I have no problem with any liberal criticizing President Barack Obama. I’ve got my own criticisms of him. But only an extremely naïve or an extremely self-serving liberal would think a Fox News discussion questioning Obama’s criticisms of Donald Trump’s Muslim ban an appropriate place for that. Into which category does liberal Democrat Dennis Kucinich fall? I report, you decide.
On America’s Newsroom this morning, Kucinich appeared with Republican (and Trump supporter) Scott Brown for another Fox segment designed to criticize President Obama for daring to criticize Donald Trump’s Muslim ban.
Brown repeated the Fox line of yesterday, that Obama had spoken out too soon, while Brown also defended Trump’s order barring refugees and citizens from many predominantly-Muslim countries.
BROWN: The fact that President Obama couldn’t even wait a couple of weeks … He already ran for a third term. People rejected it. … Instead of telling [protesters] to get behind the president and let him do his job … I know these [Muslim] people are coming not to build a house with a white picket fence but to actually hurt us.
Then it was Kucinich’s turn. Instead of pointing out the disrespect Republicans – and especially Donald Trump – showed Obama, Kucinich inexplicably piled on:
KUCINICH: He’s able to speak out if he wants to. I agree with him that the Constitution doesn’t allow for a religious test. But let’s face something here. Donald Trump didn’t create these wars. Wars create refugees and President Obama both in Syria and Lebanon has backed conflicts that have created refugees. So that’s something that if he is involved in the debate, he should have to answer that.
Not surprisingly, Brown agreed that Obama “created this mess.” Brown continued by saying Obama will “cry wolf so many times that people ultimately are just going to shut him down and turn him off.”
Kucinich could have noted that Obama is way more popular than Trump and/or what's terrible about Trump’s order (that even the Murdoch sons don’t like). Instead, Kucinich made additional comments discrediting Obama:
KUCINICH: If you’re going to engage in a debate after you leave the presidency, you have to be prepared to defend your policies and the Obama policies of interventionism are going to be difficult to defend when you look at the results. So, I would say yes, we shouldn’t have a religious test for entry into the country but no, Mr. Obama, President Obama, this direction you took us in Libya and in Syria, there’s a lot of questions about ‘em.
Again, I’ve got no problem with criticisms of Obama's policies. But shouldn’t they be left to a forum on the subject rather than a Fox News segment designed to justify Trump’s radical, white-nationalist agenda?
Watch it below, from the January 31, 2017 America’s Newsroom.
My only guess as to his change is he really needs the paycheck. Isn’t he a lifelong politician? Now those doors are shut and I don’t think he’s a man of wealth. Maybe he’s like other Fox shills who hopes to revive his career being the useful idiot to the far right.
Of course, it still doesn’t explain why a man who was the most liberal person running in the 2008 Democratic primaries would turn around and join the most blatantly right-wing partisan (hack) outfit and then fail to defend the left against FoxNoise.
