" he appointed. But that was first-term stuff, right? I mean,
in 2013, who's out spouting this garbage besides Sarah Palin and her
right-wing party?
REP. STEVE STOCKMAN (R-TX): We want all tools available to use, including impeachment.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: If he continues this, could that build up to make a case for possible impeachment?
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: All options should be on the table.
REP. BLAKE FARENTHOLD (R-TX): If we were to impeach the President
tomorrow, you could probably get the votes in the House of
Representatives to do it.
SENATOR JIM INHOFE (R-OK): People may be starting to use the I-word before too long.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Okay, the I-word meaning impeachment.
INHOFE: Yeah.
REP. KERRY BENTIVOLIO (R-MI): I've had lawyers come in and these are
lawyers, PhDs in history and I said, "Tell me how I can impeach
the President of the United States."
SENATOR TED CRUZ (R-TX): To successfully impeach the President you need
the votes in the U.S. Senate. With Harry Reid and the Democrats
controlling the Senate, it can't succeed.
SENATOR TOM COBURN (R-OK) CLIP #1: UNIDENTIFIED MAN: You have to
establish the criteria that would qualify for proceedings against the
President. And that's called impeachment.
COBURN CLIP #2: Barack Obama is a personal friend of mine.
SHARPTON: This impeachment talk is deeper than disagreeing with policy.
It's not about politics. It's about hatred. They can't beat him, so
they try to impeach him. But let's look who's still standing today.
Joining me now, Abby Huntsman and Richard Wolffe. ... Abby, this
knee-jerk call for impeachment is almost a code among anti-Obama
extremists. What do you make of it?
HUNTSMAN: Well, he first of all has to do something to be impeachable,
right? Is there a crime that he's committed that we're not aware of?
It's amazing that they're still using this rhetoric, that he's well into
his second term as President. It's not all surprising, though my
question is how are these individuals elected? We're talking about
elected officials that are calling for him to be impeached, and some of
which
are trying to get into office.
So my question is, you know, here we are with, you know, struggling
economy. We need to be talking about immigration, education, tax reform,
so many things that need to be discussed. And this is their agenda.
This is their idea of the future success of the GOP? And, sadly, because
the party is so fragmented, so divided, so weak, it's these voices that
are dominating the narrative. Otherwise, we probably wouldn't even be
talking about it.
SHARPTON: Richard?
WOLFFE: Well, what's remarkable is, you got to think, look, some of
these people should never have been elected [to] office in the first
place. I don't know what's happening with Texas, but Louie Gohmert
really, the whole state, it's a great state, but somebody voted for the
guy. And it's not just one offense, it's everything that comes out of
his mouth. Look, but there are other people, you know, we've been
talking about Senators who get elected statewide who feel that they can
pander to something.
There are people who want to hear this stuff. They know that this stuff
is nonsense. I mean, even Ted Cruz knows there's not the votes there.
How extreme does it have to be? And I do think as statewide officials,
if not national speakers, they have to know that they are driving their
brand and their party into an unelectable place, even just pandering to
this stuff.
SHARPTON: But, you know, there's something deeper here because, I mean,
just two weeks after he took office they started talking about
impeachment. And we keep hearing it over and over and over again, Abby.
HUNTSMAN: You hope, though, that today is some sort of a reflection
point for the Republican Party where they say, you know, where do we go
from here? How can we wrap our arms around the party once again and
actually strengthen it? Is this a moment where you say the Tea Party is
no longer going to hold the government hostage? Is this a moment where
the moderate tone might prevail. Or are we going to see this game of
chicken just continue as we, you know, hit another budget crisis just a
few weeks from now? I think this is a real moment for the Republican
Party. And, Reverend, we talk about this all the time, that no matter
where you find yourself on the political spectrum, we should all be
hoping for a stronger Republican Party because that's what makes for a
better democracy, and it makes for a more robust debate, and it makes
for more compromise. And that's what the American people deserve.
SHARPTON: But, you know, when we look at this impeachment, it has
almost Richard become a badge of honor for the right. Texas Lieutenant
Governor
David Dewhurst, he lost as a moderate Senate candidate to Ted Cruz last year.
Just this week, he told Tea Partiers he wants to impeach President
Obama over Benghazi. Then you have Steve Stockman, GOP congressman, he
plans to distribute a book about impeachment. He bought 435 copies of
the World Net Daily book, Impeachable Offenses: The Case for Removing
Barack Obama from Office, and he plans to give a copy to every member of
the House.
WOLFFE: That's one way to sell a book, I guess. You know, here's the
thing. We have seen in the past, in the recent past, in the last few
weeks, how this extreme talk suddenly moves into the mainstream. And
before you know it, they're too scared. And fear is what is ruling at
least the House Republicans right now. They're too scared to say, "Boo,
this isn't going to work, this is not going to fly, and we've got to
stop it." So what happens? They take one of these crazy ideas, they run
with it. And then they realize, "Gee, didn't work and we look really
foolish."
There is a danger that this kind of fringe talk about impeachment moves
to the heart of the Republican Party because there is no leadership,
there are no grown-ups to say that stuff is just crazy, stop it.
HUNTSMAN: And I think that's what rhetoric, I think you're exactly
right. I think it's when they feel threatened, when they feel like they
don't have control, then they throw out this crazy right-wing rhetoric,
talking about impeaching the President. I think that's exactly the time
when you see this come out.
SHARPTON: But aren't they intimidated by the loud voices, by the radio
talkers, by those that have been able to use the right-wing media from
blog to Fox to radio that really have put them in a state of
intimidation? I'm talking about the moderate grownups in the Republican
Party?
HUNTSMAN: Right, and it's sad because it's really difficult for them to
have any sort of control. And, you know, we know that there are these
wacko birds on both sides of the political aisle. But, unfortunately
because the moderates don't really have a lot of control, they are
dominating the narrative. And that becomes very, very dangerous. And
that's what we've seen play out over the past few weeks. And that's why I
think today, it's a really important moment for the Republican Party,
for the future of the party, and for the future of this country, and I
hope that they lean more towards a more moderate tone because I think
that`s what's better for everybody.
SHARPTON: Richard, do you think today, the way it seems like it will
end? We're waiting on the Senate vote, later House voted, if it goes as
planned. Do you think that some of the far right will lose their steam
since it's going to be hard to make, to even spin this as a victory? Or
do you think that they are such believers it won't even matter?
WOLFFE: I think they will say this was a real victory for them because
in spite of this temporary bump in the road, they are really the ones
who have set this country on the right track and they'll come back and
do it in February. They need to understand that this is not an electable
platform. They have to lose again to really get the lesson.
HUNTSMAN: I think you're right. They'll have to lose the House. And I
think that's probably unlikely, but they have to hit that rock bottom.
SHARPTON: Well, they set on the right track, $24 billion for nothing.
Abby Huntsman and Richard Wolffe, thank you for your time this evening.
