Bob Wagner

Montana State Rep On Obama Citizenship: 'I'm Not Qualified To Say' (Video)

Andrew Jones | February 16, 2011, 2:00PM

The birther movement isn't going away anytime soon. And a Montana state representative on CNN last night demonstrated the continued skepticism on the right about the legality of Barack Obama's presidency.

State Rep. Bob Wagner (R) appeared on Anderson Cooper to talk about his introduction of a "birther bill" in the his state's capital. The bill requires "documentary proof of the kind established by rule by the secretary of state that shows that the candidate has complied with the durational citizenship and residency requirements for the office as prescribed by the United States constitution."

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Michele Bachmann

Anderson Cooper Wallops Bachmann For 'Flunking History' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | January 25, 2011, 11:34AM

Michele Bachmann was the subject of Anderson Cooper's "Keeping Them Honest" segment last night, for her comments last weekend that to America's diversity-conscious first settlers, "it didn't matter the color of their skin, it didn't matter their language, it didn't matter their economic status."

The segment was subtitled "Flunking History," which Cooper explained was because Bachmann's comments "are either a deliberate rewriting of our history, or signs that she has a shaky grasp on our history."

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Michele Bachmann

Bachmann Outraged Over Made Up Cost Of Obama's India Trip (VIDEO)

Eric Lach | November 4, 2010, 12:10PM

Anderson Cooper and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) was on CNN last night, and host Anderson Cooper pressed her to get specific about what programs she would cut to reduce the deficit.

"Republican Paul Ryan has suggested sharp cuts in Medicare and Social Security. Are you willing to make cuts there?" Cooper asked. But Bachmann wasn't initially interested in discussing Medicare and Social Security. Instead, she responded to Cooper by arguing about a much more pressing matter: the cost of President Obama's upcoming trip to India.

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KY-SEN

Conway's New Groove: Dem Moving On From Aqua Buddha In KY-SEN? (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 21, 2010, 8:37AM

KY Senate candidate Jack Conway (D)

When it comes to Rand Paul's college career, it seems like Jack Conway's work here is done. Having turned a weird anecdote from one of Paul's schoolmates at Baylor into a national firestorm, Conway seems ready to pull the Kentucky Senate race back toward something more in keeping with standard electoral politics.

Conway's already suggested he doesn't see Aqua Buddha as his closing argument, having told reporters that the now-infamous ad will likely be off the air by the end of this week. That means it's time to get back to what Conway was doing before the ad dropped -- namely, hitting the Republican Paul over and over for his semi-Libertarianism.

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Rich Iott

Rich Iott Defends Nazis He Dresses Up As: 'They Were Doing What They Thought Was Right' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | October 12, 2010, 12:33PM

Ohio Congressional candidate Rich Iott got grilled by Anderson Cooper last night on his rather unusual hobby of dressing up as a member of the 5th SS Wiking Panzer Division, a unit in the German army during World War II.

Iott defended the members of the unit, who he said "wanted to fight what they saw as a bigger threat to them than Germany," so they joined up with the Nazis to fight the eastern front of the war against Soviet forces. "I don't think we can sit here and judge that today. We weren't there the time they made those decisions," he said.

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Alan Grayson

Grayson Acknowledges 'Taliban Dan' Moniker May Have Gone Too Far (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | October 6, 2010, 12:24PM

On CNN last night, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) acknowledged that his use of the nickname "Taliban Dan" to describe his Republican opponent Daniel Webster may have gone too far. But he defended the thrust of the ad, which depicts Webster as a Christian extremist.

"I know you disagree with your opponent, and -- and certainly you disagree with his views," said host Anderson Cooper. "But calling him Taliban Dan, I mean, it's equivalent to somebody -- calling somebody a Nazi or, you know, a Maoist. I mean, why go down that road?"

"Well, in a way, you're right," Grayson admitted. "We let that ad run and die a natural death. Now we're running an entirely different ad on the same point, because people need to know Dan Webster's record."

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NC-02

Anderson Cooper Takes On Anti-Mosque GOP Candidate (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | September 27, 2010, 1:06PM

Anderson Cooper and Congressional candidate Renee Ellmers (R-NC)

On Friday night, Anderson Cooper took on Renee Ellmers, a Republican House candidate in North Carolina who has now based her campaign on opposing the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque," the Muslim community center project all the way up north in New York City. And the interview sure was a sight to behold.

Ellmers is running against incumbent Democrat Bob Etheridge. Her ad declared: "After the Muslims conquered Jerusalem, and Cordoba, and Constantinople, they built victory mosques. And now, they want to build a mosque by Ground Zero. Where does Bob Etheridge stand? He won't say, won't speak out, won't take a stand." Ellmers herself then cut in: "The terrorists haven't won. And we should tell them in plain English, no, there will never be a mosque at Ground Zero."

For one thing, Cooper asked Ellmers about how her ad uses the terms "Muslim" and "terrorists" interchangeably. Ellmers actually tried to wiggle out of that: "Well, to be honest, I think that you could make that assumption, but, you know, that's -- that's not giving me the benefit of the doubt."

Cooper replied: "I mean, that's -- your words are very carefully selected."

"The words are carefully selected, but that is certainly not what I'm intending to say. I am not intending to say that all Muslims are terrorists," Ellmers replied. "Basically, what I am saying, sir, is that there were terrorists who attacked us. They were Islamic jihadists. And, as a result of that, we have seen the devastation on 9/11."

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Terror Babies

Anderson Cooper Grills Shouting GOPer Louie Gohmert On 'Terror Babies' Conspiracy (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | August 13, 2010, 9:17AM

Oh, wow. Last night, Anderson Cooper hosted none other than Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), the main propagator in Congress of the "terror babies" conspiracy theory -- an alleged diabolical 20- to 30-year plot by terrorists to have babies born in the United States, then taken abroad and trained as terrorists before eventually returning here as U.S. citizens (thanks to birthright citizenship) to commit heinous crimes.

Gohmert previously went to the House floor in June and warned about this evil plan, saying he had heard about it from an unnamed former FBI agent. Then on Wednesday night this week, Cooper hosted an actual former FBI official, who explained that there are no reports of this at all.

Cooper brought Gohmert on last night, and began by asking him whether he had even called the FBI agent. And from there, it turned into a nice one-way shouting match -- that is, Gohmert yelling at Cooper repeatedly. At one point Gohmert did admit that he did not check with the FBI itself: "No, I didn't talk to them, because the point is: when we did the research, we found the hole existed."

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Terror Babies

Ex-FBI Official Debunks 'Terror Babies' Conspiracy Theory On CNN (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | August 12, 2010, 1:18PM

Anderson Cooper did a fun takedown last night of the latest right-wing meme against birthright citizenship -- that according to anonymous former FBI officials, there is a long-running plot to have "terror babies" born here as U.S. citizens, then flown overseas and trained to come back and attack the United States 20 to 30 years later. Last night, Cooper brought on an actual former FBI official to debunk it.

The "terror babies" plot has previously been discussed on the House floor by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX). On Tuesday night, Cooper hosted Texas state Rep. Debbie Riddle, who also pushed the great danger of the terrorist babies -- though she said she would not reveal her sources and did not have the evidence on hand. So on Wednesday night, Cooper hosted Tom Fuentes, who served as the FBI's assistant director in the office of international operations from 2004 to 2008.

"The FBI has 75 offices overseas, including offices in Jordan, Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Pakistan," explained Fuentes. "There was never a credible report -- or any report, for that matter -- coming across through all the various mechanisms of communication to indicate that there was such a plan for these terror babies to be born.

"Also, I'd like to add, there seems to be a lot of former FBI agents lurking in the halls of Congress and in the legislature in the state of Texas, so I'm kind of curious about that issue as well."

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