Schumer Hits Conservatives For Launching Petty Attacks: ‘When People Are Hurting, It Doesn’t Work’
Schumer Hits Conservatives For Launching Petty Attacks: ‘When People Are Hurting, It Doesn’t Work’
Today at the Democratic National Convention, Sen. Charles Schumer stopped by the Big Tent and ThinkProgress was able to speak with him about whether the “fundamentals of the economy are strong,” as Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has stated. Schumer pointed to the decreasing buying power of the average U.S. family and criticized conservatives for launching petty attacks while ignoring the real issues facing Americans:
SCHUMER: The economy is in worse shape than the numbers show. When you look at the macro numbers, you fail to look at where all the positives have gone, which is the top 1 or 5 percent. [...]
Between 2001 and and 2007 — this was before the recession — incomes went down $1,000 for the average family. But buying power went down $9,000, if you include college tuition for families with tuition. So the average family was living at a level of $47,000 in 2001, and is living at a level of $38,000 in 2007. It’s worse now, obviously. So for the average middle-class person, it’s not just, “Oh, things aren’t great.” Things are tough.
I just saw Karl Rove outside. This is what he doesn’t get. He’s busy talking about I don’t know — the marble columns in Invesco [Field]. When people are feeling pretty good about things, they like that kind of stuff: “Oh that’s fun; Barack Obama’s an emperor.” When people are hurting, it doesn’t work.
Schumer was referring to conservative outrage over the fact that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will be delivering his acceptance speech in Denver before an “elaborate columned stage resembling a miniature Greek temple.” As ThinkProgress reported, these attacks are silly, since Republicans have used similar backdrops for their events.
According to recent polls, most Americans point to the economy as the top issue they’re concerned about. Obama’s backdrop doesn’t appear on the list of concerns.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
I just saw Karl Rove outside. This is what he doesn’t get. He’s busy talking about I don’t know — the marble columns in Invesco [Field].
– - Know how I can tell those are Corinthian columns? Because if they were Dorian columns…
…sorry…
They would be gray.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:18 pmI heard Bush received one of his nominations in fron of columns. Rove doesn’t remember that. Is he suffering the same dementia that McCain is.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:20 pmHey, Schumer – thanks for confirming Mukasey – now STFU.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:24 pmSo is John going to make his speech in front of a hay wagon?
PEACE
August 28th, 2008 at 4:25 pmI thought one of the worst tactics Hillary had used in the Dem Primary was to ridicule Obama supporters. And John Bush is following the same playbook.
“The One,” or “Messiah,” frankly I just don’t understand. If this is a cult following, and shouldn’t be taken seriously, then why are they so absorbed in it?
You don’t ever hear George McCain championing republic ideas or policies. Some one needs to ask him exactly why he’s running for the Presidency of the United States – a default candidate?
That is lame!
August 28th, 2008 at 4:25 pmI wonder what kind of backdrop they’ll have for McCain. Maybe a collage of Abu Ghraib. Maybe the aftermath of an IED. Maybe a replica of his POW digs. I can’t wait to hear his acceptance speech. It should be the greatest comedy/horror show of the millenia.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:26 pmHave you seen the RNC podium?
I don’t know. I think it could use more flag.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:29 pmAccording to recent polls, most Americans point to the economy as the top issue they’re concerned about. Obama’s backdrop doesn’t appear on the list of concerns.
Of course, the telecom immunity, AT&T major sponsorship of the dem convention, and the AT&T sell-out party are a big concerns, but as long as America is still getting their new geeky iPhones and bending over for that very same AT&T, what is there to worry about?
Besides, Obama’s making a speech…
August 28th, 2008 at 4:30 pmspencers mom Says:
So is John going to make his speech in front of a hay wagon?
– - A beer wagon drawn by Clydesdales.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:32 pmHave you guys seen this from Ben Smith regarding this silliness with the columns?
August 28th, 2008 at 4:32 pmLet’s see, where can we find columns in our country? Mmmmm, D.C.?
Like the White House for example, maybe we should call the war criminal Bush “emperor bush”….
…. nah, fascist dictator Bush is more fitting.
The repukes should think these things out better…but then again the lemmings don’t have the power to think.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:33 pmTHIS IS WHAT THE REPUBLICANS DO BEST – ATTACK AND MAKE A MOUNTAIN OUT OF A MOLEHILL. Can’t you smell the desperation? They simply don’t have anything to run on this year. They can’t blame the past eight years on a Democrat. They can’t blame the Iraq war on a Democrat. They can’t blame the collapse of the dollar, the astronomical rise in fuel costs, etc. on a Democrat. So all they have left are petty things that they think will rile up their base.
The only hope that the GOP has this time around is that enough Democrats and independents stay home on Election Day so that McSame can slip by with a narrow win over Obama. It won’t happen, but that’s their only hope.
If it weren’t columns, it would be lapel flag pins. If it isn’t flag pins it would be about Obama’s shoes (i.e., made in China instead of the USA). They simply cannot win an honest debate on the issues. They have nothing left.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:35 pmThe Republicans can’t attack the substance of what Obama’s running on without revealing their own complicity in the most disasterous administration in history.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:39 pmMcDepends’ acceptance speech is going to occur via satellite from Vietnam ; he was a POW for 5 years , didn’t you know that ?
August 28th, 2008 at 4:42 pmrobbez_92107 Says:
Hey, Schumer – thanks for confirming Mukasey – now STFU.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
couldn’t have said it better myself..
August 28th, 2008 at 4:42 pmThe Republicans can’t attack the substance of what Obama’s running on without revealing their own complicity in the most disasterous administration in history.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
unfortunately, by the same token, the Dims are either willing collaborators or tacitly complicit in every single excess perpetrated by the busheviks for the last 8 years. So your high moral ground is pretty swampy no matter which camp you occupy…
August 28th, 2008 at 4:44 pmHere is a back drop…how about we put some people who lost there homes and how about some sick people who have no health insurance and while were at it…some vets with missing arms or legs…the list could go on but im sure you get the picture.
How about that for a back drop Rove…. is that better????
August 28th, 2008 at 4:46 pmSchumer was referring to conservative outrage over the fact that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will be delivering his acceptance speech in Denver before an “elaborate columned stage resembling a miniature Greek temple.” As ThinkProgress reported, these attacks are silly, since Republicans have used similar backdrops for their events.
___________________________________________________________
Well, of course it’s silly — but that’s all they’ve got, so they’re going with it (and hoping we don’t notice the hypocrisy).
I recall the Republicans practically did their entire convention in front of a huge “9-11″ banner in 2004. I’ll take Greek columns over the exploitation of a tragedy any day.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:47 pmIf the rethuglicans have anything but dirty politics they never show it. All my life, they have been the party that does dirty politics and soundbites. They are against government and the people and for corporations and the wealthy. The difference is distinct.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:48 pmThanks, Toke, He and DiFi should bear the blame for the continued blind eye to the Administrations lawbreaking, IMHO.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:48 pmColumns, whether they were in public building or temples or other such structures, actually were placed their to create a sense of openness and to facilitate the meeting of people and exchange of ideas consistent with the Greek concept of Democracy .
August 28th, 2008 at 4:48 pmI recall the Republicans practically did their entire convention in front of a huge “9-11? banner in 2004. I’ll take Greek columns over the exploitation of a tragedy any day.
Well, they had both… there were also Greek columns at the back of the stage in NYC in 2004, technically they were ‘Freedom Columns’ though…
August 28th, 2008 at 4:49 pmI fail to see how the fact that Obama is inspirational can somehow be turned around and be used against him? What kind of dipshit would see such a positive trait as being negative?
Or is it just the contrast between Boy George or McSame when compared to a true leader like Obama?
Obama is not only smart and educated, he is inspirational. Exactly what you should want in a leader. We have had 8 years of a stumbling, bumbling, lying bastard, we don’t need another four. Or two, if McThusela’s body continues to rot at its current pace.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:51 pmHi pixel105: I have a bunch of crap I would like to sell to others as well. Wanna just swap?
August 28th, 2008 at 4:51 pmRove has his formula that has served him well for a long time. I believe he’s in for a big shock now that he’s over-saturated everyone with extreme nonsense.
If you’ll forgive a slightly dated metaphor, Rove is in the middle of “jumping the shark” right now. Wow I hope I’m right. This guy needs to be in jail, off the news, barred from practicing politics.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:53 pmWhen McCain says “the fundamentals of the economy are strong,” he means “it’s still a good climate for corporations to rake the money in.”
However, even that won’t last that much longer (as the construction industry is finding out). Eventually, there will be no more money that can be squeezed out of the lower classes, and profits will fall.
There are some who see our economic system as a giant game of Monopoly, where the object is to get all the money, property, and anything of value in the game. What these people don’t realize is that in Monopoly, when you’ve won, everybody else is bankrupt, and there’s nobody to get money from anymore.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:54 pmI normally see red over Chuck’s carrying interest for the private equity boys’ preferred taxation. But he does make a valid point:
When all you’ve got in your quiver are petty arrows, those barbs won’t reach the skin of the American consumer, now wearing a full body cast.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:56 pmHi misshusseinmolly. You Say:
There are some who see our economic system as a giant game of Monopoly, where the object is to get all the money, property, and anything of value in the game. What these people don’t realize is that in Monopoly, when you’ve won, everybody else is bankrupt, and there’s nobody to get money from anymore.
Yup. Originally the Monopoly game was created to show the evils of a monopoly: (from wiki)
In 1904, a Quaker woman named Elizabeth (Lizzie) J. Magie Phillips created a game through which she hoped to be able to explain the single tax theory of Henry George (it was supposed to illustrate the negative aspects of concentrating land in private monopolies).
But then the neocons also think that Orwell’s 1984 is a How To manual.
August 28th, 2008 at 5:16 pmHow great and funny would it be if McDepends’ acceptance speech came from a stage re-created to look like Stonehenge ……….The This Is Spinal Tap version……?
August 28th, 2008 at 5:18 pmGuess what else people don’t like, especially when they’re hurting?
Money Trail: Lobbyists Gone Wild as Obama Remains Silent
At the Ritz Carlton Hotel, where rooms for Democratic VIP’s are now going for $2,000 a night, the executive chef, Andre Jimenez, says even the room welcome gifts need to be elaborate for the 35 top donors and celebrities, including “the rarest peaches in America.”
“It’s only for the best of the best that we host here,” the chef told ABC News.
August 28th, 2008 at 5:26 pmThe architect of the Mission Accomplished banner and Bush landing on an aircraft carrier has a lot of nerve talking about other people’s political stagecraft.
August 28th, 2008 at 5:41 pmSure, we all know that the repuglicans are going to have their convention out behind the barn.
August 28th, 2008 at 6:40 pmI don’t think it matters where the RNC holds its convention. Its nominee is a POW and shouldn’t be able to make it, right? Or is he a POS? I get confused sometimes.
August 28th, 2008 at 6:57 pmAnd that’s to be closer to barn animals? Or, is that a defense of the kajillions of corporate money for the progressive, people focused Democratic party?
August 28th, 2008 at 6:59 pmrepugs are sickly crybabies. They are a hot deadly mess.
August 28th, 2008 at 8:27 pmThe contrast between the dems’ convention and the repugs’ convention will be like heaven and hell.
August 28th, 2008 at 8:36 pmLets see, 3.3% gdp growth. That means the economy is growing at a solid pace. Unless you guys have your own fuzzy math to measure things.
August 28th, 2008 at 9:11 pmrobert verdi Says:
Lets see, 3.3% gdp growth. That means the economy is growing at a solid pace. Unless you guys have your own fuzzy math to measure things.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
And the median income has DROPPED since Bush became the president. Its not fuzzy math its REALITY. The economy might be great if you own an oil company but if you are working for a living, not so much. Then again you wingnuts really only care how the WEALTHY are doing and if the rest of the country is suffering you couldnt care less
August 28th, 2008 at 9:20 pmThe re-pukes are a despicable bunch that only care for their party and it`s needs and America and it`s needs come second…..The only good thing about the shrub is Jan 20th, 2009.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:45 amHe’s busy talking about I don’t know — the marble columns in Invesco [Field].
yea… definitely brings to mind this scene:
http://bp3.blogger.com/_VzB9bpoXWHA/R549p5_wI8I/AAAAAAAAAQ8/dloU68DHLkw/s1600-h/2008_01270014.JPG
or this:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kGGN5irg43Y/SExp_7PM_fI/AAAAAAAAAR8/dB3lVsQDjxE/18+Walkway+to+Oval+Office+1.JPG
August 29th, 2008 at 1:16 amFor the life of me I don’t understand why that are people’s that have all the MONEY want to con’t to hurt the the peoples that have just a little bit of money.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:42 pm