GOPer Ken Blackwell Talks 'Obama's Power Grab' -- And Jon Stewart Tears Him Down (VIDEO)

I'm a Jon Stewart fan, but the fact is, Obama's administration actually is continuing or expanding a number of Bush policies. Examples are Bush's system of detentions without trials for certain persons accused of terrorism; broad surveillance of internet and phone communications within the U.S. and opposition of lawsuits intended to shed light on illegal surveillance; and invocation of the "state secrets privilege" to block publicaiton of material embarrassing to the U.S. government.

Props to Ken Blackwell for showing up to make his argument. Bigger props to Jon Stewart for showing its hypocrisy and emptiness.

Yeah, it took 7 years and 3 months into Bush's presidency for Blackwell to criticize W.
That's some insight this guy has. Especially when he says GWBush did not expand executive power.

The gop is trying to blame Obama for everything that bush did in his 8 years. Eight years of the gop parrots standing around repeating everything bush said like he was god. The whole teabagger movement as well as the swerve to the far right is a reaction to the disaster that bush unleashed on our country. Republicans are splinless cowards who can only ever blame everyone else but themselves for their own doings. I am enjoying the gop in their "last throes"

Blackwell does his best to parrot the right wing talking points about Obama, which he (and so many others) is paid handsomely to do. Stewart does a pretty decent job of quickly showing the emptiness of those talking points; something that "main stream" journalists seem incapable of doing. It is also instructive that a right wing hack like Blackwell --- who was a leader of voter suppression and ballot fraud actions --- is able to find a job with the supposedly "family values"-centered Family Research Council.

The point Blackwell keeps coming back to is that Obama will probably get to appoint marginally more appellate judges than GWB did. That may be true, but only if Obama is in power for 8 years, which would suggest a rejection of the messaging. Plus, it will only matter if those appointees are replacing the Reagan/Bush I cavalcade of "original intent" idealogues (guys like Bork and Starr, although neither of them stuck around in the judiciary) with "living document" types (which really isn't that liberal of an idea more than one of realism). So far, Obama's appointees haven't been all that liberal, despite the best efforts of the GOP to smear them as baby killing atheists who use the Constitution for toilet paper.

But even if they were Bolsheviks with law degrees (good luck with finding a bunch of those who can get past the vetting process) it would only be part of a natural cycle. The Reagan/Bush appointees were a calculated push back against the Warren/Burger era judges who were in turn a counterweight to the conservative Taft/early Hughes era judges on a wide degree of issues. Just like pro-slavery/state's rights Chief Justice Taney was a response to pro-Federal government Chief Justice Marshall. It is the essence of the democratic process that government in all phases reflects to some degree the popular will.

In other words, in the immortal words of JS on another occassion - losing is supposed to taste like a shit taco. Get used to it.

God, I can't even watch this buffoon..."Obama sucks, obama sucks, blah blah blah..." Shut hte hell up and listen to what JS is asking you. You don't like the guy...that's alot different than him being a dictator.

If only we had more journalists as capable of reasoned debate as Jon Stewart. I listened to all 3 parts of that exchange, and while Stewart did make use of humor to make his points, he made reasoned arguments that he backed up with facts.

I watched last night as Jon Stewart took this lying nitwit apart piece by piece, some one said Blackwell had courage to appear on the Daily Show, I say balderdash he's was trying to sell his big book of fables, you notice how this guy starts every sentence with a stutter? I know many how are truly afflicted with a stuttering problem this guy has whats known as a liars stutter.

Blackwell=Hyperbolic BS

Ken Blackwell is the black Glenn Beck.

i wonder if he wrote the book or the FRC wrote it and made him the token negro.as a black person i shake my head when i see this so called black conservative.they cater to people(white-cons) who don't like them conservatives are out attacking obama for nothing but because of his skin color.this black conservatives are a disgrace to black people,they are only in for the money.i wont be surprised this guy gets a pay rise at the FRC.if ur black and in GOP u have no freedom to express yourself or you will end up apologizing to rush/beck/palin/hannity& co

I watched all three parts and I think the thing I liked most was that the entire time the debate remained civil. Stewart definitely called out Blackwell on some, well, facts, but was respectful throughout as was Blackwell. While I can't really find a way to agree with stuff Blackwell said, I appreciate how he handled himself. Viva la 1st Amendment!

Why do cons go on the Daily Show?

I'm disappointed Jon didn't bring out the chorus again. :)

On the other hand, WTF did Blackwell *think* would happen? Surely he or one of his aides watched some previous shows...

So, in 25 minutes all the guy could come up with to back up his thesis that Obama is a tyrant and is trying to subvert the constitution is 1) the individual mandate and 2)he's (gasp) appointing judges. Did I miss anything else?

It isn't very often that you can get me to feel sorry for a wingnut, but this guy was just way, way, way out of his league.

I'm going to sum up Ken Blackwell's argument in a very widely known acronym: IOKIYAR. Nuff' said.

The GOP exists in opposite land. Obama subverting the constitution, really Ken? What about how you disenfranchised democratic voters in Ohio in order to deliver the presidency to bush? From TPM's own MJ Rosenberg's "Did Carville Tip Bush Off to Kerry Strategy (Woodward)":

"On page 344, Woodward describes the doings at the White House in the early morning hours of Wednesday, the day after the '04 election.

Apparently, Kerry had decided not to concede. There were 250,000 outstanding ballots in Ohio.

So Kerry decides to fight. In fact, he considers going to Ohio to camp out with his voters until there is a recount. This is the last thing the White House needs, especially after Florida 2000.

So what happened?

James Carville gets on the phone with his wife, Mary Matalin, who is at the White House with Bush.

"Carville told her he had some inside news. The Kerry campaign was going to challenge the provisional ballots in Ohio -- perhaps up to 250,000 of them. 'I don't agree with it, Carville said. I'm just telling you that's what they're talking about.'

"Matalin went to Cheney to report...You better tell the President Cheney told her."

Matalin does, advising Bush that "somebody in authority needed to get in touch with J. Kenneth Blackwell, the Republican Secretary of State in Ohio who would be in charge of any challenge to the provisional votes." An SOS goes out to Blackwell.

The rest is history."

Poor Uncle Ken. Had to issues the fastest concession to a governor's race in Ohio in recent history. A complete and total joke, and he's Steele's right hand man to boot.

I'll admit I don't know very much about Ken Blackwell, but I will tell you that watching those clips makes it verrrrry clear, he's completely full of Sheet.

he sounds just like victoria jackson and sarah palin.

Wow, this guy is crazy. I would like to remind all conservatives of the Articles of Confederation. You know the failed attempt of super limited central government and super strong state governments. Argue all you want original intent all you want to but our constitution was designed to have robust federal government.

Does this mean Colbert doesn't get a shot at him?
Blackwell couldn't even quote his own book or keep a coherent thought when JS corrected him.

Michael Steele should be proud.

What a tool LOL!

Blackwell spoke three or four times about the "delicate balance" among the three branches. Nonsense. The balance is robust and tends to be self-equilibrating. When one branch begins to take too much upon itself, it rouses the institutional pride of the other two and provokes opposition in the electorate. Balance has held up remarkably well over two centuries filled with conflict and crises. Did Obama like the Citizens United decision? Did he and the Democrats get everything they wanted in health care reform? Obviously not. They are facing plenty of opposition even on a measure as popular as reform of the finance industry.

Blackwell and his party lost an election. But the Republic still stands.

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Stewart is brilliant - better than any of the so-called "real" journalists.
He gives the most brilliant and concise rebuttal of the right wing wingbutts and tea bagger arguments in segment 3 - PRICELESS!

It's like the poster that was circulating during Bush's run up to war - "It's not Fascism when we do it!" What's stunning is that people actually buy this argument - that when people we agree with rape our system, it's OK - but when someone we don't like or don't agree with is in power - it's tyranny! SHEESH!

Stewart's comment that our Republic is not as fragile as the wingnuts say it is - is truly profound.

In a related segment, the Daily show once again demonstrated the Emperor has no clothes. The did a segment with their "Senior Black Correspondent" that included a picture of Steele and Blackwell (probably the only dark skinned faces one could find at a GOP function). The point made was Blackwell and Steele are being used by the Republican'ts to show that African Americans are incompetent, so by inference Obama shouldn't be allowed to lead.

Blackwell certainly takes a Creationist approach to logic.

He was also quite jovial, like a class clown - and yet managed to convey that he sincerely believed what he was saying.

Overall, an impressive sad hominem performance for Blackwell.