βͺ βͺ βͺ βͺ Obama:
Let's do it.
You got speed? Man: Rolling. Speed. Hey.
Shane Smith:
How are you? How you doing?
Good to see you.
Good to see you. Did you know
how crazy... the sheer
bull goose lunacy...
(laughing) ...that was gonna happen
the minute you came in here? You know, uh... There's a real question
about the birth certificate. President Obama,
are you listening? Dealing with the White House is like dealing
with a bowl of Jell-O. I had read enough about
the presidential experience through biography...
Mmm. ...to know
that you don't know
what is gonna come at you. Well, Obama's a Socialist. I think he's a Marxist. He's a radical Communist. I don't think you know
until you get here... Mmm. Mm-hmm.
...how you're gonna respond
to all of it. I am not a dictator.
I'm the president. There's got to be
kind of a Super Bowl moment...
(clears throat) ...when you're like,
"I know their defense is good." "I know they're fast."
Right. "Here we go."
Yeah. And then they come at you
and you go, "Oh, I didn't know that they were that good,
that fast, and that big." (laughs) Newsman:<i>
The federal government
will shut down</i> <i>tonight at midnight,
Eastern time.</i> I've always felt,
"Well, this is what
you should expect if you're gonna be the President
of the United States."
Mm-hmm. The one certainty is
that there are gonna be
a lot of responsibilities and there's gonna be
a lot of stuff thrown at you. βͺ βͺ Don't you see
this election and the dysfunction
around it as a problem,
in that sanity needs to prevail of somebody who knows how
to actually get things done? Sanity didn't prevail
in the presidential primaries. Mmm.
And we're not in that cycle.
We're not in that zone. What cycle are we in now?
Craziness! (laughing)
Come on! It's crazy! And what's gonna happen?
The American people
are looking at this, going, "What in the hell
happened to America?" (punk rock song playing) A lot of people in this town
can never say, "Yes." Man:
βͺ Right now! βͺ
(laughs) Not one Republican
will vote for this bill. βͺ I am an anti-Christ βͺ If I said the sky was blue,
they'd say, "No." It's not hope.
It's not change. It's partisanship. βͺ I want to destroy
the passerby 'cause... βͺ The reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those
who are here illegally. (Joe Wilson shouts)
(people boo) βͺ ...in anarchy βͺ And it is time for our
colleagues across the aisle-- put something on the table!
Tell us where you are! βͺ βͺ Moran:<i>
Because of the Ted Cruz
Tea Party faction,</i> you are willing to bring
this country to its knees! Stand with us this evening
and keep this government going! Hell no, you can't! βͺ How many ways
to get what you want? βͺ The White House
moved the goalpost. I've been left
at the altar now
a couple of times. When's he gonna take
responsibility for something? Really?
This isn't some damn game. βͺ Anarchy, 'cause I... βͺ They are here
because our government
is tearing apart their families,
Madam Speaker. We came here
to do our job! We came here to work! (Louie Gohmert shouting) Man:
Order, Mr. Speaker.
(gavel pounding) βͺ βͺ Trump:<i>
We are going
to Washington, D.C.,</i> and we are going
to drain the swamp. (cheering)
βͺ I get pissed, destroy! βͺ (punk rock song ends) βͺ βͺ A year ago, <i>Vice </i>began making
a documentary about the growing dysfunction in Washington and the rise of extreme partisanship
that was crippling the government's ability
to function. (people cheering)<i>
Now, the presidential election
of 2016 not only mirrored</i> <i>the hyper-partisanship
between the two parties,</i> <i>it magnified it,</i> <i>which in turn fueled
the electorate's frustration</i> with our political system's
continued paralysis. <i>Now, Donald Trump won
a hotly contested</i> <i>and, quite frankly,
weird election</i> <i>that was torn
by controversy and scandal</i> <i>and that became fueled
by broad-based anger</i> <i>and disillusionment.</i> <i>This victory, however,
actually began its evolution</i> <i>over the past few
election cycles,</i> <i>so we met up
with the key players
from both sides of the aisle</i> to get the inside story
on exactly how we ended up where we are today
and get a blow-by-blow of the reasons why we remain
such a divided country. <i>Now, one of the paradoxes
of this election is</i> <i>that President Obama himself
is still broadly popular.</i> <i>In fact, his final year
approval ratings are among
the highest in history.</i> <i>Despite this popularity,
however, he knows
as well as anyone</i> <i>that the policies
he put in place</i> <i>caused deep rifts
in the country.</i> βͺ βͺ So, let's start
at the beginning. When you announced
your candidacy in Springfield, you said,
"Washington must change," and you talked
about building consensus,
ending petty politics, So, two terms later,
where are we? Well, that didn't work out,
did it?
(both laugh) I... You know...
(sighs) I could not
be prouder of the work that
my administration has done. Mm-hmm.
But there is no doubt that one
of the central goals
that I had had, which was to make
the politics in Washington
work better... Mm-hmm.
...to reduce
the knee-jerk partisanship, to elevate the debate--
I haven't accomplished that. Mm-hmm.
This is a humbling job, and so sometimes
I say to myself, "Well, if I had had the vision
and humor of Lincoln, "or the charm
and persuasiveness of FDR, maybe things would've
turned out differently
here in Washington." So, I'm happy to own that I wasn't able
to change attitudes among politicians
as well as I would've liked. If people aren't looking
to cooperate, if they're not
rewarded politically
for cooperation, then things
can grind to a halt. Smith:<i>
President Obama
has presided</i> (shouting)<i>
over some of the fiercest
partisan fighting</i> <i>that the American political
system has ever seen.</i> <i>Congress is
gridlocked</i> <i>and has passed
fewer laws</i> <i>over the past
eight years</i> <i>than during
any other period</i> <i>in modern times.</i> <i>This political stalemate</i> <i>has harmed
our international standing,</i> <i>our economy, and even
jeopardized our security.</i> Robert Gates:<i>
The greatest
national security threat</i> <i>to this country at this point</i> is the two square miles
that encompasses the Capitol Building
and the White House. Smith:<i>
So, we wanted to find out
how an administration</i> <i>that was supposed
to transcend partisanship</i> <i>ended up making it
even worse,</i> <i>so we spoke
to the decision-makers
and the advisors</i> <i>who watched it all unfold
from the inside,</i> <i>starting with legendary
Republican strategist,
Frank Luntz.</i> Newswoman:<i>
America's top pollster,
Frank Luntz.</i> Jon Stewart:<i>
The famed Republican
spin doctor.</i> Newsman:<i>
The man who makes a living
on schooling up Republicans</i> <i>on how to win
the sound chamber.</i> What we try to do
is bring out what people
are actually thinking, not what they might say
to you on national television.
They forget... Smith:<i>
Frank Luntz is
a public-opinion guru</i> <i>and one of the architects
of the Republican strategy</i> <i>to fight President Obama.</i> <i>We joined him for lunch
at the Capitol Hill Club,</i> <i>a private haunt
for the GOP elite.</i> ...because you have
a relationship with Biden, you have a relationship
with Obama. Did they have a chance
to change the political culture in Washington and did
they lose that chance? Absolutely. In fact, for me,
the most memorable day in politics after
the 1980 election
of Ronald Reagan was January 20th, 2009.
Mm-hmm. Luntz: <i>And I got
downtown early...
(cheering)</i> <i>because I wanted
to see how people
reacted.</i> <i>I wanted just
to take this in,</i> <i>'cause it was
a very historic day.
Smith: Mm-hmm.</i> Luntz:<i>
At least one out of five
people I spoke to</i> <i>did not vote for Obama,
but they still wanted
to be there.</i> <i>And everybody was
in a celebratory mood.
This was something special.</i> We gather
because we have chosen
hope over fear... (cheering)
...unity of purpose
over conflict and discord. He, on that day,
had America in his hand, <i>and he could've done
what FDR did--</i> <i>completely reshape
the national politics.</i> It proceeded to break down
within... within weeks. βͺ At last βͺ
(cheering) βͺ My love has come along βͺ Smith:<i>
Now, as BeyoncΓ©
serenaded the Obamas</i> <i>for making history,
the Republicans were reeling
from a devastating defeat.</i> <i>Not only had they lost
the White House,</i> <i>but dozens of seats in Congress</i> <i>falling further
into the minority</i> <i>in both the Senate
and the House.</i> You talk
about the inauguration, but didn't you have
a dinner that night with sort of
the Republican
brain trust of which you're
a leading light? No, I was just the one
who paid the tab.
(laughs) Luntz:<i>
I thought no one
was gonna show up,</i> <i>and then, in fact,
I'd set the table
for 24 people.</i> <i>I didn't have
enough seats.
Smith: Right.</i> Luntz:<i>
Everybody came.</i> <i>And you had
significant people
in that room.</i> <i>You had
ranking members
of committees.</i> <i>You had
three or four
of the members</i> <i>of the leadership
from both the House
and the Senate.</i> <i>And then you had people
like Newt Gingrich</i> <i>who were the thinkers</i> <i>and philosophers of the party.</i> It was all about
a lost movement, trying to figure out how
to get back up on its feet. What was decided that night?
To challenge when deserved and to cooperate
when they should. Mm-hmm. So, it wasn't
to go attack the president
from day one and "If Obama's for it,
we're against it." It was more of
"What's the new strategy?"
Never. Is there a new-- not even
"What's the new strategy?" "Is there a new strategy?"
"Is there a new strategy?
Or are we done?" βͺ βͺ Smith:<i>
Now, while Frank Luntz claims</i> <i>that the party did not pounce
on him immediately,</i> <i>right-wing media
was not as kind.</i> <i>They attacked
the presidency
from day one.</i> Mr. President,
I want to believe.
I want to trust. I want to hope for change, but I am really failing to see
how this is any different. I shamelessly say,
"No, I want him to fail." Our country is
less safe today. He's gonna bring
about socialist democracy. Is this the change
that America voted for? The Republicans
were very shrewd, and they were
under a lot of pressure with the election of the first
African-American president, <i>this kind of "Kumbaya" moment
for the country.</i> Smith: <i>Michael Grunwald is
a political reporter</i> <i>and best-selling author
who covered the turmoil</i> <i>of Obama's first term
for </i>Time <i>magazine.</i> Grunwald:<i>
Republicans realized
that President Obama</i> <i>had campaigned
on bipartisanship,</i> he had promised cooperation, and that they could
make him break that promise
by not cooperating. (bell ringing) Smith:<i>
Obama had taken office</i> <i>in the middle
of the worst
financial crisis</i> <i>since the Great
Depression,</i> <i>and now it was on his
administration
to fix it.</i> Newsman:<i>
We learned today
American workers</i> <i>were laid off
the job last month</i> <i>in numbers not seen
in over three decades.</i> Valerie Jarrett:<i>
People forget that we were
losing 750,000 jobs a month.</i> The automobile industry was
on the verge of bankruptcy. Smith:<i>
Valerie Jarrett,</i> <i>senior advisor
to the president,</i> <i>and his closest confidant,</i> <i>helped him craft
a response to the crisis.</i> The banks were collapsing, people were seeing
their life savings
evaporate overnight and their 401Ks. Newsman: <i>31.8 million
Americans applied
for food stamps last month,</i> <i>an all-time record.</i> We were heading towards
a great depression. Obama:
There were moments
early on in the presidency when the economy
was still cratering... Mm-hmm.
...where, after a meeting,
when I was sitting here alone, <i>I said to myself,
"There have been
times in history</i> where the bottom fell out."
Right. "And this could be
one of those times." βͺ βͺ There was a bracing
sense of...
Oh boy. ..."Well, this is
for keeps..."
Yeah. "...and you better
get it right."
Mmm. βͺ βͺ Obama:<i>
We are experiencing</i> a... unprecedented,
perhaps, economic crisis that has to be dealt with
and dealt with rapidly. Smith:<i>
Both parties agreed
that big steps needed</i> <i>to be taken to stabilize
the economy.</i> <i>What they couldn't
agree upon, however,</i> <i>was just how much
of the stimulus package</i> <i>should be
on government spending,</i> <i>which is what
the Democrats wanted,</i> <i>and how much
should be on tax cuts,</i> <i>which is what
the Republicans wanted.</i> <i>Now, an important player
in the stimulus discussions</i> <i>was GOP House Minority Leader
John Boehner.</i> <i>And we spoke to the man
who would later become
speaker of the House</i> <i>at his home
in Westchester, Ohio.</i> The US economy is having
the hardest time since the Great Depression. And then,
the first thing
that happens, the first week is,
"Let's get a stimulus
package done." Take us back to that time. Well, my Democrat colleagues
in the Congress were pushing the president
to expand government spending, but we thought
it would be better to give employers...
Mm-hmm. ...incentives to hire
more people, to invest
in their businesses to expand the economy
that way... Right.
...because I thought it would be real
and more long-lasting. (cameras clicking) Boehner:
This is not
our money to spend. We're borrowing
this money from our kids. Smith:<i>
Despite the gravity
of the crisis</i> <i>that was facing the country,</i> <i>this dispute
provided rocket fuel</i> <i>to the fire
of political partisanship
in America.</i> Eric Cantor:<i>
John Boehner
and I and others</i> <i>were invited
to the White House,</i> and I remember
having come in with a white paper
of five ideas as to what
we Republicans felt should be
in the stimulus bill. Smith: <i>Eric Cantor was
the House minority whip</i> <i>and John Boehner's
chief deputy.</i> I do remember the president
taking a look at it and saying, "There's really
nothing crazy in here, and we'll take a look at it." There was a kind
of famous confrontation between Obama
and Eric Cantor. Cantor:<i>
We were discussing tax policy
and the president says,</i> "Eric, listen, elections have
consequences, and I won, so we're gonna do it the way
that my administration
wants to do it." And I can accept that,
but again, there was
absolutely no inclusion of anything
that we had presented
at that point. Grunwald:<i>
Obama had said, "Hey,
look, this stimulus bill has</i> <i>$300 billion in tax cuts,
just like you asked."</i> Eric Cantor had complained
that some of those tax cuts
were refundable, which means that even people
who don't make enough money
to pay income taxes, even though they pay
Social Security taxes, and gas taxes,
and all kinds
of other taxes-- <i>they would get
a tax cut as well as people
with bigger tax bills,</i> <i>and that's what
President Obama said
was non-negotiable.</i> We're not just gonna cut taxes
for people who aren't poor. βͺ βͺ The president listened
to the suggestions
of all there. Smith: <i>Nancy Pelosi,
the speaker of the House,</i> <i>attended key meetings
on the stimulus.</i> The Republicans
are who they are. They're a trickle-down
economics party. <i>We're a party,
and the president is,
of middle-class economics.</i> It's no surprise
that they were consistently
for the one percent. Boehner:<i>
There's no real daylight</i> <i>between the president
and Republicans on the Hill.</i> There may be some
disagreement over
how much spending or how much
in the way
of tax relief, but at the end of the day,
we want him to succeed, because America
needs him to succeed. Our job was to find
the common ground. What could we agree on?
What could we do? Smith:<i>
But Rahm Emanuel,</i> <i>President Obama's
first chief of staff,</i> <i>and now the mayor
of Chicago,</i> <i>doesn't remember
the opposition's motives</i> <i>as being so pure.</i> While there may be
philosophical differences--
and that's okay-- and there may be
ideological differences--
and that's politics-- there was also an attempt
to make an opposition that would not allow
his presidency to succeed. Grunwald:<i>
President Obama
decided</i> <i>that he was gonna
do something
very unusual.</i> <i>He was gonna make
the trip to Capitol Hill</i> <i>and go talk
to House Republicans
about the stimulus bill.</i> Before he even
got into the limo, <i>somebody handed him
a press release where</i> <i>the Republican leadership
had already come out
against his stimulus.</i> He said to an aide, "This shit
isn't on the level, is it?" βͺ βͺ Cantor:<i>
When John Boehner
and I had found out</i> <i>that we weren't gonna have
anything in that bill,</i> we said, "Well,
we're gonna oppose the bill." Obama:<i>
I don't expect 100% agreement
from my Republican colleagues,</i> but I do hope that
we can all put politics aside and do the American people's
business right now. All right? Smith: <i>The final
draft of the
stimulus bill</i> <i>provided
$288 billion
in tax cuts</i> <i>and $499 billion</i> <i>in additional
government
spending.</i> Grunwald:<i>
Behind the scenes,</i> <i>not only had
Republican leadership</i> <i>decided to oppose
the bill,</i> <i>but they had decided to whip
the entire caucus against it.</i> They wanted
a unanimous vote
against the stimulus. Newswoman:<i>
Today, the House is expected</i> <i>to approve President Obama's
economic stimulus package,</i> <i>but still unclear is
how many Republicans
might support it.</i> (gavel bangs)
Pelosi:<i>
The House will be in order.</i> The stimulus ultimately passed
without a single Republican
vote in the House. Man: <i>The yeas are 60,
the nays are 38.
(gavel bangs)</i> They got it through the Senate
with just a handful
of Republican votes. Smith:<i>
Senator Lindsey Graham</i> <i>was one of those Republicans</i> <i>who voted no.</i> The content of the package
was more of the left's dream of how to grow
the economy than it was
a bipartisan product. Smith: <i>To Republicans,
those first few weeks
of the presidency</i> <i>set the tone for much
of what would follow.</i> What was
a real bipartisan moment
turned into a partisan fight that sort of tainted
the entire first year. βͺ βͺ People don't fully appreciate how close we came
to a great depression as opposed
to a great recession. Mm-hmm.
And we made
some good decisions early that made a difference. Man: Where you going?
I'm going down
to Rahm's office. Grunwald:<i>
The stimulus also showed</i> <i>how Obama was gonna handle
the presidency</i> Have a seat, everybody.
Grunwald:<i>
After this campaign where</i> <i>everybody had marveled</i> <i>about his brilliant messaging,</i> <i>in office, he's had
much more problems</i> <i>selling a bill
like the stimulus,</i> which almost instantly
became a national joke. Graham: <i>Well,
you're gonna need a shovel
when this bill passes.</i> Not to build anything,
just to get the money
out the door. Grunwald:<i>
Republicans made it sound
like a $800 billion boondoggle.</i> Boehner:<i>
$200 million to fix up
the National Mall.</i> Over $200 million
for contraceptives. How is this gonna fix
an ailing economy? Some of the provisions
they pointed out were real, some of them were
completely made up. Newsman:<i>
What got me was
the honeybee insurance.</i> Newswoman:<i>
$3.4 million
for a tunnel in Florida</i> <i>that will let turtles
cross a highway.</i> More than $71,000
of stimulus funds are going to a project
examining how cocaine <i>affects the brains
of monkeys.</i> Tom Coburn:<i>
A dose of common sense</i> on where this money goes
is sorely lacking. They made it sound
like this was $800 billion worth of honey-bee insurance,
and turtle tunnels, and studies
of cocaine-addicted monkeys. <i>It was really kind of absurd,
the negative tenor
of the coverage</i> <i>while ignoring
the larger picture of what
the stimulus was doing.</i> <i>Economically,
there's just no question</i> <i>that the stimulus did
what it was supposed to do.</i> It increased employment
by two to three million jobs, compared
to the no-action alternative. βͺ βͺ But it was an extraordinarily
unpopular bill. Smith:<i>
Now with opponents</i> <i>of big government
still fuming,</i> <i>the president announced</i> <i>a new mortgage-
assistance program</i> <i>the day after signing
the stimulus.</i> The plan I'm
announcing focuses
on rescuing families stuck in subprime
mortgages they
can't afford as the result
of skyrocketing
interest rates or personal misfortune. Smith:<i>
The government, which had
already spent billions</i> <i>to bail out the banks,
was now spending even more</i> <i>in an attempt
to stabilize the economy.</i> <i>But when the president
proposed bailing out</i> <i>individual homeowners,</i> <i>the rift between
the two parties</i> <i>split even wider
and marked</i> <i>a turning point
in American politics.</i> On the Republican side,
it really became "No more bailouts.
No more handouts.
No more cop-outs." It became a rejection
of the philosophy that put tons
of government money--
which is your tax dollars-- putting that
into the economy without any sense
of accountability. (bell rings)
(people shout) The government
is promoting
bad behavior! Smith: <i>CNBC pundit
Rick Santelli</i> <i>responded
to the signing
from the floor</i> <i>of the Chicago
Mercantile Exchange.</i> This is America!
How many of you people
wanna pay for your neighbor's mortgage that has an extra bathroom
and can't pay their bills? Raise their hand!
(booing) I-- President Obama,
are you listening? How about we all stop
paying our mortgage?
It's a moral hazard. We're thinking
of having a Chicago
Tea Party in July! All you capitalists
that wanna show up
at Lake Michigan, I'm gonna
start organizing.
(whistles) Smith:<i>
Now, this seemingly innocuous
rant on daytime TV</i> <i>actually became
a rallying cry</i> <i>for the most powerful
American political movement</i> <i>in modern history.</i> Help the revolution!
Help the Tea Party! Newsman:<i>
There are groups
around the US</i> <i>who are holding
tea parties of their own,</i> <i>protesting massive
government spending.</i> Newswoman:<i>
They're fed up with footing
the bill for big business</i> <i>and they want
bailouts stopped.</i> <i>In fact,
the word "tea" stands</i> <i>for "Taxed Enough Already."</i> People of the Tea Party are out.
Conservative ideas. They want this country
to be ran by the country,
not by the government. Newswoman:<i>
It may be the biggest
political movement in years.</i> Smith:<i>
Now, over the coming months,</i> <i>polls show that
up to 30% of Americans</i> <i>identified with the growing
Tea Party movement,</i> <i>giving it even more power
to disrupt business as usual
in Washington.</i> Can you hear us now? There would've been
no Tea Party movement without the first two years
of Barack Obama. It was a complete backlash
against an overreach
by the government. So, you had
the stimulus package, where people went back
to their districts and Republicans
were saying, "This is big government
run wild," followed by Obamacare. And this sort of became
the blow-up of all blow-ups. βͺ βͺ Smith:<i>
Now, with the Democrats
in control</i> <i>of both the House
and the Senate,</i> <i>President Obama had
the numbers in Congress</i> <i>to pursue another big goal</i> <i>that had eluded
many presidents
before him--</i> <i>universal health care.</i> All right, let's go.
(chattering) Let's start
with legislative. Phil? Health care is
the next three weeks
in committee. Smith:<i>
But even within
the president's inner circle,</i> <i>advisors warned that
it could be political suicide.</i> Hey, guys. How are you? Emanuel:<i>
If you looked
at every president</i> <i>since Teddy Roosevelt
who campaigned</i> on national health care,
they either walked out
empty-handed or they had to scale back
to a different form
of health care. Smith:<i>
Now, Rahm Emanuel's
caution was based</i> <i>on his own experience
16 years earlier.</i> I was in the Clinton
White House and I was working
on the crime bill then. Smith:<i>
In 1993,
the president had put</i> <i>then First Lady,
Hillary Rodham Clinton,</i> <i>in charge of reforming
the health care system.</i> It's time to bring
about fundamental
change, control our nation's
soaring health care costs and provide security for American families again. Smith:<i>
An effort that
went up in flames,</i> <i>nearly derailing
the Clinton presidency</i> <i>and tarnishing
Hillary Clinton's legacy
to this day.</i> Health insurance reform cannot be enacted this year. Emanuel:<i>
It's something that people,</i> <i>in theory, want</i> until you're reorganizing
a lot of furniture. And, you know, that's
a big threat to people. βͺ βͺ <i>So, I said, "Look,
you've got to understand</i> "that this is gonna be-- "from the moment
you announce it-- "a huge suck of both time, "energy, and political capital "with a chance of success that narrows with every day." Smith: <i>While the battle
to pass the stimulus bill
lasted one month,</i> <i>the battle to pass
health care reform</i> <i>would take more than a year
of intensely partisan politics</i> <i>played out both
on the floor of Congress</i> <i>and in the press.</i> I've had the good fortune
of being able to work on a lot of stuff, <i>but there is no question</i> the most difficult,
elusive thing I've ever
worked on was Obamacare. Obama:<i>
There's been
some talk</i> <i>that we're
in the midst</i> of an economic crisis and that the system
is overloaded, and so we should
put this off for another day. There is always a reason
not to do it. And it strikes me that now
is exactly the time for us to deal
with this problem. βͺ βͺ Obamacare was
the most visible example of the giant divide
breaking apart even further. To the left,
this whole idea of having some
national health care plan goes back 100 years. And then,
to your average Republican, this idea that
all these decisions are gonna
be made in Washington about what
my health care looks like, is like dropping
a stick of dynamite in a small crevasse
in the earth. All we're gonna do
is raise taxes and increase the debt. They have spent so much time trying to discredit
the program. Smith: <i>Democratic
Congressman Jim Clyburn</i> <i>was the House majority whip</i> <i>and led the fight for many
of the reforms featured</i> <i>on the Obamacare bill.</i> Clyburn:<i>
What we failed
to do is to be as vigilant.</i> They don't care
what the truth is. All they care about
is winning the issue. Pence:<i>
Taxes on individuals,</i> taxes on small business owners, taxes on businesses making
inadvertent filing errors. He just portrayed it
as big government, big taxes,
big spending. This bill is a fiscal
Frankenstein. It's a government takeover. Government takeover.
Government takeover. Government takeover
of health care. Grunwald:<i>
The Republicans did</i> <i>a really excellent job</i> <i>of not only mobilizing</i> <i>their base to oppose
Obamacare,</i> but of dominating
the public debate
about Obamacare. We do not need
socialized medicine of any type. We need to have
freedom of choice! Smith:<i>
Now, during Congress's
summer break,</i> <i>Democratic members
went home</i> <i>to rally support
for the bill,</i> <i>but they were
totally unprepared
for what awaited them</i> <i>in their respective districts--</i> <i>a full-on revolt
against the bill</i> <i>at a grassroots level.</i> No! Just say no! Smith:<i>
Now, at the center
of the controversy</i> <i>was a deep-seated fear</i> <i>that it would lead to so-called
socialized medicine</i> <i>and the rationing
of health care...</i> I don't think I'd last long
under a government
health care plan as I get older,
because of this rationing. It's bound to happen. Smith:<i>
...meaning the government
would actually decide</i> <i>who should live
and who should die.</i> When people began
to read and hear about the fact that Washington
was going to change their health care,
they got very upset. 80% of us recognize the anti-
constitutionality of this health care. This is anarchy! (shouting) Newsman:<i>
Members of Congress
are back home,</i> <i>holding town hall meetings.</i> <i>And in meeting
after meeting,</i> <i>there's been a pattern
of disruption.</i> (people shouting) His health care bill
to me is very scary, because I know
what happened
in Germany under Hitler. Smith:<i>
Now, the opposition</i> <i>to the Affordable
Care Act</i> <i>became so heated</i> <i>that President Obama</i> <i>called for a special session
of Congress</i> <i>just to diffuse
the situation.</i> Some of people's concerns
have grown out of bogus claims spread by those
whose only agenda is to kill reform
at any cost. The best example
is the claim made not just by radio
and cable talk show hosts but by prominent politicians... that we plan to set up
panels of bureaucrats with the power
to kill off senior citizens. Now, such a charge
would be laughable if it weren't so cynical
and irresponsible. It is a lie,
plain and simple.
(cheers, applause) Smith:<i>
But the fury that had swept
through the country</i> <i>had emboldened
the president's critics
in Congress,</i> <i>especially those
who thought the law
would promote abortion</i> <i>and give free health care
to illegal immigrants.</i> The reforms I am proposing would not apply to those
who are here illegally. (Joe Wilson shouts)
(people boo) Smith: <i>South Carolina
Republican Joe Wilson</i> <i>shouted out to the president,
in Congress, "You lie!"</i> <i>and it immediately made him
a conservative celebrity.</i> The gentleman
from South Carolina,
Joe Wilson! Smith:<i>
Now, while he was</i> <i>formally rebuked
by Congress,</i> <i>Wilson became a hero
to the growing ranks
of the Tea Party</i> <i>for daring
to shout down</i> <i>the president from
the House floor</i> <i>for the first time
in modern history.</i> <i>But Vice President Biden</i> <i>remembers the episode</i> <i>as a new low
in partisan friction.</i> I think it was a confirmation
of how off-track relationships
have gotten between-- between the political parties. When you attack
another man's judgment hammer and tong,
you can still reach
a consensus, you can still work
something out. But when you attack
his character or her character, when you attack their motive, then it's almost impossible
to get to "yes." And that's one of the things
that has changed so negatively in American politics
in all my years, over the last 10 years
in American politics. And it's dangerous. (crowd chanting)
Kill the bill! Kill the bill! This bill is
the greatest threat
to freedom that I have seen
in the 19 years I've been here
in Washington! You were quoted as saying
that Obamacare was the greatest threat
to America. Why is that?
It's set up
as a social welfare program. It's not set up
as an insurance program that has reserves
and has backing, and so it's
fundamentally unsound. Cantor:
We are committed
to making sure that not one Republican
will vote for this bill. (cheering) Smith:<i>
And with the atmosphere
in Washington</i> <i>becoming increasingly toxic,</i> <i>President Obama took
an extraordinary step.</i> <i>He headed
to the House Republicans'
annual retreat</i> <i>to face down
their criticism directly</i> <i>on live television.</i> <i>And Frank Luntz was
in the audience.</i> In fact, he called you out.
What happened there? Barack Obama wanted
to address them and House Republicans
wanted to hear from him. (applause) You know
what they say. "Keep your
friends close, "but visit
the Republican
caucus every few months."
(laughter) And both sides thought
that this would be good
for each other and just maybe you'd be able
to get something done. Right.
And it didn't
work out that way. If you were to listen
to the debate and, frankly, how some
of you went after this bill, you'd think
that this thing was... some Bolshevik plot. Luntz:<i>
So, he's about 25 feet away.</i> And he's going
through his answers to some of the hostile
Republican questions, and he's getting
hostile himself. (applause)
No, no, no, no, no,
hold on a second, guys. You know my... I've read your legislation. I mean, I take
a look at this stuff. It can't be all or nothing,
one way or the other. And I'm taking notes
to be able to present
to House Republicans how to respond
to what Obama just said. And unfortunately,
that's how our politics
work right now. That's how a lot
of our discussion works. And I see him kind of... do a shuffle,
and he says, "You know what?" You know,
I see Frank Luntz up here,
sitting in the front. He's already polled it,
and he's said, "You know, the way
you're really gonna-- "I've done a focus group,
and you know the way we're gonna really box in
Obama on this one or"-- Luntz:<i>
And my computer's
got notes on it,</i> and he's comin' at me, and so I just casually
put the screen down.
(laughs) I like Frank.
We've had conversations between Frank and I,
but that's how we operate. It's all tactics,
and it's not solving problems. All right.
Thank you, everybody.
(applause) Luntz:<i>
When the thing was over,
he went and shook hands.</i> <i>I came over
to a line and we talked
for a couple seconds.</i> Newsman:<i>
Pollster Frank Luntz
called out by President Obama.</i> And every news outlet
picked it up and ran it.
Mm-hmm. And they did so
because how often
do you have a strategist for the other side talking
to the president? Mm-hmm.
It just doesn't happen
in Washington. Right.
And that's one
of the problems. The moment you get
to Washington, there's a red side
and a blue side, and there is nobody
in the middle.
Right. βͺ βͺ Obama:<i>
This became a very</i> ideological battle. Smith: <i>Now
the president's visit</i> <i>failed to break
the logjam in Congress,</i> <i>and the campaign
to pass the bill</i> <i>dragged into its 11th month.</i> The American people
want us to scrap this bill. (crowd chanting)
Kill the bill!
Smith: <i>Now, in reality,</i> <i>the public was
almost evenly split</i> <i>about the Affordable Care Act,</i> <i>but in American politics,
the voices of the opposition</i> <i>are almost always louder
and more intense</i> <i>and the Republicans
were able rally their base</i> <i>for a vicious fight
against the bill.</i> Sheila Jackson Lee:<i>
Over the last two days,</i> human beings who happen to be
members of Congress have been called the N-word,
have been spat on. Just recently someone asked me why my braids were so tight. (chanting)
Kill the bill!
Kill the bill! The yeas are 220,
the nays are 211. The bill is passed. βͺ βͺ I don't think
there's any question that the Affordable Care Act
is our proudest boast. <i>It stands right there</i> <i>with Social Security,</i> <i>Medicare, and Medicaid...
(applause, whistling)</i> <i>...as a pillar of economic
health security</i> <i>for America's families.</i> <i>It's a giant accomplishment.</i> βͺ βͺ Biden:<i>
Health care is not
a privilege, but a right.</i> Every American is entitled
to have health care. It's a gigantic step forward. (Biden speaks)
(applause) Thank you. Thank you, everybody. It's not yet
universal health care, although we've gotten
20 million people health care. And we've done so
in a way that promises to insure even more
in the future. I think about it
as a pretty good
starter home. The same way
that Social Security when
it started was imperfect, or Medicare and Medicaid,
when they started
were imperfect, but over time were improved and eventually became
bedrock social welfare programs that everybody relies on. βͺ βͺ Smith:<i>
Now Democrats celebrated</i> <i>the bill's passage
as an historic achievement,</i> <i>but for Republicans,
it only solidified the idea</i> <i>that government
was out of control.</i> The biggest change
in health care in generations I think has been
a miserable failure, and right now--
it still, to this day,
lingers over the body. Cantor:<i>
This stimulus bill passed.</i> <i>The Obamacare
legislation passed.</i> But honestly, these are big,
big pieces of legislation
with policy implications all passing
without any Republican votes. (crowd chanting)
USA! USA! Cantor:<i>
So I do think that that gave
impetus to the Tea Party.</i> <i>It was sort of this sense
that the government
had grown too big,</i> <i>taking too much
of taxpayers' money,</i> and I believe
that the electorate in 2010
wanted some balance. Smith:<i>
And as the Tea Party
mustered its forces</i> <i>to take on the Democrats
in the 2010 midterm elections,</i> <i>they had a powerful
new weapon:</i> <i>a massive change
in the way elections
are financed.</i> Pelosi:<i>
2010 was about big money</i> <i>following the Supreme Court
decision, Citizen's United,</i> that unleashed
endless special interest, dark, unreported money
into the campaigns. Smith:<i>
The Supreme Court decision
called Citizens United</i> <i>had come down
earlier in the year,</i> <i>and it ruled
that political contributions</i> <i>are a form of free speech,</i> <i>and that outside groups
could spend as much money</i> <i>as they wanted
to influence elections.</i> <i>And that gave rise
to what are called
"Super PACs."</i> <i>And one of the most
active Super PACs</i> <i>is American Crossroads,</i> <i>founded by Republican
strategist Karl Rove</i> <i>and run by Steven J. Law.</i> What distinguishes us
from other players in the political sphere is
we're able to raise money in unlimited amounts
from individuals, and companies
and associations. <i>We started out
in early 2010,</i> <i>we had one contribution
that got the doors open,</i> <i>and over the course
of the next 27 weeks</i> <i>we raised $71 million.</i> The largest part
of our budget-- probably 70%
of what we spend-- goes on communicating
with voters on television
or cable. (announcer speaks) <i>...and
Robin Carnahan
is one of them.</i> <i>Carnahan stands
with Obama's health care law.</i> Law:<i>
Obamacare summed up,
in a lot of voters' minds,</i> everything that
they didn't like about what was
going on in Washington. <i>They saw it as partisan.
They saw it as big government.</i> <i>It just created this desire
to get back at the people</i> who had done this
to the country. (announcer speaking) Smith: <i>Now, the 2010 election
was the first since
this new ruling,</i> <i>and outside
groups spent</i> <i>nearly $310 million</i> <i>to influence its outcome,</i> <i>which is almost five times</i> <i>what outside groups had spent</i> <i>during the previous
midterm election.</i> <i>Much of that money
went to support</i> <i>candidates aligned
with the Tea Party.</i> Newsman:<i>
We have a big story
to report tonight.</i> Republicans have won
control of the House
of Representatives. Newsman 2: <i>Sweeping,
stunning Republican victories
all across the country.</i> Smith: <i>On Election Day,
Republicans trounced
the Democrats</i> <i>and handed
the GOP control
of the House.</i> Newsman 3:<i>
Voters that went
to the polls tonight</i> <i>sent a message
to Barack Obama.</i> Smith:<i>
It was the worst loss
for Democrats</i> <i>in more than 50 years.</i> Some election nights
are more fun than others. Some are exhilarating,
some are humbling. (applause)
Smith:<i>
Now this election</i> <i>marked a pivotal moment
in the presidency,</i> <i>because, from this point on,</i> <i>President Obama would
face obstruction in Congress</i> <i>more intense
than he'd ever experienced.</i> God bless you,
Speaker Boehner.
(cheering) Smith:<i>
And John Boehner,
who had been minority leader,</i> <i>became the face
of the opposition</i> <i>as the newly installed
speaker of the House.</i> By this point,
the partisan tensions between the Republican
majority in the House and the White House,
it was-- it was pretty serious. In the 2010 election,
you have the rise of the Tea Party.
Correct. Smith: <i>But even
as the Republicans celebrated
their newfound power,</i> <i>there was growing dissent
within its ranks</i> <i>because of the new infusion</i> <i>of hyper-conservative
Tea Party members.</i> <i>Now, a key player
in this new force
on Capitol Hill</i> <i>was Congressman RaΓΊl Labrador,</i> <i>co-founder of the powerful
Freedom Caucus,</i> <i>a main bastion
of the Tea Party's
strength in Congress.</i> There were a lot of people
here who had not been
in government before. We really believed
when we came here that we were coming
to change Washington, D.C. And one of the first fights
that we had in Congress was the spending fight. Smith:<i>
With their newly-won
majority in the House,</i> <i>Republicans
created a new mechanism
to exert control.</i> We put in place a rule requiring there
to be a separate vote on the increase
in the debt ceiling
of the country. Smith:<i>
Now the debt ceiling is
the routine authorization</i> <i>for America
to borrow money
to pay its bills.</i> <i>And if the ceiling
isn't raised
when needed,</i> <i>the government
ceases to be able
to pay its debts,</i> <i>which in
turn means,
quite simply,</i> <i>it ceases
to be able
to function,</i> <i>which is why
it's always
been raised</i> <i>as a matter
of routine.</i> Jay Newton-Small:<i>
Speaker Boehner had
a lot of worries</i> <i>that he wasn't going
to be able to control</i> this new raucous caucus of his, of Tea Party
fiscal conservatives. Smith: <i>Jay Newton-Small is
a Washington correspondent</i> <i>at </i>Time <i>magazine</i> <i>and reported extensively
on the brewing crisis.</i> Newton-Small:<i>
It was a way of satisfying</i> <i>his fiscal
conservatives, right?</i> <i>"Here, we're going
to cut a ton of money</i> <i>from the federal budget,
potentially trillions
of dollars."</i> I made clear in early 2011
when I became speaker that we were not going
to raise the debt ceiling without doing something
about our spending problem. Right.
Secondly, I made
pretty clear to the president <i>that the best time
to do big things</i> <i>is when you have
divided government.</i> We got a Republican House. We've got a Democrat
in the White House. Both parties have
their fingerprints
on the deal. Smith:<i>
In June of 2011,</i> <i>Speaker Boehner began</i> <i>meeting privately</i> <i>with President Obama</i> <i>to negotiate
what became known</i> <i>as the Grand Bargain.</i> I went down to the White House and snuck into the White House.
I couldn't walk in, because you walk
into the White House, the right wing press goes,
"Oh, what are they--
What's he up to?" Right.
The left wing press, "Oh, what's
the president up to?"
Everybody goes crazy. Mm-hmm.
The president and I
end up in the Oval Office. It was about 5:30,
six o'clock,
and I said, uh, "Hey, boss,
why don't we go outside on that patio outside here
that Reagan had built?" <i>And we're having
a conversation about
this budget deal</i> <i>that we've been trying
to put together.
Smith: Mmm.</i> I look up at one point,
and I'm smoking a cigarette, drinking a glass of red wine. I look across the table
and here is the president, drinking an iced tea
and chomping on Nicorette. (both laugh)
It's just one
of those moments... Right.
...that you really
just can't make up. Smith:<i>
Now partisan politics
in Washington</i> <i>had become so vitriolic,</i> <i>that not only did
the speaker of the House</i> <i>have to actually sneak
into the White House,</i> <i>but that just by speaking
to the president,</i> <i>he was immediately seen
as tainted by his own party.</i> Labrador:<i>
What I always had
a problem with</i> <i>is that whenever he had
these secret meetings</i> <i>with the President
of the United States,</i> it was to negotiate something
that wasn't even related to what we were discussing
in the Republican conference. Boehner:<i>
People were sniping at me
from every direction.</i> My staff even came to me
and said, "Boehner, you know, "you're risking
your Speakership, you're risking
your job here by continuing
these conversations." Newton-Small:<i>
By July 9th, Boehner realizes</i> that his Tea Party core is never gonna
go along with this, <i>and finally
Boehner withdraws.</i> Smith:<i>
But with the August 2nd
deadline approaching,</i> <i>the White House
succeeded in bringing</i> <i>the Republican leadership</i> <i>back to
the negotiating table.</i> They bring
in Cantor this time, <i>and Obama really
is going after Cantor
in the Oval Office.</i> I asked the president
if we could at least
bank the savings that we had already come
to an agreement with. <i>He took real offense at that</i> and really just said
he shouldn't have to spend all his time working
with members of Congress, we should be able
to do this without him, and walked out of the room. βͺ βͺ My relationship with all
the leaders
has been cordial, it has been professional, but I think at a certain point, the American people
run out of patience if they think
that people are
playing games and not serious in terms
of solving problems. βͺ βͺ
Mr. Speaker. Boehner:<i>
I did everything I could
to push the president</i> <i>to do the Grand Bargain.</i> <i>It was a long, slow process</i> <i>over many months
of discussions.</i> How you doing? And you were nearly there. And we were there.
The president, myself,
Eric Cantor... Yeah.
...on a Sunday morning, stood in the Oval Office,
shook hands. The deal was done. Two days later,
the Gang of Six happens. βͺ βͺ The good news
is that today a group of Senators,
the Gang of Six, <i>put forward
a proposal</i> <i>that is
broadly consistent</i> with the approach
that I've urged. Smith:<i>
So, the president
and the Republicans</i> <i>had finally reached a deal,
but at the last minute,</i> <i>the so-called Gang of Six
came up with an agreement
of their own.</i> <i>It threw the process
into confusion,</i> <i>and the Republicans
were unable</i> <i>to get their party
back to the table.</i> <i>It became
a perfect portrait</i> <i>of just how dysfunctional
Washington had become.</i> Now let me just say
that the White House
moved the goalpost. Smith:<i>
But according to Clyburn
and the White House,</i> <i>Speaker Boehner
was placing false blame.</i> I was right there
in the middle of it, and I never missed
a single meeting. <i>No goalposts
were moved at all.</i> Good evening, everybody. It is hard to understand why Speaker Boehner would walk away
from this kind of deal. The train had
just gone off the cliff and everybody
was blaming everybody. Dealing with the White House is like dealing
with a bowl of Jell-O. Can they say yes to anything? There was an agreement. I've been left at the altar
now a couple of times. The president demanded
$400 billion more. We have now run out of time. Smith:<i>
Washington's gridlock
was now affecting</i> <i>the financial reputation
of the United States.</i> (bell ringing)
Newsman: <i>The numbers
are not pretty.</i> <i>The DOW fell
below 11,000 today,</i> <i>after Standard & Poor's
downgraded</i> <i>America's credit rating
for the first time in history.</i> Smith:<i>
Losing America's
AAA rating</i> <i>was a signal
to the world that the US,</i> <i>for the first time
in its history,</i> <i>had become
a risky investment.</i> Newsman:<i>
It still may
come down to this,</i> <i>a last chance option
from the Senate's
top leaders.</i> Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell
basically negotiate this bill which essentially
punts the can. <i>Here is the amount of money
that they need to offset</i> <i>to get this bill
through the House.</i> There was
so much unhappiness,
so much mistrust. It was just
this utter failure. One of the hardest things
about being president
is you're cooped up. Mmm.
The proverbial bubble. I think Bill Clinton said
this was the crown jewel of the federal
penitentiary system.
(chuckles) And this is my yard.
And every night I'll walk
with my chief of staff, <i>and we'll talk
about issues.</i> <i>If nothing else,
being president
gives you perspective.</i> It gives you
historic perspective, because you go
through a week
and there's a mass shooting and there's
an international crisis and there's an outbreak
of disease somewhere. And you say to yourself, "This is tough,
this is challenging,
this is bad, "but we can solve this. We can figure this out." Obviously a lot
of that is experience, and you've been
around the track and you've seen
big highs and big lows. I have confidence
in my ability to deal
with just about anything. More importantly,
I have confidence in this country's ability
to deal with just
about anything. Announcer:
Ladies and gentlemen,
(cheering) the President
of the United States. Despite all the frustrations
of Washington... I've never been more hopeful
about our future. Smith:<i>
Now you might think that
Obama's reelection in 2012</i> <i>would've eased some
of the tensions in Washington,</i> <i>because he won
by a healthy margin</i> <i>and therefore had
a so-called "mandate
of the people."</i> And we remain
more than a collection of red states
and blue states. (cheering)
We are, and forever will be, the United States of America. I always joke, "You know,
America might have done it
by accident the first time, "but, you know,
they had seen me for four years,
and I got re-elected so..." Smith:<i>
However, despite
the president's popularity,</i> <i>Republicans also retained</i> <i>their majority in the House,</i> <i>with even more seats</i> <i>going to the Tea Party,</i> <i>which meant
that the polarization</i> <i>already happening in Congress
was about to get even worse.</i> Now, you've had two classes
of Tea Party members, <i>and they were
much more intractable.</i> βͺ βͺ Graham:<i>
I think the Tea Party movement</i> was welcomed
by Republicans initially. Then it turned kind of dark. Labrador:<i>
What we learned
when we got here</i> is that Washington
doesn't change that quickly. And in fact,
it's not so much the Democrats
that don't want it to change. It's actually the establishment
of the Republican Party. <i>And there was a few
of us who decided that,</i> <i>no, we were not gonna
just follow and obey.</i> We were actually
gonna try to change the way things
were happening here. Smith:<i>
Now the Tea Party's experience</i> <i>with the debt ceiling standoff</i> <i>had proven to them
that there were weapons</i> <i>they could use
if they were willing
to go to the extreme.</i> I intend to speak
in support of defunding
Obamacare... until I am no longer
able to stand. Smith:<i>
So they decided
to use the same tactics</i> <i>they had used before,
but this time go even further.</i> Ted Cruz had this idea
we could shut down
the government and force
the president to repeal
and replace Obamacare. Mm-hmm.
Really? <i>And all my colleagues
were talking about this.</i> <i>They had ginned
this up on talk radio.</i> <i>their constituents
were talking about it.</i> They had been led to believe
this is a winning strategy. Labrador:<i>
When the government
shut down,</i> it means that
the House of Representatives or the Senate are exercising the one constitutional power
that we know we have, which is the power
of the purse. <i>If we disagree
with the president</i> <i>on any kind of legislation,</i> the only way we can
actually effect that change <i>is through the power
of the purse.</i> Shut down the government?
I know who's gonna get blamed! Right, right.
You know, the Republicans
are gonna get blamed. And secondly, the president's
never gonna sign this. It's not even
gonna get through the Senate. It's the dumbest thing
I've ever heard of. I said, "Listen, this is
not going to work. We are playing
right into their hands." They've got
these shit-eating grins
on their face. I mean, really?
Well, next thing I know, I'm reminded of the old adage
when you're the leader: "A leader without followers
is simply a man taking a walk." (chuckles)
I look up and all my colleagues
are going this way! So I said, "Okay, fine."
I get out in front of them.
I led the effort. (cameras clicking)
(speaks indiscernibly) Boehner:<i>
I and my members have decided</i> that the threat of Obamacare
and what was happening was so important
that it was time for us
to take a stand. (speaking French) (speaking Chinese) British reporter:<i>
The federal government
of the United States</i> <i>of America is closed.</i> Obama:
At midnight last night, for the first time
in 17 years, the Republicans
in Congress chose to shut down
the federal government. Smith: <i>The war
between these two parties
had now evolved to the point</i> <i>where Republicans were
not only trying to roll back</i> <i>everything President Obama
had passed in his first term,</i> <i>they were actually willing
to shut the entire government
down to do it.</i> In other words,
they demanded ransom just for doing their job. Irish reporter:<i>
The president says
he won't negotiate</i> <i>with terrorists
or with the Tea Party.</i> We cannot allow
a handful of right-wing
extremists to hold
this nation hostage. Smith:<i>
Now the result of this game
of political chicken was</i> <i>total government shutdown,</i> <i>costing billions
upon billions of dollars,</i> <i>loss of social services,
and a government</i> <i>that the taxpayers
of America were paying for</i> <i>that had literally
ceased to function.</i> We want jobs, not furloughs! Newswoman:<i>
800,000 federal workers</i> <i>going home
without a paycheck.</i> I'm going to have
to dig into my savings
to pay my mortgage. Congress needs
to be turned over
somebody's knee and spanked real hard, because they're acting
like small children. I'm very disappointed
in a system that I think is broken. Smith:<i>
Now the government shutdown
did exactly</i> <i>what Speaker Boehner
thought it would.</i> Newsman:<i>
A poll conducted</i> <i>by the Associated
Press this week</i> <i>shows Congress--
the approval rating,</i> <i>it's dropped
to just 5%.</i> <i>It's the lowest
level ever.</i> Smith:<i>
It brought on massive anger
towards Congress</i> <i>and, in particular,
the Republicans</i> <i>who were seen
as its instigators.</i> After 16 days, I walked in, and I said, "All right.
This nonsense is over." I get a standing ovation. This the craziest thing
I ever saw in my life. So, it was like letting
a kid touch the fire. Oh yeah, but for 16 days we looked like idiots.
Right. Reid:<i>
We had enough Democrats</i> <i>with a few Republicans
of goodwill,</i> that allowed us to open
the government again and save the country's... name in
the international community. Smith: <i>Now,
the widespread unpopularity
of the government shutdown</i> <i>seemed to have no effect
on the continued rise</i> <i>of the more conservative
Tea Party.</i> Newswoman: <i>Breaking tonight,
a stunning defeat</i> <i>on primary night
as one of most
powerful Republicans</i> <i>on Capitol Hill
goes down.</i> Good afternoon.
Effective July 31st, I will be stepping down
as majority leader. Well, we get
to the middle of 2014, and Eric Cantor,
my number two guy, <i>the majority leader,</i> <i>loses his
primary election,
shockingly.</i> Newsman: <i>Dave Brat was outspent
by his powerful rival 25 to 1.</i> Dollars do not vote. You do. Newton-Small:<i>
He won because
he harnessed this anger</i> with an establishment
that has failed to deliver
on any of their promises. <i>Republicans promising
that they were gonna do
all of these things,</i> <i>like repeal Obamacare
and cut deficits,</i> was never going to happen, because the president
wasn't going to work
with them to do that. Smith:<i>
Now, despite the fact
that Cantor and Boehner</i> <i>were conservative Republicans</i> <i>who were seen
by the Democrats
as fiercely partisan</i> <i>for failing to make deals
with the executive,</i> <i>they were actually considered
too non-partisan</i> <i>by their own party for working
with the Democrats at all.</i> <i>And as such,
both were ousted.</i> Labrador:<i>
John Boehner made the mistake
of listening too much</i> <i>to his golfing buddies,
his drinking buddies,
and his smoking buddies,</i> instead of listening
to what we wanted to do as members of Congress. So, this morning,
I informed my colleagues that I would resign
from the speakership and resign from Congress
at the end of October. βͺ βͺ It's really interesting
when you sit back and look at what
the "so-called" Tea Party is. I was the Tea Party
before there was a Tea Party. (chuckles) Right.
And then all of a sudden,
I was "the establishment." You know,
I went to Washington
to fight for a smaller, less costly,
and more accountable
federal government. They wanted the same thing.
Mm-hmm. The only thing
we disagreed on were tactics. You know? They were ready
to burn the place down... Mm-hmm.
...to accomplish what
they want to accomplish. I thought
burning the place down was probably not
in the best interest of the party or the country. Newsman:<i>
Republicans will control
both houses of Congress.</i> And we are going
to make 'em squeal! (cheering)
(laughs) Smith:<i>
Now the 2014 midterm elections</i> <i>brought another
landslide victory</i> <i>for Republican candidates.</i> <i>They not only increased</i> <i>their numbers in the House,</i> <i>they also retook the Senate.</i> It's time to turn
this country around!
(cheering) Smith:<i>
Mitch McConnell,</i> <i>a notorious
partisan hardliner,</i> <i>became the new
Senate majority leader,</i> <i>making it virtually impossible</i> <i>for the president
to work with Congress
on almost anything...</i> Newswoman:<i>
Senate Republicans
made it official,</i> <i>there will be no hearings</i> <i>and no vote on anyone</i> <i>President Obama nominates</i> <i>for the Supreme Court.</i> This appointment
should be made by the next president. Smith:<i>
...including critical issues
like filling</i> <i>an empty
Supreme Court seat,</i> <i>reducing carbon emissions,</i> <i>or dealing
with gun violence.</i> βͺ βͺ What worries me is
whether the institutions that we built are
gonna be adapted
fast enough... Right.
...to meet the challenges
that we face. Because I do believe that if we continue to have
a situation in which, on an issue
like gun safety measures...
Right. ...the majority agrees with it,
but because members of Congress are much more concerned
about a passionate minority
of NRA members than they are
about the general welfare-- in those circumstances,
I could see people getting more
and more frustrated
with our politics. Smith: <i>In the wake
of the mass shooting</i> <i>in Orlando, that frustration
boiled over into Congress.</i> We're calling on
the leadership of the House to bring common sense
gun control legislation to the House floor.
Give us a vote! Smith:<i>
And after Republicans blocked
a gun control measure,</i> <i>Democrats in the House,
which doesn't have
filibuster rules,</i> <i>took a cue
from the Occupy
Wall Street movement</i> <i>and actually occupied
the House floor...</i> (Gohmert shouting) (man shouts) Smith:<i>
...making
the government</i> <i>look less like
a governing body,</i> <i>and more like
a kindergarten schoolyard</i> <i>in the middle
of a shouting match.</i> <i>Now The 114th Congress</i> <i>has been one
of the least effective ever.</i> <i>Not only has
it been gridlocked</i> <i>on hot button issues
like gun control,</i> <i>but it's also
failed to provide
adequate responses</i> <i>to emergencies
like the Flint water crisis,</i> <i>the threat
of the Zika virus,</i> <i>and the opioid
addiction epidemic.</i> <i>In 2016,
it narrowly avoided another
government shutdown</i> <i>and the Senate is on track
to work the fewest days
in 60 years.</i> Washington is now toxic, and it seems
to be galvanized
into inactivity. That's not the way
politics used to be. Now they don't even
know each other. Let me finish.
I'm waiting on you. I'm coming. Just wait.
I've been very patient. Your state is a crazy state
to begin with, and I mean that
just as I said it. Mr. Chairman,
I am not delaying! I'm making
an extremely
important point. There's a segment
of the Republican Party... that would rather
blow everything up <i>than try to fix it.
(crowd chanting) No, no, no...</i> Luntz:<i>
And they believe that they're
acting with principle,</i> but principle is not
the be all and end all. As a junior Senator,
I preside over the Senate, I usually do it in the morning, which means that I'm forced
to listen to the bitter, vulgar,
incoherent ramblings of the minority leader. Luntz:<i>
It is a bloodsport.</i> It is "How much damage
can I do to you? How much can I destroy
your reputation?" I think that you are
an ignorant bigot. Luntz: <i>"How can
I hurt you so much,</i> <i>"that not only
are you destroyed,</i> but your dead relatives
in the old country
can feel it?" McCain: I don't know
what the deal was! I'm going to tell
the Senator... I'm going to tell
the Senator the deal. (gavel bangs) We fucked up. We killed the goose
that laid the golden egg. Mmm.
We fucked it up. Mmm.
Nobody's listening. Nobody's learning. It's all just one big gabfest. If it's toxic
and it can't be fixed, where does
American politics
go from here? That's why I tell people
I'm going to New Zealand, I'm gonna buy
15 acres somewhere, and I'll sell off 14. So if you wanna buy
an acre, let me know. I'm not kidding.
Right. I'm going in December.
Wow. At some point, the economy
just stops functioning. Mm-hmm.
The Greeks did not survive. The Romans did not survive.
The French did not survive. The British did not survive. Why should we think
the American empire
will survive? I don't know,
and I, unfortunately, will probably still be alive-- I wish I wasn't--
when this whole thing
comes tumbling down. Leaving office soon,
two terms...
Mm-hmm. ...a lot of partisan politics,
a lot of fighting, known for that. It seems as if it will become
even more polarized. Where do you see
politics going? We have
some structural problems
in our politics, more broadly, that are
creating greater polarization. And until
we change those... whoever the occupant here is, is gonna confront some
of the same patterns.
How do you change it? Well, I'll give you
a couple of examples. The fact that our media
has gotten so splintered. You know, as recently
as Bill Clinton's presidency, certainly with
Ronald Reagan's presidency, the majority of people
still consumed their news from the nightly networks.
Mm-hmm. And you had
common basis of facts. Mmm.
Then today, anybody with access
to a Web site has an opinion. Obama and Hillary
both smell like sulfur.
They smell like hell. Republicans,
they exist in their own fact-impaired miniverse. Barack Obama is destroying... the United States economy. The Republicans
are only concerned about what's on Fox News
or what Rush Limbaugh is saying, and Democrats are looking at <i>The New York Times
or Huffington Post.</i> ...on national television
and say that black people are
prone to criminality! Well, they are! I don't know you, and I don't want
to talk to you. Smith: <i>Now the fragmentation
of news media</i> <i>is one area where
the president</i> <i>and Speaker Boehner agree.</i> Now we've got
all these cable channels, and all they do
is politics all day long. <i>And then all of a sudden
you've got Facebook,</i> <i>and you've got Twitter.</i> <i>The American people
are choosing,</i> you know,
where they get their news. You know, a lot of people
get their news from talk radio. Ahh! I mean, that would scare
the hell out of anybody. People are being
bombarded with information
about their government a hundred times more so
than what we saw, you know, in the early '90s. Maybe a thousand times more. (chanting)
USA! USA!
Man: We're gonna-- Boehner:<i>
It's pushed or pulled
Americans to the right,</i> <i>pushed and pulled
to the left...</i> Occupy Wall Street! Boehner:<i>
...leaving fewer and fewer
people in the middle.</i> Members of Congress
represent their constituents. All of a sudden,
their constituents are going way left or going way right, making it almost impossible
to get anything done. βͺ βͺ Smith:<i>
Now the frustration
with Washington's dysfunction</i> <i>only encourages the idea
that any attempt</i> <i>at bipartisan
consensus governance</i> <i>is actually a waste of time</i> <i>and that the only way
to accomplish your goals</i> <i>is to threaten to blow up
the entire system...</i> (cheering)
Woo! Nobody knows the system
better than me, which is why
I alone can fix it. Smith:<i>
...which in turn gave rise
to a presidential contest</i> <i>that was dominated
by hyper-partisan
political heckling</i> <i>instead of serious
policy debate.</i> She's a
world-class liar. You could put half
of Trump's supporters into what I call
the Basket of Deplorables. Hillary Clinton is a bigot. He is temperamentally
unfit. Is she crooked?
Is-- is she crooked? Donald Trump's taken
what I think is the spirit
of our country and our party, and he's abandoned that
for the oldest game
in politics: demagoguery
and scapegoating. We will keep radical
Islamic terrorists the hell out of our country. One hundred percent. We want Trump! Luntz:<i>
On the Republican side,</i> <i>they end up voting
for the one guy</i> who has no political
experience whatsoever. Smith: But why?
Because they hated
Barack Obama so much that they wanted
to vote for the antidote. I believed in government, I believed
in the system working, but Barack Hussein Obama
has used his status in this country
to be a dictator. Smith:<i>
Is Trump
the anti-Barack Obama?</i> Absolutely. Obama's smooth
and Trump is rough. Obama's calm,
and Trump is hot. Mmm. Mmm.
Obama is intellectual.
Trump is emotional. You could not get
someone more different than Barack Obama
than Donald Trump. Obama is
the founder of ISIS. (cheering)
Right? The founder. We can't afford
to give the nuclear codes to someone so erratic. We're going
to have real change. Not Obama change. Cantor:<i>
Donald Trump is someone
who is representing</i> an outsider's view
as to what's gone on
here in Washington. <i>People are very, very angry,</i> and so Donald Trump
comes in, and he says, "Look, I'm not a part
of any of that stuff. I'm a deal maker!
I can get things done." <i>And I think that's
a very appealing message,</i> especially when
you're running against
somebody like Hillary Clinton, who represents the epitome of what this town
of Washington is about. She's been
doing this for 30 years,
and you do have experience. I say the one thing you have
over me is experience, but it's bad experience,
because what you've done
has turned out badly. The American people, especially,
specifically Republicans, they wanted somebody
to either change Washington or blow it up. (chanting)
USA! USA!
USA! Newswoman: <i>It has been
a stunning night.</i> <i>It has been a historic night.</i> <i>He won Florida, he won Ohio,
he won Wisconsin.</i> Announcer:
Ladies and gentlemen,
the next President of the United States,
Donald Trump! βͺ βͺ It is time for us
to come together as one united people. (cheering) In one of the biggest upsets
in American political history, Donald Trump won
the White House while the GOP
retained control over the House
and the Senate. The people have spoken. Donald Trump will be
the next president, the 45th President
of the United States. Those who didn't vote for him have to recognize that
that's how democracy works. That's how
this system operates. (cheering) Smith:<i>
So, upon assuming office,
he will have</i> <i>the legislative power
to push his agenda through</i> without the participation
of the Democrats, much like the power
Obama had in 2008. <i>And Trump will
be able to name</i> <i>at least one
new Supreme Court Justice,</i> <i>tilting the balance
of the court,</i> <i>which is
currently gridlocked,</i> <i>for some time to come.</i> <i>Now add to this
his many campaign promises</i> <i>to dismantle
the Democrats initiatives,</i> <i>such as
the Affordable Care Act,</i> <i>climate regulations,
and trade deals,</i> which in effect
would wipe out the last eight years
of governance. (crowd chanting)
Not my president!
Not my president! Smith:<i>
Now all of this comes
actually after losing</i> the popular vote,
which is almost a guarantee for continued partisanship,
anger, and frustration, only this time
for the other half
of the country. Crowd:
Hey-hey, ho-ho,
Donald Trump has got to go! Hey-hey, ho-ho,
Donald Trump has
got to go! You know,
the one thing I've learned
in this job is that I have...
really progressive
policy beliefs, but I'm more conservative when it comes
to... our institutions. I've seen enough
around the world when it comes
to the results of complete revolution
or upheaval to know that it doesn't
always play out real well. Obama:<i>
Our Founders</i> <i>had this incredible wisdom</i> <i>to create a basic structure
that works to bring
about change</i> <i>in a big, diverse,
complicated society
like ours.</i> <i>And I think
that those values</i> <i>and those institutions
are worth preserving.</i> Well, I just had
the opportunity to have an excellent conversation
with President-Elect Trump.
Thank you, sir. Going back
to your first question.
Uh-huh. You know, you asked me
had I changed Washington. The answer is I...
I have not changed Washington the way... I wanted
to change it. And I-- what I worry about
in our politics is people getting impatient
with the slowness of democracy and the less effective
Congress works, the more likely
people are, I think, to-- to start giving up
on some of the core values and basic institutions
that have helped us to weather a lot of storms. (distant sirens)
(helicopter whirring) βͺ βͺ
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This is a fantastic watch. I particularly liked seeing Boehner? Canter, Graham, and Luntz talking about the Tea Party.
They realize now, after the fact, that this shit fucked our country up, but none of them were too eager to admit their role in it. Frank Luntz maybe came the closest.
You guys fueled this partisan divide when you lied your asses off about Obama's policy agenda. When you lied about the ACA and worked your base up into a frenzy.
Before Trump, I can't think of a more egregious political lie than "death panels," and what's sad is that its still fueling the current political climate in this country.
Those two little words are still reverberating through our elections right down to the election of Donald Trump himself.
They all had less than positive things to say about Trump, but we can draw a straight line from your lies and malfeasance directly to Trump's election.
He followed your recipe. He repeated your lies. Sure he had his own brand of bullshit, but take away what you did with ACA and we are in an entirely different climate.
Chickens have come home to roost.
Interesting to see this 8 months later. It's not looking great for the country as a whole right now no matter what side you are on.
I would fucking love it if Democrats in unison yelled "You lie" to Trump during a congressional speech....
However that would just lead to pointless uncivil congressional meetings from then on out.
Democratic voters need to wake up.
Excellent documentary.
Blocked in Belgium...
Mirror: https://unblockvideos.com/#url=pdVl3WvgJ50
Interesting documentary. I think they need to emphasize the problem that Fox News represents. (And sure, there are some newspapers or news channels with liberal bias, but nobody on the left is saying things like "Trump smells like sulfur"). The right wing media is one of the sole reasons why uneducated people who actually benefit from social programs vote Republican. They're being told Democrats want to take away their guns, and steal all their money to give it to black welfare queens, and unfortunately they're not bright enough to realize they're being lied to...As an aside, I actually would like to take away people's guns. I'm not American so I don't understand why you people have such a hard-on for guns, however if I were a politician, I'd be willing to compromise. For instance, not allow people who are mentally ill to buy guns is a very decent compromise, I think. But I digress... The main thing I wanted to say is that media like Fox news who pretend to be factual but are not should have their broadcasting license removed. And like I always say, we should do a better job educating people. Having a population of idiots is what got us here, and unfortunately I don't see any respite from the tyranny of the idiotic masses any time soon.