Obama Discredits bloggers, radio 'talking heads' who 'profit from conflict'

Politico
By DYLAN BYERS
October 20, 2013

Demanding a change to the way business is done in Washington, President Barack Obama on Thursday urged lawmakers to ignore lobbyists, bloggers, "talking heads on radio" and "the professional activists who profit from conflict."
"How business is done in this town has to change," Obama said during a press conference. "Now that the government is reopened and this threat to our economy is removed, all of us need to stop focusing on the lobbyists and the bloggers and the talking heads on radio and the professional activists who profit from conflict, and focus on what the majority of Americans sent us here to do — and that's grow this economy."
"There's a lot of noise out there, and the pressure from the extremes affect how a lot of members of Congress see the day-to-day work that's supposed to be done here," he said.
That last line reflects an argument, made by several pundits in recent weeks, that far-right pundits like Rush Limbaugh have pressured Republicans into backing down from the extremist wing of their own party.
Obama's press conference came on the day after Congress voted to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling.

No comments: