All of those things are still happening in red states to this day, and the locals assume it’s normal, so I wouldn’t be looking for any amazing changes in perspective any time soon.
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Hey now, the Queen’s a very nice, and smart, lady. I’d have her running the EPA any day!
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The difference is that if he “takes” responsibility then he wasn’t originally responsible, it’s somebody else’s mistakes and he’s going to be brave and take the beating like a man to protect the weaker people on his team, like a true leader!
Conversely, if it was his responsibility all along then he’s just a fucking idiot and needs to be fired.
(Decisions, decisions, which one could it be?)
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The “It’s my responsibility but not really my fault,.” is the sort of weasel wording that Sarbanes/Oxley was supposed to go after in the corporate world. “if you didn’t do it, it was still your JOB to prevent it.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes–Oxley_Act
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This is a thing of beauty - thanks for posting these videos!
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I’ve always wondered how someone expects to recover from the position of “I’m so bad at my job, I didn’t know these things were going on that I’m responsible for.”
That seems to be the goal of his defense. That he’s such a bad administrator and manager that he didn’t actually know what anyone on his staff was doing. If you’re that bad at the basics, why should people expect you to be any better at the policy items. His staff could be sticking anything they want into policies and he wouldn’t know it.
It’s like a McDonald’s manager whose registers all come up short for months claiming that they’re not responsible for the cashier stealing money, they didn’t do it. Which is true, the manager didn’t commit the crime. But, they’re so poor at managing, they didn’t even know the issue was occurring. You don’t really want to keep that person in charge.
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And even with all his faults, I can’t see her heir wanting to destroy the environment. What will he do with no trees to talk to?
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Oh, it’s the last one, of course. The problem is, so many Republicans and Trumpers entirely agree with him doing the exact opposite of what the EPA is supposed to do. They would cheer him for it, so you can’t condemn him for doing what they want him to do. It would be like telling a Raider fan that his team won by breaking a rule.
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Trump is watching Pruitt and taking notes on how-to’s.
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Please enlighten me as to the nature of your accusation, which is posed in the form of a rhetorical trap. The Congressman’s question was straightforward, asking the man who is publicly known as the head of the EPA if he is indeed the head of the EPA. Being cagey about his answer to that didn’t serve Mr. Pruitt well, at all. If he had simply answered the question, we wouldn’t be talking about it here, now.
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This is pretty horrifying
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Horrifying, and also working exactly as intended, which is why Republicans in Congress gave Pruitt a big thumbs-up after his hearing.
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Agreed.
[quote]Luján: “Today, you repeatedly blamed your chief of staff, your chief counsel, career officials, and others. Yes or no, are you the EPA administrator?”
Pruitt: “I said in my opening statement, Congressman.[/quote]
Question answered in the first answer.
It’s dishonest grandstanding trying to get the exact soundbite they want. Pruitt continually refers to previously having answered the questions, and asking a rhetorical question that you know the answer to and then insisting that you have to hear the answer, is just… I dunno, being stupid or being an asshole, take your pick. Asking a question I know damn well they know the answer to would get a much less polite response from me than what Pruitt gave. Rep was just plain being purposely obtuse which is rude.
Having said that, I’m never against being rude to a politician or making them feel uncomfortable or badgered so have at it.
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For a lot of questions, sure. But asking whether he’s the EPA Administrator? Please.
I’d like to see the questions and testimony prior to this. I’d bet he was already dodging pretty simple questions like crazy. If he was on full evasive maneuvers, the only way to pin him down (or truly demonstrate what an evasive shitweasel he is) would be to go to Y/N questions as simple as, “Is your name Scott Pruitt?”
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Yeah, I’ve used a technique like this before on people who have gone into full on evasion. Go to asking really, really easy questions that should establish that you live in the same reality, or serve to at least make it clear that they are not going to answer you no matter what.
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“Mr. Pruitt. Are you a buffoon and an asshole? Yes or no.”
I see that question as simultaneously bullying while clearly being a ‘yes or no’ question. Life’s complicated. 
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Because at that power level, they basically Never actually get in trouble. They may look bad at a hearing and get some negative press reviews, but that’s generally the end of it. Will Pruit get charged with any crimes? Will Ben Carson? Will anyone at a Wall Street bank?
That may be true, but it’s certainly not fair.
Yeah, but usually there is a threshold past which you become an embarrassment, then you are expected to step down. Tom Price resigned over what seems to me like a lesser scandal than what Pruitt’s gotten himself into. I wonder what about Pruitt makes him so indispensable.
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