Title: Debra Medina on KLIF after the Beck Show (YouTube) Source:
[None] URL Source:[None] Published:Feb 11, 2010 Author:. Post Date:2010-02-11 23:42:19 by christine Keywords:None Views:1152 Comments:108
Debra Medina self-destructs on Glenn Beck radio show Texas gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina appeared on the Glenn Beck radio show this morning and made a lot of news when she wouldn't take a position on whether the US government was behind the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
Beck: "Rick, I think you and I could French kiss right now," he said of Texas's current governor, Rick Perry who is running for re-election.
"Wow," Beck continued. "Wow. The fastest way back to four percent," he said of Medina's one-time standing in the polls. A recent survey showed her only four points behind Hutchison with 24 percent of the vote.
What I meant to say was...
Medina quickly put out a statement clarifying what she meant, which just so happens not to sound anything like what she said.
"I was asked a question on the Glenn Beck show today regarding my thoughts on the so-called 9/11 truth movement. I have never been involved with the 9/11 truth movement, and there is no doubt in my mind that Muslim terrorists flew planes into those buildings on 9/11. I have not seen any evidence nor have I ever believed that our government was involved or directed those individuals in any way. No one can deny that the events on 9/11 were a tragedy for all Americans and especially those families who lost loved ones."
Well, that was an ambush if I've ever seen one. It was a question/set up likely given to him by someone who works directly or indirectly for either Perry or Hutchinson. And is looks like Beck is still doing his level best to torpedo her campaign and to be honest, he's probably succeeded. Hutchinson and Perry are going to send out their acolytes to do their dirty work in the media and she'll have to continue defending and defining her position on this. It will be interesting to see what the polls have to say after the fact. My guess is she will drop quite a bit. The good news is, is this is not a national election. Millions probably heard the interview and immediately wrote her off because of Beck and fortunately most of them are outside the state of Texas. The only thing that matters is how Texans viewed this. If the YouTube comments are any indication, Texans like her even more now.
I hate this had to come at her expense, but this is a wake up call to those like Medina who are running for office that they'd better be prepared to answer this question and expect ambushes if they get on any national media outlet like Beck in the future. It sounded to me like she was caught off guard by the question, but I thought she answered it pretty well.
The only place I hear/see Beck anymore is on YouTube. It's one step forward and 10 steps backward with him. He's had good info about the Fed and he does this. Then I'm reminded why I quit listening to him in the first place. Oh yeah- read the sig line...
scooter: It was a question/set up likely given to him by someone who works directly or indirectly for either Perry or Hutchinson.
Mister Clean: The question wasn't the problem, her answer was the problem.
Medina's answer was only "a problem" to those who want the rubes to forget nagging unanswered questions about 9/11 as well as their discomfort about the gubment's whitewash official explanation.
Medina is running for elected office. She - unlike Hutchison and Hairdo Perry - recognizes that elected office means that she should be RESPONSIVE to the concerns of the electorate and one of those gnawing concerns appears to be that 9/11 needs to be re-investigated. Medina's answer is reflective of the public's discontent with the story presented by gubment.
As I noted in msg #70, just 4 years ago when the NYT and CBS did a poll regarding 9/11, only SIXTEEN PERCENT of Americans believed the gubment's official story.
Medina's position is in line with the majority of Americans, including Texans.
Beck is a flame throwing talking head entertainer. His ratings depend on generating controversy. In this case the controversy Beck created has actually generated good publicity for Medina. Not exactly what Beck had planned on happening, though he has no room to complain because the Medina controversy has also given a boost to his ratings. I don't watch or listen to Beck often. On the occasion I catch him on my car radio, he's actually kind of mesmerizing - like a goofy bowling ball in a china shop. His ratings are high, not because listeners agree with him, but rather because Beck is unpredictable. Medina got herself a ton of free publicity by being a guest on his show and handling herself in poised, direct, no BS manner.
The question wasn't the problem, her answer was the problem.
I may be wrong on this, but from what I understand, that was the first time she's been asked the 9/11 question. Not during dozens, if not hundreds, of local and regional interviews has she been asked to address this. If my understanding is correct, the question wasn't consistent with other interviews. A CBSNews Article with comments is interesting about 1/3 of the way down. Someone claims they and several they knew where contacted by "robo calls" shortly after the Beck interview by the Hutchinson and Perry campaigns. I know the turnaround on robo calls is pretty quick, in that you can craft a statement and get it out there in a hurry if you need to. But in a political landscape, you need to get the message down, vet for maximum advantage, edit and release it and that can take a little bit of time. Beck has made some quasi-positive statements about Perry apparently previous to the Medina interview. Given this, yeah, it smells like someone(s) under the Perry umbrella figured Medina has sympathy for the 9/11 movement that they could exploit and gave Beck this angle and he went after it. It's a move that someone pulled out of their back pocket in the event things got too close in order pick off and marginalize a candidate. And like I said, it will probably work. I thought she was caught off guard and answered pretty well. Do I think she could have managed the answer better? Yes.