Santelli: The White House sort of made a veiled threat against me, didn’t it?
posted at 6:09 pm on February 24, 2009 by Allahpundit
I don’t know what’s worse, the possibility that he’s making this accusation in good faith or that he isn’t. Watch the clip of Gibbs calling him out for his rant. Clearly, all he means is that if Santelli’s rich and lives in a mansion then he can’t be expected to understand the problems of the average homeowner who (supposedly) needs help from Obama’s mortgage plan. The left pulls this faux-victim garbage all the time, drawing sinister insinuations from conservative rhetoric when obviously none are intended. Sad that this guy would stoop to the same thing.
Update (Ed): We talked about this on my show today, and it’s ridiculous. Santelli has a legitimate complaint about Gibbs using a class warfare attack against him with that comment, but in no way was Gibbs threatening Santelli. It would be nice if the Right didn’t mimic the worst habits of the Left, as Allahpundit says, especially on paranoid-victimization routines.
Was Gibbs’ comment “unpresidential”? Yes, but he was asked to respond to Santelli, and he did, more or less in campaign mode. The comment from Gibbs didn’t come without prompting from the press.
Blowback
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OOPS.
If I look at all this administration HAS done…
Deeanne on February 24, 2009 at 8:57 PM
The good stuff!
Jim Treacher on February 24, 2009 at 9:21 PM
This is right on the money.
The other thing, IMO, is this is not outrage over a single event. The exact same thing was passed under Bush last July. I think it is pent-up frustration of our politicians saying one thing and doing another. It is a slap in the face to the people that pay their salaries and by golly, the producers in this country are sick of it.
PrincipledPilgrim on February 24, 2009 at 9:49 PM
And you wonder why Hotair didn’t make it into the top 25…
fabrexe on February 24, 2009 at 9:58 PM
This is why Hotair didn’t make it into the top 25.
Like the silly statement above – it’s sounding more and more like a partisan fever swamp without any rhyme or reason – akin to a Far Right leaning version of a KOS model every day….
Where’s the thuggery? Absolutely nowhere. Yes – The Left pulls this faux-victim garbage all the time, drawing sinister insinuations from conservative rhetoric when obviously none are intended.
SadDisgustingly nauseating that this guy would stoop to the same thing.AprilOrit on February 24, 2009 at 10:13 PM
What would you call it, then?
Jim Treacher on February 24, 2009 at 10:20 PM
I would call it exactly what it was – Gibbs making a simple statement that Santelli is nothing more than an elistist who doesn’t understand how the otherside lives.
AprilOrit on February 24, 2009 at 10:26 PM
Forget I asked.
Jim Treacher on February 24, 2009 at 10:33 PM
Oh don’t worry – already done.
AprilOrit on February 24, 2009 at 10:43 PM
Do we need to review people on the left taking things out of context?
How about having to explain monkey jokes were not intended as racist? and 100 other things.
Maybe if they had to apologize publically and thus appear guilty of something explaining their innocence a few times for BS we could end that tactic for a while on the left.
It persists now because it is a one-way street (actually a highway)
I don’t have a problem with it for this reason.
Conan on February 24, 2009 at 10:44 PM
Apparently.
Jim Treacher on February 24, 2009 at 10:44 PM
I am so sick of people on the left attacking people based on who they are rather than the substance of their arguments. Gibbs attacked Santelli based on his living in too nice a house. What utter BS.
JustTruth101 on February 24, 2009 at 11:07 PM
“This treatment echoes back to the attacks on Joe the Plumber. The Obama Administration tries to destroy the credibility of any citizen who dares to ask uncomfortable questions, rather than address the question as posed.
It is a tactic that is designed to have a chilling effect on the masses who may formulate uncomfortable questions”
“chilling effect on the masses”
chilling effect on the Economy, 3k+ drop in the Dow after Oct 9th Obama, JPT “question”
The stim bill, no Repubs allowed in the Negotiations?
Ever hear of “No taxation without representation”?
Obama’s locking out the Repubs is a direct violation of our basic government.
If you never really understood the difference tween a Republic and a Democracy, this is it, We are a Republic not a Democracy.
If we do not have representation, there is NO reason to accept the bill, law or whatever.
DSchoen on February 24, 2009 at 11:10 PM
AprilOrit
“I would call it exactly what it was – Gibbs making a simple statement that Santelli is nothing more than an elistist who doesn’t understand how the otherside lives.”
Strange?
Gibbs started out saying he doesn’t know who Santelli is, yet concludes with he’s an elistist (elitists) who doesn’t understand how the otherside lives.”
That’s a little arrogant of Mr. Gibbs aint it?
Alinsky’s Rules
RULE 5: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” There is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions. (Pretty crude, rude and mean, huh? They want to create anger and fear.)
RULE 6: “A good tactic is one your people enjoy.” They’ll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They’re doing their thing, and will even suggest better ones.
Like using Government files to dig up dirt of some kind on your political enemy.
RULE 9: “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.” Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist.
DSchoen on February 25, 2009 at 12:51 AM
Well I was watching Gibb’s briefing live and immediately followed his instructions to go to http://www.whitehouse.gov and retrieve the plan. Not only was it not there, I did a complete site search and the only document available was the three page execute summary already released which did not contain any detail. Gibbs was calling Santelli out to do something that was not possible to do!
Its my understanding that the details will not be released until March 4th, so Gibbs is just grandstanding for a captive audience of “reporters” that will not call him out and for the believers that will not questions The One or his minions.
JeffVader on February 25, 2009 at 2:23 AM
With hindsight of the Joe the plumber treatment etc it’s obvious it was an attack.
Obama/Axelrod has so many people on his payroll and under his informal command that he count on the intimidation by speculating about where someone lives.
It’s exactly like the mafia when they show up and tells you ” Nice shop you’ve got here — Shame If Something Were To Happen To It..”. Or maybe the mafia just is a bunch of caring citizens..
the_nile on February 25, 2009 at 5:55 AM
What is wrong with you people? The One must be innocent of threats! He is a gentle soul from a gentle background.
There has never been any organized or “boss” ordered violence in Chicago.
Odinga (whom The One campaigned for) never killed or burned enemies to death.
Then we have Ayers….
IlikedAUH2O on February 25, 2009 at 9:42 AM
We have problems with getting our message as it is and you guys wants to sanctimoniously shut it down.
promachus on February 25, 2009 at 11:07 AM
c’mon guys, Gibbs is the bad guy here, not Santelli. White House Press Secretary Gibbs wasn’t making a threat so much as we was giving marching orders to the left’s Useful Idiots in state & federal Gummint jobs. Gibbs knew they could be counted on to go into Gummint databases to dig up dirt on Santelli and give the info the the Mainstream Media. The left will use any resource available, no matter how unethical or criminal, to silence the voices of opposition.
Doesn’t anyone remember how Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher asked a simple question and got pilloried for it? His tax liens were exposed. That Ohio Democrat woman who was an Ohio state child & welfare supervisor ordered state employees to go into the database to see if Joe Wurzelbacher was in arrears on child support payments.
The Leftists are doing everything they can to turn inconvenient people into UnPersons. It’s so much like George Orwell’s 1984 that it’s downright eerie.
Here’s another example. Try going onto the leftist-run Google Image site and searching for an image of the trash-strewn Washington Mall after former Senator Obama’s Inauguration/Usurpation. I’ll bet no matter what search words you use, it’ll take you to at least Page Ten before you find something. The left in this country learned well from their Soviet and National Socialist mentors that if you can manipulate the information and control the message, you can control the people.
Catch
CatchAll on February 25, 2009 at 1:01 PM
You guys are becoming more unhinged with each dawning day….
AprilOrit on February 25, 2009 at 3:48 PM
Oh so we have become that desparate that even if the message is in the faux victim gargabe genre – it’s still ok?
We’d be better off carrying a message that wasn’t so damn nonsensical.
AprilOrit on February 25, 2009 at 3:52 PM
Gibbs was definately trying to use the velvet hammer treatment on Santelli. They certainly want him to shut up.
Chuck Norton on February 25, 2009 at 7:57 PM
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