Here is Katy Abram explaining to Fox News’s Sean Hannity last night how she was transformed from an unthinking Bill Clinton voter (who “believed in abortion… and all of that”) to someone who doesn’t “want this country turning into Russia, turning into a Socialized country,” as Abram loudly announced during a health care town hall in Lebanon, Pa. yesterday, her ticket to more than one appearance since then on Fox News. (Hint: a gig in local journalism — and the crappy paycheck that came with it — helped jolt her out of her stupor.)
SEAN HANNITY: I don’t know if you are going to be upset that I said this publicly but you were a Democrat. You voted for Bill Clinton. Now you say you don’t “want this country turning into Russia, turning into a Socialized country.” How did you change your political philosophy? What changed you?
KATY ABRAM: You’ll get a kick out of this. I went to school to work in the media. And in college, you know, I believed in abortion, I believed in all of that. I hadn’t really thought about the things too much. I just kind of went on my merry way and I didn’t have to pay taxes and no big deal and yeah, I voted for Clinton. I regret that now. I voted, I think, twice for him.And then I got a job in the media and I was a photojournalist at the local level. I loved that job. But when I got my first paycheck I was dumbfounded. I mean, you know* in the media you don’t make much money, especially in the beginning. To me it seemed like they took a really huge chunk out of my paycheck. I decided to switch to the Republican party… I don’t know, I just, over the past couple months, you know, I educated myself. I have learned about the Founders. I refuse to be fed any of this rhetoric that you hear on a lot of the major news media. I’m tired of it.
Health care was in there somewhere, right?
*(He knows.)
UPDATE: Abram is about to appear on MSNBC’s Hardball. (Will she cop to her past involvement in the media?)
Yeah, but Katy, how does being a Republican help your paycheck? Mine took a beating the last eight years, as well as my 401K. I've done a lot better under Democrats.
Just what do you want, exactly?
#1 Posted by Al Martinez, CJR on Wed 12 Aug 2009 at 05:04 PM
Just watched her on Hardball.....I am sure the media is grateful she left their ranks!!! She says she has researched the Founders?????? If you are at a Town Hall meeting and the topic is healthcare, wouldn't an educated comment about healthcare be nice?
#2 Posted by L Gurley, CJR on Wed 12 Aug 2009 at 05:45 PM
I watched this lady on Hardball. She had no problem with the presidents who took us to 1st Gulf war,Iraq and Afganistan. She said she 'trusted whatever they were doing and never paid attention' until some black dude came over;truth be told,she has a problem with anything Obama.She agreed Medicare and Social Security was 'socialism' but remember in the town hall meeting she wanted to know what the senator would do to dtop socialism and return this country to what the founders intended.
#3 Posted by Nganga, CJR on Wed 12 Aug 2009 at 07:37 PM
When I saw her at the Specter town hall meeting and later on Fox, I decided that, if the founders were here today, they would have thought "that's why we opposed the direct election of senators."
#4 Posted by Proud Pioneer, CJR on Wed 12 Aug 2009 at 07:54 PM
As Ms. Abram said the "sleeping giant has been woken" or whatever she said,I have had the same experience being more interested in politics these days. I'm newly interested because for the first time I see the government working more for the people and actually getting things accomplished rather than taking their paychecks paid by our tax money and running off on summer break. Ms. Abrams is selfish, and uneducated on the topics in which she is in the media for. I'm a young mother and have been slammed with emergency room bills due to my 20 month old having terrible febrile seizures. I would love for my for-profit insurance company to get a little competition from the government so maybe they'll start letting me use the premiums I pay them to pay my bills rather than gambling with my money on wall street.
#5 Posted by Newly Interested in Politics Too, CJR on Wed 12 Aug 2009 at 08:57 PM
To 'newly interested in politics too' I love you!
#6 Posted by nganga, CJR on Wed 12 Aug 2009 at 09:32 PM
I just saw her on Hardball too. She clearly had no idea what she wants and what her statements imply about her wishes for the country. Hmm.. Don't want socialism but not sure about medicare or social security? Be careful what you ask for...
#7 Posted by MaryCris, CJR on Wed 12 Aug 2009 at 09:34 PM
Katy is like the vast majority of the Republican Party with earnings below $250,000, because the GOP only directly supports those elect few or top 1 percent earners, along with those corporate monopolies. They rely on the ignorance of the bottom wage earners who have remained due to bigotry, or some other racial issue. All their tax policy has only benefited the top earners and corporate entities, they no longer support the Bill of Rights, they trashed several fundamental freedoms, Search and Seizure, Surveillance, and Due Process all abrogated by the Republican party. The GOP lost millions over their complete disregard for laws related to the Geneva Convention and War crimes, and all the laws that apply to the Executive. The GOP literally became a criminal entity, like the Mafia and began infecting the judicial branch with judicial ideologs to support their Fascist agenda. They forced the states to accept those federal mortgages that bankrupt the middle class and poured money into that 1 percent they constantly enrich, and secured those properties so wage earners no longer own anything, but debt. These people are listening to the party that are responsible for the policy decisions mentioned and that totally disregards the huge ambiguity with regards to 9-11, that has caused scholars, firemen, engineers, all eminent verifiably responsible individuals to come together and say, No Way!
These crooks have managed to keep a core group uneducated by denouncing education and science perfect for mind manipulation and now have them directly supporting insurance monopolies and the multi-billionaire CEO's. The very people who will eventually raise their premiums, deny them services, and cancel their policies if they ever experience a long term or catastrophic medical problem. How dumb is Dumb, these corporations have canceled 7 million to date you think Katy has an exemption?
It is the same situation with Cap and Trade, the GOP receives millions upon millions so they completely fabricate absolute lies and situations. They incite flat out lie after lie to their uneducated base, who repeat the one line lies or some ridicules stand on a constitutional point that is either has no relevance or distorts history in order to a corporate monopoly and another group of billionaires who use these remaining lower income based uneducated group who will go out in a screaming frenzy, screaming Socialism, Russia, communism, and every other incoherent, invalid accusation, they can recite.
The fact is health care like our energy sectors are run by a select monopoly of insanely wealthy greedy individuals doing great harm to our economy and in the case of energy, great harm to both the economy and the environment, but in extremely serious ways. The GOP constant demonizing of other working models and types of government harms our society and now endangers Democracy, which needs an informed constituency, not uneducated mobs. Using working models, whether it is a government function or a manufacturing process, is the process most businesses follow prior to any implementation of any system. We could adopt the best points of the working models of the world like a mature smart society who wants the best for their people. Instead we have people so dumb screaming , No Socialism and have No idea what it is. We have to have the dumbest industrialized citizens on Earth, we are finally number 1 again. Who cares France, Germany, Australia, and 34 other countries have way better care for much less money, Oh and don’t forget scary, scary Canada, another health care model way better than ours and has an unbelievable 92 % favorability, I guess they are all Democrats? Rather than incorporate a working, functional, cheaper, and better health care where costs are known, quality already a fact, we can’t think of it, because a group of cattle are being herded by a political party made up of the greediest liars on earth. We have to ignore a process ever
#8 Posted by Thomas L. Carroll, CJR on Thu 13 Aug 2009 at 12:09 AM
She is a perfect example of a Rethuglican pawn representing rural, ignorant, uneducated, Sara Palin loving parts of America. She disrespectfully gets up in Spector's face and goes on a tirade about how America is changing and becoming more like Russia. However, from what I saw on the MSNBC interview with Mr. O'Donnell, she had absolutely no clue as to what has been occurring in the U.S. and throughout the world over the last 15 years. How can she make a statement about our evolution to a Soviet style system in the last 6 months when she can't describe where we have been for the prior 15 years? Ignorant people should at least be smart enough to know when to keep their mouths shut to avoid embarassment.
#9 Posted by Greg, CJR on Thu 13 Aug 2009 at 12:55 AM
Wow, some stay at home mom that is new to politics makes a comment and is thrust into the national spot light and the best you can do is rip her up for saying her opinion. The BEST you can do is sit behind your computer and backseat drive on a woman that OBVIOUSLY has more guts than you!! I don't believe I heard anyone of the interviews ask did she actually read the bill. Especially the guy on Hardball. Maybe she didn't know some of what he asked her but you don't think she didn't know what was going to happen? And guess what - she isn't scared of the interviewer who has a team of writers whose main purpose is to try and make the person being interviewed look like an ass and she sure as hell isn't scared of people like the ones posting here or anywhere spewing crap like how stupid she is or how misinformed she is because she was not prepared for the national spotlight. I am sure you all feel SO superior to Mrs. Katy Abrams.
#10 Posted by KP, CJR on Thu 13 Aug 2009 at 08:29 AM
KP, you have a lower standard of intelligence for stay at home moms than you do for everyone else? If not, why should this one be handled with kid gloves? She is a grown woman who is apparently confident in her ability to make choices for herself and articulate her reasons why. The fact that her self-confidence is misplaced does not make her a hero. You seem to prize the quality of being "not scared" over absolutely everything else, including (a) being well-informed and (b) being articulate and (c) being able to make an accurate assessment of one's own media-savvy. Why?
#11 Posted by Wha?, CJR on Fri 14 Aug 2009 at 12:46 PM