Tonight Glenn Beck did a full one-hour interview with embattled former Congressman Eric Massa, who has made some serious allegations about Rahm Emanual and other leaders of the Democrat party. All this comes as Massa has resigned Congress amidst a firestorm of allegations of misconduct, as well as concerns about a recurrence of cancer.
During his radio show this morning Beck had a discussion with Michelle Malkin, during which Malkin seemed to excoriate Glenn simply for the very idea that he would have Massa on his show, let alone for the full hour.
Beck tried to reason with Malkin, attempting to explain to her that it is better to at least hear what Massa had to say, rather than brush him aside and not ever get the opportunity to hear what may (or may not) be worthwhile information.
Malkin's argument went to the credibility of Massa based partially on his current situation, but she also came across (in my opinion) as highly partisan, essentially saying that since Massa's not "one of us" he can not be trusted and should not be given any benefit of doubt. She also brought up the inconsistency of Massa's story, which certainly needed to be taken into consideration.
Beck seemed to believe that Massa has nothing to lose, and that Massa might be one of the whistle-blowers Beck has been looking for. Beck is also a big believer in redemption, which probably led to his willingness to allow Massa an opportunity to testify. Beck made it perfectly clear that he intended to be very direct in his questioning, and that he had a backup plan in case the whole thing went south.
Unfortunately Massa had nothing of real substance to offer come airtime of Beck's Fox News Channel program. Glenn tried and tried to bring Massa to a point where he could open up and name names, indict anyone of poor character... anything. Massa waffled about, not really saying anything of substance. Sadly it seemed that every time Beck came up on a commercial break Massa acted as if he understood what Beck was asking of him, yet when the show resumed he was back to square one.
Clearly Glenn wanted to interview the man Massa seemed to be based on his now famous rants against Rahm Emanuel, Nancy Pelosi, and Washington leadership in general. Instead Massa seemed to be on a media tour, looking for his last fifteen minutes before he rides off into the sunset. He didn't even really want to discuss the same issues he was so willing to carry on about just a couple of days ago.
One must wonder what happened to Eric Massa over the last 24 hours for him to clam up and appear to be a totally different person than expected. Is everything he said on those now famous recordings all lies? Has Massa been threatened? How can a man who just a couple of days ago was casting wild aspersions about The White House and Congressional leadership suddenly seem to havbe nothing to say? Was there a payoff involved?
All in all, I think Massa looked a bit like a cornered rat; still dangerous and perhaps capable of inflicting damage out of desperation, but not the formidable predator he perhaps once represented. I also think he's scared for his future and may have either held back, or may be guilty of more than we know.
At the end of the program Beck apologized to the viewers, stating that he had wasted their time. I don't believe this is completely true. While it was certainly not the most entertaining hour of television, I think there may be something to be learned from today's interview.
Certainly if nothing else it is extremely odd that a Congressional ethics investigation was initiated and acted upon so quickly... just ask Charlie Rangel or Chris Dodd.
I don't know that we'll ever hear the whole truth, but the shocking contrast between Massa's previous quotes and today's interview speaks volumes, and in my opinion indicates there is more to the story than meets the eye.
There's a lot.. and I mean a lot more discussion about this topic at Memeorandum, and over at Just a Conservative Girl you can read an opinion from JACG, who simply wants everyone to "Let Massa go away."
16 comments:
I think Glenn jumped the gun yesterday when listening to Massa's soundbites and invited him on the show for an hour before he knew all of the facts. This morning he sounded less enthusiastic, most probably after hearing many stories about Massa. I also heard Glenn's conversation with Michelle Malkin. She definitely made her point, and as it turns out, I think she was right. But Glenn saw an opportunity to "maybe" shine a light on the corruption in the WH with a Dem dishing the dirt. Too bad it didn't quite turn out the way he planned. Probably the person who learned the most tonight was Glenn.
Yes. I want my hour back.
I had such high hopes that Massa would name names and give info that cold be verified. I mean, listen, if I say "Congress is full of crooks!" but cannot prove it with documentation or hidden recordings, then what am I really doing?
Yeah, I'm enjoying my 15 minutes.
Fah.
I watched Glenn's show today and I wouldn't call it a waste if time. There wasn't any explosive information or accuastions made by Massa so in that sense it kinda was boring. Massa did take responsibility for his actions. I just wonder if there's more to this story. The timing and urgency of this investigation does seem kind of fishy, though.
TCL -
I agree about Glenn jumping the gun, and if you go to Left Coast Rebel you'll see many bloggers had a lot of research done on Massa. Beck prides himself on his factual accuracy, and when he takes the time to get it right he's pretty good... but he seems to get rather excitable when something like this happens.
I disagree about Malkin, though... I think she was pretty narrow-minded about the whole thing, and even though it didn't pan out - she'd have looked pretty stupid had Massa made some big allegation.
Don -
I absolutely agree about the 15 minutes thing... and yes, he certainly didn't produce much. I think there's more to the story, though... like I said at the end of my post, why so quick to open and proceed with an ethics investigation?
Inquiring minds...
Beck took a big chance, and it didn't really pan out for him. We'll see what comes of it.
Teresa -
Looks like you and I are pretty much on the same page.
And for all of you who didn't catch it - Massa was on Larry King tonight, it'll repeat at (I think) midnight EST. It's only about 1/2 an hour, and Ben Stein and Marc Lamont Hill are on immediately after. Stein believes there's more to the story, and seems to feel sorry for Massa for the muck it looks like "leadership" is dragging him through. King did a decent interview, got a little more out of him but not much.
I found it a waste of time too. Less than 15 minutes in, my BS Detector was screaming, because Massa seemed to be expanding his version of what the allegations are about.
I did learn a few things about Massa.
1. Massa is very much so a closet case. He seems to enjoy telling these creepy "male bonding stories".
2. He knows a lot more about the allegations against him, than he is letting on. That whole there are text messages thing proves that.
3. He has no inside secrets to share.
4. He is doing all of this to draw attention away from the details of the allegations.
Before the show, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on a few things. After the show, put me firmly in the Malkin camp.
Cliff... too funny, I just left you a comment and I come here to see you've left me one too!
Interesting, the thing you mentioned about Massa being a closet case. He was on Larry King as I mentioned before, and King flat out asked him, and he sharply denied - almost too sharply, if you know what I mean.
Hell, I could give a crap if he's gay.. but be honest! If he's lying about that, he'll never tell the truth about anything.
You definitely bullet-point an interesting perspective... but if he's trying to make the issues disappear, why doesn't he just disappear?
I still stay in the Beck camp, in the sense that if Beck hadn't tried, we might never have known. Beck shouldn't lose any credibility in the big picture, except that he'd better learn to not get so excited next time, do some research, and then do the interview.
You know how I feel. The guy seems like a scum to me. You also need to remember; there has been no "official" word about the investigation, we only know what he is saying. There is probably a whole lot more to this story than we are ever going to find out. Now that he has resigned the investigation is over. I have a freind who works at a HR place. I am going to have him do some research if saying something at a wedding reception could lead to harassment charges. I don't believe that they can.
Thanks for the linky love!!
You know how I feel. The guy seems like a scum to me. You also need to remember; there has been no "official" word about the investigation, we only know what he is saying. There is probably a whole lot more to this story than we are ever going to find out. Now that he has resigned the investigation is over. I have a freind who works at a HR place. I am going to have him do some research if saying something at a wedding reception could lead to harassment charges. I don't believe that they can.
Thanks for the linky love!!
Soloman,
You're making a lot of sense these days!
http://politicalintegritynow.com/2010/03/eric-massa-blows-it-on-beck-and-king-15-minutes-are-up-massa/
JACG -
I definitely know how you feel about the Massa situation, and I wish you would get your wish, but I'm, afraid you may not.
Tonight Chris Matthews said he's heard Boehner plans to push for further investigation of Massa because it's possible there was inappropriate activity with an intern. If Boehner gets his wish, and even more so if Massa's guilty of such behavior, he'll be in the news for quite a while longer.
However, for the purposes of seeking info about the corruption in the White House, I'd say he's done.
Don -
As I said over at P. I. N., thanks for the link, much appreciated!
I think you misunderstand my point. If he did wrong doing, then investigate it. I also think he can speak as much as we wants, I just don't think that conservatives should be giving him a stage.
So many people don't care about global warming. They disregard the need for conservation and instead drive SUVs. They don't care about the Federal deficit/debt (outside of partisanship) and they don't care earning $400k for an $80,000/year job will eventually bankrupt the country. They have awarded themselves $400k pay and retirement packages, loading up their friends on the payroll during the boom 90s through the real estate bust while all services which the program were intended to fund now get cut to pay for it.
These people are often common public university labor. Not Ivy League, not private university.
This labor isn't good enough to earn the salaries they are earning. And they understood this when they applied to the public university they settled on.
You can't expect a top-tier salary with a second-rate education.
They think they are going sometime during/at the end of this life, and disregard the poor souls who are left behind.
Sounds like the Italians who were used to plan World War II and the Holocaust, and not by accident.
These are the people who will be here in the United States when bankruptcy is declared and society deteriorates into chaos. And they will deserve the anarchy which ensues.
The gods used the Italians to ruin life in the 20th century.
The gods used the Italians to ruin life in A.D. with The Church.
The Church controlled Western Civilization. As the largest land owner in Europe they controlled the monarchies. They were responsbile for slavery, revenge for African invasion and rape of Italy. They created religious discontent, ultimately leading to the disfavored dumping ground known as the United States.
And each generation of these Italians were sold on "earning", only to be reincarnated as a lesser life form subsequently, punishment for their evil.
"The West Bank, where the end of the world will begin." With xtianity.
The gods are the commensurate rapist pathology, focussed on control.
It is appropriate they picked the Italians for the downfall of man. The perception offered is exactly how the gods are. Unfortunate for the Italians, they were deliberately altered to match this pathology so the god's behavior could be justified in the context of the god's positioning.
I may not have learned as much as I have but I WOULD have gotten more done and made more progress, and at the end of this life that's all that matters. We will all be reincarnated and must re-learn about the gods and their methodology in each sucessive life.
The upside down star is my symbol. There is of course no Satan. That's just the gods with different clothes on.
You're all in big, big trouble. Everyone who failed to ascend before 1900 is. But the importance of this Situation is to ensure people learn the god's system while they have enough time to fix their relationship and ascend before The End.
Don't forget:::Ascending into "heaven" is not the same as entering clone hosting. One is good while the other is evil. The clue is their request to work multiple clone hosts to "earn", for if you were welcome into heaven you would be invited directly. My example of someone who ascended is John Muir. His "fake" went on to accomplish BUT NOT IN A DISCIPLINE WHICH HURT PEOPLE OR PROVIDED FOR SOME TEMPTATION. What happens after speaks volumes.
You're on the clock. This is where the cream rises to the top.
If just then I am The Damned and this shouldn't have happened to me. If unjust the gods are immoral and a total waste of time. For all of us.
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