Obama Mocks GOP Rep.: 'If You're Being Disrespected, It's Because Of That Attitude'

Obama Mocks GOP Rep.: 'If You're Being Disrespected, It's Because Of That Attitude' 

 The Huffington Post  |  By Luke Johnson

 

President Barack Obama on Thursday capitalized on an earlier remark by Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) that Republicans had to "get something" out of negotiations to reopen the government, even if they didn't know what they wanted in concessions.
"Just yesterday one House Republican said -- I didn't make this up," Obama said while speaking at a small construction company in Rockville, Md., "'We're not going to be disrespected. We have to get something out of this, and I don't know what that even is.'" The quote drew laughs from the audience.
"That was a quote!" Obama said.
"If you're being disrespected, it's because of that attitude that you've got that you deserve to get something for doing your job! Everybody here just does their job, right?" the president continued. "If you're working here and in the middle of the day, you just stopped and said, 'You know what? I want to get something, but I don't know exactly what I'm going get, but -- I'm just going to stop working until I get something. I'm going to shut down the whole plant until I get something.'"
"You'd get fired!" he said to applause.
Stutzman said to the Washington Examiner Wednesday, "We're not going to be disrespected ... We have to get something out of this. And I don't know what that even is."
Stutzman's office responded to criticism of the quote, saying that he had "misrepresented" the budget debate. "Yesterday, I carelessly misrepresented the ongoing budget debate and Speaker Boehner's work on behalf of the American people. Despite my remarks it's clear that the American people want both parties to come to the table to reopen the government, tackle this nation's debt crisis, and stop Obamacare's pain," Stutzman said in a statement.