Geez, I wished I would have seen this show!! Breitbart is the epitome of class, and his web site is one of my major sources of info.
This message needs to be posted over on Euwetopia, maybe some of those, "More Tolerant, Kinder, Gentler, More Enlightened" Euwetopia members might see themselves here..... On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 9:29 AM, Philobealo <[email protected]> wrote: > > Andrew Breitbart > Monday, March 16, 2009 > > Pretty much everyone I respect in media and politics recommended I not > go on HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher." But on Friday night, I defied > that wisdom and had the time of my life. > > I sparred with Mr. Maher, Georgetown professor Michael Eric Dyson and > a MoveOn.org audience from hell that booed my sentences before they > were completed. Unfortunately, my wife and in-laws, who watched from > the green room, were not as enamored with the experience as I was. > > People who have never turned on Fox News or tuned into Rush Limbaugh > have strong and defiant negative opinions about those outlets. When > one tries to reason with them or call them out when acknowledging they > watch and listen to neither, they become emboldened by their admitted > ignorance. "Why would I listen to that racist, sexist, homophobic, > fill-in-the-blank claim of cultural prejudice?" > > This army of the emboldened and gleefully ill-informed is growing. > Groupthink happens, and we must take it on head-on. > > One must get a copy of John Ziegler's "Media Malpractice: How Obama > Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted" to understand the extent to which > the traditional media have become an organized enemy aimed at > conservatism, its leaders and its institutions. It was the tag team of > entertainment (Tina Fey) and news (Katie Couric) that worked to take > Sarah Palin down. > > We can't win the political war until we take on the Hollywood and > mainstream media battles. > > Upon walking off the stage after Friday's show, I felt like I had gone > 12 rounds with Mike Tyson and Roberto Duran. But when I got back to my > dressing room, my BlackBerry was filling with messages from people > I've never met, many of whom disagree with my politics but were > compelled to praise my willingness to enter the lion's den. > > One that struck me in particular best illustrates why we must enter > even the most unfriendly environments to explain our point of view: > > "My political views would probably be best described as a liberal > Democrat and I am writing to let you know that I was dismayed at your > recent treatment on 'Real Time with Bill Maher.' I felt that you were > given very little meaningful ability to speak; when you requested > evidence to back up the claims that were being made, you received none > and when you were requested not to interrupt by Prof. Dyson (and > politely heeded his request) you were then constantly interrupted. As > a side note, I have watched the show for several years and have never > witnessed the audience applause to be so intrusive and so obstructive > to meaningful debate. I suspect that you don't care much about what > occurred and likely anticipated it. I definitely care, not least > because it has been my opinion that the 'shouting down' tactics and > lack of respect for evidence have been characteristics of the right > more than the left in US politics in recent years. Overall, I still > believe that, but what occurred on the show has given me much pause > for thought. Please continue to engage in sincere debate with > ideological opponents and please continue to exercise a higher > standard of manners." > > The next morning, the Starbucks barista recognized me and said he was > a liberal. Go figure! Yet he also said my critique of Professor > Dyson's knee-jerk use of the race card struck a chord. He also > complimented my on-air demeanor. > > Even though Mr. Dyson filibustered in a poetic jargon only a > linguistics student could decipher, and Mr. Maher glared at me in his > trademark smirk, and the audience booed my every utterance, I left > knowing I won the rigged bout simply by showing up. > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
