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Based on what Sam Seder said last night on KO - Maybe just refer to them as CANDYLAND? Anybody got anything catchier?
Based on last paragraph from Transcript:
SEDER: Yes, I mean, I think that‘s it. I mean, I think the right wing, and particularly Limbaugh in particular, what it is for them is just edifying the delusion of their audience. I mean, it‘s almost as if it‘s like some type of deranged theme park, where, you know, it‘s candy-covered mountains and marshmallow skies, and up is down and down is up. And there‘s never a time when a conservative does anything wrong. And this basically makes people feel comfortable if they come from that perspective.
SAM SEDER, AIR AMERICA RADIO: Thank you, Alison, it‘s a pleasure.
STEWART: Help us out with this dilemma. When the right‘s two most influential outlets, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, are defending criminals, slamming prosecutors and juries, are they sincerely going soft on crime? Are they trying to make chicken salad out of chicken other things?
SEDER: Well, I, you know, I think this is indicative of the conservative movement today. I mean, conservatives can‘t do anything that‘s illegal. Anything a conservative does, by its very definition, because it‘s done by a conservative, can‘t be wrong. So therefore, there was no crime committed here, even though he was convicted on four counts.
STEWART: But is Rush right in some way? Will this energize the conservative base somehow?
SEDER: I mean, I have no idea, but if it did, it would be horribly sad, wouldn‘t it? I mean, they‘re going to rally around someone who was obstructing an investigation into one of the central reasons why we supposedly invaded and occupy Iraq? I mean, that‘s pretty sad, although I‘ve seen sadder things from the right wing, frankly.
STEWART: Well, let‘s talk about this a little bit. Is the right defending Loofus (ph) Libby because they like him personally? And hopefully, he‘ll be quiet and remain loyal, not get anybody else in any kind of trouble. Or is it OK to do whatever you have to do, even if it‘s a crime, if it will help sell the war and, in their opinion, provide safety for the country?
SEDER: Well, I mean, I think it‘s somewhere in the middle there. I mean, I think Libby is sort of like a gateway drug for conservatives to truth. And if they accept the fact that Scooter Libby was convicted of these crimes, then they have to ask, Well, why did he lie? Who was he protecting? Well, obviously, we saw on the trial that he was protecting Dick Cheney.
And then the question becomes, Why was Dick Cheney so obsessed with smearing Joe Wilson over these charges that he supposedly thought were real, about yellowcake uranium?
So I think at the end of the day, it‘s a question of conservatives. They just don‘t want to go down that road, because if they come to the conclusion that many Americans have, over 50 percent, certainly, of the country, that the Bush administration lied us into this war in Iraq.
STEWART: I just had that Jack Nicholson moment, where (INAUDIBLE), “All Good, Few Good Men,” or “You can‘t handle the truth” kind of moment? Is that what you‘re saying?
SEDER: Exactly. And they just don‘t want to go down that path. I mean, they‘re terrified. That‘s why you see those—that chyron on Fox News, you know, not guilty of one of five charges. I mean, it‘s like looking at the cup one-fifth full, I guess, or something.
STEWART: Now, when President Clinton was in the midst of the Lewinsky scandal, there were some Democrats who said, you know, This is not ethical behavior, he‘s not honest about it. But there were who said, You know what? He is still the man, as far as we‘re concerned. Now, do both of these parties have problems admitting the sins of their members? Or is there some sort of difference?
SEDER: Well, I mean, I think you can always find people who are in denial. But I think fundamentally, this is not even a question of party so much as it is about a certain ideology. You know, had Clinton been honest about a sexual liaison he had, there would have been no case whatsoever. Had Scooter Libby not lied to federal investigators and not obstructed justice, you may see Dick Cheney sitting in a courtroom right now.
STEWART: Well, as much as the Fox banner that we talked about a little bit was surprising, we‘ll say, deciding Libby not guilty was the lead, because he got off of one of five charges, do they just know their audience?
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