Sean Hannity hits Utah!--A minute by minute account
7:40pm My wife and I arrive. We think we're early but the heavy security causes the line to back up.
8:20 We're in!
8:40 Still waiting for the show to start. They've still got 3,000 people to let in though, so it could be awhile.
8:46 There's a disagreement behind us because one couple insists they're in row 5 even though it's really row 4. It takes several people referring them to the big painted "4" at the end of the row before they laugh and go "Woops!"
9:00 It's SEAN! He's singing the National Anthem as he enters the stage. He spends the next 5 minutes bashing Michael Moore whom he calls a "gutless coward." Apparently Sean "Hero" Hannity wanted to debate Moore and "dedicate all the money to a children's charity," but Moore refused!
9:05 "All the liberals in the audience stand up. We don't hate you. You can move into our neighborhoods...if you can afford it!" [Not sure what this means but I think Hannity hates poor people.]
9:20 Ted Kennedy alcoholic joke--Hey I didn't know we had Jay Leno up there!
9:22 "John Kerry has raised taxes 98 times in 20 years. He has personally raised taxes $2.3 trillion!" The source on this is apparently Hannity's limitless knowledge.
9:24 The media is not "fair and balanced" [ooh, sweet Fox News plug Sean!]; "What does John Kerry know about the forged documents on 60 Minutes" [Nothing Sean! But way to insinuate some guilt!]
9:25 Communism bad! [Much applause]
9:30 Terrorists AND Nazis bad! [Much applause]
9:32 Ted Kennedy alcoholic joke #2--ooooh, Ted you got zinged!
9:33 Kerry voted against everything our military has ever done! Phenomenal! Thanks Sean!
9:35 "Global test? I tell you what, I don't need Jacque Chirac's permission to defend my country!" [Much applause] Hey, was Sean's blatant dishonesty evident before? Because it's in full force now!
9:40 Monica Lewinsky joke--Hey-O! Get this guy on Letterman, now!
9:42 Sean leads a "Flip-Flop" cheer from one side of the arena to the other. The 55 year old woman in front of me looks particularly funny.
9:45 Audio montage of Kerry saying conflicting things--Ouch. Lots of short quotes taken out of context can be damning! The fact that anybody says Michael Moore is more dishonest than this guy makes me lose whatever faith I have left in humanity.
9:50 "I see a lot of Ronald Reagan in George W. Bush." So do I Sean, that's why I'm not voting for him.
9:51 "Bush has liberated 50 million people throughout Iraq and Afghanistan" [Standing Ovation, many shouts of "Sean you the man!"]
Ed. note: Is it just me or is every conflicting statement by Kerry about WMD's separated by the revelation that there ARE NO WMD's? It seems to me that the guy is admitting that the country made a mistake. Something I've never seen Bush do.
9:55 "I've started treating callers like I'm Therese Heinz-Kerry on the air: 'Shut up!' 'Shove it!'" Hey Sean, why don't you try acting like Dick Cheney? I think a few "F*** off's" would probably go over real well on KSL 1160.
10:00 Call up "Vinnie," the liberal audience member he's been picking on all night, to the stage to make him look dumb. Wow Sean, you're bullying tactics are so awe-inspiring!
10:04 "I didn't grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth." Dude's just one of us man.
10:15 "The Democrats spread lies through their ads." Audience member: "What, like the Swift Boat Veterans ads?" Sean: "No sir. Those men told the truth." Wow. Way to further your agenda by repeating claims that have been seriously contested you unbelievable jackass.
I'll be back later with some highlights from the Q&A.
8:20 We're in!
8:40 Still waiting for the show to start. They've still got 3,000 people to let in though, so it could be awhile.
8:46 There's a disagreement behind us because one couple insists they're in row 5 even though it's really row 4. It takes several people referring them to the big painted "4" at the end of the row before they laugh and go "Woops!"
9:00 It's SEAN! He's singing the National Anthem as he enters the stage. He spends the next 5 minutes bashing Michael Moore whom he calls a "gutless coward." Apparently Sean "Hero" Hannity wanted to debate Moore and "dedicate all the money to a children's charity," but Moore refused!
9:05 "All the liberals in the audience stand up. We don't hate you. You can move into our neighborhoods...if you can afford it!" [Not sure what this means but I think Hannity hates poor people.]
9:20 Ted Kennedy alcoholic joke--Hey I didn't know we had Jay Leno up there!
9:22 "John Kerry has raised taxes 98 times in 20 years. He has personally raised taxes $2.3 trillion!" The source on this is apparently Hannity's limitless knowledge.
9:24 The media is not "fair and balanced" [ooh, sweet Fox News plug Sean!]; "What does John Kerry know about the forged documents on 60 Minutes" [Nothing Sean! But way to insinuate some guilt!]
9:25 Communism bad! [Much applause]
9:30 Terrorists AND Nazis bad! [Much applause]
9:32 Ted Kennedy alcoholic joke #2--ooooh, Ted you got zinged!
9:33 Kerry voted against everything our military has ever done! Phenomenal! Thanks Sean!
9:35 "Global test? I tell you what, I don't need Jacque Chirac's permission to defend my country!" [Much applause] Hey, was Sean's blatant dishonesty evident before? Because it's in full force now!
9:40 Monica Lewinsky joke--Hey-O! Get this guy on Letterman, now!
9:42 Sean leads a "Flip-Flop" cheer from one side of the arena to the other. The 55 year old woman in front of me looks particularly funny.
9:45 Audio montage of Kerry saying conflicting things--Ouch. Lots of short quotes taken out of context can be damning! The fact that anybody says Michael Moore is more dishonest than this guy makes me lose whatever faith I have left in humanity.
9:50 "I see a lot of Ronald Reagan in George W. Bush." So do I Sean, that's why I'm not voting for him.
9:51 "Bush has liberated 50 million people throughout Iraq and Afghanistan" [Standing Ovation, many shouts of "Sean you the man!"]
Ed. note: Is it just me or is every conflicting statement by Kerry about WMD's separated by the revelation that there ARE NO WMD's? It seems to me that the guy is admitting that the country made a mistake. Something I've never seen Bush do.
9:55 "I've started treating callers like I'm Therese Heinz-Kerry on the air: 'Shut up!' 'Shove it!'" Hey Sean, why don't you try acting like Dick Cheney? I think a few "F*** off's" would probably go over real well on KSL 1160.
10:00 Call up "Vinnie," the liberal audience member he's been picking on all night, to the stage to make him look dumb. Wow Sean, you're bullying tactics are so awe-inspiring!
10:04 "I didn't grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth." Dude's just one of us man.
10:15 "The Democrats spread lies through their ads." Audience member: "What, like the Swift Boat Veterans ads?" Sean: "No sir. Those men told the truth." Wow. Way to further your agenda by repeating claims that have been seriously contested you unbelievable jackass.
I'll be back later with some highlights from the Q&A.
/ /
posted by Jason Work at 1:10 PM
4 Comments:
It is so interesting to me to note how each side can harbor many of the same feelings of distrust and skepticism. And, I don't say this to belittle Dude's post. I have felt the exact same way as he does about Hannity for pundits on the left, such as James Carville (sp?). When I listen to him, he just stikes me as mean, bitter, and a complete spin meister.
We on the right look at John Kerry and see his faults through a magnifing glass, the same way the left sees Bush. While I know both of these guys are really probably nice guys, coming at American issues from different corners, a certain level of distrust naturally exists for me when it comes to Kerry.
Don't get me wrong, while I feel, for instance, that a senator should have the right to adjust their position as new information comes to light, I do honestly find the number and magnitude of Kerry's position shifts very hard to swallow. Besides that, other parts of his presidential campaign platform, like tax policies, abortion, etc. are too much for me to accept.
One thing I think we all have to agree on is that no matter who wins in November, it really isn't going to make a really big difference. Over the past four years, we have seen that with congress as evenly split as it is, it was hard for Bush to get some of his own appointees and initiatives pushed through, even though he technically had the house and senate in his corner. Or, when Clinton was in office for 8 years he was also kept in check by the republicans. That, my friends, is what makes the U.S. superior to other countries in this world.
Brillo,
Regarding position shifting; Which issues, precisely, are you thinking of when you express your concern over the magnitude and frequency of Kerry's position shifting? It seems to me that there is much more to this. His position on Iraq has really not significantly changed at all (except his acceptance that the WMD's were not there). He has consistently said that he supported the authority to use force if needed, and trusted Bush on his "last resort" promises, yet he does not support the timing, manner, planning, and execution of the operation by Bush. These really are seperate issues, even though Karl Rove would have us believe they aren't. Can I not believe that Iraq was a problem, Saddam is bad, we should use force if needed, and also simultaneously believe that Bush rushed the invasion, misled on WMD's, damaged our international welfare, and poorly planned and executed the invasion?
Kerry likely has changed a position on something somewhere, but so has Bush.
Why is it acceptable for Bush to flip and not Kerry? Bush has flipped on nation-building, same-sex marriage, the need for a Homeland Security Department, the need for a national intelligence czar, the need for a 911 intelligence commission, whether or not he would speak to the 911 intelligence commission, and more. You can say that he had good reasons for these shifts. But why isn't Kerry allowed the same deference? Sort of a double standard, don't you think?
Am I wrong? OK then.
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Whew! Sorry for the couple week absense. I spent a week in Boston (during the Yankees v. Red Sox series... pretty awesome experience), and then I spent the following week hunting here in Utah (to any of the 'friends of bambi' lurking around here, breath, I didn't take a buck :)... ). I'll tell you what though, I have a new (or maybe renewed) respect and love for Utah. You'll never see something as majestic as Mt. Nebo in Michigan. Maybe life long Utah residents would feel the same way about the Great Lakes, or some of our deep virgin forests. At least for me, though, it further raised Utah in my eyes.
Anyway, getting on topic. I find it hard to believe that even the most ardent of democrats would really believe that Kerry has not shifted positions, in particular his position on Iraq. I recall reading an article from the Boston Globe a month or so ago that quoted Kerry from about 1998 to present showing his shifts in position on this, so that along with everything else most honest observers or pundits has to say on this subject will make it hard to convince me otherwise.
The former democratic senator, Bob Kerry, in a moment of honesty ;), mentioned on MSNBC a couple months ago that what America needs to understand is that all senators make some sort of shifts throughout their careers as they learn more, or as situations change. He admited, though, that Kerry has a credibility issue due to his greater than typical shifts on positions.
Did Bush initially oppose things like DHLS? Sure. But, for every one example you give of Bush shifting on an issue, I can give you five from Kerry. And, to make matters worse, Kerry is shifting back and forth on the SAME issues! That is what really catches peoples attention. If at one point he had shifted in opposition of Iraq, for instance, and stayed with that position, he would not be getting the criticism he has received from the right wing press and mainstream press alike.
Another thing you don't see so much from Bush is flip flops on stupid stuff. Let me give a well documented and published example. While meeting with a group of Arab leaders in Dearborn, MI Kerry stated that Isreal's treatment of the Palestinian people was unacceptable, and that the wall the Isreali's built, in particular, was just wrong. Shortly after that, he was back in New England at a Jewish political event, where when questioned, he said that the wall built by the Isreali's was their right, and was the right thing to enforce their security.
Another example, again in Metro-Detroit, Kerry was speaking with auto workers, where he boasted about his SUV. Later when asked by some environmentalists about that statement he tried to back track, and gave some lame excuse about how he didn't own any SUV's, but his family did!
Stuff like this just shows how shallow this man really is. I surprises me that this doesn't matter more to the left, and that just getting rid of Bush, whatever the cost, is more important.
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