Posted on 03/09/2010 5:24:34 AM PST by shortstop
Eric Massa is a snake.
But he is a brilliant snake.
And in one of the most audacious p.r. moves ever, he has conned Limbaugh, Drudge and Beck – and untold millions of Americans. From a little radio studio beside a swamp, with the help of a couple of deluded backwoods yokels, he has made himself a national star.It is astounding.
And proof that in American politics, it’s not how big your lie is, it’s how loud you can yell.
And so it is that Eric Massa, who fled the Congress out of fear of what Ethics Committee investigators would find out about him, has wrapped himself in the robes of a patriot martyr.
A guy who – until yesterday – belonged to the House Progressive Caucus has, with one nicely disseminated rant, transformed himself into a conservative darling. Limbaugh and Beck have trumpeted him, and Beck has promised him an entire hour of national television tonight. Massa opposed Obamacare because it wasn’t liberal enough – because it didn’t entirely nationalize health care with a single-payer system – and Beck is about to crown him queen of the tea party.
It is a media move of astounding proportion. It takes spin to a whole new level.And it shows Massa to be a genius.
And, if anybody’s paying attention, a liar.
But, nobody is paying attention, and his con is working.
But for the record, a few facts.
The first is that over the space of five days Eric Massa gave three completely different explanations for why he was leaving the House of Representatives. Each was passionately delivered, each was earnestly intoned, and each was mutually exclusive.
That means they can’t all be true.
For example, on Wednesday, he announced that he would not seek re-election. He said it was because his cancer was back. He implied that he was dying and that his doctor had told him that his workload was killing him.
By Friday, however, it wasn’t cancer anymore, and it wasn’t just no re-election. It was resignation. He said he had to “own this reality,” acknowledged that he had done something that made him unworthy of office, and that his background contained events that congressional investigators would uncover if they looked into him.
Let’s review. Wednesday it was cancer, Friday it was personal failing.
And Sunday it was a conspiracy.
On Sunday, he drove to radio station WKPQ for his weekly show. Coincidentally, both his chief of staff and I have worked at WKPQ. With him were two radio people who have been sympathetic to his cause and his campaigns.
And Eric Massa went off.
He claimed that he was being forced out of the House because he voted against health-care reform. In some sort of grand plot involving the chief of staff of the White House and the House majority leader and any number of other mystery Democrats, he was being crucified.
It was his courage and independence, he claimed, that had made him a marked man. He dared to stand up to Obama, and to be his own man, and they were crushing him. He was a poor victim of evil Democrats.
And he said the f-word once.
And that’s why he was quitting the Congress.
And no sooner was the show done, with its listenership in the dozens, than somebody started sending links to it all across the media world.
By 8 yesterday morning, Fox News Channel had bought the narrative. Here was a Democrat, destroyed by Democrats, for voting against health care.
Glenn Beck fell in love next. Then Rush Limbaugh.
All accepting the Eric Massa claim that he was the deciding vote on health care, and that by silencing him the Democrats were trying to force big government on the people, and that the public will was being destroyed.
The problem, of course, was that it was absolutely untrue – and anybody with a grasp of Google could verify that.
Eric Massa was one of 39 House Democrats who voted against health care reform. A third of those Democrats were, like Massa, newly elected. All but one of them was, like Massa, from districts that voted for John McCain. A good chunk of them were, like Massa, in districts which had recently elected Republicans.
Of the 39 Democrats who opposed health care reform, Eric Massa had the fifth-smallest margin of electoral victory.
Put another way, he won the seat by the skin of his teeth and if he didn’t mind his P’s and Q’s, he would lose it.
So he was expected to vote against health care. His constituents didn’t want it, and he had to oppose it. That was understood by all, including the Democratic leadership of the House.
As to the looming vote, at least a dozen of the House Democrats who opposed health care before have already said they oppose it now. That means, not counting Massa, there are a dozen Democrats defying their party.
And what is the party doing to them?
Nothing. Other than plenty of sweet talking, and dinner at the White House over the weekend.
The claim that Massa is being taken down for voting against health care, while others who did the same thing are being treated kindly and even rewarded, is preposterous.
It is an illogical and unbelievable lie.
And conservatives eager to find an ally against Obamacare have latched on to it like it was God’s own truth.
And Eric Massa is a hero. Millions of conservatives have embraced a liberal who defies everything they stand for, and he has become the sweetheart of Beck and Limbaugh. Last night, Beck breathlessly Tweeted the news that he had spoken to Massa off the air and was excited to have him for an entire hour on TV tonight.
I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody offers him a TV commentator job somewhere. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he keeps getting away with it. If Limbaugh and Beck say he’s OK – and they will have to now, to save face – then millions of people will think he’s OK too.
Eric Massa is a brilliant, audacious snake.
But he is still a snake.
He reminds me of Blagovich.
A bit of an exaggeration and the author misses the point. It really doesn't matter whether Massa's stories are true or that he is being deep sixed by the Dem leadership because of his stance on health care. The reality is that the Dem leadership wanted him removed, either like Dodd and others he can not be reelected or that his vote on healthcare would have required two more Dem yes votes. This is a real story. It should be exploited as much as possible. Keep Massa in the spotlight and let him talk and talk and talk.
Imagine if Massa were a Republican and came out with such stories when the Reps controlled Congress and the WH. Don't you think that the MSM would be all over this story and MSNBC would be having him on 24 hours a day?
The shower curtain story should be the easiest part of the Massa claims to prove or disprove. If there had been curtains, and now there isn’t, surely a Repub Rep. can confirm that part of the storey. If there had never been curtains, a dim can bring the curtain down on Massa real fast...
Sure, he's a snake, but there are much bigger & nastier snakes in power, and having one of the littler snakes biting back at them could be enlightening.
Doubtful. If we've see the behavior of other Democrats who felt the same way, we can reasonably conclude that they would have been bought off to vote YES for 0bamacare.
I don't get why so many people on this website believe that there are actually Democrats who would vote NO for this. This is their literal holy grail that will guarantee perpetual liberal rule in this country. There is no way any true blue Democrat is going to pass this up.
I did not write that he had a sense of duty and honor. I would not give ANY ‘Rat currently in DC that much. I wrote that he was at least familiar with the concepts of duty and honor. I do not doubt he is hiding something but I also do not have a lot of trouble believing what he said about Emmanuel.
There were 39 Dems in the House who voted against the health care bill, which passed 220-215.
I’m with you on this. Now we have ABC attacking Massa.
And the non denial denial from Gibbs. Perfect!!!!
Of course Rahm went after the guy. He’s lucky it wasn’t with a baseball bat.
We know he’s a ‘rat member of the Democrat Crime Syndicate.
One way or another the machinations of madmen are exposed once again.
Exactly. I like the guy only for his willingness and potential to screw the dems. Wish he hadn't resigned but I hope he keeps talking.
It is very easy to vote "against" something when you know it will pass by other means. Why do you think "pro life" Democrats like Stupak are caving like they will support this bill? People like him WANT it to pass, but they want to put up a "conservative" facade (that sadly many people at this site bought into) for the voters, but when push comes to shove, they will be good little loyal socialists in the end.
Call my cynical, but this is just how DC has always "worked."
That's not saying very much, of course, because when an ACU rating of "20" is the best score a Democrat can muster, the "competition" must be pretty liberal. In fact, a majority (21/29) of NY reps received a score of "0" from the ACU in 2009, making New York's delegation one of the most left-wing in the nation, especially since there are only 2 Republicans left in it.
I wouldn't really trust him either, but he is a colorful character and I'd be interested in what he has to say.
Massa's 15 minutes of fame is all about slamming demonrat tactics. He gives conservatives yet another story of demonrat corruption and more negative pr about their rahming healthcare through against the wishes of we, the governed. Why wouldn't Beck or Limbaugh take advantage of the Massa opportunity to hurt the demonrats? When fate hands you an opportunity, you'd be foolish not to take it.
ditto
jw
LOL. Well said.
Yes, Eric Massa is using Rush and Glenn Beck. And Rush and Glenn Beck are using Eric Massa. That is what is called a Win-Win situation.
Massa knows where the bodies are buried. He’ll spend an hour with Beck tonight and it may be the most important hour for our democracy this decade.
Do the words “high crimes and misdemeanors” mean anything to you?
What did Obama know and when did he know it?
Glenn went crazy-nuts over the guy after listening to Massa's angry rant, Beck demanding to know "Who is this guy?" and proclaiming Massa is just the kind of politician he wants as a refounder. The thing is, Massa decries Sunday how Washington can't just shove things down the throat of the American people in regard to the health care reform bill, however, isn't he the very same politician just a short few months ago was telling his own constituents that he would vote against their will, even if it was 90%, he would vote for "what he feels is in their best interests"?? I want Glenn to ask this guy to square the contradiction, until I hear someone ask Massa about this, I'm not buying his *patriotism*.
More information on Massa is needed before I am willing to render a verdict on him or the response from the conservative side.
Same with me -- I totally accept that Rahm and the White House, 0bama admin would do anything and everything to destroy him ... but then, why allow them the win? Why resign??
If Massa knew that much we’d find his body somewhere under a bridge in DC.
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