Will Democrats Reprimand Grayson for 'K Street Whore' Comment?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," October 27, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And tonight in "Your America," Congressman Alan Grayson is at it again. Shocking remarks that he made during a radio interview last month have been uncovered. Here's how the Florida Democrat characterized a close aide to the Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}REP. ALAN GRAYSON, D-FLA.: Here I am the only member of Congress who actually worked as an economist, and this lobbyist, this K Street whore, is trying to teach me about economics.
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HANNITY: Pretty unbelievable. Now this morning Grayson's office indicated that the congressman was standing by his comments and said he wasn't referring to the woman's personal life, but rather her professional career.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But just a short time ago Grayson did in fact issue an apology saying, quote, "I offer my sincere apology to Linda Robertson. I did not intend to use a term that is often and correctly seen as disrespectful of women."
And this is only the latest controversial statement from Grayson. Here are some of the other outrageous comments that he has made in the last months alone.
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GRAYSON, SEPT. 29: The Republican health care plan is this. Die quickly. That's right. The Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick.
GRAYSON, SEPT. 30: I call upon all of us to do our jobs for the sake of America, for the sake of those dying people and their families. I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven't voted sooner to end this holocaust in America.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}GRAYSON, OCT. 21: Fox News and their Republican collaborators are the enemy of America.
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HANNITY: Enemy of America? Well, even after all that, Democrats are standing by Grayson. In fact, just last night at a fundraiser in Miami, President Obama said this about the congressman.
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PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Three outstanding members of Congress from Florida who are here. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Kendrick Meeks, Alan Grayson.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HANNITY: Outstanding member of Congress? Oh, really? So I wonder when can we expect those same Democrats who voted to punish Congressman Joe Wilson recently to stand up and say enough is enough when it comes to Congressman Alan Grayson?
Joining me now is the former Pennsylvania senator, Fox News contributor, Rick Santorum.
Now, just this morning, Senator, you know, he was actually saying, rather than apologizing for calling this woman the K Street whore, he said, well, actually, you know, critics need to read the secondary dictionary definition. The secondary dictionary definition? What would that be?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}RICK SANTORUM, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I don't know what it would be, but, look, this guy is an extremist, and this is a guy whose staff member, after he got elected, brandished the title that he is the congressman from ACORN. That's what one of his staffers said.
This is a guy who got elected because ACORN quadrupled — excuse me, quintupled the number of early ballots in that district and he won by about four points in 2008. So this is a guy deeply tied to the left. You know, he used to go to code pink rallies, and now has come to the Congress and has shown what an ACORN code pink congressman would look like.
And Barack Obama is standing right beside him, as are most of his Democratic colleagues. Now you've seen a few in the last few hours who have stepped away from him, because now you're offending the feminists and they're not going to stand by him when he does that.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}If you offend Republicans, it's OK, but you can't offend the feminists.
HANNITY: But it always comes down to this. I assumed that he was probably pressured from the White House, and I guess the House leadership to apologize, even after he was pretty adamant this morning he wouldn't do that. But the question is, the president said he's an outstanding member of Congress.
SANTORUM: Right.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HANNITY: Should the president now — and he had called people that disagreed with him enemies of America. He said Republicans want people to get sick and die. And yet, the president still said these nice words about him.
Should the president be called on why he supported him?
SANTORUM: I think given the most recent comment and its proximity to the president's statements, I think it would be wise — I'm sure you will see tomorrow that Gibbs will be asked that question and they will put out some sort of statement from the president to distance himself.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}We know this about the president, Sean, and you talk about it all the time. If someone is a liability politically, what does he do to him? He throws him under the bus. He will throw Grayson under the bus.
HANNITY: Let me predict what the genius propagandist Gibbs is going to do. The president does not agree with those statements. Next question. That's all he's going to — that's about the extent of it.
SANTORUM: Well, you might be right. You might be right. He may just try to cozy up to him. But, look, if this man — and you've given a litany of the things he's said. My guess is they'll find more. This interview happened a month ago. He didn't apologize after the fact. But it was made public and a more public sense.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Today he defended his remarks. I guarantee you, there's a whole treasure trove of remarks of Alan Grayson out there that are just waiting to the found. And I think the president, I'm sure, knows that, or at least suspects that. And he'd be smart to distance himself now.
HANNITY: All right. Let me go on to the issue of a little bit of a battle between Republicans and conservatives. Critics like myself — I'm a conservative. I'm not a Republican. There is a distinction. Now I often vote for Republicans, support Republicans when they're right.
I think Republicans lost their way. There's a new Gallup poll that shows that 40 percent of the country is conservative. Only 20 percent of the country identifies themselves as liberal.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}You've got this race in the New York 23rd District in New York and you've got a conservative candidate, Doug Hoffman, running against the Republican establishment candidate, a person that is pro-gay marriage, pro- abortion, a person that is one of the biggest spenders in Albany, which is saying something, supported the president's stimulus, supported cap-and-tax.
Governor Palin came out for the conservative. I've come out for the conservative. What does that say about the Republican establishment? Are they out of touch with the mainstream conservative base?
SANTORUM: Well, the folks certainly up in that district in New York, I don't know what reason — I've heard lots of rumors, I don't know any of them to be true. But for some reason they did chose a candidate that is not — I mean, you know, Ronald Reagan's theory was if you're with us 80 percent of the time, they're a friend, not your enemy.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In her case, she's barely 20 percent of the time, the Republican candidate. Actually, I'm the opposite from you, Sean. I was a Republican before I was a conservative, and I have never endorsed a third-party candidate all the time I was in public life until last week, when I endorsed the conservative candidate, Doug Hoffman.
HANNITY: Yes.
SANTORUM: Because in this race I think he is our best chance to win this race. I think her campaign is imploding. I think she is — the facts about what she believes have been brought to light. It's a conservative district. It's the — you know, it's the Adirondack Mountains. I mean it's — this is not New York City, and a conservative candidate should win that district.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HANNITY: I got to tell you. I mean, with people like yourself and Fred and Jerry Thompson, and Michelle Malkin.
SANTORUM: Right.
HANNITY: And Mark Levin, and myself. Tim Pawlenty. But I think Governor Palin really put it over the top. Do you agree with that?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SANTORUM: She — actually, the same day, Friday, we both endorsed. She certainly is — look, doing blogs on her Facebook page. She's communicating very well to the American public using that mode of communication.
HANNITY: All right. Thanks, Senator Santorum. Appreciate you being with us.
SANTORUM: You bet.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}— Watch "Hannity" weeknights at 9 p.m. ET!
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