Video: WH spokesman avoids answers on Snitch Central
posted at 4:45 pm on August 12, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
Megyn Kelly goes toe-to-toe with White House deputy secretary Bill Burton about Linda Douglass’ Snitch Central for almost seven minutes, mainly because Burton refuses to answer Kelly’s question about the storage of the e-mails it receives. Her question — does the White House purge the e-mails it receives complaining about dissent on Obamacare — has a straightforward answer: no. In fact, the White House can’t delete them, due to laws governing official communications in the executive branch. Why Burton doesn’t just say that is a mystery (via Greg Hengler at Townhall):
There are numerous problems with Burton’s response, but the biggest is the notion that a White House staffed with political operatives (as all are) somehow need a snitch line to find out what’s being said about ObamaCare. Are Burton and and his colleagues in the press office so incompetent that they can’t follow the news media and the larger blogs? They can do that themselves and present their own rebuttals in real time without Snitch Central in the West Wing.
Either they’re completely incompetent at the most basic New Media task — that of following RSS feeds — or they’re paranoid and want to turn Americans into snitches on political dissent. Even Nixon had the good sense to build his own enemies list.
Blowback
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This doofus looks like Howdy Doody’s kid. He also looks a lot like the MSNBC announcer whatsisface, who looks like Howdy Doody’s OLDER kid. Puppets, one and all.
bradley11 on August 12, 2009 at 8:46 PM
Why Burton didn’t answer straightforwardly? He understood the trap, which was, if these records are kept, how chilling would that be to free speech. Wouldn’t it cause many people to hesitate speaking out publicly on the internet (YES, it would, it does!). See, they can’t control the internet or the radio, but they are trying to figure out how to do so by hook or crook.
rolledupsleeves on August 12, 2009 at 8:53 PM
I would not answer it either. The level of intelligence at foxnews is pretty low
liberal343 on August 12, 2009 at 4:47 PM
Your questioning Megyn Kelly’s intelligence shows how little intelligence you have.
smokinjoe on August 12, 2009 at 8:54 PM
Who cares. Let them waste their time sifting throught millions of emails. It won’t change a thing.
roasted7 on August 12, 2009 at 8:59 PM
I vote 50/50. I can’t recall such screw-ups in the white house before. Obama ran on Open & Transparent gov, and hides everything (including the budget report due in July AND the Clunkers program), He ran on “NO Lobbyist”, then quickly added 12-14. He bowed to a saudi king. Remember the tacky gifts to PM Brown/Ipod for the Queen?
There’s just no denying that the WH Snitch Central is meant to be used as an enemies list; coming on the heels of the DHS “Right Wing Terrorist/Veterans are Terrorist” released just days PRIOR to the Tea Parties.
Either way: IT. IS. CHILLING.
TN Mom on August 12, 2009 at 9:00 PM
I’m just a confused Fox News watcher. I don’t believe what President Obama believes because I’m confused. I’m just so simple minded and so easily confused.
What a tool.
29Victor on August 12, 2009 at 9:34 PM
Burton is an embarrassment. Megyn might as well have been arguing with a two year old.
EverydayTuesday on August 12, 2009 at 9:40 PM
A simple “We’re purging them” would do.
Akzed on August 12, 2009 at 10:07 PM
When she mentions the Presidential Records Act, he blinked about 25 times in twenty seconds.
Excessive blinking is a sign of lying. At lest it shows that he has a conscience. he’s violating it, but he still has one.
Akzed on August 12, 2009 at 10:11 PM
Can I take “paranoid incompetents” for $1000 Alex?
BacaDog on August 12, 2009 at 10:16 PM
Even if one were to agree that the level of intelligence at Fox is low, why didn’t he answer the question regarding the Presidential Records Act.
Is he stupid?
BacaDog on August 12, 2009 at 10:18 PM
Hey liberal 343, speaking of intelligence,is it true that when you were asked about the best ten years of your life you said “third grade”?
Big Nicholas on August 12, 2009 at 10:28 PM
This administration is absolutely full of professional liars. Not one of them, including Burton, has a conscience. He’s just an amateur liar. Maybe he needs to attend some more of the Democrats training seminars on how to lie on camera more effectively.
UltimateBob on August 12, 2009 at 11:54 PM
This guy totally freaks me out whenever I see him on tv.
Anyone remember Mr. Morden? He was a character on a scifi television series called Babylon 5. He represented an ancient and incredibly evil race called the Shadows.
Yeah, they were bad. Anyway, you make the call here.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://lh4.ggpht.com/_gbRHBiY3Cqg/R6Y-9JkB0EI/AAAAAAAAEKg/FTmFZhwHM1s/Autograph-Ed%2BWasser.jpg&imgrefurl=http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5DwyoZ3hBLnZQtdLvcuAEA&usg=__8IVa876qMRFq0ILGsIT_9mdBBnI=&h=1600&w=1342&sz=16&hl=en&start=7&tbnid=7yRw85qjDUcJIM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=126&prev=/images%3Fq%3DMr.%2BMorden%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN
gordo on August 13, 2009 at 12:09 AM
The guy is just a waste of time. Don’t answer questions, just spout your talking points. Isn’t that what libs always do? Isn’t that what is going on in the town hall meetings? (At least until the attendees get so angry they start taking control.)
Christian Conservative on August 13, 2009 at 12:18 AM
Megyn “ass kickin” Kelly. I just love how she puts them all in their place.
When I run for president, she will be my Press Secretary. Or Maybe I will be hers when she runs for President Lol
oped01 on August 13, 2009 at 12:41 AM
This is a Snitch list plain and simple. They can care less what people are saying. They do care about whom they can count on when they put together the Civilian Army equal to the real Army that Obama has spoken about on many occasions. Don’t be fooled people when you send anything to that flag address a Database is being created that we all should care about.
Sanmon on August 13, 2009 at 12:46 AM
A lot of people are reporting themselves…in jest, in protest…
These people aren’t fooling around, and I wouldn’t take them lightly.
Dr. ZhivBlago on August 13, 2009 at 1:27 AM
Hmmmm.. so they are not keeping them but they are not deleting them. They are not useing the information for anything other than answering our questions and they wont go public for a while.
Well, now thats comforting.
And most of what they consider fishy posts or emails are more than likely statements and not questions anyway.
If they would like to answer questions they might try that at the townhall meetings instead of useing the meetings as another reason to whine about getting their butts handed to them.
Actually they dont even really need to answer questions at the townhall meetings but rather they should just listen to what we tell them we want and then just relay the message.
mrcarter123 on August 13, 2009 at 2:08 AM
Why Obama doesn’t have smarter people as spokespersons is beyond me. Neither Gibbs or Obama can speak without an “um” or an “aahh” everyother word. Maybe he thinks their stupidity will deflect from his own. Burton is definitely over matched against Kelly.
MJZZZ on August 13, 2009 at 8:53 AM
The First Continental Congress with all its glorious founding fathers asked future Americans to report their neighbors as Loyalists.
Stop complaining.
PresidenToor on August 13, 2009 at 11:34 AM
Didn’t the new woman Obama spokesperson, the journalist who over moved from the MSM, say on one of the morning hows, they were not keeping the e-mail address sdetails
davod on August 13, 2009 at 12:28 PM
oped01 on August 13, 2009 at 12:41 AM
Indeed, Megyn would make am excellent Press Secretary (for President Palin?), and would also be a pleasure to… watch. ;^)
DTogo on August 13, 2009 at 1:05 PM
Bill Burton is just a snitch…….can someone please report him.
KEEP EXPOSING THEM at the town halls.
Read the bill. Make THEM read the bill.
http://docs.house.gov/edlabor/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf
PappyD61 on August 13, 2009 at 1:30 PM
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