Rahm Emanuel to reporter: “Why don’t you go f*** yourself?”
posted at 4:52 pm on May 14, 2007 by Allahpundit
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What deeply personal subject did the reporter broach to warrant such a stern upbraiding?
Lobby reform, naturally:
Before a Democratic caucus meeting, a Politico reporter asked House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois about the language of the bill’s main provisions. After Emanuel demurred on the specifics, this reporter asked — in the effort for openness and disclosure — if a journalist could sit in to hear debate on the language.
“Why don’t you go f— yourself?” Emanuel replied, as he entered a men’s room in the Capitol basement.
Exit question: How will the nutroots distinguish this from Cheney’s similar remark to Pat Leahy?
(a) By youth. Rahm’s a sprightly 47, Cheney a wizened 66. We can forgive the former the excesses of youthful immaturity, but an adult really should know better.
(b) By stature. No one cares what a congressman says, even if he is one of his party’s leading spokesmen and the architect of their recent national election victory. Whereas the vice president is a moral example to us all.
(c) By the target’s stature. Greeting some no-name reporter’s question about ethics with the F-bomb is perfectly understandable, but dropping it on Senator Pat Leahy? Disgraceful!
(d) By temperament. Oh, that’s just Rahm. You know Rahm.
(e) By completely ignoring it.
Update: Enrique comments, “If telling a journalist to go f*** him/herself is wrong, then I DON’T WANT TO BE RIGHT!” Also, don’t forget that the nutroots actually hate Rahm for his centrist tendenices and the fact that he’s gotten the credit they think they deserve for the Democrats’ win. New exit question, then: Is this actually a point in Rahm’s favor? Viva Rahm?
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The most ethical Congress ever.
infidel4life on May 14, 2007 at 4:55 PM
I vote:
(e) By completely ignoring it.
Esthier on May 14, 2007 at 4:55 PM
If telling a journalist to go f*** him/herself is wrong, then I DON’T WANT TO BE RIGHT!
Enrique on May 14, 2007 at 4:58 PM
(f) Rahm is DLC, more proof that the DLC is the same as Dead Eye Dick and the rest of the Neo-con PNAC repukes.
rw on May 14, 2007 at 5:00 PM
Blue on blue crime is always fun to watch, but Rahm jamming both the journos AND the nutroots is priceless. If there’s a tougher ballerino out there, I want to know about it!
Kid from Brooklyn on May 14, 2007 at 5:13 PM
Maybe Rahm was listen’n to some jam on his Ipod and he was just feel’n it.
Later he’ll make an appearance at the ethics committee.
Speakup on May 14, 2007 at 5:18 PM
How did Carl Rove pull this one off? Mind control?
abinitioadinfinitum on May 14, 2007 at 5:18 PM
Don’t worry Enrique, we don’t want you to be right either. Just stay exactly where you are.
dalewalt on May 14, 2007 at 5:18 PM
“Why don’t you go f*** yourself?”
Because it’s anatomically impossible. If I could, I’d never leave the house.
It seems to me that R.E. just found a way to do it … uh, F*** himself, that is.
Tony737 on May 14, 2007 at 5:19 PM
hey rahm, do us a favor and follow your own advice!
mfnorman on May 14, 2007 at 5:19 PM
Well, the sentiment (to go F yourself) isn’t what bothers me so much, it’s the cowardice behind it that gets me. Rather than give the reporter an answer to a very good question, he resorted to a stupid jr high insult. And, as we all likely remember well from jr high school, that means he doesn’t have a rational response to the question and therefore doesn’t want to answer it.
Okay…
Bob's Kid on May 14, 2007 at 5:23 PM
(f) by the fact that Rahm probably mistook the Politico reporter as being from Fox News. Thus, he needs to be celebrated for an effort to speak Truth to Pure Evil.
eeyore on May 14, 2007 at 5:31 PM
Such a crude, rude, immature, slightly inane response to a reasonable question is just…pandering to the base!
stonemeister on May 14, 2007 at 5:32 PM
“most
ethicalfarcical Congress in history”Must say, I love that Mr. Emanuel said that to a reporter; not on the topic he did it, just that the media needed it said, at least once.
On the other hand, so much for openness in government, “cleanness”, no corruption and the other promises the Libs ran on. Our representatives are such clowns. Promises, promises, from all sides.
Entelechy on May 14, 2007 at 5:37 PM
eh, i’ll say the same thing i said when cheney said it. if we live in a country where a man doesn’t have the freedom to tell you to go f**k yourself, what sort of freedoms do we have?
jummy on May 14, 2007 at 5:41 PM
A combination of these two.
RightWinged on May 14, 2007 at 5:47 PM
Correcting self, or adding on – the clowns are us – we vote for them. We asked for them, we got them. No one else to blame.
Entelechy on May 14, 2007 at 5:47 PM
No. Rahm’s a first rate asshole.
In keeping with Fred!’s “My Daddy Told Me…” theme, I file this under “even a blind pig finds a cob now and then”.
Jaibones on May 14, 2007 at 5:54 PM
In case you need proof of the big farce the democrats ran on.
Entelechy on May 14, 2007 at 6:01 PM
Can’t remember when you have been right.
right2bright on May 14, 2007 at 6:48 PM
It amazes me how poorly some people read. Where did someone say he did not have the freedom to say that?
Please point that out to me.
right2bright on May 14, 2007 at 6:52 PM
i forged my first impression of rahm after 9-11. i was so jaded already about this business that as long as he didn’t try to suggest that osama was framed by the “bush junta” he counted as a moderate democratic to me. that’s still as good as it gets.
jummy on May 14, 2007 at 6:55 PM
jesus man, have a drink. calm down.
jummy on May 14, 2007 at 6:56 PM
Yeah, sure. Don’t make a stupid statement and then deflect onto the person who called you out.
right2bright on May 14, 2007 at 7:14 PM
It seems Rahm has no respect for those to whom he addresses.
George Washington’s 1st Rule of Civility:
1st- Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect, to those that are Present. (modern translation- Treat everyone with respect).
Zorro on May 14, 2007 at 8:02 PM
They figure they have a right to have a seat at the table given how well the dish out the propaganda to get them, and keep them, in power.
TheBigOldDog on May 14, 2007 at 8:26 PM
What kind of f**king name is Rahm?
profitsbeard on May 14, 2007 at 8:30 PM
ummm, okay.
jummy on May 14, 2007 at 8:39 PM
Gee Ron, you really can’t say stuff like that. Do you not remember that you were really, really outraged when the V.P. said something like that and you and your slime loving buddies were so outraged? Goes round comes round!!!
NEMETI IN SYRACUSE on May 14, 2007 at 8:43 PM
I’m with Enrique on this one. Well put.
mikeyboss on May 14, 2007 at 11:09 PM
Some directions for Rahm Emanuel:
You, sir, are no Dick Cheney. Not only is that saying vile, but it’s as good as trademarked. You yourself helped trademark it, as I recall. Open mouth. Insert soap bar. Lather, rinse, repeat.
flutejpl on May 14, 2007 at 11:42 PM
We expect our children to act better in school. What lovely representatives we have in our public system that they can learn from. And some people want to say we are going to hell in a handbasket because it’s just kids these days that don’t know what being civil means…lol.
Highrise on May 14, 2007 at 11:49 PM
This is Rahm being Rahm.
He was Clinton’s spinmeister.
He is vicious and vindictive.
He started Clinton’s “dirt machine” to dig up dirt on Bill and Hillary’s opponents. If you want to know what happened to the 900 FBI files that were stolen at Clinton’s orders, get a search warrant for his home.
As we know, he is foul mouthed and “civility challenged.”
He accused Starr of leaking grand jury stuff, when in fact HE WAS LEAKING routinely. So add liar and hypocrite to his profile.
He lied for Clinton about Monica. In fact, he led the lie factory that smeared all those women who dared to complain about his rapiat ways, especially Kathleen Willey.
He is considered to be an expert in blackmail and ran the House commitee to take over the House like Don Corleone ran New York City.
The people who know (i.e., the ones he attacked and savaged) call him “Clinton’s hit man.”
I question the conservative credentials of anybody commenting here who supports him in any way. I predict that this a-hole dies, the line of people wanting to piss on his grave will stretch a mile or more and create a groundwater hazmat situation.
I utterly despise this Brownshirted b*stard.
georgej on May 15, 2007 at 12:06 AM
It was just a botched joke! He meant to say that if the reporter asked Cheney that question, Cheney would tell him to go F*** himself. But he just left a few words out.
Hey, you’re going to see Rahm get tired. You’re going to see him make mistakes. You’re going to see him tell people to go F*** themselves. You’re just not going to hear about it on NPR or read it in the NYT.
drunyan8315 on May 15, 2007 at 1:22 AM
Wait…we expect civility in our civil servants??
:)
tickleddragon on May 15, 2007 at 1:55 AM
Masturbation?
Tim Burton on May 15, 2007 at 3:21 AM
Don’t dare ask what path I took to come to this question . . . but like has a reporter ever run, and/or won for that matter, a political office?
- The Cat
MirCat on May 15, 2007 at 3:23 AM
i think option e. is winning.
jummy on May 15, 2007 at 6:12 PM
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