Rahm Emanuel openly seeking to intimidate critics of stimulus and health bills

Read about the modus operandi of the alien-in-chief’s chief of thugs.

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Ken Hechtman writes:

If you’ve ever seen The West Wing, the character of Josh Lyman is based on the young Rahm Emmanuel when he was Bill Clinton’s Political Affairs adviser. This scene from the first season is classic Rahmbo vote-whipping:

Josh: Forgive my bluntness, and I say this with all due respect, Congressman, but vote yes, or you’re not even going to be on the ballot two years from now.

Katzenmoyer: How do you figure?

Josh: You’re going to lose in the primary.

Katzenmoyer: There’s no Democrat running against me.

Josh: Sure there is.

Katzenmoyer: Who?

Josh: Whomever we pick.

Katzenmoyer: You’re bluffing.

Josh: Okay.

Katzenmoyer: I’m in your own party!

Josh: Doesn’t seem to be doing us much good now, does it?

Katzenmoyer: Against an incumbent Democrat. You’ll go to the press and endorse a challenger?

Josh: No sir. We’re going to do it in person. See, you won with fifty-two percent, but the President took your district with fifty-nine. And I think it’s high time we come back and say thanks. Do you have any idea how much noise Air Force One makes when it lands in Eau Claire, Wisconsin? We’re going to have a party, Congressman. You should come, it’s gonna be great. And when the watermelon’s done, right in town square, right in the band gazebo… You guys got a band gazebo?

Katzenmoyer: Josh…

Josh: Doesn’t matter, we’ll build one. Right in the band gazebo, that’s where the President is going to drape his arm around the shoulder of some assistant DA we like. And you should have your camera with you. You should get a picture of that. ‘Cause that’s gonna be the moment you’re finished in Democratic politics. President Bartlet’s a good man. He’s got a good heart. He doesn’t hold a grudge. That’s what he pays me for.

LA replies:

Wow. That’s some dialogue. And of course the liberals loved it. They get to love their saintly sage President Bartlett, and they get to love his stick-in-the-shiv assistant. It’s a great crowd, those liberals, fine human beings.

By the way, one of the minor stupid things about that show (I’m not mentioning the major stupid things) was that you had an extremely Irish looking actor playing a president from New England named Jonathan Bartlett. As Ed Koch would say, RIDICULOUS.

Ken Hechtman writes:

If it makes you feel any better, in real life the liberal wing of the Democratic party threatened primary challenges against the Blue Dogs and Rahm Emmanuel twisted arms to make the liberals stop.

White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel warned liberal groups this week to stop running ads against Democratic members of Congress.

The powerful top aide to President Obama made his feelings known at the weekly closed-door strategy session of an array of progressive organizations, according to two sources who were there.

Emanuel’s request came on the same day that Obama himself told a meeting of Democratic senators that he didn’t like seeing dollars used by liberal groups to target congressional Democrats.

Some on the left believe administration officials are making such statements only as a favor to Democratic legislators whose votes they’ll ultimately need.

But the White House indicates to POLITICO that it truly believe the ads aimed at Democrat are counter-productive and largely ineffectual. There is no winking and nodding when Obama and Emanuel deliver their message, say West Wing officials.

[end of quote]

Anyway, party discipline isn’t a bad thing and it’s not unique to the left. In “Conservatives Without Conscience,” John Dean has a whole chapter on the Bush Administation’s vote-whipping operation. He seemed to think it’s something to get outraged about. I couldn’t see why. The pressure tactics he described are grandmotherly kindness compared to the way it works in Canada or any Westminster parliamentary system.

LA replies:

Interesting, but confusing. What are we to make of this? That Emanuel is the exact opposite of what he’s generally said to be? That he does the opposite of what the Emanuel-like character in West Wing did?

Posted by Lawrence Auster at August 06, 2009 10:16 AM | Send