Tweety calls Bachmann a "Balloon Head"....oh dear God.. Best video ever!! You guys need to watch this to understand the beauty.
On Tuesday's "Hardball," Chris Matthews was so incredulous about Michele Bachmann's interpretation of American history that he called her a "balloon head," and he could hardly keep himself from yelling at a co-founder of the Tea Party group which has selected the Republican to give a response to President Obama's State of the Union address.
Matthews was speaking to Tea Party Express co-founder Sal Russo. He played the same tape which had also gotten Anderson Cooper riled up, where Bachman lauds the Founding Fathers for working "tirelessly to end slavery."
"I don't know what to make of that, Sal," Matthews said. "That's balloon head. That's not what our history was founded on. We founded on a Constitution which...treated slaves as three-fifths of a person. It went all the way to the Civil War."
Matthews derided Russo and his group for making Bachmann their spokesperson.
"Why do you put someone like this forward who is a balloon head?" he said. "Who knows no American history? It's a ridiculous decision you guys have made. Do you know how little this woman knows about our history?"
Oy...I wasn't going to do this...I really hate writing Transcripts...but...due to the fact of how entertained I am by this video. And you know guys...this is why I LOVE TWEETY. Most people think I love Tweety for some weird reason...as though in adoration of his greatness. My love for Tweety is for the sheer Political Jerry Springer aspect of his show that is also educational. But that's when he's on his good behavour.
1B= First video of Bachmann
2B= Second Video of Bachmann (not her speech that last night) but last weekend in Iowa
T = Tweety
S = Sal Russo
J = Joan Walsh
Transcript:
1B: We haven't heard specific cuts for Social Security, in fact we've heard that the President may be referring to investments. Meaning more spending, yet again, spending that this country cannot afford. As we know Mr. Speaker, we are falling off a cliff in terms of debt increases and that is not good for the next generation of Americans.
T: Welcome back to Hardball that was Republican Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota previewing her speech tonight talking about the President's SOTU address coming up tonight. Bachmann will be giving her own response to the President's speech tonight on behalf of the Teaparty Express. Is she going to trump the official GOP response by Republican Paul Ryan, I doubt it. Alright Bachmann, is one of the teaparty pushing Republicans further to the right and threatening to divide the right? Well for one I'm joined by Teparty Express co-founder Sal Russo. Sal thank you for joining us. I want you to take a look at something here...There is Joan Walsh as well, thank you for joining us. Lemme...Sal I want you to look at something said over the weekend in Iowa by Congresswoman Bachmann, here she is...
2B: Do you realize it's been 21 generations, that America has survived. For 21 'nations (I'm assuming she still means generations) we've passed the torch of liberty, from generation successfully to the next. And the question we need to ask ourselves tonight is this?! Will it end with us, will we be that last generation? Will we be that first generation to fail to pass that torch of liberty? It doesn't seem like a very positive message does it? But I have to ask you...will we be the ones, for whom this great experiment in human liberty, end on our watch?....
Cont.: We know there was slavery still tolerated when the nation began (Already this sentence is set up implies a white-washing of history). We know that it was evil, that it was a scourge, and a blot, and a stain upon our history. But we also know...that the very founders that wrote those documents worked tirelessly until slavery was no more in the United States. And I think it was high time that we recognize the contribution of our forebears who worked tirelessly...men like John Quincy Adams who would not rest until slavery was extinguished in the country...
Tweety: Well I don't know what to make of that Sal... -Sal, "Well...I..."- That's Balloonhead, that's not what our country was founded on Sal. We're founded on a constitution of treating slaves as 3/5ths of a Person. It went all the way until a Civil War. We had compromise after compromise trying to avoid a war. We went to war and lost 600,000 people in the worst catastrophe of our history because slavery continued into the 1860s and only ended because of that war. T starts yelling AND HERE'S THIS WOMAN YOU'VE MADE YOUR SPOKESPERSON SAYING THAT THE FOUNDING FATHERS DEALT WITH IT. THAT'S THE ONE THING THEY DID NOT DEAL WITH. THAT WAS THE HORRIBLE COMPROMISE AT THE HEART OF OF CONSTITUTION. WHY DO YOU PUT SOMEONE LIKE THIS, THAT IS A BALLOONHEAD AND KNOWS NO AMERICAN HISTORY. Sal, "I... THAT'S A RIDICULOUS DECISION YOU GUYS HAVE MADE. DO YOU KNOW HOW LITTLE THIS WOMAN KNOWS ABOUT OUR HISTORY?
S: I think Michelle Bachmann has been one of the best...
Tweety:DID YOU JUST HEAR THAT STUFF? DID YOU JUST HEAR HER? DO YOU WANT ME TO PLAY IT AGAIN? Sal, "Well...I...hehehehe..." WE CAN RUB IT IN SAL...IT'S HORRENDOUS. Sal, "Hehehehe..." WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF IT? Sal, "I think that she's trying... WHAT'S SHE TRYING TO SAY?
S: I think...I think what she's talking about is that we cannot continue to spend money as...T: WHAT?!...gibberish T: THAT'S NOT WHAT SHE JUST SAID. true...T: SHE SAID THE FOUNDING FATHERS GOT RID OF SLAVERY. WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT? EVERY HIGHSCHOOL KID HAS BEEN TO MOUNT VERNON AND SEEN THE SLAVE QUARTERS. JEFFERSON HAD SLAVES. ALL THOSE GUYS HAD SLAVES. I KNOW THEY WERE BRAVE MEN IN OTHER REGARDS, BUT THEY NEVER GOT RID OF SLAVERY. IT'S RIGHT IN THE CONSTITUTION. AND HERE'S THIS WOMAN WAVING THE CONSTITUTION AROUND. PALLING AROUND WITH SCALIA AND SHE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE CONSTITUTION HAD IN IT. THE TREATMENT OF SLAVES, AFRICAN AMERICANS, 3/5THS OF PEOPLE. THAT'S IN OUR HISTORY. YOU CAN'T TAKE IT OUT. EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT THIS WOMAN IS TALKING ABOUT!!!!
S: I think she's just using that as an illustration...T:OF WHAT?!?!?I think...I think...T:BALLOONHEAD THINKINGI think that..
T: WHAT DO YOU MEAN SIR?
S: That concerning that today their children and grandchildren are not going to have the same opportunities to the American dream, because we've increased our debt...T: What are you talking about? What are you talking about?
T: THAT'S HOW SHE TALKS. SHE GOES ON THIS TAPE...NO MATTER WHAT YOU ASK HER SHE GOES ON A TAPE. I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT SLAVERY SIR. YOU KNOW WHEN SLAVERY ENDED...IT ENDED WITH THE CIVIL WAR.. S:Well...hehehe....some kind of slavery ended with the civil war...
T: WHAT DO YOU MEAN SOME KIND OF SLAVERY ENDED WITH THE CIVIL WAR? WHY ARE YOU HEDGING?
S: No...no I'm not hedging on it. I'm just saying that...
T: WHEN DID SLAVERY END IN AMERICA? WHEN DID SLAVERY BECOME ILLEGAL? WHEN DID THE 13TH AMENDMENT GET PASSED?
S: Well sure that's a different question from when we've had to deal with our racial issues...
T: NO NO... A SIMPLE QUESTION TO YOU SIR AND I KNOW YOU HAVE AN IQ. WHEN DID WE...SHE SAID SLAVERY ENDED WITH OUR FOUNDING FATHERS.
S: I don't think that's what she meant. I think she meant that if we don't get control of our government now we'd just...
T: OKAY YOU'RE JUST COVERING. YOU'RE COVERING. YOU MADE A TERRIBLE DECISION. YOU PUT A PERSON OUT THERE THAT HAS NO CONCEPT OF AMERICAN HISTORY. I'M REMINDED ABOUT WHAT STEVE SCHMIDTZ SAID ABOUT SARAH PALIN, "SHE DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING." THIS IS WAY WORSE! THIS IS CLAIMING SOMETHING THAT NEVER HAPPENED. WE HAVE A PRO...SLAVERY AND RACE ARE THE SAN ANDREAS FAULT OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND YOU'RE DENYING IT WAS THERE.
S: No I think she was trying...
T: Let me get Joan in here...Joan you take over this witness I find him hard to...hopeless. I know he knows better, he's covering for someone who knows nothing.
J: Sal...Sal T: Go ahead Joan. You know Sal, Sal he's star of the Tea party. Sal has been a long time Republican entrepreneur out here in California who's worked for mainstream Republicans. He decided a few years ago he was going to go with the Teapary and ride the Teaparty and now he's kind of stuck. The other thing...Chris I want to point out the other thing that Michelle Bachmann said. That's related to her...her...uh...thoughts on slavery. She also said that we're a country where it didn't matter your economic status or what country you came from. That's ludicrous too Chris. I mean...even for White men there were property requirements for voting in the early States. Even until the 1830s, some White men had property requirements. We know that immigrants were badged Catholics were...You don't interrupt me, you had plenty of time to talk. He...You had plenty of time to talk. I'm didn't interrupt you. Native Catholics attacked German Catholics (who knew?), burnt down churches and convents. We had the Chinese exclusion act for 60 years that kept Chinese people out of this country (who knew....I didn't). So, this happy garbage of our history---I love our country Chris. I know what we fought to do was make it better and better and better...and we are trying to do that. But to say that it's always been easy and it's always been equal, that lets them propose policy that profoundly hurts Black people, that profoundly hurt immigrants, that hurt poor and working class people, because they have this notion that it's always been equal. Which is garbage...
T:I want to give Sal all the time he needs sir, explain to me the history of American slavery as you know it?
S: I...this is not about it...why do you want to keep changing the subject? Well that's right and what our spokesperson is talking about is that our spending is unsustainable and our deficit debt is skyrocketing and we've got to get on top of that.
T: No. no. You're trying to create this new religion of America. Making our founding fathers infallible. This something new almost scriptural notion of American history. That some how goes back to some perfection time. That we're some how trying to recover. You guys are trying to sell that everything was perfect back in the federalist period, back in the late 18 century so that you can keep saying we gotta go back to that....where everybody had musket, where everybody had a small farm and everything was perfect. That's what you're trying to sell. But what you've done is scrubbed our history of slavery. I think that's a desecration. Well I'm gonna give you a chance. 1 more chance, 30 seconds, what's the history of slavery?
S: I don't think that's what anybody's saying. I think...hehehe...I think our Founding Fathers developed a document, the constitution of the United States, that served the world, served America for freedom for 200 and something years...
T: Why do you guys talk as though you're on hypnosis? WHY CAN'T YOU ANSWER A QUESTION? ARE YOU HYPNOTIZED? CAN YOU ANSWER A QUESTION? WHAT'S THE HISTORY OF SLAVERY AMERICA?
S: You're question is irrelevant to what the issue is of the day.
T: OUR ISSUE OF THE DAY IS FOUND IN THIS SPEECH WHICH WAS READ BY YOUR CANDIDATE. AND IT'S SLAVERY AND IT'S HISTORY. SHE'S SET THE MARK. JOAN LAST THOUGHT. POOR SAL IS UNDER THE SAME KIND OF RULE OF THOUGHT THAT A LOT OF TEA PARTY PEOPLE...LOOK AT THE CAMERA AND REPEAT THE SPEECH.
J: Well... and also if people really cared about debt and really cared about...Well if you really cared about debt why didn't you have a Teaparty movement when George Bush was spending down the Clinton surplus, 200 Billion dollars a year surplus and George Bush left it...1.2 Trillion dollar deficit?
S: People were dissatisfied with the way Republicans were doing this that's why...
T: I think you've got to find another horse Sal. We gotta go. This is terrible. Thank you anyway, Thank you Joan Walsh and Thank you Sal, I know your ten times smarter than this person you put up there. Anyway..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/25/chris-matthews-michele-bachmann-balloon-head_n_814033.html
* Yeah I typed up the transcript myself. Took me roughly 2 hours. Ugh. I had to stop and laugh...and edit.