Sunday, April 06, 2014

Meet The Press – April 6, 2014


Reporters:
Ian Williams
Kevin Tibbles
Guests:
Adm. Mike Mullen
Shaun McCutheon – Supreme Court Plaintiff
Robert Weissman – Public Citizen
Harold Ford
John Sununu
Steve Case
Kathleen Parker
Michael Lewis

Gregory: Ian what's the breaking
news on the missing plane?

Williams: the Chinese have a ping

Gregory: no pong?

Williams: the Aussies are
dragging a US ping machine

Gregory: that's pretty cool

Williams: the ping batteries
will run out soon

Gregory: it's a race against time!

Williams: also–

Gregory: gotta go – keep us posted

[ break ]

Gregory: welcome Admiral

Mullen: hi dave

Gregory: the Fort Hood shooter
is being evaluated for stress

Mullen: yes

Gregory: Mike how did someone
ever get a gun onto a military base?

Mullen: it's a town of 10,000 Fluffy

Gregory: so you say

Mullen: this is the thirteenth year of war

Gregory: that's the unlucky one

Mullen: soldiers have financial and
personal problems that they are
dealing with for the first time
as they come home and it's
very hard to handle

Gregory: debt collectors are 
much scarier that al-qeada

Mullen: most definitely

Gregory: should soldiers at Fort Hood
have more guns to defend themselves
from people with guns?

Mullen: no arming every single
person on base would be insane

Gregory: why?

Mullen: because there would
many more shootings

Gregory: and more chances
to shoot the shooter!

Mullen: um okay

Gregory: I go to hockey games
and we honor our veterans
while getting a $7 beer

Mullen: we need to address PTSD and TBI

Gregory: and TMI

Mullen: we have a great military
this is just one incident

Gregory: of course

Mullen: but veterans need
help including good jobs

Gregory: why don't they get more help
is it just not enough money?

Mullen: we know very little about the brain

Gregory: it's one of the most important organs

Mullen: the President is studying brains

Gregory: we all like brains

Mullen: yes

Gregory: there's a new book out
that says militant Islam is a bigger
problem than ever and plan
on taking over Pakistan

Mullen: predictions are very hard

Gregory: especially about the future

Mullen: I'm encouraged
by the Afghan elections

Gregory: you're the only one

Mullen: I have hope for that
part of the world long-term

Gregory: thanks for coming

[ break ]

Gregory: you won your case
before the Supreme Court – congrats

McCutcheon: thanks david

Gregory: tell me – how do unlimited
donations not lead to corruption?

McCutcheon: it's free speech

Gregory: okay but doesn't more
money lead to corruption of
those getting that money?

McCutcheon: it's the most fundamental
right in America to buy influence in politics

Gregory: but that means that
rich people will have more
influence in politics

Weissman: yes a few hundred people
will a stranglehold on democracy

McCutcheon: this ruling will help
poor candidates who can't self-fund

Weissman: this isn't about political
support or speech – it's about
giving cash which is not the same thing

Gregory: will this lead to a quid pro quo?

Weissman: of course it will
but the big problem is access
to politicians bought by cash

Gregory: true but money is
in politics already – at least
this is transparent

Weissman: we need a Constitutional
amendment to get money out of politics

Gregory: Shaun you also want
the dollar limits overturned

McCutcheon: it's about 'we the people'

Gregory: that's very nice but won't
all these changes give great power
to very rich people

McCutcheon: it's about the little
people choosing our leaders

Weissman: it's about rich people
controlling our fragile Republic

Gregory: do you at least favor transparency

McCutcheon: absolutely

[ break ]

Gregory: welcome to
my fair and balanced panel

Parker: I hate Democrats

Sununu: so do I

Ford: I just hate Obama

Gregory: okay

Ford: and liberals

Gregory: wow Obamacare hit 7
million but you all say it failed

Sununu: Obamacare spent $2 trillion
to reduce the uninsured by 3%

Gregory: I'm convinced but
isn't the law here to stay

Case: the great achievement of
Obamacare is to let people leave
their jobs and not be trapped

Gregory: what about the pure
politics of Obamacare?

Ford: the jury is still out on Obamacare

Sununu: premiums are still going up!

Parker: look we all agree that
Obamacare failed and is terrible

Gregory: of course we do

Parker: Obamacare has been a disaster

Gregory: right!

Parker: and all government is stupid

Gregory: you making laugh
so much ha ha
[ laughs ]

Gregory: here watch this
Americans For Prosperity ad

[ plays ad ]

Parker: Obamacare is the worst thing

Ford: John Sununu and Kathleen Parker
are exactly right – I should have
been the first black President

Gregory: you said that out loud Harold

Ford: it just slipped out

Gregory: what about unlimited donations?

Case: no one watches tv anymore
it's all the internet now

Sununu: Karl Rove spent $100
million and all his candidates lost

Gregory: sure but he's a moron

Sununu: we all have one vote
each so money is now irrelevant

Gregory: is that true though?

Parker: yes twitter and Facebook
have made money useless in politics

Gregory: got it

Parker: money is speech and
people are free not to watch tv ads

Ford: this decision was great because
it empowers candidates and campaigns

Gregory: right

Ford: I disagree with my liberal
friends on this issue

Gregory: what a shock

Sununu: Super PACs are not
civil like politicians are

Case: social media will revive democracy!

Gregory: I'm skeptical that twitter
can change a system so awash in money

Ford: I'm a Democrat I just
hate progressives

Gregory: okay okay we get it

[ break ]

Gregory: we visited a town
with 50 people in Nebraska

Tibbles: the Keystone pipeline
would boost the local bar and restaurant

Owner: the pipeline would help
us buy a new air conditioner

Tibbles: you say pipeline builders are bullies

Lawyer: right

Tibbles: are you worried your town
of 50 people is going to disappear

Resident: um yes

[ break ]

Gregory: Kathleen tell us all
about the little people

Parker: Obama should adopt this
town and approve the pipeline and
watch it blossom like a little desert flower

Gregory: the NRDC says the pipeline
would hurt millions of people

Case: we should invest in microgrids

Gregory: when you leave the enclave of
Washington DC you learn people
hate the environment and love the pipeline

Ford: Obama claims climate change
is real but pipelines are the best thing ever

Gregory: I thought so

Ford: there are thousands of
miles of pipelines and they shower
gold on their residents

Gregory: well I'm sold

[ break ]

Gregory: Michel Lewis you wrote
a book about flash trading

Lewis: hi Fluffy

Gregory: should the average person
care are about computers
buying and selling stocks?

Lewis: it's a tax on investors

Gregory: what else?

Lewis: high speed computers can't
be trusted and threaten the whole system

Gregory: what if the machines
gain self-awareness?

Lewis: oh it's already happening

Gregory: could they learn to
drive cars or planes or host talk shows?

Lewis: it's possible

Gregory: you write that Wall Street
is paranoid that people hate their guts

Lewis: their own employees despise them

Gregory: this reminds me of 
the last economic crash

Lewis: no one understood CDOs
and now no one knows how the
stock market works

Sununu: Wall street feels a lot of responsibility

Lewis: LOL

Case: Wall Street has totally lost
its mind trying to gain short term
profits through trading

Gregory: sounds like a total
disaster in the making

Ford: what's the solution?

Lewis: the solution is not regulation

Ford: oh thank god

Lewis: it's disruptive innovation

Sununu: we need technology because
it makes trading faster which is
enormously beneficial for the little guy

Parker: that's true but in my
experience most people on
Wall Street are total assholes

Gregory: and that's another
episode of Meet The Press