Remember when David Gregory grilled Obama this intensively?
Ted Cruz swats away David Gregory’s presumptions and accusations on Meet the Press
Whitney Pitcher says:
Despite David Gregory’s insufferableness, this is a great Senator Ted Cruz interview
I concur.
Twitchy has some of the reaction to Gregory’s performance today:
Remember when David Gregory grilled Obama this intensively?
Sorry, but I can’t help but add this end note:
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Comments
Ahh yes. Davey The Left coming straight out of Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals. Barry has taught them well.
“The standards of judgment must be rooted in the whys and wherefores of life as it is lived, the world as it is, not our wished-for fantasy of the world as it should be….” pp.25-26
Guess who/whom (pick one) else used those words?
Notes: Apparently, Michelle Obama referred to these words during her Democratic National Convention speech:
“She said, ‘Barack stood up that day,’ talking about a visit to Chicago neighborhoods, ‘and spoke words that have stayed with me ever since. He talked about ‘The world as it is’ and ‘The world as it should be…’ And, ‘All of us driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won’t do – that we have an obligation to, fight for the world as it should be.”
This is how an argument is sustained when a person has convictions and believes in what he is doing. Cruz doesn’t grope for words or make excuses for what he believes in. He is direct and to the point. This is what sets him apart from others.
“With all due respect, David…”
I never want to hear that preface agin from a Republican. Why do we give these people ANY respect. They hate us and and their contempt oozes out in every interview.
I love Cruz but he’s way too nice here.
Raven, he uses a civil tone, PRECISELY because he knows that it is a trap to do otherwise.
The moment he is uncivil, the democrats have an excuse to ignore his arguments on a basis other than their validity.
We may hate this, but giving respect to one’s political adversaries is NEVER a bad tactic. While the reverse ALWAYS results in negative press.
I completely understand and sympathize with what you’re saying, Paul. I don’t want him to be uncivil. I want him to be disrespectful. There is a difference, and it is about content not tone. There are a number of ways to do this. One is to challenge him on his journalism and professionalism. Example: at one point, Gregory says “some democrats have said you’re a purist,” then goes on to develop this anonymous citation into a narrative. Cruz could have stopped everything in its tracks and asked him “who said that?” Gregory would not have had an answer. “If you want to be known as a professional journalist, don’t you think you should be obliged to offer actual citations in such cases?” There are dozens of other gambits, none of them uncivil. The point is, we always concede the legitimacy of the interrogative and of the interrogator. Don’t. Robert Kaplan talks about this in his wonderful essay “Media and Medievalism” of a few years ago. The media enter every one of these interviews operating under the assumption of their unchalleged legitimacy to demand answers to their questions, and we enter into them with a posture of deference and obligation to their legitimacy. I suggest don’t do this. That is, enter cheerfully and with all intent to be civil and open but with an entirely different set of assumptions. Parse their questions and challenge their authority. Make them the issue. Rattle them. In no way have they earned respect; quite the opposite. Newt has done this in the past quite successfully. Indded, I think it’s actually why he won the South Carolina primary. His direct and totally civil challenges to Scott Pelley of CBS were decisive.
Reading your post I am reminded of when Mitt was disrespectful to Rick Perry during a debate; I found it more than just disrespectful, it came across as arrogance and not statesmanly. Ted Cruz is an attorney and a politician, and he know that he needs to be polite, no matter what, if he wants to achieve his goals. The funny thing about these interviews with politicians is that they can directly answer the question, as difficult as it may be to do that; or they can answer it with a smile and communicate whatever message they like, even if the answer is completely unrelated to the question. Watch closely…
Being disrespectful, especially on videotape, is not a positive thing. And Newt, well, he is not president and never will be, for many reason; being disrespectful is one of them, but by no means is it at the top of the list!
Please GOP, give me a presidential candidate that I can vote for because I really want to, not because I don’t have any other choice!
I’m not suggesting to be impolite. Everyone thinks you can’t have show them up without being nasty. You can. In any case, I’m saying, at the least, that something within this dynamic has to change. Because our excruciating efforts to be civil, polite, respectful, etc. aren’t yielding good results.
Cruz is still hammered and mocked on SNL.
And furthermore, who cares what the democrats will say after we show up their minions in the media? Can it be any worse than what they already say? The point is, make them starting fearing US a little.
We need them to fear us. The way we do that is by getting under their skin and shattering their illusions of unassailable respect, then forcing THEM to be uncivil, and leveraging that in the markeplace (which generally despises the media). Exploit the hatred for them out there in the marketplace. They’re fools and moreover, lazy and unprofessional fools. They’re so used to lording their power over us (and republicans feed their delusions of grandeur by genuflecting in fear to them all the time) that they’ve let their guard down all over the place.
Get at them, rib them, mock them, embarrass them, call them out — always with a smile and always civilly. It’s not that hard.
“The funny thing about these interviews with politicians is that they can directly answer the question, as difficult as it may be to do that; or they can answer it with a smile and communicate whatever message they like, even if the answer is completely unrelated to the question.”
Excellent point. And that’s being “disrespectful.” That is, it’s not answering their question. We need more of that.
If I am ever in a conflict and need help, I want you on my team! Hardball! 😉
“With all due respect” means: “You are stupid and you don’t get it.” I had a trial once before a judge who pointed that out to any counsel who made the mistake of saying that to him.
Paul,
Calling Republicans terrorits has not resulted in negative press for the Democrats. Refusing to negotiate with Republicans has not resulted in negative press.
There is a press double standard that Republicans must deal with.
No, he is quite correct. “With all due respect” does NOT offer any respect at all – if none is due, as is certainly the case with Gregory.
Cruz does a great job arguing his case in the face of the little worm’s attempts to sidetrack or ambush him.
But I wish just once some guest would get on and spend the whole time talking about what a boot-licking, butt-kissing, sycophantic hack propagandist Gregory is, his history of outrageous bias with specific examples, and how he is entirely unworthy to take Russert’s seat (who at least made the attempt at presenting both sides).
With all DUE respect. Indeed. You nailed the point home.
Gregory doesn’t deserve respect. He is due none.
It is wonderful to finally have a real leader in congress fighting for our liberty. Like Reagan, he is going over the heads of the establishment Republicans and bringing the case directly to the American people.
Thank you Senator Cruz.
I think David Gregory is angling for a cabinet level appointment in Obama’s third term.
Please don’t be too harsh with Mr. Gregory.
He comes from a litter of show breed originally bred as hunting dogs with a notoriously vicious temperament. In recent times they have been domesticated to the point of being the most servile of lapdogs.
At times, embarrassed themselves at having been self-neutered of their ancestral warrior instincts, they go rabid for short periods of time when in the midst of strangers they sense threaten their master.
They possess a keen sense of fear—their own—and they don’t like it.
I suspect even Mr. Gregory can discern the difference between being stumbled over and being kicked like a dog.
The more I see Cruz the more my respect for him grows. He is well versed, articulate, and unflappable. His critics don’t know how to get at him, try as they may. Add all that to the fact that he is principled and I think we have someone who can fill Reagan’s boots better than anyone else who has had the opportunity to try.
Cruz’s “with all due respect” is the polite person’s way of saying “you’re an idiot.” Think of it as “well, bless his little heart,” which really means he is missing something upstairs.
As a Texan, I can tell you that “Bless Your Heart” means: You dumb-ass! The same definition applies to “With all due respect…”
One fish two fish, red barracuda, belly-up blue fish.
This little lap dog is gonna have green eggs and ham on his face at the end of the story.
I mentioned, typed (picky picky) Ima’ Cruzer! Someone is going to HAVE TO convince me, that another candidate from the Repub side, is better.
I damn sure be happy that someone that DID practice law AND with SCOTUS, instead of a fraud constitutional lecturer, that has YET released his grades, concerning “lectures”!
What Cruz does need is brushing his qualifications of Foreign matters.
But, how can one beat The Arab “Springer”? Mubarak Step Down! Syria? Sure, use to be with Roebuck. I, ME, ended the Iraqi War, so what if they blow each other up! I, ME, got osama! Really? Were you on that raid, Mr. Law Lecturer? So what if I was playing Strip Poker with axelrod..
David Gregory, OCCA (Obama-Certified Condescending Asshole), didn’t lay a glove on him. Cruz handed DG’s ass to him with a smile and a ‘Thank You’. Thanks for posting it, Professor, or I would have missed it, since I never waste my time with MTP any more. Tim Russert was at least closer to being a journalist. DG’s nothing but a slobbering whore.
I withdraw the last comment (it’s unfair to whores) – voluntary concubine is a more apt term, since he’s a willingly ‘kept’ or ‘owned’ plaything.
I believe the word you’re looking for to describe Gregory is actually “pimp”.
I live in Arizona – the RINO State. But I’m proud to say that Ted Cruz is my adopted Senator.
Likewise. I was at one time a great admirer of McCain and voted for him in every election he was on the ballot. By the time of his presidential run, it was a definite ‘hold my nose’ vote. His subsequent senate re-election campaign was so dishonest it was disgusting. So much so (along with disgust for the so-called Republican Establishment in general) that I changed my registration to Independent after 45 years as a registered Republican. I despise him now. He represents only himself, not his constituents. He could give a rip what his constituents want. If he’d had a better primary opponent and hadn’t lied through his effing teeth (“Build the Danged Fence!”), he would already be retired.
Yes, Cruz is despised by the lapdog media.
So what’s new? But he’s also despised by many who are supposed to be on our side. The man has principles; convictions. They’re not used to that in DC.
I’ve never found an appropriate use of the word smarmy, until this interview.
Me neither.
I DO enjoy the “unpatriotic!!11!!” from the patriotic left
David Gregory is not a reporter.
He is an apparatchik.
Check out the hint of a smile at 13:00. Senator Cruz is handling Gregory like a child, since he is the only adult at the table.
David “Smegma”-ry is the most morally repugnant, ethically challenged, politically correct, propagandizing ignoramus on the planet!!
John,
From someone who used to live in an country that once had commissars and apparatchiks, David is worse because he actually believes it. By the time my family left Czechoslovakia the commissars and apparatchiks were just going through the motions like mind-blanked-apes.
Obama, and Reid, draw a red line. This is becoming all to common for this administration.
The federal government has annual receipts of $2.6 trillion. There is no possibility of default. There is no need to shutdown the government. Obama, Reid, and JournoLists are implicitly threatening Americans for their own reasons.
Obamacare is merely a clump of policies. It is still in gestation. It is not viable. Dismember it. Vacuum it. Flush it.
You know, I was going to make a snide remark about how Moe Howard must be ashamed of his illegitimate son. But Moe Howard gave so many people so much pleasure pretending to be stupid, while David Gregory inflicts such pain pretending not to be stupid. It wouldn’t be right to insult Moe and compliment the moron.
After watching this this morning, I finally understood why the left, the Dems, and the MSM, all want to take down this Senator so badly. He is their worst enemy – someone who is principled, articulate, a top debater, perfectly credentialed, and a Hispanic. Their very worst nightmare.
Making things worse, Cruz takes the war to the enemy, refusing to fight on their terms. This was part of why Sarah Palin is so popular with so much of the Tea Party, except that she doesn’t have the credentials, nor is she able to talk the talk in a way that impresses the upper middle class. She just sounds much too hick. Cruz, the master debater from Princeton and top Supreme Court advocate, is able to sound highly educated, while still managing to eviscerate his enemies.
And that is how I saw things go this morning when I watched DC gun law scoflaw Gregory try to go after Cruz.. Cruz would reject Gregory’s proposition, make a counter-point, then go back on message. Time and time again. Gregory was on much firmer ground in the next segment when he had “Tingles” Cris Mathews on to flog his new book on his old boss, Tip O’Neil.
I like to play word association; here’s an example:
David Gregory – Lickspittle toady. That was fun.
WOW! Little David Gregory was taken to the woodshed and got a whuppin’ he’ll never forget (or live down).
Never was Gregory’s Obama-love showing more dramatically. And never did anyone turn it around — using the D’s blather about “the middle class” and “working Americans” against them — the way Cruz did.
We will be seeing a repeat of this in 3 years, when Cruz crushes the Queen of Benghazi in debate after debate.
If we were a fly on the wall in the Clinton’s living quarters (not the separate bedrooms, but the kitchen), I can just hear Bill saying to Bi-Barbie, “You’re in big trouble.”
OMG – Ted Cruz gave a fabulous interview!
Surely those 21 hours of filibuster-esque speaking, helped out a lot here.
What a masterful demonstration on how to completely dominate an MSM interview. Focus like a laser, stay on the message, be yourself, and don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t even think about making the liberal host like you.
Anyone watching this interview would understand Cruz’s points and like him much more than Gregory.
i think that Sen. Cruz dominated by being better prepared, and the far better debater. He would respectfully rejected Gregory’s point, refute it through argument, then jump back on message. And, when Gregory would try to surprise or sandbag Cruz, the Senator would either turn it around, and/or refute it with facts that Gregory was ignoring. You can see why the guy was a top debater when at Princeton and was rated as one of the top Supreme Court advocates. He was better prepared than Gregory, and came across as having 40 IQ points on him, which he may well have.
David Gregory is as corrupt as any corrupt politician in history.
Perhaps worse, because he lies to the public every single day, whereas the most corrupt politician only lies to the public when he or she has occasion to speak in public.