Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Rachel Maddow Drops the L-Word on Television

I caught the Rachel rerun last night as she continues to call out newbie Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown in his blatant lying about her.

She actually does the unthinkable and uses the L-word that television pundits are loathe to use...she calls him a liar. Complete with a picture of Brown with a giant "LIAR" stamped across his forehead.

This is so refreshing to me, because I can't even begin to count how many times I've seethed in frustration as people like David "I'm Doing My Best to Kill Meet the Press" Gregory nod and smile as their guests spew lies without calling out the liars as liars. All in the name of maintaining "access" I guess.

Political talk show guests know they won't be called out on lying, so they feel free to continue lying. Or if someone calls them out, they just raise the volume on the lies (Monica Crowley and Pat Buchanan, I'm talking to you.)

What if these interviewers (I can't bring myself to call Gregory and his ilk journalists) just stopped kowtowing to folks and held up their hand in the middle of some blowhard's blowhardiness and said, "wait a second, the facts are this. Why are you lying?" Wouldn't that be amazing?

I guess TV producers would say it wouldn't be very good TV. Personally I think it would be really compelling to see a politician splutter and twist while trying to spin his way out of a lie.

Go Rachel.

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