In a new interview, Jon Stewart said that conservative movement heroes Ted Cruz and Paul Ryan have repeatedly refused to be interviewed on The Daily Show.
Transcript of Stewart’s interview in New York Magazine,
Is there any politician you really want to have on who hasn’t agreed to do the show?
No one, really. It’s not that people don’t refuse all the time. Like Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz, they won’t come on. We’ve asked them a million times. Marco Rubio has been on a couple times. He generally likes to mix it up. The truth is, I’m not particularly hankering for a conversation with those guys. I always find it interesting how guys come on this show and they soft-pedal their beliefs. They’ve written a book called Liberals Will Fuck Your Dead Grandmother. You ask, “Why would you write Liberals Will Fuck Your Dead Grandmother?” “It’s not about that. We’re not that far apart.” Right. But then why would you write that they’re necrophiliacs? “Did I?” They completely back away. Jim DeMint writes a book that says, “This is a battle between socialism and free enterprise.” He comes on the show: “Oh, so you want to get rid of Social Security?” “No, that’s a great program.”
Both Ryan and Cruz are ducking Stewart for different reasons. Rep. Ryan (R-WI) is worried that his flimsy Randian economic theories will be blown out of the water as soon as they questioned by Stewart. Sen. Cruz won’t go near Stewart’s show because he is likely afraid that the Daily Show host will demolish the facade that the Texas senator has constructed that he is a president in the making.
Jon Stewart is one of the best interviewers on television, so it isn’t exactly shocking that two of the biggest frauds in American politics won’t go on his show. Elsewhere in the interview, Stewart made it clear that he was perfectly fine with red state conservatives not watching his show.
Top Republicans have retreated so far into their Fox bubble that they are refusing to be interviewed by a guy who would give them a fair shake. Stewart wouldn’t let them promote their talking points, but he would treat them fairly.
Fairness is something that Republicans no longer believe in, unless they are talking about the “fairness” of the wealthy paying less while everyone else pays higher taxes, or the “fairness” of billionaires being able to buy the government through campaign contributions.
It is not that Paul Ryan and Ted Cruz don’t want free media. The only logical conclusion is that they don’t want to answer the questions that Jon Stewart would ask.
In other words, they are afraid to reach out to an audience that might disagree with them. It is difficult to believe in the GOP’s rhetoric about strength when prominent members of their party are afraid of Jon Stewart.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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