Last night as only he can do it, Jon Stewart took Fox News to task for their hypocrisy. In this case, it all centered around the fact that President Obama had called Fox News out publicly for stoking the stereotype that all poor people are lazy and looking for handouts from the government. Fox News reacted with indignation and claimed that they only questioned the entitlement programs, not the people using the programs. Since Fox News doesn't seem to have time to review its previously aired programming, Jon Stewart and his staff were happy to help by offering
The Daily Show audience a three course feast, or as Stewart put it a "prickfeast," of some highlights.
The appetizer, which Stewart called the Amuse-Douch, was a video-clip demonstration of Fox's contempt for those in poverty. This was followed by the entrée, a compilation of examples of Fox News characterizing the poor as bad people or lazy. For dessert, Stewart served Baked Al-asshole, clips of Fox News claiming that the poor really aren't poor because they have stuff.
Now every good host provides entertainment to his guests after the meal. As appalled as Stewart was at the Fox News reaction to President Obama's comments, wondering out loud, "are these glaring contradictions a product of a lack of self-awareness, or cynicism, or stupidity, or evil?" It seems he was even more baffled by Joe Scarborough of MSNBC's Morning Joe leaping to the defense of Fox News. And so Stewart treated his guests to a game he called Did you even try to research this? You can guess what happened next. Joe Scarborough didn't believe that Fox News had ever called poor people leeches, sponges or lazy. Naturally, Stewart provided the evidence that indeed Fox News had.
I watched this last night, wondering specifically what Scarborough's reaction would be on his show this morning. However, I wasn't so curious that I was willing to get out of bed that early. Good thing I didn't because even though Morning Joe often plays clips from the previous night's commentary by Jon Stewart, evidently they skipped it entirely this morning. I learned this by going to the Morning Joe website to discover that a majority of the comments are about Joe defending Fox News. Joe's viewers were not too pleased that he did not respond to Jon Stewart's comments.
If you missed the segment last night, you can watch it at The Daily Show website. Jump over the orange swirl to read a transcript.
Update:
I'm seeing more about this on my Facebook news feed. One of the best takes on it comes from Vox:
Is it possible that Obama, playing a game of eleventy-dimensional chess, attacked Fox News because he knew they'd overreact — only to set up the most damning Daily Show supercut ever?
Fox News: We don't call the poor "leeches."Jon Stewart: Let me Google that for you!
On the substance of President Obama's comments and the reaction of Fox News, Charles M Blow has an excellent article up at
The New York Times:
The problem with all of this is that these misconceptions have a way of seeping into the populace as a whole.
For Fox’s part, they responded by having Stuart Varney, who works for Fox News and Fox Business Network, comment. Varney said: “I think the president is spinning the failure of his own policies, and I think he is blaming us, and I think we are an honest messenger.”
Stop laughing, people! There’s more. Varney continued:
“Look at food stamps for a second. We’ve been asking why is it that after six years of so-called recovery there are still 12 million more people on food stamps today than when the president took office. Why is that? Surely, that’s the failure of the president’s policy. What about Obama phones? Why is it that we’re giving away 13 million Obama phones after six years of recovery? Why are we doing that?”
Never once did Varney address the many times that O’Reilly called poor people lazy or acknowledge that “Obama phones” might be more aptly called “Reagan phones.”
(snip)
Obama was right to call out the media’s poverty narratives. There are people across the income spectrum who are lazy and addicted and want something for nothing. But it’s unfair and untenable to pretend this is the sole purview of the poor. Negative behavior doesn’t necessarily spring from a lack of money, but rather exposes a lack of character.
The President, Fox News and the Poor
You know, I'm watching Fox News, which I'll continued to do now for another I don't know 36 shows minus today's open. And while we continue to poke fun at them for lying and sucking, they do care very deeply about certain issues, like Benghazi, or women's legs, or that time one of their female anchors didn't wear a dress now known as Pants-Ghazi. The point is after Fox finishes caring about a lot of other stuff, they eventually care very deeply about poverty.
[Clips from Fox News]
27 Oct 2012: We haven't heard much about poverty from the Obama White House over the last four years.
13 Jan 2014: Virtually no emphasis on families.
6 Jan 2014; Why not focus on poverty?
28 Apr 2015: I remember five or six years ago, President Obama making this one of his main talking points. I'm going to fix the structure of the African American family. Where did that go?
And while the President has been addressing those issues, his entire presidency, good point. In fact, yesterday President Obama sat down for a 76-minute discussion at Georgetown University in which he explained all sorts of things about personal responsibility, and the debate between government assistance and personal responsibility as being a false choice and families, etc.
President Obama: The free market is perfectly compatible with also us making investment in good public schools, public universities, investments in public parks. [Break] If we do those things, the values and the character that those kids are learning. [Break] They're less likely to get pregnant as teens, and less likely to engage in drugs, and less likely to be involved in the criminal justice system. [Break] That is a reinforcement of the values and characters that we want. [Break] I am a black man who grew up without a father. And I know the costs that I paid for that. And I also know that I had the capacity to break that cycle.
Do you know who else talked with his hands? Hitler.
So Fox finally got the substantive presidential discussion on poverty that they always wanted including on stage the counterview from the head of the conservative American Enterprise Institute. He was on stage. I can't wait to see Fox's happiness and satisfaction.
Neil Cavuto: Fox News Alert. Fox News front and center.
Voice-over: President Obama taking time out today for one of his favorite topics, Fox News!
Voice-over: President Obama accused Fox News of propagating harmful stereotypes about poor Americans.
Voice-over: The President accused the media, in particular Fox News, of suggesting that the poor are unwilling to work.
Yep, just like college students at a four hour commencement, Fox basically pays no attention until they hear their own names.
It turns out at one point in this, at one point in this incredibility thoughtful and productive session on poverty, the President made the easily provable and decidedly true point that Fox News narrative is that poverty is not a function of economic condition but of character.
President Obama: The effort to suggest that the poor are sponges, leeches, are ... don't want to work, are lazy. [Break] If you watch Fox News on a regular basis, it is a constant menu. They will find, like folks who make me mad. I don't know where they find them. Right. They're all like I don't want to work, I just want a free Obama phone. Or whatever. That becomes an entire narrative.
Martha MacCallum: Really?
Yeah, really.
Martha MacCallum: Really?
Really.
Martha MacCallum: Really?
YES! What's with your tone of disgust and disappointment? Are you anchoring a news desk or did you just come home to find your dog had eaten your cat's entire liter box? Roscoe, Really?
It sounds to me like the President has a remarkably firm grasp on your business model there, Fox. So why are you outraged?
Stuart Varney: In my opinion the President is spinning his own policy failures. As the middle class shrinks and the poor are trapped in this system so to speak, the President blames us, the honest messengers.
The honest messengers? Um, Martha?
Martha MacCallum: Really?
What? What? Did you even watch the [bleep]ing program? What are you talking about Varney?
Stuart Varney Clip 1: We've looked at the food stamp program, not at the recipients. We haven't characterized the recipients. We've look at the program.
Stuart Varney Clip 2: We're not saying that the recipients of food stamps are bad people or that they're lazy.
That is such a rich buffet of bull[bleep]. I can't ... that is a three course prefix. I'm sorry, prickfeast. For starters, let's demonstrate Fox's contempt for those in poverty in our first course of this meal, an
Amuse-Douch, if you will.
Voice-over: America's poor are actually living the good life.
Voice-over: Just call them pennies from government heaven.
Voice-over: The United States of Entitlement.
Voice-over: A nation of takers.
Stuart Varney: Entitlement society.
[Graphic of hand reaching out of U.S. map.]
Brian Kilmeade says: Scary.
We have nothing against the poor, It's just that their ravenous greed bursts through America's chest like the monster alien. But, I'm sorry, you were saying you don't characterize the poor as bad people or lazy. Ah well, your entrée is ready just as you asked for it, Medium Unfair.
Sean Hannity: We have conditioned people to look to the government to be their answer for every problem they have and take zero responsibility.
Guest: The moocher class.
Eric Bolling: Subsidized freeloaders.
Charles Payne: Give me these goodies. Give me a cell phone. Pay my rent.
Neil Cavuto: Bale outs from cradle to grave.
Gretchen Carlson: Nation of moochers.
Voice-over: Freeloaders in America.
Jonathan Hoenig: Entitlement mentality.
Guest: Sitting on the couch eating bonbons.
Cal Thomas: People who sleep 'til noon.
Michael Reagan: Sucking off the nipple of the government.
How [bleep]ing removed from reality is Fox's perception of their own coverage on poverty? The main defender of your network's attitude towards those in poverty, is the main offender. He does segments that would make Ebenezer Scrooge go,
Hey, take it easy. These are people we are talking about. So for dessert tonight, we serve you Baked Al-asshole.
Clips of Stuart Varney:
30 Jul 2013: The handout nation rolls on.
5 Jun 2013: We hand out 79 billion dollars every January to these so-called poor people. Gretchen Carlson: You're not being mean to poor people today? Varney: I am. I am being mean to poor people. Frankly, I am.
19 Jul 2011: Many poor families have homes with cable t.v., cell phones, computers, you name it; much, much more: 99% of them have a refrigerator, 81% have a microwave.
2 Dec 2013: You're going to give us the emotional side of the story? People need fifteen dollars per hour to live on? They're starving without it. Okay, I've got that.
25 Aug 2011: The image we have of poor people as starving and living in squalor really is not accurate. Many of them have things. What they lack is the richness of spirit.
Anyway, you boy, what day is it today? Is it Christmas day? Oh, go up and buy all the gooses. Keep them out of those lazy, poor hands. And if you see a boy on crutches, push him down. He's not crippled. He's crippled at heart. He lacks a richness of legsness. Are these glaring ...? Are they ...? I don't even ... Are these honestly, are these glaring contradictions a product of a lack of self-awareness, or cynicism, or stupidity, or evil? I don't know any more, and I'm starting to lack a richness of [bleep]. What I don't understand is another journalist on another network leaping to defend something so clearly indefensible.
Joe Scarborough: What about this specific clip about Fox News calling poor people, leeches, sponges, and lazy. Have you ever heard that on Fox News?
Mike Barnicle: No I have not.
Well, I guess it's time for our favorite game show,
Did you even try to research this? All right, the rules are simple. First, Joe Scarborough cites three words he's never heard Fox News call poor people. And then we see how wrong he is. Today's words are lazy, sponges, and leeches. Sigh. Ready, set, go.
Charles Payne: These programs do make people lazy.
Peter Morici: They get food stamps. It makes them easy for them to sponge off their girlfriends and spouses.
Guest: So the more of the leeches that he can get to vote for him.
[Bell rings three times.]
And that's our game.