WTF Jake Tapper?
August 19, 2009 by William K. Wolfrum
Media personality Jake Tapper has a story up at ABC on how Senate Democrats will get a health care reform bill passed by any means necessary:
Amidst questions of whether or not any Senate Republicans will support a health care reform bill, Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., today said that the “White House and the Senate Democratic leadership still prefer a bipartisan bill.”
The Reid spokesman said that “neither the White House nor the leadership have made a decision to pursue reconciliation,” the somewhat controversial legislative process by which a bill is introduced in such a manner so that it requires merely 50 votes instead of 60 to proceed to a vote, thus removing the threat of filibuster.
Manley said that “we will not make a decision to pursue reconciliation until we have exhausted efforts to produce a bipartisan bill.”
“However,” he cautioned, “patience is not unlimited and we are determined to get something done this year by any legislative means necessary.”
And then Tapper tapped his deepest psyche for this bit of WTFery:
“By any means necessary” is a phrase popularized by Malcolm X (demanding the rights of African-Americans to be respected in society), though it is thought to have originally been penned by French existentialist Jean Paul Sartre in his play about assassination “Dirty Hands” (in a line demanding the end of class).
And to drive that home, Tapper included a video of Malcolm X speaking.
Seriously, WTF Jake?
–WKW
I find this to be astonishing. A regular, every day phrase gets turned into a MalcolmX reference? Is the only thing on people’s minds, even reporters, BLACKNESS? I can’t imagine any reason for the reference. None. Perhaps… reaching, here…Jake never heard the phrase before? Or, or, is Jim Manley black? WTF?
I would say, “you’re shitting me” or some such expression of disbelief, but, c’mon, it’s Jake Tapper. Always take the low road is the credo of his ilk.
(also, I love it when I get to use the word “ilk”, so thanks, Bill)
Come and knock on our door
Take a step that is new…
Oh sorry, that was Jack Tripper.
But let’s remember that Jake Tapper has the ultimate trump card: pretty hair. People with pretty hair can say/do/feel/think/write anything they want, and never have to apologize or make appropriate references. From Carrie Prejean to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, pretty hair trumps all.
I heard that Obama’s healthcare plan will send government bureaucrats to nursing homes across the nation to force grandma to shave her head.
Yeah, and he lives with two chicks, one a knockout blond. Oh shit, my bad, I was thinking of Jack Tripper again. Jake – Jack, Tapper – Tripper.
I’ll try to keep that straight.
You’ll see that life is a frolic and laughter is calling for you
Down at our rendez-vous,
Three’s company, too!
[...] “Seriously, I have like a cowlick back there. See it?” said Tapper. “This is just unacceptable, people. Get the hair team back in here. And can someone make this suit look less empty?” [...]