Dana Milbank of The Washington Post was one of the many liberals in the media who were elated that House Republicans caved in to President Obama’s demand to increase the debt limit with no offsetting spending cuts or concessions on ObamaCare. Milbank was so gleeful, in fact, that he brought a blueberry pie onto the set of Tuesday’s PoliticsNation on MSNBC to celebrate with host Al Sharpton. [Video below. MP3 audio here.]
But Milbank warned the reverend not to get too excited, explaining:
I think the fever has broken on the Tea Party here, but the virus is still in the body. I don’t think we're out of the woods yet.
It’s not entirely clear what Milbank meant. Did he liken the Tea Party to a virus that had caused a national fever? Or did he imply that the Tea Party is infected with a virus? Either way, the comment is horribly insulting, yet sadly not out of place on MSNBC’s evening lineup.
Sharpton picked up on the virus analogy by remarking, “You know, but blueberry pie with tea will help them with the virus.”
Of course, Sharpton has no real concern about the Tea Party’s health. Just before Milbank showed up on set, the reverend exclaimed that President Obama “called the bluff on some of those bullies on the right.” Sharpton also exhorted Republicans to “wise up and start doing their jobs” by falling in line behind Obama and passing his initiatives without so much as a whimper, naturally.
Below is a transcript of the exchange:
AL SHARPTON: The president called the bluff on some of those bullies on the right. And let's face it. If Republicans wise up and start doing their jobs, then maybe everyone will be happy, happy, happy. Joining me now is Dana Milbank. Dana, a lot of Republicans didn't believe the president when he said he wouldn't negotiate on the debt limit. Think they believe him now?
DANA MILBANK: Well, zippity doo da. I think they do believe him now. And this is showing again that when this president exerts forceful leadership, that he gets something done. Now this happened with the government shutdown. He said I'm not going to budge, he stuck to it and they knuckled under. So I think there’s reason to celebrate. I know you like blueberry pie, so I brought this to celebrate. But I don't want you to get too excited because I don’t – I think the fever has broken on the Tea Party here, but the virus is still in the body. I don’t think we're out of the woods yet.
SHARPTON: You know, but blueberry pie with tea will help them with the virus.
