As reported by the Huffington Post, during a meeting between President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders, Republican Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas told President Obama he couldn’t even stand to look at the president.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told his Democratic caucus last week in a private meeting that a top House Republican said to President Barack Obama, “I cannot even stand to look at you,” according to two Democratic senators who were present.
The account was confirmed by two Senate Democratic aides who said they independently learned of the exchange from other senators.
The two senators who spoke to HuffPost did not hear the Republican make the remark, but said a top White House aide who was present later told Senate Democratic leaders that the lawmaker who said he couldn’t stand to look at the president was Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Rules Committee.
Reid then told the caucus about the incident on Tuesday and named Sessions, according to one of the two Democratic senators who spoke to HuffPost. Reid also told the caucus that he was “sorry” to have to tell them about it, per this senator, but gave Obama credit for his “dignified” response to Sessions. Reid reportedly told the caucus that Obama responded to Sessions by saying he understood that they disagreed on many issues and he respected their differences.
It’s absolutely disgraceful and disgusting that a member of Congress would insult a sitting president in such a manner, but I suppose nothing should surprise when it comes to how petty, spiteful, and disgraceful some Republicans can be when it comes to President Obama (or liberals in general, for that matter).
not exactly (http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/white-house-durbin-quote-a-misunderstanding-98794.html?hp=r2)
Apparently there are conflicting reports.
Politics has gone form bad to terrible. Theses attacks are not ideological but are personal. This began when Republican lawmakers caucused after Obama was elected to plot strategy as to how they could keep him from winning a second term. They have fought against everyone of his proposals and in the process have destroyed the functioning of government. They no longer serve the best interests of the country although they claim they do. Rather now they focus on attacking the character and quality of him as an individual, showing no respect for the presidency nor his leadership. These lawmakers do not deserve to be re-elected nor to have a seat at the table of government. Rep. Sessions owes not only the president a public face to face apology but he owes the country the same.
Funny you left this part of the story out:
Reid relayed the story to the entire Democratic caucus on Tuesday, Oct. 15, and named Sessions, according to one of the two Democratic senators who spoke to HuffPost. Reid also told the caucus that he was “sorry” to have to tell them about it, per this senator, but gave Obama credit for his “dignified” response to Sessions. Reid reportedly told the caucus that Obama responded to Sessions by saying he understood that they disagreed on many issues and he respected their differences.
Two Senate Democratic aides separately told HuffPost that White House deputy chief of staff Rob Nabors was the official who originally told Democratic leaders about the Sessions incident.
The revelation from the senators sheds new light on a Capitol Hill whodunit that burst into the public sphere when Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) shared the exchange on his Facebook page on Sunday. The alleged incident took place in the throes of the government shutdown, when Obama was meeting with different factions of lawmakers to try to find a resolution to the debacle. (Neither of the two senators who spoke to HuffPost are Durbin.)
On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney flatly dismissed the story.
“I looked into this and spoke with somebody who was in that meeting and it did not happen,” Carney said during his daily briefing.
doctor, loved you on All-Star wrestling, but you took too many steroids.
Obama’s desperate to “chain the CPI,” on Social Security and veterans benefits, but thank God/Science/whatever that the TeaParty’s too stupid to take “yes” for an answer.
http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2013/10/23/why-im-less-worried-about-a-grand-bargain/
Zach, you’re exactly right. There has to be respect for the “office.”
“We salute the rank, not the man.”
It’s Pete Sessions a Brave man who declared during the Republican Shutdown, “we’re not French we don’t surrender.” Pete, a natural born chicken hawk Republican who was knee deep in Jack Abramoff kickback schemes had the good fortune to turn 18 one week after US forces left Vietnam in 1973.