FireDogLake blogger Marcy Wheeler may have shocked daytime viewers of MSNBC with her choice of words, but she expressed what many people were thinking when she criticized Republicans for investigating Bill Clinton's "blow job" while blocking any attempts to investigate possibly illegal actions -- such as a secret CIA hit squad -- by the Bush administration.
On MSNBC Monday, Wheeler attacked Matt Lewis of Townhall for his argument that investigating the previous administration would set a bad precedent.
"Your idea is that, after investigating Bill Clinton for a blow job for, like, five years, we shouldn't investigate the huge, grossly illegal things that were done under the past administration only because [former Attorney General] Alberto Gonzales was too much in the back pocket of [then-Vice President] Dick Cheney to do it when he was still in office," she said.
"It's called rule of law," Wheeler added. "You Republicans are supposed to be about rule of law."
Visibly embarrassed MSNBC hosts Tamron Hall and David Shuster apologized on Wheeler's behalf at the end of the segment.
"I'm sure Marcy apologizes for that choice of words," Hall said. "She's very passionate about it."
The following video, broadcast on MSNBC, was posted to YouTube Monday, July 13, 2009.
-- Daniel Tencer
Yes, the phrase "blow job" is very, very dangerous... no one should ever use it... hundreds of kittens and puppies around the world died when Ms. Wheeler dared utter the phrase on MSNBC. It could have been thousands if MSNBC had a wider audience.
Joking aside, she makes a great point, and it's just another example of the moral and intellectual bankruptcy that personifies the Republican party. Not to mention the hypocrisy. Weren't they the ones who wanted to go through all the details of Clinton's sexual liaisons with Lewinsky on the Senate floor during the impeachment trial? But no one should look at the torture programs the Bush Administration put in place?
Why should she apologize? It's a completely accurate statement.
Heh heh heh heh...she said "BLOW JOB"....heh heh heh heh heh. Grow the fuck up.
why should she apologize? this needs to be part of the conversation on this. emptywheel needs to keep it up.
I agree. The network can show people being killed and beat up in dramas and on the news, and that isn't obscene, but a sexual reference is? Our puritan moral heritage is so warped. Showing someone beiing shot is acceptable, but baring a breast is cause for the FCC to levy fines.
The hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy of the GOP makes my head spin every time I hear them open their mouths.
They latch onto a tiny snippet of a speech and label a nominee prejudiced, but ignore the blatant attacks by the right wing media on minorities and women in language which is scary, and even bordering on insurrection by advocating violence and attacks on democrats, the President, and even judges that don't agree with their ideology. THAT is obscene. Senator Sessions, an outright bigot, has a lot of nerve calling Sotomayor prejudiced. This man thought the KKK was a decent organization. He called black men "boy". He has a plantation owner mentality.
They cheat on their wives and continue to stay in office. They hire hookers. Still in office. They take a wide stance in mens restrooms. They stay in office. All this and more, and they don't wait two seconds to condemn a Democrat who may have compromised themselves ethically and ask for their resignation.
If a Democrat screws up.... we must investigate and follow the rule of law.... if a GOP club member screws up then ... it is political to look back. They lie like hell and don't even blink. What a reptilian mind these folks have.
This is a problem with the Republican Party? This is a problem endemic to both parties and hence our entire government. Stop standing up for one party and attacking the other. That is exactly what each party wants. These corrupt bastards, Republocrats and Demicans, will continue to rob the American people blind as long as we continue to keep one of these corrupt entities in power.
Dear realistic:
This is, in fact, a common ploy by Republican operatives - to suggest that each party is the same, one is as corrupt as the other, etc. A simple review of the facts and some basic analysis shows this to be demonstrably false. We're you not here for the 8 years of the Bush Administration? While there are certainly bad Democratic operatives and representatives, that doesn't compare to the steaming mess that is the Republican party. There is nothing good about the Republican party. Nothing. I challenge you to identify a single program or national policy the Republican party has enacted since Reagan came to power that has benefited the fast majority of Americans. They've got nothing - they are morally and intellectually bankrupt.
Sorrry, I can't post right now. I fell down a rabbit hole and all of the Republickins, down here, have invited me to a tea party.....Or tea bagging, I guess.
I object to the phrase "blow job" being used in print. "Blow job" is slang for a type of oral sex and as such is not fit for general consumption. So please let's not print the term "blow job" in the media anymore.
-a concerned citizen against the phrase "blow job"
you just noticed? really? after 8 years since this has been going on? c'mon.
ice nine, I agree about a blow job, that is to say, a blow job might best be kept aside from public view being a blow job and all of course, if it were a blow job, and not sexual relations, being a blow job it essentially by definition being a blow job was not mutal sexual relations between both parties, blow job is an act one upon the other?
now, with respect to the jolly good drubbing going on where the CIA is at the center of the question?
what sex act would best describe the goings on there? burning raping pillaging the village in search of an elusive enemy?
Or, what would Ghengis Khan do?
Alot of republicans are repressed and bow to authority probably because they were beaten as children. They are obsessed with BlowJobs. Look at "in the closet gay" Hitler, historically the King of the HardCore Right -and he probably felt he was Pious to his bitter end. The dangerous and murderous Power of Denial and Secrecy.
Tamron Hall should speak for herself but since she has never entertained the idea of a "blow job" it might seem to her worthy of an apology for using it in accurate discourse. That the Republican talking head is blathering on to obfuscate the necessity of an investigation is the real blow job and does he suck or what?
Calling fellatio a blow job sucks.
I have no comment about Wheeler's choice of words, but I thought the Republican facing her gave a pretty lame defense of the Bush administration.
When they have no legitimate or reasonable explanations for the evils of their repeated and innumerable hypocritical actions and words, all Republicans can do to defend themselves is attack Democrats in whatever way they can. Today's Republicans live in a self-created land of magic thinking and reverse reality in which they wish away the truth of their evils by imagining that Democrats are "more" evil when there is no factual or rational basis for doing so. In order for Republicans to illogically forgive themselves, they must illogically portray Democrats as the sons and daughters of Satan himself in order to wash away the damned spots of blood that are indelibly stained on their hands.
Marcy should know that republicans are about the rule of law for everyone but themselves. They are above the law. Even democrats know and accept that, duh!
'portray Democrats as the sons and daughters of Satan ' - Well, as a matter of fact, they are. That's why they support they've been supporting the massacre of hundreds of thousands of people since the early 90's, only feigning outrage or even dislike of war to score points with constituents.
Let's not forget that one of the main reasons cited in the 'Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq' was The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998. It passed overwhelmingly and called for the replacement of Saddam by force. 6 weeks after signing the bill, Clinton bombed the shit out of Iraq for 4 days, was the media still blathering about blowjobs then? Probably. The media barely ever mentioned the massive seige operation we conducted upon Iraq under Clintons reign, conveniently for him they were busy talking about how he cheated on his fucking moron of a wife.
Marcy Wheeler just told it like it is.
Would the cunning-linguists of MSNBC who are so politically correct prefered the term "oral copulation". What the fuck! We spent $50 million dollars on that rediculous event because the Repukes had the power of the purse, but when 9/11 hit it was like pulling teeth to get $15 million to get an investigation and then Bushfraud and Cheney testify together and refuse to take an oath. I am so sick and tired of the right-wing loon hypocrites that attach themselves to God and morals as the continually do the Devil's work!!!
Clinton probably isn't the only president that got a blow job. I don't think so.
At least Bill Clinton got a blow job. All we ever got was fucked up the ass by Dick Cheney.
I wasn't shocked at all - I was just glad someone is finally saying publicly what many been thinking for months.
At least Clinton was able to multi-task. McFlightsuit couldn't even eat a pretzel without chocking.
Fellatio sounds like the well-met brother of the lead in a bad Victorian play.
"Ho, Fellatio, how art thou?"
"Feeling better, brother Horatio!"
"Then we're off to see the vizier!"
On the other hand, "blow job" makes the act sound like a chore. How about "blow favor?"
"Blow gift?"
"Blowmygoddontstopthatfeelssogood?"
Just why is it so important to contrast the impeachment/investigation efforts or ideas of the disgusting dirty GOP?
Are they in power?
The DEMOCRATS are in power. They are not investigating torture, murder, war crimes, and the associated coverups and lies that enabled them and continue to do so. The whole world knows Bush and Cheney are disgusting war criminals, and OBAMA is the one who is blocking, stalling and thwarting any substantive investigations or prosecution. Obama is blocking any investigation of the CIA too.
This stupid headline will give the Obama trolls a lovely opportunity to crawl out of their holes and take a few pot shots at the GOP. We should all be more concerned about the fake messiah working double time to cover and white wash all the crimes of the GOP.
I don't take pot shots at the GOP because I'm some "Obama Troll", I take pot shots at them because they are the most disgusting, degenerate, criminal band of rat bastards this Country has seen in modern times. I take shots at them because the filthy Main Stream Corporate Conservative Media (MSCCM) covers their collective asses whenever necessary. Do I like the Democratic enablers? Of course not. That party needs to be cleaned out. The GOP should simply be murdered as an entity.
I'm glad this woman said exactly what she said. It needed to be said. Of course the MSCCM minions were appalled and did their usual corporate damage control afterwards. Sickening.
independent
Both parties are rotten to the core, both are loyal to their fascist masters and both work hard to remove our rights and freedoms.
They only differ in their lies and talking points in order to fool people into supporting one and opposing the other.
That is their game. Get ALL of us into one of those two camps. Which one matters not.
The only way to beat 'them' is to bail 100% on both parties, and to refuse to accept the false premise that either one is legit or worthy of our support.
The two party tyranny is the problem, not one of the two parties.
Arguing about whether one is better than the other is playing into their game.
That was the point of my comment, and yet despite your 'independent' name you seem to be very invested in the masturbatory process of picking sides.
C'mon now tell the truth.......you aren't really an independent are you?
Both D and R parties are criminal enterprises, guilty of treason on a daily basis.
Naughty girl... she should have said "getting his penis sucked" because we all know calling it a "blowjob" is so fucking offensive.
Speaking of CIA abuse, didn't Iran execute 14 US-backed Jundullah terrorists today?
Seriously though...
If you vote for D or R in the next election... The American people LOSE.
Both parties are OWNED by the Banksters and the industries linked to them via the likes of the CFR, etc.
Both parties represent soft-fascism, both parties sold out to corporate influence long ago and both parties are now corrupted beyond repair.
If we're going to be stupid enough to play the 2-party game which just enforces a linear view of ideology (something which is not really true but makes it easier to carve up the country roughly 50/50)... then we should at least work on creating two new parties... a liberal and a conservative party... both designed to be as uncorruptable as possible and both designed to NOT be easily influenced by money.
We need people's parties to cover both left and right wing ideologies... because we MUST replace the current 2 corrupted parties if we're to progress in any direction.
To all the "we must get rid of the two party system" people:
We've had a two party system since the presidential campaign in 1800. Nothing is likely to change that. So instead of fantasizing about a United States that doesn't have two oppositional parties in place, you might think about engaging with the party that best represents your values and doing what you can to improve or change the party. I think sitting there and complaining about how both parties are corrupt/the same/etc. is a cop out - you're taking the easy way out. Work for real change instead of fantasy land change.
To the concern trolls in comment 30 and 31.
We certainly do have third party options as you well know!
But of course they are attacked and thwarted at every turn by a UNITED front involving both Democrats and Republicans.
The nomination process game played differently in all 50 states, continually changing in the midst of election years? Thank the D and R cabal.
The rejection of respected third party candidates from televised debates? Thank the D and R cabal.
The steady increase in private money for ads and election spending which is a direct assault on third parties? Thank the D and R cabal.
The recent supreme court decision allowing even more corporate money going to corporate parties during the election.? Thank the D and R cabal.
The elimination and banishment of the respected League of Women Voters from running INDEPENDENT debates on TV? Thank the D and R cabal.
The never ending lies about no viable third parties existing now? Thank the D and R trolls.
Had to keep rewinding at 0:25...hot
I think consensual "blowjob" is a lot different from people getting "whacked" without their "consent." And it is too bad that "some" of the fucks have to do a "toe-tap-dance" to get one or receive one.
gee when she-man coulter with her balls-hangin from her short-skirt on good morning america declares to exclaim a presidential-candidate is a god-damn f-ing faggot msm gushes on g-rating viewing for the entire family mom, dad and the kids.
maybe obstructing justice failing by scheme and device to cover-up blatant and flagrant violations of the law torture, secret-hit squads, false intelligence to invade Iraq and Afganistan resulting in the deaths of million of children, women and men, and over 4,000 young americans including outing an under cover cia operative destroying a successful weapons of mass containment program should be compared to hiring asshole Kenneth Starr paid over 30 million of hard-earned taxpayers dollars to investigate oh gee not a blowjob but a stain on a blue-dress and let's disbar Clinton for obfuscating using a cigar vs the real-thing "he lied to us because he was truthful about never having intercourse with Monica undercover mossad-agent monica but of course were not going to disbar put Yoo as a professor at uc berkely, bybee is appointed appeals court judge , karl gets a pass on testifying and gonzo just got a new job at texas tech lying about writin those memos on torturing children, women and men and if dick and dubya want to crush the testicles and torture iraqi boys and girls just make sure ain get a video tape for our homoerotic torture parties.
and, as far as appointin Fitzgerald setting-up stooge Scooter to take the fall outin the undercover cia agent assured he would never spend a day in jail -Fitzgerald holds closed-door hearins with Rove arranging his cover-up cause we caint let Jimmey Gukert out of the closet dubya's high-priced hooker cause aka Jeff Gannon workin for fake Talon-News was the first to get the low-down on valerie pillow-talkin with dubya in that big ole brass bed lay your head down on me in the west-wing.
fitzgerald is a fake and more than transparent failing to depose jeff gannon.
by the way, jimmey guckert aka jeff gannon is the number one alpha on dick cheney's secret-hit squad long time known to be snuff-out porn-king but really wishes he could be a wanna-be marine complex shavin his head ain dubya loves that shaved-head.
Aren't blow jobs primarily what the adulterous impeacher Newtster got from hookers in the Capitol Hill main parking lot? -- his limo was often seen bouncing up and down in broad daylight by other Congress critters, staffers and Capitol Hill police. On an earlier occasion, his own teen daughter almost caught him. Too bad he and Call-Girl-ista weren't arrested for public indecency! Also, Newt extorted blow jobs from tearfully disgusted staffers and "volunteers".
So where is Freeper troll Jhoffa_ on this subject?? He's always slamming gay men for anal sex. Could it be "Christian" Jhoffa_ exempts his ADULTEROUS and FORNICATING self on all straight sodomy?? Oh the hypocrisy!!!
You mean these super secret death squads?
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/15/international/15INTE.html
Blow Job, I thought that was another name for Republican.... Good post Liberal Mike only it should read, This typifies the moral and intellectual bankruptcy that personifies the Christian religion.
The 2 party system can work, if the lazy Americans get engaged in the election system.The beauty is informed mad citizens can vote the bas*****s out ,the House in 2 years.If the lazy fat Amurikins can focus for 2 years,listen to alternative candidates who swear to return Congress to them,the cycle will be broken.It takes focus,and the people mad enough to change the system.It's called populism.It is what it is because too many can't focus on their fate,they'd rather get involved in American idol, sports,or simply acquiesce to the F'kd system we have,and cop out,instead of doing their civic duty ;engage.2 Years,and the change will be real.Those who betray their people will be voted out for those who will.It takes focus,and megavote,know the voting records of the Representatives.Vote the bast***s OUT!
Americans are fucked up, and are in turn fucking up America.
What's odd is that when a person uses appropriate provocative language on tv - like saying blowjob to describe what Republicans impeached Clinton for - everyone backs away but if its used in a joke or an ad - viagra, extendz - its normal. That's fucked up that people's sensibilities are so skewed.
this way is too long new york auto insurance quotes
Quick correction, the Democrats are in CHARGE, the Republicans however, have been in POWER since Regan. The terms are a bit different, being in charge implies that one is given a position of stewardship over something, in this case a country. Being in power means one can affect change for good or ill based on personal interest or desire with little to no consequences, and quite often power is wielded more effectively when someone else is in Charge. The Repubs were still in power while Clinton was in charge, which is why NAFTA(even though clinton supported it, it was free market fundamentalist thinking par standard), Contract with America, and Clinton's obscenely long and expensive investigation and impeachment proceedings all happened, if the dems were in Power then, newspapers would have gotten manila envelopes detailing the extramarital activities of the then speaker of the house and dozens of other republican legislatures the day before the investigation was to start. When democrats are in charge their actions are always calculated to avoid republican criticism and propaganda, meaning that the republicans have power over those in charge, which manifests by Democrats acting enough like republicans to attempt to avoid criticism; Try to cut defense spending and you are 'unserious and weak on national defense' so instead you raise it like a hawk would (and still catch flak, as the 2010 dod budget shows, you can raise it, but if you don't raise it enough, the news says you are cutting it). Try to provide health care for the majority of the country at less than usurious prices and you are a pinko cryptosocialist whose next step will surely be to nationalize the energy industry. etc. etc.
The Republicans, when in charge, are still in power, which is why cheney would say things to reporters like FUCK YOU!, and a Republican Legislator would listen to a room full of democrats bring forth criticism and then laugh and turn the lights out as he left the room. Bipartisanship in lawmaking, something the democrats care seriously about when in charge (because it is another chance for them to hear what the republicans want and then cater to their demands to avoid criticism), is Nonexistent when the Right has the legislature and executive at the same time, not only do they tolerate zero criticism of the legislation they bring forward(when the legislatures even get to read them), any bills put forward or heavily influenced by Democrats might as well not exist, because they will never make it to the floor. At one point before the 06 elections, right wing legislators were even whispering around that they were afraid to lose power because they assumed the Dems would treat them the same way they were treated by Republicans while out of power(we should be so lucky)
Democrats will be in POWER when you see President Obama laugh at any demand Republicans make and remind them they are now a regional party whose true believers make up less than 1/4th of the country, and they got that way because they so grossly mismanaged and corrupted the core principles of the Nation in ways that might be impossible to remedy. Democrats would be in power if they told the country that Government Option Healthcare IS the compromised position of Single Payer instead of making option the extreme left position and then bargaining that away, which they are poised to do. Democrats will be in power when they pass comprehensive civil rights reform for gay people and tell the Nation that such actions, while being great for the openly gay community, will be equally great for the small army of frustrated closet case Republicans. Dems will have power when the right wing is afraid to stump for causes because they are afraid the opposing party will call them "family values conservatives" in the news and tank their approval ratings because the term has become code for 'ignorant backwards racist' just as they made liberal into some sort of media swear word for decades. When the number of federal investigations of Republicans reach parity with the number of them that the Repubs open on the Democrats. When Democrats pass the laws and govern the country in the way that the vast majority of the citizens want and need without fear of the right wing hate machine, then we will see what happens when the power changes hands with the charge.
Clinton Gets A Hummer : Multi Million Dollar Investigation leading to Impeachment Proceedings
Bush and Cheney order interrogators to make them snuff films, and then order them destroyed while they spy on everyone : No investigation, allowed to finish term beeecause...... Impeaching, or even investigating after the fact would be a partisan witch hunt led by deranged and obsessed political enemies which would sure;y waste the money of the nation and the time of the Congress during such trying times, there would be no benefit at all and it would tear the country apart, and come on, its beyond a doubt that they acted in good faith regardless of the outcomes.
See, insane right wing public relations spinning is so easy even an internet goon can do it!
unfortunately, not enough people see that voting either 'D' or 'R' is like sticking a cactus uf your ass and whispering to yourself that it was only a small cucumber.
the definition of 'insanity' is to expect radically different results while doing exactly the same shit every time. where can we apply this comparison??? (duh)
in any case, Obombaton is another puppet. he's been shown the 8 1/2 x 11 inch glossy black and white photo's of JFK's brain bereft noggin on the medical examiner's metal table. That's code for; "don't you dare think you be in charge of jack shit lest you find yerself in similar deadness, fucker.."
and it's been this way since 1963. we've had puppet after puppet after fucking puppet in office, all pretending to be in charge, but in fact, harkening to the Trilateral Commission, the Bilderbergers, and the masters of all, the Rothschilds.
in the end, Obombaton will have a gun to his head as he presides over the final unchecked destruction of the United States by the jewish bankers in Europe.
and some asshole poll will show that this justifies another GOP right wing fucker to be the next puppet after Obombaton's funeral caison goes past us on the streets of washington, D.C. (because they'll no doubt find some reason to murder him just because the right wing hates his ass so much, and he's got the audacity to be a black man, to boot!)
so, that's the McChrystal ball view. more financial destruction, more poverty, much more homelessness, and a nation totally in debt to the rich jewish bankers of Europe and of course, the Chinese.
I know that's such a rosy picture, you'll all want to go crack a bottle of Ripple.
On the subject of R & D: a vote at the polling booth happens once every 4 years, but everyday people vote with their wallet and often fossil fuel is purchased which fuels the current political power structures, both open and hidden. If we really want change we need to look at where the money comes from and where it goes. It's pretty obvious that Big Oil is way out of control because they are very much in control. We are sheep that constantly give in. However, there are emerging technologies out there that pose Threat to Big Oil, actually some of these technologies have been around a long time. We should be promoting Research and Development of the use of these technologies and then Mass Politics will follow. Now where is your vegetable car? (if you drive)
Potential Antidotes to the Corrupt Power of Petroleum Here and Now:
http://www.brownsgas.com/hho_brownsgasvideo.html
http://www.gekgasifier.com/
http://solventfreepaint.com/
http://jackherer.com/index.html
http://www.theorionproject.org/en/index.html
Not so long ago MSNBC was nothing but... Monica, Clinton, sex, oral sex, a blue dress stained with semen, anal sex and fetish. But that was a Democrat. Administrations have changed so, due to advertisers and ownership requirements, investigation is ALWAYS bad when foucsed upon Repubicans. Wait until we have a new Republican administration; there will be an investigator behind every tree and MSNBC will have a pool of Republican-based talking heads explaining how it is different. The love of money drives MSNBC and hard-core wealth in America. Is that root evil?
CurlyMoe&Obama
What is a concern troll? Should I be insulted by being called a troll? Or is that cool?
I'll agree that all the items you list - except the one about viable third parties - are unfortunate realities, and we'd be better off as citizens if third parties were involved in the presidential debates, etc. But saying it's a cabal between Dems and Repubs is kind of cuckoo for cocoa puffs crazy, don't you think?
With regard to the notion of viable third parties, if you mean parties that could one day be broadly electable in elections across the country, with a real chance at getting the presidency, I'd have to disagree. Our system - the really awesome one enshrined in the constitution - was not designed to efficiently support multiple parties. That's why we've always had, essentially, two parties. If you want viable third parties, you need a parliamentary system like in England.
Which isn't to say that third parties can't play a valuable role in public discourse. They can and do. But they're not the answer to our current malaise.