This Is Insane, and Grossly Disrespectful to the POTUS
The House is considering a resolution demanding that Pres. Obama apologize to Sgt. James Crowley for saying he “acted stupidly” in the arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) will introduce a House resolution on Monday demanding Obama retract and apologize for remarks he has made about Cambridge Police Sergeant James Crowley this past week.
Obama had said at his prime time press conference Wednesday that Crowley had “acted stupidly” in the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, a racially-infused case which has sparked a national debate on race and policing.
The president refused to back down on his involvement in the case, but appeared in the White House briefing on Friday to say he had called Crowley to explain that never meant to insult the officer. (Obama also called Gates on Friday.)
McCotter’s resolution would demand Obama “retract his initial public remarks and apologize to Cambridge, Massachusetts Police Sergeant James M. Crowley for having unfairly impugned and prejudged his professional conduct in this local police response incident.”
The resolution will come after an escalation in the Cambridge case the past two days after the president’s initial statements on the matter. The nation’s largest police group, the Fraternal Order of Police, blasted Obama for his remarks about Crowley and the Cambridge police.
There are no words or expressions that are adequate to this. Jaw-dropping? Too cliched for something like this. Has this ever happened before? That one political party in Congress has proposed a resolution to demand that the President of the United States apologize to a private citizen for offending him?
Are there absolutely no grown-ups left in the Republican Party? None? Aside from anything else, Pres. Obama did apologize, in effect. He acknowledged, very clearly, that he made a mistake in using those words. My God, even the police union is satisfied with what he said!
Standing two dozen strong before a sea of TV cameras at the Hotel Macklowe, Steve Killion of the Cambridge Police Patrol Officers Association declared:
“Cambridge police are not stupid. I think the President should make an apology to all law-enforcement personnel throughout the entire country.”
Dennis O’Connor, president of the police supervisors union, said Obama needed to say he was sorry.
“We hope that they [Obama and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick] will reflect upon their past comments and apologize to the men and women of the Cambridge Police Department,” he added.
It worked.
Within an hour after phoning Crowley, Obama called an impromptu news conference of his own in Washington.
Stepping before a surprised White House press corps, he said he regretted his July 22 statement and called Crowley an “outstanding police officer and a good man.”
“I want to make clear that in my choice of words, I think I unfortunately … gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge Police Department or Sgt. Crowley specifically,” the President said.
“I could have calibrated those words differently, and I told this to Sgt. Crowley.”
The back-pedaling seemed to mollify the union officials who had blasted him.
“It’s gone some way toward mending the fence with the patrol officers, even though I haven’t spoken with any of them yet,” Killion told the Boston Globe after Obama’s remarks.
“He acknowledges he made a mistake,” Killion said.
“He wasn’t there. None of us have the facts. He didn’t have the facts. We don’t have the facts. We don’t know what Professor Gates said, what Sgt. Crowley said.”
He said he was “absolutely pleased” with Obama’s call to Crowley.
“I think it was a good thing for the President to do. He’s the commander in chief, he’s in charge,” he said.
Thank you, Mr. Killion — would you mind calling Thaddeus McCotter and ask him to give the message to his fellow House Republicans?
34 Responses to “This Is Insane, and Grossly Disrespectful to the POTUS”
>>>Has this ever happened before? That one political party in Congress has proposed a resolution to demand that the President of the United States apologize to a private citizen for offending him?<<<
I've never heard of a President publicly attacking a private citizen before so I would say no.
Thank you, Rep. McCotter. Your bill will fail but don’t worry… he’ll make many more poor choices in the future. Here's to looking forward for going 2 for 2 on Impeachment.
This is no “Modeate Blog” in my honest, but deadly accurate, opinion. It should be “The Modearate Marxist” blog or “obama is my idol” blog.
Hmm? Congress considering a “sense of the House” resolution requesting an apology is more “grossly disrespectful” compared to the police union requesting it? You're going off the deep end, Katty–Congress doesn't have to respect the president any more than anyone else.
The resolution is not disrespectful, it's stupid. Very stupid. Partly because he already apologized, but more so because it's really none of the Congress' business. It's pointless as anything but a political stunt, and should be painted as what it is, not as some jaw-dropping outrage.
And it's not really fair to ask, even rhetorically, whether there are any grown-ups left in the Republican Party. Clearly there are at least some. One bad apple doesn't spoil the rest of the lot; it just happens to be really spoiled lot right now.
Mad Dog: Comments such as yours do nothing at all to advance the debate. Just hurling out the name Marxist when you disagree with someone leaves open the question: specifically what is this person's take on this issue? How does he or she differ from the person writing the post? Make your best case for why you see otherwise. If you do that, you might change some minds. The mantra from people on the right AND left about how this can't be a moderate blog if they read one post they disagree with gets kind of old…especially if you look alt polls that show that moderates and independents are no monolithic blogs where every single person agrees or disagrees.
The president is also a citizen, in addition to being the chief executive, and is allowed his opinions just like any of us. I don't believe he should have to apologize for saying the officer “acted stupidly.” However, the Democrats might want to consider a resolution asking him to apologize for “speaking stupidly” in terms of the political realities.
Empty posturing, artificial outrage, inflated issues – as long as it feeds the egos of the people with Obama DS, some republicans will proudly give it the thumbs-up. It's all about the message, never about the substance with these people.
Is this really going to work out well for the people pushing it?
I doubt it.
I wonder how sincere an apology can be when one is coerced to make it. You can add that to the list of reasons why this is stupid.
Thank you, Rep. McCotter. Your bill will fail but don’t worry…
This seems to be the motto of the modern Republican Party. It's all phony outraged grandstanding and nothing more. The officer, the “perp” and the President will all soon meet at the White House for a beer. They will emerge from the meeting all smiley and happy.
The Republicans, like Mr. McCotter and all the talk radio goons, will continue to flog this dead horse long beyond the point where it has gone stale. In the end, Republicans will look foolish again, because they are.
A POTUS has no right to insult a private citizen who is law-abiding and pays his taxes. Obama works for us private tax-paying citizens. We are HIS boss and we pay HIS salary. He works for us. And no employee can get away with insulting his boss without cause.
If a POTUS called me on the phone, I have every right to just hang up on him if I choose.
If I were the President, I would apologize….on TV….in Massachusetts….seconds after Gates apologized to Crowley….and Crowley apologized to Gates….then Both Gates and Crowley made a short pitch for my healthcare plan.
Thank You
>>Empty posturing, artificial outrage, inflated issues – as long as it feeds the egos of the people with Obama DS, some republicans will proudly give it the thumbs-up. It's all about the message, never about the substance with these people.<<
That right there pretty much sums up the current state of the republican party. Unfortunately. This all has absolutely nothing about the topic at hand – it has nothing to do about how incredibly stupid the Cambridge Police acted. It has absolutely nothing to do how incredibly stupid Obama was for even mentioning it and totally derailing a much more important topic. This has absolutely nothing to do about 'teachable moments'. This has absolutely nothing to do about the larger topic of race in America. Not one little whit of substance. At all.
Instead, it has everything to do with playing pure, unadulterated politics. Any reason to bash the president, no matter how small and insignificant. Forget there are dozens of urgent topics the childish politicians in Washington who are pushing this nonsensical bill should be focusing on — instead they feel it is more important to play the republican vs. Democrat game.
And not just this one time. It's EVERY time. It's EVERYTHING they do, it's EVERYTHING they talk about. For the past six months, every single little action, every single little word that the republicans have uttered has been channeled through the compulsive need to insert partisan politics into every possible thing.
And, ultimately, it's very sad, and very pitiful. Because as a centrist I actually do agree and sympathize with Republican (big-R) values on some topics. But the current republican party is a shell of its former self, and have shed their values and ideals so much that they no longer deserve to be called “Republican”. Instead of serving their constituents and America, they have decided it is more important to play politics and become the Party of No, where opposing Anything Democratic At All Costs takes precedence over doing the job they were elected for. And this bill is just another sorrowful example of that.
I look forward to the day when the grown-ups take control of the republican party, so that we can once again have balance in the government. But I fear, with actions such as this, it may be a long, long time before the republicans grow up.
This is political grandstanding, nothing more.
This whole issue is being SO blown out of proportion to what it was. Everyone needs to just walk away from this and get back to more important things.
Since Obama has tried to patch this up already McCotter's resolution is pointless.
But being upset because it disrespects the POTUS – is that even a consideration any more after the GWB years?
Are there absolutely no grown-ups left in the Republican Party? ~ KK
If there are, then they sure are keeping low profiles these days…
All American Presidents are HUMAN BEINGS first and foremost. President Obama “stupidly” defended a friend without waiting for more facts. I don't know about you, but I've done the same thing. Yes I'm a regular Joe with about as much influence as a drunk flea compared to President Obama. But he did the RIGHT thing in admitting his mistake, talking to both Professor Gates and Sgt. Crowley, and inviting them to the White House for a chat. If I was in Sgt. Crowley shoes, and the POTUS called me to apologize, I would have been very satisfied (as Sgt. Crowley appears to be).
Now if President Obama turned all Black Panther Party on us and escalated this, then you can get the impeachment wagon rolling. But that didn't happen.
>>>Now if President Obama turned all Black Panther Party on us and escalated this, then you can get the impeachment wagon rolling. But that didn't happen.<<<
It still wouldn't be an impeachable offense even he went “all Black Panther” on us.
>>>was in Sgt. Crowley shoes, and the POTUS called me to apologize, I would have been very satisfied (as Sgt. Crowley appears to be).<<<
The problem here is the people who will act out against police officers using Obama's “stupid” justification. When an officer can't control the scene it becomes not just harder to do his job, but also a dangerous situation.
>>>mlhradio – I look forward to the day when the grown-ups take control of the republican party, But I fear, with actions such as this, it may be a long, long time before the republicans grow up.<<<<
…. ,said the lolicon.
“I wonder how sincere an apology can be when one is coerced to make it”
Good point, adelinesdad. reminds me of “how good the intelligence can be if one is tortured to 'deliver' it”
Sinz54:
“Obama works for us private tax-paying citizens. We are HIS boss and we pay HIS salary. He works for us.”
I guess Bush never worked for “us. He never listened to “us”"
Oh, come ON. Would you people stop using the word “attack” like every single criticism a person utters is equivalent to going at them with teeth bared? And how many times does someone have to point out that the man said ACTED stupidly, not ARE stupid?
When commenters exaggerate language and reactions, they place themselves on the fringe, IMO.
It can be argued, which his probably why Obama did NOT entirely retract his words, that arresting an older man on his doorstep is indeed an unwise act–otherwise called by most realists, a stupid one. Don't believe that this is arguable? Ask a lawyer.
Did Gates have a gun? Did he have the capacity to apprehend and arrest Crowley (*and* have Crowley in the bag for resisting arrest/other if Crowley got frightened or angry and fought back?) at the time? No he did not. Crowley had more power in the situation, had a higher real threat level and had been shown that Gates wasn't up to anything criminal. Being an egocentric douche in front of an officer is not a crime.
Crowley doesn't have to apologize, but Obama was asked for his opinion and delivered it. Wasn't that the conservatives' defense of Prejean – that she was asked for her opinion and then delivered?
they're on the warpath and they sense weakness – very simple. they have NO scruples or principles.
What a waste of tax payer money.
I wonder how sincere an apology can be when one is coerced to make it.
Excellent point, A.D.
Since Obama has tried to patch this up already McCotter's resolution is pointless.
Yes, exactly. I think it was that aspect, precisely, that struck me as disrespectful to Obama as the president. You know, that rubbing it in his face, trying to make him look so small over a mistake that, like you said, he already acknowledged. I can't really explain it cogently — it just felt disrespectful to me. I see your point, though.
The problem here is the people who will act out against police officers using Obama's “stupid” justification. /i>
That strikes me as a very unlikely possibility — and a rather silly argument.
Almost 30 comments on a subject that should be dead.
While I would not call TMV marist. I would call Kathy a hard core koolaid drinking Obama supporter. There is nothing moderate about her love for Obama and she will go to any length to defend him. I wouldn't find this a problem for a reader, but for a writer on a “moderate” blog…she seems to be out of place.
That being said…respect to her for putting her arguments out there to be brutalized by us readers.
Shannonlee, I hardly think that mischaracterizing someone is the same as brutalizing them.
Thank you, JSpencer. Much appreciated.
You're right mad-doggie, its not a “Modeate Blog” as you spell it, nor is it “The Modearate” anything as you also spell it. Not quite sure how your opining on what is or isnt here in your mind, has anything to do with the topic. If in doubt about the policies for commenters at The Moderate Voice, read the rules for commenters at the top of the page.
Thanks
The R's don't have the numbers to win on anything, or any prospects to improve their numbers, so they've resorted to ultra-petty, partisan sniping.
I do think this whole issue is becoming the
“Terry Schiavo” of this administration—we should just give it a rest.
When anyone tells you Republicans can't propose legislation about health care because mean old Nancy Pelosi won't let them, remember they didn't have any problem with promoting this piece of legislation.
I hope you're not refering to me JSpencer…I think everyone here knows her feelings for Obama.