Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Bizarre Scott Brown Interview on Austin Plane Crash

By

This is totally nuts.  TPM posted a video of Scott Brown on Neil Cavuto.  Brown is somehow taking the incident in Texas today when a man lit his house on fire then flew his airplane into an IRS building and related it to his Senate election.

No really, he did.  I’m not kidding.

Please share widely!
fb-share-icon
Tweet
0

Comments

    • shouldn’t he of said that it was wrong and the work of a disturbed person?  He’s rationalizing a suicide run at a government building hours after it happened.

      • re-read my statement and it read that way.  I wanted to add just how unbelievable Brown was in that interview.

        • but he does sound as if he were not really prepared to talk about the event and because he knew only one song he sang it.

          • It’s either he has a single talking point and would answer that way to any question.  Or worse, he is rationalizing a domestic terrorist attack.

  2. The way we’re trying to deal with things and have been in the past at least until I got here is there is such a log jam in Washington and people want us to do better, they want us to solve the problems that are affecting the American a very real way.

    <

    p>“at least until I got here” ? O.M.G.  The arrogance could just blow you away.

    <

    p>Yes, Scott, people want change.  They are going to be sorely disappointed when they see that you are only going to fight against that change.  

    <

    p>Scott Brown…please sign on to the Public Option proposal.
    Support Americans, not the special interests.

    • If the Democrats were part of an actual political party, the message of Republican obstructionism and refusal to engage in problem solving would be squealing from the airwaves and Sen. Scott Brown would sound peculiar saying he was trying to get things unstuck.

      <

      p>But given that the Democratic Party feels it can operate in the fleecy clouds high above politics, Brown can say stuff like that.

      • I’ve gone on at length on this site about my concerns regarding the incoherence of the Democratic message and their unwillingness to actually articulate any beliefs through meaningful explanation and action.  

        <

        p>No story + (raison d’etre – party discipline)  = punctuation party.   The new math.    

    • and was worth posting about. The fact he ginned up the change motif and hooked it right in from the guy in TX to his win was pretty predictable – yes, disgusting, but totally within the usual mantra for these types.

      <

      p>The “Until I got there” quip however is really rich, from a guy who claims to be an independent but already has shown a disinclination to buck his Party of No.

      <

      p>The hypocrisy of this “see I can fix it all” coupled with the fact that the only ONLY reason things are going nowhere is his own party, which he apparently is willing to do the bidding of despite his claim otherwise, that is the crazy thing in this clip.

  3. <

    p>I guess he’s having a problem getting his business cards.
    Once he gets those, he’ll be able to answer more questions.

  4. …but totally opportunistic and self-aggrandizing market signaling: “tea-partiers come unto me.” This is a dangerous game, and more evidence that the GOP just wants to wreck the block towers on the nursery school room floor.

    • I thought “opportunistic and self-aggrandizing” was part of a politician’s definition.  Certainly he isn’t the only one to jump in front of a parade to make people believe he’s the leader.  In two years’ time, Mr. Brown will be out of office.  The public will be weary of him.

      <

      p>Reading the rant of Mr. Stack I can’t find that he was politically motivated.  Republican, Democrat, Tea Party seems to make no difference. It reads more like a engineer – a man that believes in a rational universe – confronted by a government that builds its own universe, devoid of reason.  A man that doesn’t belong boils up a frustration.

      <

      p>Who hasn’t heard the politician of any stripe rail on about the Internal Revenue Code year after year yet we see no change?  Who has found the politician that does not use the citizens as chattel in their bids for power.  How many US politicians support and defend the Constitution, which they swear an oath to?  We don’t have a government for those that want reason as a guiding light.  

      <

      p>In other news:  “Golfer gets as much publicity for sex scandal as 911 attack on US”.

      <

      p>

      • I suggest that Joseph Stack is more in the mold of Michael McDermott than anything else. I suggest that we resist the temptation to stereotype professions (“scientist”, “engineer”, “politician”) and instead acknowledge simply that psychotics with guns are dangerous.

      • Who hasn’t heard the politician of any stripe rail on about the Internal Revenue Code year after year yet we see no change?

        <

        p>No change?
        * 1040 EZ
        * far better telephone help
        * e-filing

        <

        p>I’m not saying it’s perfect, but like the DMV the IRS and tax forms have gotten much less painful w.r.t. customer service and convenience.

        • The Internal Revenue Code, hereinafter referred to as the IRC, is more than filing a 1040EZ.  The problems come to play when someone has more than just a few dollars wages, some property, alimony, child support, or runs a business.  The rules are ever-changing, obtuse, sometimes apply in one area of the country and, due to court rulings, don’t apply to others.  

          <

          p>I can’t tell you how many small-business people I’ve spoke with that are afraid to hire young people to do little jobs around the business for fear of doing something wrong and owing the Internal Revenue Service, hereinafter referred to as the IRS, big time. Progressive?  

          <

          p>As for telephone help, really, why would anyone in their right mind call the IRS?  They don’t stand behind their advice.  You speak to temps.  Think they care?  They’ll be out of a job after filing season.

          <

          p>E-filing?  What’s the advantage?  You pay more to e-file and the IRS has an easier time filing, reviewing, auditing your return.  If you’re on wages and getting a refund, you get it a little faster.  Big deal.  

          • Yes, the IRS is a pain in the butt. Dealing with the IRS is no worse than, for example, attempting to get a health insurance claim paid by BCBS.

            <

            p>The point is that none of this makes picking up a gun and shooting people (or flying an airplane into their office) anything except a criminal (and often psychotic) act.

            <

            p>Any attempt to rationalize or excuse such violence crosses the boundary that separates legitimate political action from a violent attempt to overthrow the government. Everybody agrees that the perpetrator is a criminal and often a deranged one.

            <

            p>It is the attempt to frame these acts as somehow defensible that marks organizations like Fox News and demagogues like Scott Brown as elements who promote domestic terrorism.

          • Most filers are not business owners, small or otherwise.  Most filers are people, often citizens.

            <

            p>Yeah, tax code is complicated.  It’s a game of whack-a-mole: people figure out clever ways to pay less tax (fine with me), and the legislators figure out ways to capture that tax (also fine with me).  Cat and mouse.  So what?

            <

            p>

            I can’t tell you how many small-business people I’ve spoke with that are afraid to hire young people to do little jobs around the business for fear of doing something wrong and owing the Internal Revenue Service, hereinafter referred to as the IRS, big time. Progressive?

            <

            p>By “young people” do you mean people not old enough to work (like hiring a 12 year old to do some sweeping)?  They should be afraid — child exploitation is a big deal, and our society chooses to err on the side of caution.  This isn’t a problem.  Do you, instead, mean people old enough to have a job (though perhaps with restrictions, as many states do based on day of week, time of day, and season?)  It’s not hard — just follow the damn rules, just like you would for any other employee.  Again, progressive?  You bet.

            <

            p>I’m not understanding what exactly you’re complaining about, or why it’s the IRS’ fault.

            <

            p>

            As for telephone help, really, why would anyone in their right mind call the IRS?  They don’t stand behind their advice.  You speak to temps.  Think they care?  They’ll be out of a job after filing season.

            <

            p>I do my own taxes.  They’re not terribly complicated, but they involve Sch A, B, C, and E, as well as 7 forms and about a dozen worksheets.  I’ve call the IRS 3 times in the past 10 years… and all three times I (quickly!) spoke with courteous, knowledgeable employees who clearly and correctly answered my questions.  How many times have you called the IRS in the past 10 years?  What were your experiences like?

            <

            p>

            E-filing?  What’s the advantage?  You pay more to e-file and the IRS has an easier time filing, reviewing, auditing your return.  If you’re on wages and getting a refund, you get it a little faster.  Big deal.

            <

            p>The filer gets a refund faster — that’s a very real advantage.  I don’t e-file because I refuse to pay more to file electronically and even moreso, I carry calculations to the penny for the same reason.

            <

            p>

            <

            p>You claimed no change.  I pointed out three distinct changes — one of which helps people file their taxes more quickly, one of which helps people trying to do their own taxes, and one of which helps people get their refunds more quickly.  They’re all solid improvements, and to claim otherwise just shows that you’re refusing to look at the IRS objectively.

      • Reading the rant of Mr. Stack I can’t find that he was politically motivated.

        He explicitly called for revolution against the United States government, and expressed a hope that his suicide-bombing would catalyze such a revolution.  That’s not political?

  5. The truly awful thing is people set up FaceBook pages (now taken down) to praise Joe Stack.  Here are clips from one of them:

    <

    p>

    “I agree with Joe…Thank God what he did didn’t kill anyone.”

    “Sad thing is he will be made to look like homegrown terrorist, when, at worst, was a reaction to mistreatment, and at best, a rallying cry for us to wake up.”

    “Will they come after us for being a fan? prob so huh?”

    “Our country needs a revolution, voting for a Democrat or a Republican is not revolutionary, it is big business as usual.”

    “The wonderful thing about Mr. Stack and his use of the internet is that no matter how hard the Gov tries to cover up his message it will remain alive. The internet is built for redundancy, only wish I could of saved his site.”

    “Joe was right to take action! not as far as to commit suicide, but to take action and to write so much about how f’ed up this government is! i am not a proud american because of all the bs that regular citizens like you and me have to live with because of lies and cover ups and puppetiers in the government. He did something that i just cannot do, … See Morehe took action against the irs, the reason why i dont take action is because i know i will not turn any heads, but i can only hope that the man i now look up to, might have turned many heads. Way to go Joe!! One more thing. if my country ever asks for my help, i wil not take action FOR my country, but instead, i will jump the border and say screw you!”

    <

    p>According to other reports, one site had over 200 members when it was shut down.   Lloyd Dogget nailed it:

    <

    p>

    U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, said that one of his first thoughts about the apparently intentional plane crash earlier today in Austin was being “concerned that this is where fanaticism can lead.”

    “Like the larger-scale tragedy in Oklahoma City, this was a cowardly act of domestic terrorism,” he said through his office. “Stack’s [the pilot] apparent website message reflects the steadily increasing flow of ‘the government is out to get me’ paranoia. That so many have already contributed to a Facebook page as ‘fans’ of this terrorist attack on public servants is a truly appalling expression of extremism, which Americans will overwhelmingly reject.”

    <

    p>The comments in response to that are equally scary:

    <

    p>

    Tea Party Patriots are not represented by Joe Stack. He’s just another extremist, like Ayers & Obama.

    • Reading the comments from the folks who think this guy is a hero is as disturbing to me as the nut himself.

      • At least it sounds as though he was quoting Marx approvingly, thus:

        <

        p>”From each according to his ability; to each according to his need.”

        <

        p>That of course is Marx, but the poster added this about capitalism:

        <

        p>”From each according to his gullibility; to each according to his greed.”

        <

        p>This was posted in defense of the culprit to make it sound like his beef was with our capitalist system.

    • Some tiny portion of the blame for this can be laid to the Giullianis and Cheneys of this world for giving the criminal Al Qaeda terrorists more glory than they deserve.

      • …if we’d been as quick to reassure everyone that 9/11 was not an act of terrorism as law enforcement and the MSM were regarding this guy, we might have won the “War On Terror” in the first 24 hours.  You “win” a “war” on terror by refusing to be terrorized.  GWB was the best friend and ally Osama Bin Laden ever had, with Giuliani and Cheney aiding and abetting the whole way.

    • I mean, the guy may not be ready for prime time, but he ran one heck of a great campaign and took out the sitting Attorney General!

      <

      p>I don’t think people should underestimate Senator Brown. He is a very smart politician.

      • I don’t think people should underestimate Senator Brown. He is a very smart politician.

        <

        p>While I certainly agree that nobody should “underestimate” Brown going into 2012 — particularly since his national presence means that he’ll rake in the $$$ — his actions so far certainly do not amount to him being a “very smart politician.”

        <

        p>Being a “very smart” Republican Senator in Massachusetts means carefully cultivating an image like Olympia Snowe in Maine — sure, you vote with your party most of the time, but you lie low, pick your “independent” spots, and work with the voters back home.

        <

        p>So far, Brown’s ego (and it is massive) has seemingly led him to believe that he’s ready to be President. Already — and I think this will continue — this means that Brown is more willing to listen to the Tea Party crowd than his own constituents.

        <

        p>Whether this is “smart politics” on his part will likely be determined by how much the Tea Party set is willing to prop him up on a national scale in a couple years, but it certainly isn’t smart politics in Massachusetts when he’ll be up for re-election in a high-turnout presidential year.

        • Brown’s CAMPAIGN was excellent. What’s in question is whether he was responsible for it.  The folks he borrowed from Romney have taken credit for pushing the truck and the barn coat to the forefront.  He gets credit for having good looks, the materials for building a “man of the people pitch,” the ability to repeat talking points, and the brains to listen to his advisors.

          <

          p>What we’re already seeing is a shift away from those talking points, most notably in self-identifying as a Republican and dropping the “people’s seat” BS.

          <

          p>It’s entirely possible Bob and Hoyapaul are both right and Brown is a shrewd politician more interested in being President than representing this state.

  7. Losing your mind and flying a plane into a building in order to commit a fiery spectacle of a suicide is just like voting for me!

    <

    p>He’s not totally wrong.

  8. As a male computer professional, pilot, and amateur musician in his early-to-mid-fifties who has fantasized both about flying a plane into a building and burning his house down with everything in it — and frankly, who hasn’t? — I have to say that this guy is giving us a bad name.  I mean, really, the IRS?  If you’re looking for a target, what about the next NRA convention?

    <

    p>But I assure you, I would never do anything as sick and twisted as vote for Scott Brown.

  9. than he’s been accustomed to in the past, even the late stages of his election campaign. He just has to learn to recognize the land mines and not step on them. He isn’t being asked his opinion because he’s so sage, but because he can be counted on to create buzz for the interviewer.

  10. I’d also note Brown’s comment at CPAC (the conservative conference in DC):

    <

    p>

    Brown at CPAC: “My name is Scott Brown, and I’m the newly elected REPUBLICAN senator from Massachusetts.”

    He then repeated for emphasis, “I am the REPUBLICAN senator from Massachusetts.”

    (Link)

    <

    p>Funny how he tried fashioning himself into an “independent” during the campaign, and now is quickly morphing not only into a standard Republican, and a wacky one at that. Guess what Scott — you’re up for re-election in 2 short years. Apparently he doesn’t realize that.

    <

    p>Like I’ve said previously, Brown will be the gift that keeps on giving.

    • knowing that he would lose in two years, he’ll pull a Romney and won’t run.  He will instead focus his attention on running for President.  This is after the right wing bozos fawn over him over the next year or so and tell him; heck, we elected Dubya, we can elect you too.

        • It’s true they’d be constitutional ineligible to win the votes of their home state, but they probably wouldn’t win them anyway.

          • like Cheney did.  When one has several homes and/or lots of wealth and influential friends, geography is no obstacle.

            <

            p>Oligarchs are not constrained by rules the lesser classes must follow.  The world is their oyster.

    •  Hint: It is perfectly fine to state you are a REPUBLICAN at a REPUBLICAN gathering. BTW: CPAC is a Republican gathering. I am sure that BMG’ers cringe every time they hear that lovely word. REPUBLICAN!
      Any of you pro-lifers want to state your position at a pro-choice rally? Or vice versa: any pro-choicers want to state their position at a pro-life event? Freedom of speech not withstanding, I wouldn’t reccommend it.
      REPUBLICAN!

      • Just like it will be great to state that Brown is a REPUBLICAN during the 2012 MASSACHUSETTS SENATE RACE.

        <

        p>Let’s see how he does when he doesn’t have the “I’m an independent sort of guy!” shtick to help him out.

      • I do hope you folks remain on your exalted thrones a bit longer. Being a democrat is not a golden ducat to election anymore. Just ask the Attorney General.  

  11. the “Take Back America” caucus. How many freshman Senators form a caucus in their first two weeks on the job? I’m guessing the party leadership will start putting him in his place any day now.

  12. Think of the millions on unemployment right how come April 15. Thousands of potential Joe Stacks.
    Change?  Choice?  Between neo-con destruction of America in favor of the globalist elite or neo-lib destruction of America in favor of the globalist elite?

    <

    p>Ya, it’s broken well beyond repair.

Archives