During his 'Countdown to the Sequester' presentation, Fox News employee +Sean Hannity opened with scathing remarks towards President Obama. Referring to him as 'President Panic' - a name I shall keep in mind if I ever write children's superhero comics - he complained of how 'similar' all of President Obama's statements have been for the last week. Consistency and honesty are good traits in court, but Hannity seems to feel that they are bad traits in a politician.
Sadly for Hannity, this was not the first time he had tried a smear approach with Ellison.
The first, in April of 2011, was aimed at his very next guest - Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN).
In April, Hannity spent the entire introduction of his interview smearing him for being a Muslim and for having an unpopular opinion on religious freedom. He obviously did not advise Representative Ellison what he was planning to discuss that day, giving him no chance to prepare for the conversation.
Hannity's first question? To ask for a specific example where he had been unfair to the Muslim community.
Reminder: This was right after a series of very nasty comments towards the Muslim community and Ellison, himself. This set the tone - adversarial - for that entire interview.
I can only imagine how Hannity would have responded if Ellison had pulled out a list of his previous statements. As he could not, he came off as unprepared. No doubt, that's why he wasn't forewarned. I imagine that difference would have made the first discussion go roughly like their latest.
In the most recent interview....
Ellison obviously remembered their previous interaction. He didn't allow his host to get in the first attack. He immediately advised Hannity that he was mis-using quotes, participating in deceptive news practices, and violating every bit of ethics he had supposed that journalists had. He stated that it was yellow journalism and that Hannity was a Republican shill. Hannity said, "I'm not a Republican. I'm a registered conservative."
Semantics, Hannity. Semantic nonsense.
Hannity then attempted to lead into a smear of the President for the higher deficit. Ellison didn't give him the chance, though. I feel his rebuttal, which came before Hannity actually spoke the question, would have been more effective if he had let him finish. Still, he responded: "Let's say that yachts and jets should not be something you can write off. Let's say that Exxon-Mobil and Chevon should not get a tax rebate and a subsidy. Let's start there. Let's say that people who get to pay less on...."
Hannity once again tried to cut him off, obviously uncomfortable with what the Representative was saying and how it would lead back to big business. Ellison replied, flat out: "You're a bully, Sean, and I'm not backing down to you."
Ellison further advised Hannity that he was a liar and that blaming Obama for the deficit was proof. He finally realized that he wasn't going to get Ellison to back down, saying that he was ending the interview because "You are a total waste of time."
Yes, because debate and discussion with someone that you cannot browbeat into agreeing with you is a complete waste of time. It's only what the two-party system is supposed to be built on. If he's this insecure, he should see a psychologist or have a beer with friends. Instead he is inflicting his attempts to gain personal validation on us, via national television.
I will point out....
Even if Obama was partly responsible for the national debt, he is not solely responsible. There are other people in Washington that have that blame sitting squarely in their laps. They take more responsibility for it and raise the deficit every time they cash their $174,000 paychecks, permit companies like Chevron to receive both a tax refund and a subsidy, or refuse to close loopholes that high income individuals (like them) exploit. What is worse, is that they have no term limitation and are able to come back and make the same mistakes, year after year. They are the so-called "conservative" members of Congress.
Also, yes, I am biased. I am writing a blog. That makes it, by definition, opinion. I cite my sources so that people can make up their own minds and try not to participate in taking sound bites out of context. Hannity cannot say the same.
For the most recent Hannity interview, including Obama lead-in, click here.
For the 2011 interview, click here.
Sadly for Hannity, this was not the first time he had tried a smear approach with Ellison.
The first, in April of 2011, was aimed at his very next guest - Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN).
In April, Hannity spent the entire introduction of his interview smearing him for being a Muslim and for having an unpopular opinion on religious freedom. He obviously did not advise Representative Ellison what he was planning to discuss that day, giving him no chance to prepare for the conversation.
Hannity's first question? To ask for a specific example where he had been unfair to the Muslim community.
Reminder: This was right after a series of very nasty comments towards the Muslim community and Ellison, himself. This set the tone - adversarial - for that entire interview.
I can only imagine how Hannity would have responded if Ellison had pulled out a list of his previous statements. As he could not, he came off as unprepared. No doubt, that's why he wasn't forewarned. I imagine that difference would have made the first discussion go roughly like their latest.
In the most recent interview....
Ellison obviously remembered their previous interaction. He didn't allow his host to get in the first attack. He immediately advised Hannity that he was mis-using quotes, participating in deceptive news practices, and violating every bit of ethics he had supposed that journalists had. He stated that it was yellow journalism and that Hannity was a Republican shill. Hannity said, "I'm not a Republican. I'm a registered conservative."
Semantics, Hannity. Semantic nonsense.
Hannity then attempted to lead into a smear of the President for the higher deficit. Ellison didn't give him the chance, though. I feel his rebuttal, which came before Hannity actually spoke the question, would have been more effective if he had let him finish. Still, he responded: "Let's say that yachts and jets should not be something you can write off. Let's say that Exxon-Mobil and Chevon should not get a tax rebate and a subsidy. Let's start there. Let's say that people who get to pay less on...."
Hannity once again tried to cut him off, obviously uncomfortable with what the Representative was saying and how it would lead back to big business. Ellison replied, flat out: "You're a bully, Sean, and I'm not backing down to you."
Ellison further advised Hannity that he was a liar and that blaming Obama for the deficit was proof. He finally realized that he wasn't going to get Ellison to back down, saying that he was ending the interview because "You are a total waste of time."
Yes, because debate and discussion with someone that you cannot browbeat into agreeing with you is a complete waste of time. It's only what the two-party system is supposed to be built on. If he's this insecure, he should see a psychologist or have a beer with friends. Instead he is inflicting his attempts to gain personal validation on us, via national television.
I will point out....
Even if Obama was partly responsible for the national debt, he is not solely responsible. There are other people in Washington that have that blame sitting squarely in their laps. They take more responsibility for it and raise the deficit every time they cash their $174,000 paychecks, permit companies like Chevron to receive both a tax refund and a subsidy, or refuse to close loopholes that high income individuals (like them) exploit. What is worse, is that they have no term limitation and are able to come back and make the same mistakes, year after year. They are the so-called "conservative" members of Congress.
Also, yes, I am biased. I am writing a blog. That makes it, by definition, opinion. I cite my sources so that people can make up their own minds and try not to participate in taking sound bites out of context. Hannity cannot say the same.
For the most recent Hannity interview, including Obama lead-in, click here.
For the 2011 interview, click here.
Comments
Post a Comment