I went back on TV Thursday.
(thx to Bill for the screengrab and Joe for the video)
Truth be told, it felt a little strange to be on the subject side, but it didn't make me miss the past. In fact, it had just the opposite impact. I could not be happier with where I am now.
4 comments:
I generally like Schuster -- even supported him through the whole Chelsea deal that just about cost him his job a few months back.
What Schuster did there by repeatedly making your group out to be some kind of pro-Obama front that goes against the Obama campaign's coming out against 501/527 (indep expenditure groups) was pretty lame. It wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't stayed stuck on it through the whole segment
What Obama doesn't want is to be tied in any way to a group running attack ads that they can't control that might get on the bad side of public opinion (witness moveon's 'Petraeus Betray Us' and their advocacy for him). He's even asked his supporters to donate to his campaign, not outside groups. Obama's talking about swift-boaters, not talking about issue advocacy groups. All he's done is create a clear line of separation from any group that does go after McCain so it cushions him when an ad they have no control over starts a shitstorm on 24/7 cable news.
By Schuster's line of reasoning every Petroleum/Coal/pharmaceutical/... ad would be the same thing against Obama on behalf of McCain. It's ridiculous.
Ads during the 3-4cst hour broadcast (the hour you were on)
Qwest (2 ads that hr)
At least 2 former Qwest lobbyists are fundraisers for McCain. Qwest's PACs & employees gave more than 50k to McCain so far.
AT&T (2 ads)
Charlie Black used to lobby for them, as did Mark Buse, Tom Loeffler, and at least 5 others tied to AT&T that now work for McCain's campaign. AT&T has donated more than $300k to McCain.
AIG (1 ad)
Whose former chair, Maurice Greenberg, (before Spitzer's scrutiny cost her her job, though charges against her were later dropped) was also a 2000 McCain fundraiser
(this whole line of reasoning is lame, but still less tangential than your group to Obama. No?). ...
This isn't the first time a lazy reporter has made that mistake. We are an issue advocacy campaign mobilizing millions of people to make sure the new President and Congress know we expect the first order of business in 2009 to be a guarantee of quality, affordable health care for all.
Even though many of our steering committee members have a political lean, this is not a partisan issue. It effects each of us. So do we want to finally fix this health care disaster or do we want the insurance industry to have more freedom to take more and give us less?
I wish I had thought to fight even harder in the moment, simply because there are so many good ways to call him out on this false line of reasoning, but assuming it will come up again, I'll be even better prepared next time around.
Wow, my response after seeing this segment (great job, by the way Jackie) is exactly the same as bill's. The guy just couldn't stop trying to politicize this issue. What an idiot.
You handled that beautifully. I would have said something rude and dismissive, but you were professional and pleasant. :)
oops, I spelled your name wrong. Sorry Jacki!
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