Donna Brazile, Paul Begala Angrily Spar Over Dem Stereotypes

Apparently, way before this election began, Paul Begala got together with Lou Dobbs in heathen New York City, where they ate the Food Of The Working Class and pinned Barack Obama's electoral hopes on whether he could prove that he was able to accommodate dwarves with their insatiable need for marmalade. Or something. Begala may be drunk, or filling the performance-art vacuum left by his absence of pal James Carville. We don't know. But Begala did find a way to denigrate "Volvo drivin', NPR tote bag totin'" liberals, and claim Obama needed to "put the jam on the lower shelf where the little folk can reach it."

[WATCH.]

BEGALA: The challenge now for Barack, both the key to the primary and the general election for Barack will now be white, working class voters. At the very, very beginning, of this entire election season, Lou, you and I and a bunch of us all got together in New York and talked about what the election will be about and I said then and I say it again tonight. My advice to Barack Obama is put the jam on the lower shelf where the little folk can reach it. In other words, talk more about those blue collar, economic populist issues that John Edwards first raised and now Hillary Clinton is raising so effectively. If he can do that, he'll hold this wonderful base built but he needs to reach out now to the white working-class voters and means a different message than he generally talks about. He's got to stop with all the arguments for the Volvo drivin', NPR totebag totin' liberals, he needs to talk to middle class working people.

Of course, if Edwards' supporters are anything like Edwards' donors, the populist break for Obama has already begun. Begala and I may differ on whether Clinton's been "raising" these issues "so effectively," but that's only because I don't think duping blue-collar voters with a phony "gas tax holiday" amounts to "effective" populism.

Donna Brazile, however, wasn't having any of it, and minutes later took the opportunity to dress Begala down (and in front of her boo, Lou Dobbs, to boot!). Begala protested, "We can't win with eggheads and African-Americans." Brazile, on the other hand, seemed to think that unifying the entire Democratic base would be preferable to alienating and insulting large demographic cross-sections of it in order to make blue-collar voters feel sufficiently pandered to. "You've got a hearing problem," Brazile jeered, "I've drank more beers with Joe Sixpack and Jane Sixpack than most white Democrats." She also took issue with Begala's continually referring to the Democratic Party as "my party." "It's our party, Paul."

[WATCH.]

Comments

[ReportThis]

Notice that Hillary, Terry McAullife and Paul Begala all exhibit the same eerie physical expression: pasted-on smile, widening of the eyes. I think it may be a "tell" that they are lying.

[ebanks84]

Maybe they are all on some of that meth Hillary was talking about. Or, maybe they are all brainwashed or something. They seem to be in a state of "disbelief":)

[ebanks84]

Yes, Donna made everybody wake up to the fact that there are bluecollar workers in all races, not just white. This race should be above color anyway. People should vote not in accordance with what they race does, but in accordance to how they feel personally about each candidate. It's the MEDIA who keeps us in chaos by splitting us into racial divides and so far we have followed their leads in doing so. We MUST STOP LISTENING TO THE MEDIA and make up our minds with our gut instincts that God gave us. That's the real inside truth.

Plus we need to come together as a party and STOP nittin and pittin each other into arguments. Let's stop acting like they want us to act. Let's get above the frey and come together as one for a great change. If we are the superior world power people think we are, let's start acting like that. I'm ashamed of how this race has gone so far and hope we can go beyond these ill feelings.

[countingcrows]

Donna Brazile - YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!

[casper11]

GO Donna. Its about time someone put this freakin idiot in his place. Paul is a 1990's antique and his crash and burn class warfare politics don't wash anymore. Paul, you are irrelevent and should go to the ashbin of history. If it weren't for CNN you would never be heard from again.

[VOTER]

ALL TRUE!

[SarahZim]

Yup, john stewart said it best, he is a political hack and bad for america. Hopefully that rabid dog james carville is put down as well.

[AllaboutME]

OUCH! She ripped Paul a new one!

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

And monkeys flew out.

[Kiku]

If these voters are voting for Hillary because Obama doesn't wear a lapel pin, even though Hillary doesn't either, if these voters are voting for Hillary even though Hillary and Bill worked to close down factories in Indian and ship them around the world, if they vote for Hillary who proposes at best meaningless programs and at worst very destructive programs to win their vote......then maybe there is some other issue that is really the concern. Maybe it's an issue that Obama can't change. I hope that these people come around by November.

[MAC2]

They need to give Donna the Lou Floop show, need some new perspective. .......................

[AtlantaBill]

Well, I certainly hope that Sen. Obama continues being nothing other than a genuine person that sticks to the things that got him where he is. Paul's suggestions that he somehow "morphs" into something that he is not is kind of laughable. I think that is exactly the kind of advice that had Sen. Clinton display the multiple personalities we saw at various times during the campaign.

[alm123]

It’s a reversed lynching!

[paul15260]

Do you mean loosening?

[MAC2]

"Well now isn,t this wonderful" Between this guy and the other scary dude married to the neo-con you guys are going to have to get a job and do some work. So set down shut up and watch how we kick some serious old man butt.

The parties over, turn out the lights..................................working white men, give me a break you wouldn't know work if jumped on your head.

[thisoldbroad]

Donna Brazile is such a classy, intelligent woman & brilliant political strategist. And as Paul Begala has now learned - she packs a hell of a punch!

[foucaro]

The only difference between cynical Begala and cynical Carville is that he isn't as ugly and he wears a phoney smile rather than a sneer. Brazile's intelligence and humanity shines.

[CanuckforObama]

I second that. Brazile has been very neutral all along during the campaign. Her reaction must be similar to most superdelegates. Enough is enough. Let's get on with it and prepare for the general and stop coming up with excuses to save Hillary's sinking ship.

[bongogirl]

I AGREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jorge999]

You said it for me. She's classy, bright and tough.
I have watched her with increasing admiration and have become a BIG Donna Brazile fan!

[Concerned1]

Paul Begala messed with the wrong person. She knows what she is talking about. Ms. Brazile's comments have been neutral throughout this entire process. She is a smart political strategist and if he would have taken her up on the invite to the green room, it would not have been pretty.

[Cherlesq]

WHERE IS THE VIDEO?

[Roose]

Thank you god that Begala, Carville, McAuliffe, Lanny Davis, Howard Wolfson, Geraldine Ferraro, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and other assorted Clinton A---holes and flacks will finally be out of the spotlight.

It's a good day!

[jorge999]

Roose, you said it.
Boy, am I tired of those obnoxious phonies!

[findingthetruth]

Ms. Brazile, you GO girl!!!!

'Nuff said.

[cowboyfan88]

Ha ha it's so funny to watch you people run members under the bus to gain the white house. You are only hurting yourselves by giving obama a pass. He is a light weight and we will find that out. He will have it easy only for so long. I can't wait...........................

[ebanks84]

Ya think?

[Dannydel]

You're from Texas so I doubt if anyone here takes you seriously. Your state is full of right wing christian conservative redneck fascists, whose ideology is only about 1 1/2 centuries behind the rest of the country. Your state is home to the idiot son whose greed is surpassed only by his stupidity. It's a good sign though that someone down in cowtown actually has a computer. Good luck to you. And when President Obama takes the oath, be sure and write and tell us how angry God is about electing a non white.

[Insightful]

You are right on!! All of you going along with this Obama myth will find out that he has no real substance. That Indiana primary was badly handled just like Florida with the delayed count.

This whole process has been tainted from the getgo. He will need all kinds of advisors and his backers are all waiting in the wings for their cushy jobs.

We are being blindsided.

[PhDiva]

Donna Brazile has consistently been one of the only rational and ethical pundits on television. She is always, rational, measured, and honest, and she always refuses to let anybody bully her or spin the truth. She is one of the only people on the news whose opinion I respect, and she just proved why.

I wish Donna Brazile had her own show, but these news networks only give shows to white men.