Lawmaker's War Hero Son Would Have Wanted Road Bill Passed

[PCEggo]

The csapn episodes are some of the onions most genius satire.

[BoBucky]

Asshole

[epyonslegacy]

the ultimate comeback.... well my son died in a war

[Puck2442]

Come on, admit it. The carrying a part of his son's bloody uniform was absolutely beautiful. They have captured the exploitive heartless insensitive nature of politicians perfectly

[ChaosDynamics]

I thought that this was real for a second ... lol.

[prophetchannel]

Stop hatin on politicians. They are a product of their circumstances just like most other people. They have to tend to two aspects in order to be successful: politics and public service. Politics rewards the ruthless who can fake an appearance of virtue, while it punishes the truly virtuous. Public service is conducted on the basis of practicability and compromise between the major political factions. High-minded uncompromising idealists are simply unfit for the job of politician in both aspects

[PCHDX]

Support our Troops, get that toll booth built. God Bless America.

[Relliot22]

I'm sorry, but... I can't stop laughing at this video...

[pat442389]

hahaha im so happy in this toll booth

[ToxicOdiousOne]

He loved toll roads. I'm so glad this bill passed ha ha.

[Destructor2007]

Same excuse used for 'Kyleigh's Law'.

[canis4399]

wtf why cant you turn off subtitles?

[Pentdad]

@canis4399 you can its a small menu on the right of the view box

[lucasw122333]

just the title makes me crack up

[Oli3TB76]

AHAHAHA!

[ezname1234]

haha just like real life, politicians will use any thing possible to get support

[djtrixen]

lmao

[xxlegolas]

I laugh at people who take the trolls seriously when they pretend to be taking the onion seriously. Psst: you're at the bottom of the food chain

[LcoolJfiveoh]

what do you mean "when we take this seriously?"

what are you implying exactly?

[Gangularis]

No idiot, you are. There are people that are actually THAT dumb. Some people don't get sarcasm and irony. True story.

[ILLMATIC2222]

i voted for this bill :) and the onion!!!!!

[brianwesley28]

@ILLMATIC2222

Well, Virginia's 7th District isn't as pronk as Virginia's 11th District is.

[ScottTenorman1]

the three sure-fire ways to get stuff passed in American politics

1.) claim to be fighting for 'traditional values'

2.) uses the phrase "lessons of 9/11" in every sentence

3.) use their children as props

[breastinspector2]

you forgot

4) Act like a sociable, respectful, understanding guy whether you really are or not off camera

5) Point to George Bush and make it clear that you're not him

6) Be in some group that people feel apologetic to

[rutger5000]

@breastinspector2

You forgot.

7) Having your only rival be a very old man who could die every moment, and has the gouvenour of alaska who says the most stupid things in the world as soul replacement.

[rockerhead247]

@ScottTenorman1 Goddamn politicians.

[imseaton]

i laugh at the people who take the onion seriously

[LilTom895]

This could actually happen..ha

[driverx241]

We must pass this bill in order to honor both our troops and the people who were lost on that tragic day.

[boxorak]

Yeah, if you use a family member's death as a stupid excuse, you deserve to be shot.

[remakecondorman]

it's a comedy show.

[3martijns]

Not too far from the real BLOVIATING by Dems, including 11th district VA where I live right next to 7th. Thank God the 7th has a conservative now.

[JayKRiot]

haha I love this. Very accurate.

[abaxteria]

James Whittle Memorial Toll Road, anyone?

[33dgtp]

...who doesn't love them?

[MajorCOW]

James loved toll roads...

[Solar2]

lol, this is perfect. it seems parents are always exploiting their childrens deaths.

[renthead24]

this is satire...

on that subject.

[kingchyzer]

Of course he's a democrat. :-p

[dracofirex]

This angle might just work, lol.

[SockbatReplica]

I love how he said that the complaints of the road being too expensive were made by representatives who's children were still alive. Haha the writers for the Onion are awesome!

[Kickagnome]

"James loved toll roads" Hahaha

[onjai88]

that was awesome, wasn't it??? LOL

[ScrewFearMe]

he sounds like a mental headcase

like i mean he has it all the time in the capital and he feels his sons "spirit" guiding him to get this bill passed...wow :o

[RiseofFooDos]

It's funny because people actually exploit there children who are in the military like this, take a look at mrs. sheehan...

[MagicTimeVideos]

mrs. sheehan was not running for office, or lobbying for a toll road, for that matter.

See, this video is funny because it satirizes a politician invoking the memory of a dead son to an unrelated, even trival, matter.

Your example does not fit the same mold since she was pointing out families are losing loved ones in an optional war. It is a directly related subject and hardly trivial.

[RiseofFooDos]

No...She was exploiting her son's death, whether the subject was trivial or essential. She rallied together hundreds of thousands of dollars for something she knew would never happen. We are still in Iraq, nothing has changed becuase of her, other then the fact that she has a ton of money from sobbing all over television.

[starmanskye]

RiseolFooDos: I see, YOUR better-way is to think nothing will come of trying to organize, give voice to & promote issues that citizens have a keen interest, but do nothing because nothing WILL change. Just because the Repub & Demo single-party-with-two-faces is bought and paid-for by corporations & special interest lobbies isn't sufficient reason to give-up on Democracy. I applaud Sheehan for giving a damn, getting off her ass & trying to make a positive difference, as opposed to your defeatism.

[funguywoo]

candy sheehan? she used to be my town's mayor

[rhenfield]

it's funny because we all know our politician's kids don't enlist in the military. that's for "common people".

[PwnStarr]

HAH!^^

[caliaviator07]

Actually Rep. Duncan Hunter (R) had a son in the Marines. He actually ran for president too. Now his son is out of the military and got into politics.

[sinamp]

WTF........ DUDE!

[Rockesus]

AAHAHAHA!! that was great...

[doctorgt3]

a little beyond the punch line don't u think?

[alkhami1]

Excellent parody! Later it should be reported by the BBC that Representative Whittle is a major shareholder of Tollbooths Unlimited LLC.

[chsfredrick11]

I agree, this might be crossing the line

[emopope]

Lol.. wtf, I get its the onion, but thats fucked

[nelson3300]

no they totally do this kind of shit... i mean not so blatantly, but politicians always, ALWAYS use the deaths of our soldiers as propaganda. its terrible, and I wish for each and every one of them to return home safely. peace

[DeagleBeagle]

Yeah this tbh wasn't very funny, all the satires of someone dying tend to be overboard and not funny, tip for theonion in the future, just leave out death unless you somehow add some actual violence, then it is funny. But it did make a good point, that a death shouldn't dramatically influence our political decisions. Seems kind of a parody of Bush's do what his father never finished in Iraq ordeal.

[aremirfearanna]

Unless you add some actual violence? So you're suggesting that the onion depict violent deaths as more acceptable than people talking about deaths. Are you fricking serious? You have a seriously distorted view on death

[xtxter10]

ok thanks for that

[MisterJasperTuddies]

Congress should not let the memory of that brave hero die like he died. I like to think that he wasn't just fighting for our freedom, but mostly for the toll road. Jesus loves tolls!

[plumsforsale]

Anyone know the name of that classical piece that plays at the end and the composer?

[DeagleBeagle]

when you know tell me too please

[decibel333]

Hey johno934 ... speaking of dumbest ever...

[jctennis123]

To that i would say 'my son died in a war'

[chromaholic]

yes, james loved toll roads. RIP, james. we're going to get you that toll road.

[YesYou123333]

"James loved toll roads."

hahahahahahaha.

[romeoneverdies]

that is so stupid iv heard bad reasons but that is the worst one if i would be that dead son i would be ashamed !

[TheYolk]

omg this is a COMEDY :D

[GohModley]

edgy

[futurestoryteller]

And so today I hear the argument that the tollroad highway will be built through undeveloped land promoting unchecked development and degrading the pristine enviornment in the area and to that I say; my son died in a war. -

Proof the brevity is not quite the key to comedy.

[opie327]

Dang this had me going for 5 minutes. I've heard of The Onion but had no clue what they did until now. Good stuff. I was about to post that this guy was a disgrace to his own son, pretty harsh lol. But seriously he reminds me of Cindy Sheehan, who I lost all sympathy for (harsh I know) when she disgraced herself in the name of her own son (who was a hero).

[Stossburg]

Right. If anything, this video stands up for soldiers.

[Stossburg]

"Hate the commanders if you want, but admire the footsoldiers." The problem with that argument is that it absolves the footsoldier of any personal responsibility. But given that there is no draft in effect, each of us *does* have a choice.

I appreciate those who would sacrifice themselves for our well-being, but I don't know that we should *automatically* valorize someone just because he or she serves in the military.

And I hate how you are a "traitor" if you dare question the military.

[338jon]

lol yeah the military is just the military... unless ofcouse the U.S.A is militaristic country rofl

[johno934]

you believe this guy ,his son died in iraq for our freedom is this guy kidding ,and loves toll roads ,that guy needs a shrink and leave congress where the hell does this country get people like this ,hate to bust his bubble his son died for absolutely nothing but one lie after another lie and got involved withe the dumbest war this country ever waged

[RTgrl]

yes, the onion sure is real news alright

[338jon]

lol this video is a satire, a parody.

[Stacked723]

its not real...

[ellowotto]

God Damn you so dumb

[shreder350]

screw CNN, i prefer The Onion news cast, all the new i need in my life

[EMPERORMIKI]

Ouch ... this is mean. lolol.

[jdvarga83]

People actually think these Onion vids are real? That's almost funnier than the content of the videos, lol.

[notoncemoreagain]

hahahaha.... I agree

[PFWoody488]

While all the onion vids are good fakes, this one gives it away right off the bat.

Someone in Congress or the Senate saying one of his kids serves or has served in combat is a dead give away.

I doubt that there are very many of those.

They tend to send normal working peoples' children off to die for their country.

The politicians and the rich start the wars.

Poor people are the ones who fight them.

[rockerhead247]

@PFWoody488 What do the rich have to do with them? Politicians actually start them, the rich don't really have anything to do with it, other than arms manufacturers working for the government.

[ShrougerNite]

@PFWoody488 Perhaps, but Congressmen are so heartless they would gladly send their children off to die if it meant furthering their own twisted agendas...

[WolfJ3ane]

@ShrougerNite psh they dont need to do that: they send your kids to do it instead

[seamus852]

first off, i kno this is a fake video so dont yell at me...but this video highlights the exact reason why i hate politics and our politicians

[psychomammy]

WTF! this can not be real - if it is - i'll start watching c-span

[PaigerEC]

It's "Onion-SPAN2"

It's a joke.

[jintsmanen]

dumb ass

[lTHRICEl]

XD

Ich leibe onion news. lmao

[darkmoon21]

My last name's Whittle, and my dad's first name is James, awsome.

Fuckin love the onion. Soo fuckin funny.

[janeman699]

I know this video is a joke and all but it still wasn't very classy. Something about it rubs me the wrong way.

[1yK3Y4]

I know what you mean.

[krav1ngfish]

I agree! It is much better to be robbed by a classy joker.

[Qwerty0791]

Same here. It's the whole "my son died in a war" thing. More depressing than funny.

But it is the onion...you can't read too much into it.

[bigeffendeal]

you know it is just a joke, members of congress dont send their own children into war

[Cylinwolf]

Hahahahaha.

[seestickglue232]

ilikeonions

yeah they are little bitches...lyin about their war records and what not..

"james loved toll roads" haha nobody loves toll roads. especially if you live in the dallas area, it's ridiculous tolls everywhere and theres more coming

[zVlPERz]

lol around chicago theres one like ever mile lol

[grayarea19]

Hahaha truth

[LimeInTheCoconut21]

I wouldent be surprised if there were real people this stupid up on capital hill. It would explain alot of these bad results.

[golden1101]

If ever there were a demonstration of the whores that our public officials have become . . .This is it!

May God's Peace be with those who are blind to the puppetry they have become.

[woopedazz]

lol retard

[josh77577]

that onion cast sucked the other r good though i subscribed.

[Inbasul]

"And to that I say 'My son died in a war.'"

Perfect.

[Carlos132371]

the onion laughs at you stupid sheeple. Lets wake the fuck up dickheads.

[imPuLse1x2]

the onion is so very very true...... this is quite hilarious.

I apologize if you have lost anyone in the iraq war, and watched this video and became saddened because they are defacing our nations troops.

[akanathan]

It is exploiting the poeple exploiting their sons that had died in the war.....4 stars

[holierdenthou]

first its a joke. secondly like someone else had already mentioned its exploiting people who use personal or national tragedies to further their own agenda. this video in no way makes fun or belittles the memory of any dead soldier. but like you said, you don't have to watch it.

[sg137]

FAIL

[meerkat1954]

This epitomizes right-wing politicians - they're a bunch of coward chicken hawks but they wrap the flag around themselves (or the memory of their sons) when necessary to suit their political/economic agenda.

[MicheasTheMighty]

Oh, yeah, man. Only the right-wingers are pieces of shit. Sure.

[lemar33]

guy in the vid is a Dem

[genuisatspelling]

this is a joke

[lTHRICEl]

Well he was a dumb and fit the bill of one. lol

[MercuryMltn]

gyers

[indyfag]

yeah but the fact of the matter is Iraq wasn't about liberating iraquis originally, and if another country practiced imperialism like we did with Iraq we'd all be talking about how it's wrong and then bomb the shit out of them. Sorry to get off topic, so uh yeah, the onion rules.

[MutleeIsTheAntiGod]

this one is boring

[mites7]

I hate when people say "fighting for our freedom" what freedom? and how is iraq a threat?

[stillwaterseven]

I totally agree, freedom? iraq has nothing to do with taking away freedon , thats just a left over reteric from WWII and vietman

[agentbong138]

Typical idiot only thinking about yourself. We are not fighting for our freedom, we are fighting for the freedom of the Iraqis who have been murdered and kept in poverty by a cruel dictator who is almost comparable to hitler. Come on dude, I know America is awesome, but you gotta think about other people sometimes

[CommodoreFan6]

Al-Queda??

[tebone7]

They did a pretty good job on the blue screen, wasn't perfect though. Nice job and nice humor, as always, lol.

[losmi85]

Look people, this was a satire about congressmen who are passing laws for their own benefit, and a satire about their justification for making those laws.

Now that we figured that out, we can all laught, or maybe just me

[wsymphony]

Congress would be heartless not to pass this bill. His son is dead for god's sake. DEAD!

[buffaloheart1]

Thank goodness the PC police haven't gotten to The Onion! This was painfully funny for so many reasons, mostly -- as has been mentioned here -- the gutless pandering to emotion we see all too often both in the media and in Congress. Bravo, Onion writers! Keep up the excruciatingly funny good work.

[Sei1863]

BAHAHAH

[sodoesrachael]

Pretty certain he said "I love my dead son."

[gchand7]

Your son died fighting to keep this country free! Why don't you honor him by passing the Fair Tax or Deportation of Illgals in this country instead of a pork progect!

[cikenberry3]

How could someone vote against a bill endorsed by his dead son?

[CalabusDabus]

Bah, they ruined this, we all know that democrats don't join the military.

[cikenberry3]

You are mentally retarded.

[CalabusDabus]

And you are obviously a twinkle toed communist piece of shit. (Liberal)

[jacoblandes]

It is eerie how we can make realistic imagery. This is obviously a joke, but others could as easily concoct something deceptive.

[BornConfusing]

"I'm so happy in this toll booth"

HA!

[obinna2]

Nice.....but one small mistake.....

I live on the East Coast, and I-89 is in Vermont.....there's an 85 in Petersburg...but no 89...

Its one of those things that if you know about it...it bothers you.

[sonnyhe2002]

he was dreaming

[jgoemat]

And the dream didn't specifically say that it was a toll booth created by the bill, just that his son liked being in the toll booth and liked that the bill had passed.

[TX1985]

and the whole story is completely made up anyways? lol.

[SoSado]

ha ha dead son

[RyanMM3111982]

Basically nothing is off limits in comedy, its all up to the individual if they're offended or not. Thats kind of the point a lot of times. Not everyone is supposed to like everything. The satirical nature of it is supposed to make you think, not rush to rash judgements about things you see in it that aren't actually there.

[KumariKandula]

this is one of those videos that make people feel intense emotions, and when that happens, people begin to act for what they believe in.

[hkusak]

self censorship and political correctness are the bane of modern civil society.

The last thing I wanted to see is for the Onion to fall to those false premises.

And also, whatever happened to "I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"?

to disagree is fine, to say those saying it is "low" is pure bullcrap and political correctness at its worst.

[somberlight]

very well put. modern "free" speech only seems to concern topics people agree on. on every other purpose, theres a plethora of cards to be pulled when people themselves run out of arguments. ever heard "YOU CANT SAY THAT! ITS OFFENDING!" or "...THINK ABOUT THE CHILDREN!" or my favorite "YOU CANT SAY THAT! ITS RACISM!" on a pointless topic, commented against a perfectly valid argument? its a sad commentary about our "global" society. when you have to disawow every link (1/2)

[somberlight]

just to be allowed to make a truly honest commentary about anything. i agree with certain columnist who thought that only in a truly free society people can make jokes about anything, and everyone can join in laughter or agree to skip the topic _together_. sadly thats impossibly nowadays, and we only have our own bullshit to blame, and theres no ending in sight when religions kick in... /sigh. (end)

[theFlyingGarnet]

I agree with your comments...to a point. There is a line that must be drawn at some point as to what is funny - for instance, little kids squished on a highway.

And religion - well, some of the goofiest friends I have are Christian and Jewish. And they're the last to cry 'YOU OFFENSIVE *beeeeeep*!' or 'RACIST!' Funnily enough, the people I know who say that are the liberal atheists. I guess it just goes to show that stereotypes suck. :)

[nuclearslug]

This is pretty low ONN. I love almost all of your videos, but this one hits too many soft spots.

[Juic3y72]

I wouldn't put it past some politicians to do that kind of thing, except it wouldn't be so obvious, I mean, politicians used the 9/11 attacks to motivate people into accepting the patriot act and all that great shit, when all that was happening for weeks straight news places wouldn't show anything BUT the twin towers collapsing. not to mention the '9/11 commision" those guys selling ".99 pure silver coins from the basement of the twin towers" it's just a game to them

[teapottheory]

It's a video highlighting how ridiculous politicians are. It's not a video highlighting anything negative about soldiers. This video makes politicians, not soldiers, sound like heartless manipulators...

It's a good video and it's only offensive if you're a politician apologist...