but then when disaster struck the whole rest of the country through the congress weren t takers or makers. they were givers. because this is one country and this is a place where people get together when necessary. now, that was one event and one disaster. but the whole idea of what federal programs are about are not about makers and takers. they re about giving everybody a chance. they sure are. that was the speech that president obama gave in the inauguration. and cuccinnelli and all the others can try to play this game. it s a loser. paul ryan, by the way, who i saw the other night at a dinner, i said what are you up to, what are you looking at? what do you want to do this time around? and he talked about he said he wanted to look at poverty and see what he could do about poverty. i actually think that this may sound silly to you, but paul ryan s a smart enough politician to know that he made a big mistake talking about takers and makers in 2012. no question about it. an
first of all, you ve got two fantastic political analysts who have already spoken, david and richard. so i m going to do something i don t usually do, which is vent. who are the takers and who are the makers, ed? is chris christie a taker? are the people on the jersey shore takers? not makers? are the people in connecticut and on staten island who were devastated by sandy takers and not makers? the congress of the united states, over the last couple months, just voted about 60 or 70 billion dollars to repair the devastation in the new york metropolitan area through new jersey up to connecticut. and i guarantee you that a lot of people who enjoyed the jersey shore or a lot of people who lived on staten island might under other circumstances find a message like ken cuccinnelli s somewhat appealing about the takers in american society, about how the people who become dependent on government.
stupid party. you know, this is an old storyline for republicans. he s tapping into some very old narratives about people on welfare. and that s how, you know, somehow democrats are busing people to vote, buying up votes. we re really talking about the inner cities. we re talking about african-americans here. there are lots of code words that might work for cuccinnelli among a virginia tea party audience, but it s not going to speak to the bigger things voters are looking for. how does it speak to people s aspirations? how does it speak to people s attempt to get into the middle class, to get themselves out of being in the working poor, or cement their position in the working class? and that s where it s bad politics as well as a miscalculation about what makes this country work. howard, how does this cuccinnelli get away from these comments and rebrand himself in any way, shape, or form? well, he s not going to, ed. first of all, you ve got two fantastic political analysts who hav
fit into bobby jindal s characterization of this is the stupid party. you know, this is an old storyline for republicans. he s tapping into some very old narratives about people on welfare. and that s how, you know, somehow democrats are busing people to vote, buying up votes. we re really talking about the inner cities. we re talking about african-americans here. there are lots of code words that might work for cuccinnelli among a virginia tea party audience, but it s not going to speak to the bigger things voters are looking for. how does it speak to people s aspirations? how does it speak to people s attempt to get into the middle class, to get themselves out of being in the working poor, or cement their position in the working class? and that s where it s bad politics as well as a miscalculation about what makes this country work. howard, how does this cuccinnelli get away from these comments and rebrand himself in any way, shape, or form? well, he s not going to, ed.
by the way, you know, it would fit into bobby jindal s characterization of this is the stupid party. you know, this is an old storyline for republicans. he s tapping into some very old narratives about people on welfare. and that s how, you know, somehow democrats are busing people to vote, buying up votes. we re really talking about the inner cities. we re talking about african-americans here. there are lots of code words that might work for cuccinnelli among a virginia tea party audience, but it s not going to speak to the bigger things voters are looking for. how does it speak to people s aspirations? how does it speak to people s attempt to get into the middle class, to get themselves out of being in the working poor, or cement their position in the working class? and that s where it s bad politics as well as a miscalculation about what makes this country work. howard, how does this cuccinnelli get away from these comments and rebrand himself in