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MSNBC’s Contessa Brewer to House GOP: ‘What are your ideas? … Give me some substance!’

Today, MSNBC cut away from its live coverage of President Obama’s web town hall to cover the House Republican press conference on its alternative budget. This afternoon, MSNBC’s Contessa Brewer expressed her exasperation that the GOP still had not offered any real, specific plans. “Give me some substance!” she proclaimed:

BREWER: Here’s the thing. They say, We have a plan — and proceeded not to tell us what that plan is. They sent us some paperwork. It’s got no numbers attached. I understand, it takes time to do math. I would be content even doing without the numbers. I’m just saying, What are your ideas? You have my attention. We cut away from the president. Give me some substance!

MSNBC’s congressional correspondent Mike Viqueira said that the GOP website promised a “detailed plan.” “I guess details are in the eye of the beholder, but I don’t think most people would call this a detailed plan at this point,” he said. Watch it:

The Wonk Room’s Pat Garofalo takes a close look at the House GOP’s “plan.” It calls for undoing the recently-passed stimulus package and cutting taxes for the rich.



72 Responses to “MSNBC’s Contessa Brewer to House GOP: ‘What are your ideas? … Give me some substance!’”

  1. buzzbomb says:

    Let me guess…. tax cuts for the wealthy. Tired ass republicans with nothing to offer the country except more of the same failed policies. What a surprise.


  2. Chocolate Jesus says:

    watch the video……a woman complaining a republican left her dissatisfied…perfect metaphor for why the head of the republican party needs almost as much viagra as he does oxycotin..


  3. rmwarnick says:

    Without Karl Rove providing daily talking points, the Republicans and the media seem to be struggling.


  4. hanshiro says:

    1.Chocolate Jesus Says: watch the video……a woman complaining a republican left her dissatisfied…perfect metaphor for why the head of the republican party needs almost as much viagra as he does oxycotin..

    It explains why Bob Dole was a perfect spokesman for viagra…


  5. Xisithrus Insectoid says:

    Yup, they have certainly been doing some reinventing.


  6. Uncle Ho says:

    To expect substance from the GOP is like expecting a planet to stop orbiting its sun.


  7. muzz says:

    It calls for undoing the recently-passed stimulus package and cutting taxes for the rich

    wow – what a surprise – who would have ever guessed this


  8. Chocolate Jesus says:

    >It explains why Bob Dole was a
    >perfect spokesman for viagra…

    Yeah I heard that Rush volunteered to help advertise Viagra but Phizer focus groups determined that the only person who was aroused by the thought of Rush being able to maintain an @recti0n was Joe the PLumber..


  9. Uncle Ho says:

    They have a plan- and proceeded not to tell us what that plan is. Hmmm, where have I heard THAT before? Oh yeah, Nixon’s secret plan to end the war in Vietnam


  10. StrollingAlong says:

    Chocolate Jesus, you are very, very bad.

    But funny.


  11. Hussein Leporello says:

    We have a plan! It has an Item! War! We want War! and Tax Cuts For the Wealthy! Our Plan had 2 Items, War and Tax cuts for the Wealthy! And De-regulation, Our Plan is Superior, it has 3 Items, War, Tax Cuts for the Wealthy and De-Regulation!
    Nee!


  12. Uncle Ho says:

    Chocolate Jesus; LOL! :-)


  13. tombaker says:

    in GOPese,

    “detailed plan” = “faith-based initiative”


  14. shoeless says:

    BREWER: I’m just saying, What are your ideas? You have my attention. We cut away from the president. Give me some substance!

    They didn’t answer because they couldn’t hear her over the Britney Spears music.


  15. Winski says:

    It goes without saying but I need to get it down in writing one more time….these clowns really don’t have a clue, do they? They still have no understanding of the results of Nov. 4, 2008.

    They got their collective asses handed to them and they immediately run to Rush for guidance….pathetic…Let’s all go to a Brittany convert today!!!


  16. Realness says:

    Uh oh, cue up the cries of “liberal media!” I really hope that people who were watching this really understood the contrast between the President’s detailed and involved discussion versus the Republican inability to provide real numbers and facts for their ‘alternative’ plan.


  17. Chuck Feney says:

    The R’s can’t give you any substance because they are, as that great American once said,

    NATTERING NAYBOEHNERS OF NEGATIVITY!


  18. misscoleopteramolly says:

    The Wonk Room’s Pat Garofalo takes a close look at the House GOP’s “plan.” It calls for undoing the recently-passed stimulus package and cutting taxes for the rich.
    ___________________________________________________________

    And I wouldn’t hold my breath looking for any more “substance” than that.

    And since this is all they’ve got, they are fervently hoping the American people won’t notice this hasn’t worked in the past. Tax cuts for the rich don’t translate into new jobs nearly as much as it translates into the growth of Swiss bank accounts.

    I think I remember a Monty Python sketch from years ago (or maybe it was from some other parody show) that made fun of the idea held centuries ago that bloodletting was a cure for all ills. Of course, when bloodletting made the patient sicker (losing a lot of blood will do that at some point), the cure was…more bloodletting! The obvious remedy is to pump some more blood in, but the Republicans aren’t going to let go of their precious paradigm long enough to realize that.


  19. tokin librul says:

    It calls for undoing the recently-passed stimulus package and cutting taxes for the rich.

    That’s unexpected.

    the thing is, when it all goes to shit, as it now seems inevitably that it’s gonna do; when there’s breadlines, and soup-lines, and food riots, and hoovervilles, and NO MONEY, these rich, pampmered, toned, tanned, pudgy rightard motherfckuers aren’t gonna feel a single pinch.

    And at that point, I hope somebody younger and stronger and just as mean and angry as I will go looking for ‘em…


  20. Marie says:

    The repugs just wanted to intrude on Obama’s town hall with the people. They have nothing.
    They are indeed the party of NO.
    No ideas.
    No plan.
    No cooperation.
    No to Obama
    No to anything Democratic
    No to Americans


  21. Uncle Ho says:

    shorter headline: Brewer got punked.


  22. raynman says:

    tpafla illustrates Phase 2 of the Plan: Blame the Democrats.


  23. mary says:

    I was so disappointed in MSNBC for cutting away like that!

    Obama was in the middle of talking and bam – they cut to that whiny Cantor combatively insisting that they do, in fact, have a plan, thank you very much. I didn’t hear anything of substance, couldn’t stand the whining, couldn’t believe MSNBC had cut away from Obama for that, and flipped over to CNN who was still covering Obama’s ‘web’ town hall.

    Which, I believe was the first ever ‘web’ town hall.


  24. dbadass says:

    is now the time we compare educations?


  25. spencers mom says:

    I’m just saying, What are your ideas? You have my attention. We cut away from the president. Give me some substance!

    File this under “lessons learned”. If the boys cry wolf, grab attention and have nothing to say, don’t listen next time they cry wolf.

    If the media weren’t so willing to give these folks a stage and a microphone every time they ask, we could allow them to fade into the obscurity they’ve earned. Funny, I don’t recall the Dems taking over every news cycle from 2001 – 2007.

    PEACE


  26. tombaker says:

    tapfla – no one was arguing that politics is not a money game dominated by money players.

    it’s just that some of them have plans that we generally approve of and others have no plans, or recycled, failed plans.

    do try to keep up.


  27. dbadass says:

    What do you people consider rich?

    I simple life surrounded by good people doing good deeds. A minimalist live in which one only consumes and possesses just what they need and offers up more to others.

    What do you consider richness?


  28. Tweedster says:

    tpafla Says:

    Hussein,

    Did you hear that Rahm Emmanual made over $380,000 while working for less than a year at Fannie and Freddie. During this time the books were being cooked to show there was a profit.

    So being a thief is certainly not a Republican-only trait. This is what you learn after you realize that both parties are equally guilty of taking money out of the taxpayers pocket.

    Dear tpafla, what does this have to do with the Republicans’ plan??


  29. Tweedster says:

    tpafla Says:

    What do you people consider rich? The one person that made out the best during this crisis is your boy George Soros. And he ain’t no Republican.

    What does this have to do with the Republicans’ plan?


  30. buzzbomb says:

    spencers mom, great point. Why the brain dead media continues to give these clowns a platform to speak from is beyond me. How many times must a group fail before the media turns off the mic? Apparently not enough yet.


  31. Mike71654 says:

    let me guess what the plan will be….More tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations. Same as always.


  32. Patty says:

    I know — let’s play a national game of hide ‘n seek: All of you who support the detailed, methodically-arrrived-at, wise “plan” of the Republican party go ahead and find your hiding place.

    We’ll let you know when we’re ready to start seeking.


  33. robbez_92107 says:

    As Paul Begala said yesterday, GOP = Got 0 Plans.

    I’m sure that Contessa will soon be getting the same advice Mika got yesterday, especially if she is expecting “substance” from a Rethuglican.


  34. Oval12345678 aka James K. Sayre says:

    Just sing along, kids: “I’ve got a loverly bunch of republic-nuts, see them, standing in a row: big ones, small ones, tanned ones, rich ones, some as big as your head…” With an apology to the great Danny Kaye.

    The Republican-Emperor’s new clothes-budget. Oh, wait, the Emperor was deposed in late January. All that’s left of the Royal Dictatorship Court are a few motley Republic-nut Fools, running around and shaking their swagger sticks at the horse flies. Not a pretty picture. GOP, RIP…


  35. Tweedster says:

    tpafla embodies this thread with his vacuous and substance-free commentary.


  36. Mike71654 says:

    House Republican leaders called a press conference Thursday to unveil their “alternative budget.” While it was thin on specifics, it does include one major policy proposal: a huge tax cut for the wealthy.

    Under the Republican plan, the top marginal tax rate would be slashed from 35 to 25 percent, facilitating a dramatic transfer of wealth up the economic scale.

    Wow now theirs a new idea….(sarcastic)


  37. Zooey says:

    When Contessa Brewer is calling you out, you know you’ve got nothing.

    Well done, Ms Brewer. ;)


  38. WAYNEBRO says:

    Why would we want to “undo” what the President has done already?

    It seems to be working. Did anyone look at the DOW today? Yesterday? For the past 2 weeks?

    The markets have been steadily rebounding since just after the State of the Union and even in a good market we don’t usually see steady upward growth like this. The DOW is perched to break 8000 already, and just a few weeks ago it was down in the 6’s!

    The President’s plans clearly ARE working, which explains why the republicans want to “undo” them.


  39. PatrioticLiberalChristian says:

    Close the door, you’re letting in the tpflies!

    I would suggest that the Republicans elect parrots to Congress. They would work for crackers, are not going to be corruptible, and can still be taught to say “tax cuts”, “small government”, and “deregulation”. The parrots won’t get anything accomplished to actually help our country, but then…you know.


  40. Tweedster says:

    Another poster said this on TP on and it makes perfect sense to me. If the Republicans insist on tax cuts, they need to be pressed on how they can achieve a balanced budget without cutting ALL government spending.


  41. McWars says:

    tpafla

    What do you consider middle class, people making less than $5mil a year?


  42. Tawdry says:

    Sounds more like the Republican Road to Oblivion.


  43. dbadass says:

    I quess it still isn’t time to compare educations. How many jobs does this guy have? Shit maybe if he had a better education…


  44. McWars says:

    Republicans wouldn’t know how to submit a budget that doesn’t involve tax cuts for the wealthy & our wonderful military industrial craplex.

    It’s all-a-needed-to-know-I-learned-from-Reagan: talk up a barbecue about “fiscal responsibility” but never actually submit that balanced budget. Claim you love America, but shun important social spending.

    Just because you republican loons don’t say straight into the camera “I want President Obama to fail,” doesn’t mean you don’t want him to fail. Easier said than done, boys. ;(


  45. laworder says:

    Substance from a republicpuke, are you kidding me? Their idea of substance is backing a president who says “Bring’em on” while our soldiers are getting slaughtered by road side bombs and snipers, during the greatest strategic blunder in U.S. history.


  46. McWars says:

    Republican ideas just on the surface do much to touch a hot iron on people’s nerves. You can imagine what a more detailed proposal will do to convince people who voted for President Obama that they made the right choice.


  47. makete says:

    PLC@43…LOL that was good.


  48. McWars says:

    tpafla Says:
    What do you people consider rich? The one person that made out the best during this crisis is your boy George Soros.

    There ya go again …

    SO-SO-SO-SO-SO-SOROS!!!!

    **quivers**


  49. Hoodathunk says:

    “Realness Says:
    Uh oh, cue up the cries of “liberal media!”

    Durned librul media cutting away from the President who is actually doing something to pander to a bunch of screech owls.

    Good news is they got sort of called on it.


  50. makete says:

    Where is that phone number for MSNBC, I want to call them and complain about the cut in to the town hall style meeting.


  51. DallasNE says:

    It sounds a lot like the McCain campaign plan warmed over. The voters rejected that idea soundly. Not even North Carolina or Indiana liked it.

    How many pages was this budget. A real budget is a few thousand pages. Yes, that can be summarized down but you still need the detail for verification. Otherwise it is all pie in the sky. Oh, that’s the idea. Gotcha.


  52. DRxJ says:

    I love the “we have a plan, but we ain’t telling ya!” philosophy.
    Hey, did McCain ever reveal his plan to capture UBL?
    I mean, if I remember correctly, he said he knew HOW TO.
    Wouldn’t that be pertinent information to share with the actual elected president?
    Or does party matter more than country?


  53. Badger says:

    That’s what I like about c-span.

    They may broadcast something on a delayed basis…but when they do…

    They broadcast it In It’s Entirety, UnEdited, and Un Interupted.


  54. pete says:

    OT

    Good afternoon, dbadass.

    Geese on the roof again this morning. If they decide to build a nest up there they are going to end up in a nest of wild rice. Roasted golden brown with an apple/walnut/celery stuffing. LOL!


  55. Pennsylvanianne says:

    How refreshing to hear an MSM person calling the GOP out on their ridiculous attempts to spin their lack of real ideas. It’s about time! Thanks, Ms. Brewer.


  56. RUCerious says:

    Shorter GOOPS… “We got nuttin but these stupid t-shirts that say I’m not with –> stupid.”


  57. DRxJ says:

    Holy Shiite.
    tpoopfly works some really strange hours.
    11am to 2pm?


  58. avchavis says:

    One big hot cup of nothing! RahahahahaaRahahaha! Too hilarious. When will these foolthuglicans just stop this grandstanding nonsense. They need to just get on board or get out of the way.


  59. pete says:

    In this 55 second YouTube video, Groucho Marx sums up the GOP platform for the next four years. Enjoy!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtMV44yoXZ0


  60. slappy magoo says:

    I know I’m naive and all, but it seems to me that when a President with high approval numbers is answering questions submitted by the citizens of the United States (talking TO THE PEOPLE, as it were), and at around the same time a Republican nitwit starts crowing about the non-budget he and his bully-boys pulled out of their asses…

    I don’t know, but I’d guess, probably, whatever viewers you have, would be more interested in what the president is saying. I know, it’s just a hunch, but still…

    A pessimist might posit the theory that the Republicans knew they had nothing but wanted to interrupt the President’s mojo with a non-story and promises of a big story later alone, selling the sizzle cause they got no steak…

    And furthermore, the media knew that the Republicans had a non-story, but they’re getting bitter that so often the president bypasses their venues to take his message directly to the American people via the internets tubes, and blow him off whenever possible in some sort of pathetic way of “proving” Obama needs them more than he needs him…

    I’ll leave that theory for a pessimist to posit.


  61. Yankeluh says:

    It is about time these silly talking heads start slamming the GOP they did it to the Democrats for 8 years. Are we beginning to see a bit of frustration from the media about the gop bullsh*t? I hope so.


  62. pete says:

    Simple, random, chance would suggest that there must be at least one reasonable person left in the GOP. But, if such a creature exists? They are keeping him/her well hidden and gagged.

    Despite the radical nature of the Reichwhiners, one would expect someone to try saying:

    We Republicans screwed up and right now it’s crucial that we spend money to fix the damage and we’ll have to raise taxes to pay for it. Once the emergency is over we can start arguing about social issues and marginal tax rates but, until then, we all will have to pay more.

    After all the heads explode I would bet that such an approach would gain a lot of support.


  63. misscoleopteramolly says:

    slappy magoo Says
    March 26th, 2009 at 5:03 pm

    I don’t know, but I’d guess, probably, whatever viewers you have, would be more interested in what the president is saying. I know, it’s just a hunch, but still…
    ____________________________________________________________

    I suspect that almost EVERYBODY would prefer to listen to somebody who’s actually trying to do something to improve their lives instead of somebody who just wants to do more of the same to make it worse.

    I also suspect that MSNBC did this to prove they aren’t the “librul media”. But they would be better off if they quit dropping everything they’re doing and answering the call whenever these clowns say “boo”.


  64. pastcaring says:

    “What are your ideas? … Give me some substance!”–Brewer

    Doesn’t she know by now, that’s mission impossible, never to be mission accomplished?


  65. marlow says:

    I couldn’t give half a cup of warm piss for the repubelican plan. You lost the election, so as limpdick so eloquently put it: “Shut up!”


  66. Chicano2nd says:

    The Republicans are still trying to make up their own realities but are finding it harder and harder to do.

    What looked like a high school report has been pawned off as a budget for the world’s wealthiest nation-state by them. Imagine that!


  67. kwsventures says:

    I understand the GOP agenda: NO MORE GOVERNMENT DEBT. Quit printing so much paper money. What is Obama going to do cut down every tree in Oregon to print more paper money? Jeez, we are headed for massive hyperinflation. I hate to tell ya, but the government doesn’t have an unlimited credit card. I hear Obama talk about the deficit he inherited. How bad it is. Then he proposes tripling debt. Then cutting the deficit. He is like a guy that says he is going to go on a diet in 6 months after he eats everything site. Sheer madness.


  68. Pelotonpro 048 says:

    kwsventures Says:

    I understand the GOP agenda: NO MORE GOVERNMENT DEBT. Quit printing so much paper money. What is Obama going to do cut down every tree in Oregon to print more paper money? Jeez, we are headed for massive hyperinflation. I hate to tell ya, but the government doesn’t have an unlimited credit card. I hear Obama talk about the deficit he inherited. How bad it is. Then he proposes tripling debt. Then cutting the deficit. He is like a guy that says he is going to go on a diet in 6 months after he eats everything site. Sheer madness. So more of the same crap will work?
    March 26th, 2009 at 9:28 pm Add Karma Recommend (0) | Report Abuse


  69. flavorino says:

    It’s got no numbers attached. Give me some substance!

    HAHa!
    Even the teevee news bimbos think the Repubs are lacking in substance.
    The GOP has hit bottom.


  70. Max-1 says:

    .

    I’m waiting for interviews like this to go the way of, “If you can’t come on here and substantially back up your position, Then I suggest you figure out why your Party position is relevant, Congressman.”

    .


  71. libertyforever says:

    Wow, so MSNBC is the only news you libs watch? That is funny. Oh, I forgot, you probably watch Jon Stewart too, right? Now there is a thoughtful, informed position.


  72. belle112 says:

    Melissa Francis is offensive.



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