Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 05:01 pm
Palin defends Rand Paul by attacking Rachel Maddow
Sarah Palin was on Fox News Sunday today and when asked about Rand Paul’s comments on the Civil Rights Act, she blamed the media, specifically Rachel Maddow. Palin said, “Being able to engage in a discussion with a TV character media a media personality who perhaps had an agenda in answering the question and interpreting his answer as she did.”
Here is the video courtesy of Media Matters:
After touting Paul’s clarification of his civil rights position, Palin then blamed MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, “I think there is certainly a double standard here. When Rand Paul had anticipated that he’d be able to engage in a discussion, he being a Libertarian leaning constitutional conservative, being able to engage in a discussion with a TV character media a media personality who perhaps had an agenda in answering the question and interpreting his answer as she did.”
She then claimed that Maddow was prejudiced even before the interview, “So you know one thing that we can learn in this lesson that I have learned and Rand Paul is learning now is don’t assume that you can engage in a hypothetical discussion about constitutional impacts with a reporter or a media personality who has an agenda, who may be prejudice before they even get into the interview in regards to what your answer may be, and then the opportunity that they seize to get ya. You know they’re looking for that gotcha moment, and that’s what it evidently appears to be what they did with Rand Paul.”
Here is what Palin leaves out. Rand Paul had been on Rachel Maddow’s show before. He even officially announced his candidacy on Rachel Maddow’s show. Rand Paul was no stranger to Rachel Maddow and her program. He knew what the interview would be like, and Palin, who refuses to go on Maddow, could never tolerate the tough questioning interview style of the MSNBC host.
Here is the Maddow/Paul interview:
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As you can see, Maddow was not trying to push an agenda, but she was trying to get Paul to discuss what he stands for in terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Civil Rights Act. Palin also leaves out that Paul himself is the one who made the Civil Rights Act with his comments on NPR. In essence, Palin’s advice to Rand Paul is to not go on any networks that will ask tough questions, because as we all know in Palin speak any hard question is gotcha question.
By the way Maddow’s question was not a hypothetical. She threw him softballs on whether not he believed in legalized discrimination, but Paul is the one who brought up in his own modifying the one title of the civil rights act that relates to the private sector. Maddow didn’t even bring this up. Rand Paul did. Rachel Maddow didn’t “gotcha” Rand Paul, he “gotchaed” himself. No Republican would ever do well by following Palin’s advice, because if they did they would never do any national media, except the right wing. A party can not win elections by just sticking to Fox News.
Palin was repeating the talking points, because as usual she has no idea what she is talking about. It is a safe bet that she has never watched the interview, yet she feels free to question the motives of Rachel Maddow. Palin and Fox News and all the other Rand Paul/right wing apologists can blame Maddow, but the tape doesn’t lie, even if Sarah Palin does. Palin was pulling an old political trick, when you don’t like the answer to a question impugn the credibility of the questioner. The problem for Palin is that she has no credibility, thus her attack on Maddow is her own version of “gotcha” self-denial.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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