Glenn began the radio this show this morning in a bit of a bad mood. Since Senator Ted Cruz wrapped up his marathon anti-Obamacare speech yesterday around noon after 21 hours, the media wasted no time mocking the Senator. Considering how recently the media lionized Democratic Texas State Legislator Wendy Davis in the wake of her 11-hour filibuster against stricter abortion laws, Glenn found himself especially frustrated.
“Here's my problem. My problem is I have no problem living in a world where we all have different opinions. I have no problem coexisting with people. I have no problem if I can't convince you to come my way. I have no problem with your religion, I have no problem with whom you voted for,” Glenn said. “But there is something called the freedom of conscience. And what I believe is what I believe. What you believe is what you believe. And that's good. That's really good. That's what makes the world go around. Here's what I can't take anymore. I can't take people who won't treat people and conditions the same.”
Consistency of opinion is an admirable trait in any person, but it should be seen as a necessary trait for the media. In theory, it is the job of the media to present both sides of a situation and let the audience decide. Or, in the case of cable news, be up front about the angle you are taking. But the media coverage of Sen. Cruz has proven that such a standard simply does not exist in the American media today.
“Now [Wendy Davis is] a woman who stood up for what she believed in and she made a cogent case. I disagree with her, but she made a cogent case and people heard her. And all of the newspapers reported it,” Glenn said. “Ted Cruz gets up and he makes a cogent case for 20 hours and nobody reports on what he's really saying. They make it all into Green Eggs and Ham – like all he did for 20 hours was talk about Green Eggs and Ham, that all he did was talk about White Castle.”
One of the more egregious offenders was CNN.
“They led it off with a montage of all the silly moments from the 21 hours,” Stu explained. “So him saying White Castle, him saying Green Eggs and Ham, him talking about Duck Dynasty, those sorts of moments, but no meat, none of the actual arguments he made at all… Then you have, after the montage of the silly moments, you have Harry Reid coming out right after that and saying, ‘Well, what we saw here was a complete waste of time.’”
Considering the latest poll numbers show more than 50% of Americans are unhappy with Obamacare, Sen. Reid’s comments that this was all a charade and a big waste of time is ignorant.
“What he said, you may not think so if you disagree with him, you may not want to admit that that was so uniting. You may not like the fact that what he said was cogent. But you cannot deny it in your heart of hearts. Truth is truth and you cannot deny that what he said was at least a reasonable opinion that you disagree with,” Glenn said. “See, that's the thing I can't take. That's why I'm in a mood today. Because they went into Harry Reid saying it was a waste of time. And that even wasn't good enough. Then the next report was?”
“Was John McCain criticizing Ted Cruz over the fact that he used Neville Chamberlain, he cited Neville Chamberlain in the context of saying, ‘Well, look, you've got to stand up for what you believe. Neville Chamberlain told that story to say, okay, look, you've got to stand up for what you believe, even if it's not popular. You can't just fold,’” Stu said in reference to CNN’s coverage. “And because of that, John McCain gave a lecture about how he had relatives who were in World War II and it was offensive to mention Neville Chamberlain… Then they went to Bill Clinton, who informed everyone that he used to be able to work with Newt Gingrich, but you just can't work with someone like Ted Cruz.”
So the problem Glenn sees here, again, is consistency.
“So my problem today, and here's where we begin, is consistency. And all of my friends and all of my neighbors that I truly and dearly love that disagree with me politically – you don't even know when you're being lied to. You don't even know when you're being lied to because you'll read your HuffPo, you'll watch CNN, but you won't even recognize what you're not hearing. You don't know what you don't know,” Glenn said. “Because while we hear about the people, the last two people: Bernie Sanders that did this ‘great filibuster,’ Bernie Sanders was a ‘bad‑ass’ when he did it. This woman in Texas when she did it – she was ‘remarkable,’ a ‘woman of the century.’ And we had to listen to what they had to say. And you know what? That's good. We don't silence others.”
“In the perfect Saul Alinsky world, all you do is isolate people. All you do is take their words out of context and you isolate them, and you make them to look foolish and dangerous. And then you destroy them. And then you move on to the next one. And that's exactly what's happening in Washington,” he continued. “How many people today think that Ted Cruz is something that he is not? How many people have listened to Ted Cruz's father? How many people know Ted Cruz's heart? How many people know what he even said, besides Green Eggs and Ham?”
If the media reported what actually happened during Sen. Cruz’s speech – the well-articulated points he made, the questions he raised, the truths about healthcare he exposed – people might start to realize that this guy isn’t so crazy. He is actually a high intelligent, Ivy League educated attorney, who cares about his country and represents a good portion of the American people.
“Of course you think he's a dangerous man. Because the press continues to do what the press does best: Smear, distort, and lie. They are terrified about Ted Cruz. Terrified. You don't spend this much time tearing somebody down. You ignore them. They are terrified because they saw, as anybody who actually watched it, anybody who actually listened to him, they saw exactly how smart he is, how stable he is, how cogent he is, how together he is even after 20 hours,” Glenn said. “And I fear some of our friends in the Republican Party are deciding ‘I don't want to be destroyed, so I'm going to go stand over here with the other people because he'll destroy himself and then I get a chance.’ No. No, make no mistake, guys. After they finish with him, they will come for you. If you don't stand together, there ain't gonna be anything left.”
Front page image courtesy of the AP
