In one of the more bizarre slams on the Tea Party to date, the WWE decided to create a villain who just happens to be a racist Tea Partier. It’s an especially bizarre move because the WWE audience is mainly middle America and thus likely largely made up of conservatives.
"The WWE now has put a new character out that is demonizing the TEA Party. You know Linda McMahon, I'm sorry you didn't win. We should have seen how your true colors early on, and I think we did," Glenn said. "She's just one of these progressive Republicans that we worry about."
The character, Zeb Colter, is a Vietnam veteran who criticizes people who don't speak English and have "faces I don't even recognize". He talks about deporting immigrants (no distinction between legal and illegal).
Oh, and he is using "Truth" and "We the People" as a villainous catchphrase. Awesome.
"So may I ask: Did George Soros buy the WWE? Is this a Cass Sunstein presentation? And maybe it's just us. Maybe ‑‑ you know what? Maybe we're wrong. Maybe that's the way WWE people view the TEA Party. And maybe they love to hate the TEA Party. But I have to tell you, I expect that from Hollywood, but I don't expect ‑‑ if I'm getting my entertainment from somebody that I think is on my side ‑‑ and I'm sorry. I just don't see a bunch of progressives going and buying their tickets to the WWE. Do you? I mean, and maybe there are. I tend to notice that the progressives are not as popular in the South unless they've moved from the North. So I'm just trying to figure out exactly who they're trying to appeal here, who they're appealing to."
Stu argued, "Wouldn't the argument be, I mean at least one of the arguments would be, okay, they're trying to create villains. They do this all the time. They are trying to create a villain. Like when I was a kid, I remember, like, the Iron Sheik. And the Iron Sheik was from I think Iran and he was always saying terrible things about America. Now, that didn't mean the WWF at the time didn't like America. They were trying to make a villain out of the Iron Sheik, right? But this is different. It seems that the villain, the guy you're supposed to hate, is this stereotype of a conservative that I've never met."
Glenn was surprised that the WWE would make the villain a Tea Party member, especially since their audience likely leans conservative. Glenn thought it was foolish of them to embrace the media stereotype of the Tea Party for ratings.
"You're making a villain out of what? Probably 80% of your audience who's tired as it is of being miscast? They're tired of this," Glenn said.
"I'm sick and tired of being miscast. I am sick and tired of it. It is lazy at best. And I certainly am not going to give any more time or my money to any organization that is miscasting, is making it harder for me and my family to stand up for what I believe in. You're mocking me for standing up for the Constitution of the United States of America? You're mocking me for standing up for law and order? Equal justice under the law? Equal justice. I've been that my whole life. You're mocking me for standing up for the same principles and values that Martin Luther King stood up for? I don't think so. In my own camp? No, I don't think so. Get the hell out."
Watch the video of the character's appearance below: