DL Open Thread Monday October 31 2022

FWIW – Here is the annotated transcript from yesterday.  

Fox News Sunday w/ Chris Coon (sic)

Shannon Bream (SB): Joining us now Chris Coon..uh Chris Coons of Delaware.  Senator, welcome back to Fox News Sunday.

Coons: Thanks Shannon. Great to be on with you.

[OK.  First of all what the fuck is Coons doing on Fox News which doesn’t t even pretend to be a legitimate news agency anymore. I mean really.  You are THAT desperate for air time?]

SB: Ok, so I know you are out on the campaign trail and part of that is in places where Democrats may not have expected to they would be having some trouble.  Let’s talk about New Hampshire. Senator Maggie Hasen, she’s got a GOP challenger there (in audible). Newsweek says this – a Republican victory in New Hampshire would be a significant upset. Out in the northwest, deep blue territory. Washington beacon reoijts on the organ gubernatorial race, it says that voters there are fed up with Democrats.  They quote one named Terry. Quote – I don’t like the Demcocratic approach to anything that’s happening. She has been a Democratic voter she says for 40 years, and has just changed her party affiliation.  That governors race there could end up with a Republican for the first time in 40 years.  Why are you guys  struggling in such deep blue territory?

Coons: Well Shannon first, the folks I’ve been campaigning with, are running on our record (GOP) Chairman (inaudible) just said we are running away from it, but we are running on it. Because we’ve got real accomplishments to point to.  You didn’t hear a detailed plan about how Republicans would fight inflation, bring gas prices down, would make our country stronger, but we’ve got a record, both of President Biden passing significant bipartisan legislation on issues President Trump …

[Hold it.  The titles are President Biden and Former President Trump, or Ex-President Trump.  Jesus, he can’t get the easy stuff right.  This might get bad.]

…said he would deal with. Like investing in ifnratsrucutre, like bringing advanced maufacrtutng for chips back the United States, where the President signed bills into law that were bipartisan, we also have bills that only democrats voted for our inflation reduction act that is going to cap out of pocket costs.  Cap the cost of insulin, and reduce perspcriotion drugs prices.  That is on the other things that Americans say day in and day out, and have said for years is one of the pressing costs theyre consccerd abut. Democrats have taken action and addressed it.  And lastly American rescue plan that only democrats for provided funding to put teachers back in class room and cops in the street .  We have a real record to run on.   I wish we had a debate on the sent floor between the Democrats inflation reduction act and Republican’s but we didn’t because only the Democrats forward concrete inflation reduction plan.  We passed it and it is having a real impact.

SB: Ok.

Coons: That’s why I’m confident Maggie Hassen will be re-elected.

SB: Ok. So longtime Clinton pollster and strategist Mark Penn

[Ah Yes. That stalwart Democrat, Mark Penn…go on] 

has a piece on FoxNews.com that say that those things are working against you.  He says, the inflation electorate will hold Biden and Dems accountable at midterms.  He says Most Americans blame Joe Biden and the Democrats for the problems we are facing today…The Electoral impact of this issue is singular powerful.  He says polling shows a majority of Americans actually think federal spending in the trillions is actually hurting hg economy and making inflation worse.  They’re worried about gas prices.  grocery prices these are things that happened everyday.  these are things that happened on your watch for two years. So why should they give you another two years of running the country the they are struggling with 40 years highs of inflation?

Coons: Well first inflation is worse in the United Kingdom, the Euprpean union because of the ongoing impact of the covid pandemic and Russias war of aggression in against Ukraine,  Our inflation rates are Lower. but that doesn’t make a difference  if what you re seeing at the pump is high prices. gas prices have come down $1.25 since the summertime, We are seeing progress in reducing gas prices. We’ve taken strong action to address prices at the grocery store. Both the department of Agriculture and bills we’ve introduced in the senate.  Democrats have concrete plans and we have taken action to address the  prices that I hear from voters they care about.  Health care costs.  And we’ve got candidates on the other side of the aisle who say they would repeal what the President has just signed into law that will have with perspctio drug prices. I think tats a pretty sharp contrast.

SB: Well a lot of that won’t kick in for years from now, but voters are going to the polls now. Many of them, millions have already voted, as they wait to see how those pieces of legislation play out. The Wall Street Journal editorial board says that it is not just abouthte economy.  They say this – Democrats are ih trouble because they nominated too many candidates whose views on crime, immigration, climate and the economy that are all but impossible to defend in copeptivie races this year.   How worried are you about how far the progressive element of your party has pulled to the left.  How that’s resonating with voters potential and what it may cost you in the midterm?

Coons: Well two things.

[Coons’ response to this question sucks, as you will soon find out.  It  is such a softball, it was painful to see Coons blow it. The correct answer is “No.  We have strong candidates that are addressing the real needs of the voters in their districts.”  Instead Coons buys into the GOP frame and brings up defunding the police.] 

Joe Biden has a strong record on crime as president. He said in the SOTU, I don’t support defusing the police, I support funding the police, then acted on it.  The American rescue plan specifically provided fiudnign for state and local governments to Keep law enforcement officers on the beat and his plan for this years proved more money to hire more cops. to hire 100,000 more police officers and here in Delaware we have three police agencies that just got a federal grant.  As have hundreds of others across the country to hire more officers.  Let’s look just over the line in Pennsylvania.  where (inaudible) Oz and John Fetterman are campaigning.  In the closing days of an important race.  Jim Fetterman as mayor of Braodck, a small town outside of () took o violet crime. He has tattoos on his arms of the dates when  young men were killed before he became Mayor,  he spent years working to end violent crime in that town successfuly.  So why is an issue I the campaign?  Because tens of millions of dollars of dark money ads from anonymous donors have created a mistaken impression.  President Biden supports police and suppress funding the police.  And Joh Fetterman has a string record of fighting at the mist local level to combat gun violence in the town where he was elected mayor.

[I guess he reduces it a little by going to bat for Fetterman, but all in all, WTF?]  

SB: Well you understand how some pintail voters other there don’t love his record on releasing potential violent felons?

Coons: Look, I understand that there have been misleading ads in this campaign that created the impression that he is somehow is part of a defund the police cabal. That’s not true.

SB: But he said things (inaudible)

Coons: John Fetterman is a Pennsyvanian at heart and who Pennsylvania voters know ill stand for them.

SB: OK. But quickly I want to pay this because there has been a lot of talk about election deniers,  stealing elations..all of those things. Here’s what the former Democratic presidential nominee Hilary Clinton said jay days ago, Right wing extremists already have plan to literally steal the next Presidential election. And they’re not making a secret of it.  Ok, take that with this headline from Newsweek.  “Democrats spent $43 million helping election deniers win their primaries.  If it backfires, the Democrats will have to shoulder some of the blame for helping those far right candidates into office.”  So aren’t Democrats now contributing to this conversation about election deniers, stealing elections, that you guys have said you condemn.

[It seems to me that Coons blew another easy slam dunk here. The correct answer is “I disagree with anyone who promotes the lie that Joe Biden didn’t win in 2020.   I wouldn’t support anyone who says that and I would discourage all people from supporting these dangerous liars.” ] 

Coons:  Well look Shannon, those are both things Im unfamiliar with. Um I do know that there are folks in my party really  concerned bait the mechanics of elections.  Running for office states like Arizona and Nevada who deny that Joe Biden won the 2020 Presidential flection and they run saying that they will not accept the results of an election with which they disagree.

I think all of us I the wake of this attack on Paul Peliso, need  to say that we are going to stop demonizing folks because I think this kinds of …the sort of rhetoric that we’ve heard in too many ways and too many places can leads to violence by a small number of Americans who think that when we describe our political opponents as enemies that we are calling for them to be attacked.

[“I think all of us…”  “When we…”  And there it is.  The Champion of bothsidering couldn’t get out with out blaming all of us for something that is clearly a serious Republican problem.] 

After the threat against Supreme Court justice Kavanaugh, I worked with Seator COrney across the Aisle to get signed into law, a bill to expand police protection of supreme court justices and their families.  President Biden and Democrats have stood behind law neforment in streghthen protection for those in public life.  That’s what I think we should be focusing on ij this moment when leaders of both parties, but so far not former preosdnet Trump, have decried the attack on Paul Pelosi.

SB: Senator Coons We appreciate your time.

 

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