Van Jones And Mary Matalin Battle: Did Obama Win A Mandate For Reform Or ‘Free Contraceptives’?
CNN contributors Van Jones and Mary Matalin battled on Wednesday over the meaning of the 2012 election results and the likelihood that there could be meaningful compromise between President Barack Obama and House Republicans in his second term. Matalin became frustrated with Jones’s assertion that Obama had won a mandate for balanced deficit reduction and said that he had run a “divisive” campaign lobbying to give out “free contraception” and “taxing the rich.”
Wolf Blitzer asked Jones if it was possible for the president to reach across the aisle in his second term to forge consensus with Republicans in the House to pass bipartisan reforms. Jones said he could, but Obama’s efforts at compromise was blocked in his first term by Republicans.
“I think there is a myth out there that he never tried,” Jones replied. “The Republican party has now shown itself to be in this demographic cul-de-sac. They cannot win another national election until they reach out. So, there is pressure on them to also reach out.”
Blitzer pivoted to Matalin with the same question, asking of there would be room for compromise in Obama’s second term between Congress and the White House.
“Certainly not initiated by this president,” Matalin replied. “There’s no record of that. Van is completely wrong. He’s completely erroneous.” She recalled that Jones was in the White House in 2009 when Obama told GOP minority members “I won.”
“His campaign was marked by malice and mendacity,” Matalin continued. “It was full of derision, and division, and destruction, and distraction, and distortion. I don’t see how anyone would trust him – even Democrats. He has no mandate for anything.”
Jones took issue with that, saying that Obama has a mandate to raise taxes on Americans earning more than $250,000 per year. He also said that the years between the 2010 midterms and the 2012 election was a “dark, ugly period,” and he hopes the nation can move beyond that “vitriol.”
“The president is sounding the right tone,” Jones continued. “Frankly, I think Mitt Romney sounded a much better tone than you just did, Mary.”
Blitzer asked why Matalin thought there was no mandate for Obama, to which she replied that he campaigned on “free contraception” and “punishing rich people.” When Jones said the president recommended a balanced approach to deficit reduction, Matalin said that Obama’s campaign was divisive.
“I don’t care what you think, Van,” Matalin said. “He doesn’t have any issues mandate other than free contraception and taxing the rich.”
“The spirit that you’re showing, unfortunately, is exactly what we’re trying to get away from,” said Jones.
Watch the clip below via CNN:
