They are destroying Lou Dobbs on the Lawrence O'Donnel Show

[nadinbrzezinski]

which is just amazing to watch.

Splitting hairs, really.

[Hello_Kitty]

1. He is so full of shit. eom

[stray cat]

2. It's petty -an attack that simply looks petty and gotcha like -and I don't like Dobbs

If that's the best a reporter can do they should not get air time. There are plenty of legitimate and responsible things to report

[devereaux]

8. I agree

I agree somewhat...but he does need to appreciate that his public attitudes and statements over the past several years make him look hypocritical. He needs to come out and actually provide empathetic and pragmatic solutions from here on out with respect to illegal immigration if he doesnt want to be considered a crackpot.

Also, Isabel MacDonald is really cute. It's clear she has no televised debate experience, but she is doing a pretty decent job.

[Hannah Bell]

9. lou invented petty.

[PopSixSquish]

19. For the Second Time Today - "Yeah, What You Said"

[Wickerman]

3. I got no problem with that

Dobbs is an ass. However, aren't there bigger fish to fry? Does he really even exist without his show?

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. He's been the lead person on the attack the immigrants

illegal and to a point legal.

That is why this matters.

[Wickerman]

11. Yeah, I'm dumb, but not deaf and blind

I'm aware of what is going on, I just don't see that it matters a lot any more as his platform is gone. He's already marginalized. Really no skin off my teeth but it seems there are others in this news cycle who could get beat on for more mileage.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. He STILL has a radio show

:-)

And books.

[Wickerman]

14. yeah, but his crowd can't read

Yeah, I see your point. I guess I'm just sick of him. :shrug:

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. Been sick of him for ten years

and this was FAR MORE civilized than Rachel's interview.

Boy that one was funny in some ways to be honest.

[SargeUNN]

5. his isn't looking very professional

He tries to overtalk and takes no responsiblity for his actions.

[H2O Man]

6. It's hilarious.

Classic theater.

[Seedersandleechers]

7. As much as I hate Dobbs

They are presenting a weak case. Wish it weren't so, but that's my own take on the interview.

[H2O Man]

10. Turn on MSNBC

(sounds like you are watching something else)

[Lost-in-FL]

15. I agree about the weak case but he is not helping his situation either...

and he really is looking like he got busted. The more he talks the worse it looks for him.He is falling head on into it and I am guilty of enjoying that.

[lonestarnot]

13. No, he did that all by his little lonesome.

[Lost-in-FL]

16. +1, nt

[madokie]

22. it was a thing of beauty

watching o red nosed soused lou splitting hairs about how he didn't personally hire anyone and Lawrence calling him out on it by using the example that if you hire a company to do work for you that uses illegal immigrants what does that make you, Louie had no answers for any of their arguments except obfuscation and bullshit or in his case horseshit. fuck a bunch of lou dobbs he sucks horses asses. I wonder what his wife thinks about all this? She being Hispanic and all. :hi:

[lonestarnot]

27. Yes it was!

[bemildred]

17. Long overdue. nt

[depakid]

18. Did they ask him about the leprosy thing?

That would make his face go red.

[Mira]

20. A thirty minute interview: And Lou Dobbs utterly lost against a young

smart woman researcher with little or no TV experience.
He is dishonest and it showed.

[Motown_Johnny]

21. I don't like the guy but he does have a point (sorry)

Hiring a company that uses illegal labor is not the same as hiring an illegal worker yourself.


Every American who eats vegetables is indirectly using illegal labor because so many of our vegetables are picked by illegal workers.


OK, so he hired a landscaping company who had 3 (count them, 3) illegal workers at his house at some point. Trying to hold him accountable for this is a different standard than the rest of us are held to. The same holds true for the stable he kept his horses at. The stable owner needs to be held responsible for breaking labor laws, not the stable's clients.



I don't like the guy either, but it doesn't look like a hair that he is splitting. Directly hiring illegal labor and indirectly benefiting from illegal labor are two different things.

[K8-EEE]

24. No, I disagree

I've had situations where I make an effort to hire contractors that only use legal labor. For example -- I got multiple bids on a horrid plumbing problem (main sewer line to the street needed to be totally replaced and my house has a big setback.) We paid $14,000 to use the plumber who could assure me paperwork and all of legal employees. The others would do the same job for $6,000 - $9,000 but would use day laborers for the trenching part of the job (there was a LOT OF TRENCHING involved.) We went with the union guys and their apprentices for $14,000 and btw they finished on time, left no mess, and no after-problems at all. We in America have got to decide if we want to pay for labor or use slave labor. You can't tell me he didn't go cheaper to get the undocumented workers.

[kas125]

25. I disagree, too. My dad who is almost 82 used to watch Dobbs

faithfully and it made me ill, but sometimes I'd watch it with him. The man was ALWAYS bitching about people who used contractors to cover the fact that they were hiring "illegal aliens." He's a big hypocrite even if he did use contractors.

[Meldread]

26. Sorry, don't much like Lou but this really isn't a big deal.

This isn't a situation similar to what Meg is fighting in California. The reporter herself stated that she had no evidence that Lou knowingly or intentionally hired illegal workers. Basically what the case boils down to is this: Lou hired some landscaping company who in turn hired illegal workers. He also apparently places his horses in a stable, which then in turn hired an illegal worker to groom the horses. Now, Lou might have simply been lazy and not checked into things. That's a strong possibility. Alternatively, he might have checked but was lied to by the contractors, which is also possible.

Either way, since the Nation (by the reporters own admission) has no proof that Lou KNOWINGLY indirectly hired illegal workers it makes them look petty and out to do a gotcha story. It doesn't make them look good and could potentially undermine their creditability.

If someone wants to attack Lou - that's fine. Attack his policy positions. There is plenty there to go after. Attack his past statements, again, plenty to go after. Hell, it's even completely legitimate to attack him based on moral compassion on behalf of undocumented workers. There is little reason to go snooping around his house and interviewing everyone he comes into contact with indirectly through a third party, all in an attempt to prove that he had indirectly employed someone illegal. The Nation could have saved time and money and simply called him up: "Hey, Lou have you ever purchased fruit, vegetables, or meat products from your local grocery store?" If he answers yes, then he's guilty of paying illegal workers indirectly.

I would have preferred Lawrence, whose show now steals an hour of time from my day, to focus on bigger issues. Seriously, Lawrence, you're too good to waste your time dealing with such a petty and silly thing.