Video: When Mattera Met Harkin
posted at 9:30 am on March 29, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
My friend Jason Mattera has gone on tour for his book Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation, but it’s not the kind of tour you’d think. Jason has taken a tour of Democrats’ Congressional offices, attempting to get these elected officials to buy his book. Wish him luck, because as this confrontation with Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) shows, they’re not terribly inclined to pony up the price of the hardcover. Jason attempts to buttonhole Harkin over his contention that health insurance risk pools were like racial segregation, which Harkin attempts to deny:
He can deny it all he wants, but The Hill reported in on February 25th, as Harkin made the comments on national television:
“We don’t allow segregation on the basis of race,” Harkin, the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said at the White House healthcare summit.
“And yet we still allow segregation today in America on the basis of your health,” Harkin added. “Why should we allow that to happen?”
The “contextual framework” Harkin used was Jim Crow. He may want to disavow it now, but Jason has him dead to rights on this point.
Next up, I hear, is Al Franken. That should be … interesting. Stick it out to the end, when Harkin tries to defend liberals by claiming that public education was “brought” to America by liberals — and Jasons’ retort is worth a laugh.
Blowback
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I keep asking my Iowan fiance “who in God’s name keep voting for this moron”? She’s stymied, as no one she knows from Iowa can stand him…
bernzright777 on March 29, 2010 at 9:36 AM
sheeple…
ladyingray on March 29, 2010 at 9:39 AM
And they represent us? Great job Jason.
dthorny on March 29, 2010 at 9:40 AM
That was already shown on Hannity last week. Franken loses it. He literally tells Mattera to shut up.
Doughboy on March 29, 2010 at 9:40 AM
I would love to say that Harkin is an idiot and a coward and that Mattera demonstrates the height of bravery, humor, and class. But I really can’t, because, truth to tell, I was just so distracted by Mattera’s offensive, affected, black-mocking accent that I could barely focus on the substance of the video!
WesternActor on March 29, 2010 at 9:40 AM
Education? Is that what they are calling it, these days?
OldEnglish on March 29, 2010 at 9:41 AM
Dead men tell no tales.
mankai on March 29, 2010 at 9:41 AM
The Al Franken video is already out.
terryannonline on March 29, 2010 at 9:42 AM
That Mattera’s got stones.
jimmy2shoes on March 29, 2010 at 9:42 AM
Jason Mattera is exactly what we need right now. We have Michelle Malkin, who is dead on in her books and columns fighting the fight to get the truth out there. And all these blogs and sites like Hot Air where we get unfiltered and real news. But these videos show how much in control of the media the democrats have been for so long and how much they’ve manipulated and slanted news and history for that matter that they actually believe their own lies.
mozalf on March 29, 2010 at 9:42 AM
This is the same slug that embellished and lied about his wartime Service so why should anybody believe what he now says? Crawl back under your rock Harkin.
rplat on March 29, 2010 at 9:43 AM
Oh good grief, O’Reilly is on Laura Ingraham’s show saying that something obviously said at the rally last weekend. I wonder if he has submitted it to Mr. Breitbart?
Cindy Munford on March 29, 2010 at 9:44 AM
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Pablo on March 29, 2010 at 9:45 AM
I would have told that Franken staffer to get his hands off me.
artist on March 29, 2010 at 9:45 AM
Notice the nonanswer on personal responsibility
Daveyardbird on March 29, 2010 at 9:46 AM
O’Reilly likes opining. He’s too lazy to do much research, but he loves opining.
RBMN on March 29, 2010 at 9:46 AM
Every time I watch one of his videos I ask myself “Why isn’t the MSM asking these questions?” Then I remind myself that they belong to the same party.
NYconservative on March 29, 2010 at 9:46 AM
Between O’Reilly and ABC radio news doing a story on road rage because of an Obama bumper sticker, the press is annoying.
Cindy Munford on March 29, 2010 at 9:49 AM
Harkin is another one of the reasons, like Reid, that Russia and China are no longer afraid of us. Noodley, spineless, and jellyfish-like just aren’t descriptive enough for these guys.
Bishop on March 29, 2010 at 9:51 AM
I love this guy. He should get a better Mic on his camera so you can hear the clanging when he walks.
It is pretty pathetic that nobody else is asking these questions though. What happened to personal responsibility?
Jason makes Liberals run away in every video he does, it’s awesome.
Mord on March 29, 2010 at 9:52 AM
Noodles, jellyfish and other invertabrates are offended by that comparison.
thomasaur on March 29, 2010 at 9:53 AM
Racist, projecting concern troll alert.
Socmodfiscon on March 29, 2010 at 9:56 AM
Yeah, but if you don’t comment on it, It will crawl back in its hole.
PappaMac on March 29, 2010 at 9:58 AM
Don’t forget the Flying Spagehtti Monster.
Johnnyreb on March 29, 2010 at 9:59 AM
Whoa! A Washington cockroach who didn’t scuttle into his office and shut the door in a constituents face.
It’s easy to understand why they do flee though, they sound ignorant when they try to defend their remarks.
Good job Jason, but don’t expect any candor!
donh525 on March 29, 2010 at 9:59 AM
I think he was being sarcastic.
Insomniac on March 29, 2010 at 9:59 AM
As our children grow up, it’s important to learn the value of becoming a dependent of the government instead of becoming a hard-working independent thinking greedy capitalist. JFK’s “ask not” sure has been revised.
Rovin on March 29, 2010 at 10:03 AM
Then it should be followed by a sarc tag so as not to provide ammunition to racist projecting liberals.
Socmodfiscon on March 29, 2010 at 10:04 AM
The word must be getting around the Hill that Mattera is walking the halls looking for his prey. Pretty soon the only endangered species there will be Democrats.
NYconservative on March 29, 2010 at 10:08 AM
Maybe Fox News could start doing this sort of thing or have regular segments where videos made by people like Mattera are shown.
Kafir on March 29, 2010 at 10:11 AM
Griff Jenkins does this sort of thing on FoxNews. I remember he tried to talk to Alan Grayson, but that guy weaseled his way out of saying anything.
Doughboy on March 29, 2010 at 10:13 AM
Good grief, O’Reilly can’t seem to get it through his thick head that he could possibley be wrong. The people I want to see grilled are Tim Kaine and Chris Van Holland. I think they are the ones that unleashed this denigration of the Tea Party. I am convinced that an incident on Saturday morning was a run through of what happened later. All instigated by the above Democrats.
Go Jason. I saw your clip of Al Franken on Hannity. Pure comedy gold!
BetseyRoss on March 29, 2010 at 10:14 AM
That is outstanding. I especially like the Chris Rock accent that he affects, although it is somewhat racist. /s
WarEagle01 on March 29, 2010 at 10:14 AM
Jason Mattera, asking the tough questions the network media refuses to ask!
TN Mom on March 29, 2010 at 10:17 AM
Great work Jason Mattera. Your questions were not argumentative as most MSM reporters are and caused Sen. Harkin pause to think for a precanned comment.
Sen. Harkin’s responses also revealed he may not totally believe in Obamacare, because is segregates, but the money is enticing. Even more interesting was his comment “it was liberals who brought U.S. education”, and look what we have been taught U.S.. Be a good flock and follow your leaders or lorders ,
MSGTAS on March 29, 2010 at 10:17 AM
Wow, I’m sorry. I was completely being sarcastic. I didn’t think anyone would take what I said seriously, and I definitely don’t want to bait the trolls. I’m sorry if what I said led anyone to believe anything other than my sincere admiration for Mattera and his work, and my utter loathing for that stupid woman at the New York Times who said that idiotic stuff about his accent in the first place.
WesternActor on March 29, 2010 at 10:27 AM
Harkin is a far left stooge that gets elected in Iowa by the eastern third to half of the state. That part of the state has the highest population, and is dominated by unions.
I have heard him speak several times, and when he knows the audience is from Western Iowa, which is far more conservative than the east, he tones down the far left drivel. He is probably just as radical as “The One”, and does have some really greasy deeds in his past.
kam582 on March 29, 2010 at 10:31 AM
The Senator Smalley remark made me laugh, but I wish he wouldn’t have said it.
2014 can’t come fast enough for MN.
strictnein on March 29, 2010 at 10:41 AM
The only thing he could have done a little better was let Frankinberry talk more. Don’t be afraid to get them the rope they need to hang themselves with.
rollthedice on March 29, 2010 at 10:46 AM
I got the book already, but I couldn’t really start it, because his racial tones affected my inner voice as I read it. Pity, it looks like a nice book.
thebrokenrattle on March 29, 2010 at 10:46 AM
Good thing Franken had his handlers with him…he was ready to come unhinged…sorta reminds me of Mike Tyson.
America needs to clone Jason.
Jed1899 on March 29, 2010 at 10:49 AM
Senator Smalley….LOL~
daesleeper on March 29, 2010 at 10:51 AM
Harkin is 100% behind Obamacare and could have written the POS. He is a far left liberal from the eastern side of my state as a poster above said.
The colleges, Uof I, (where Pinnochio drew 3000 last week)
IA State in Ames, and Des Moines and Cedar Rapids urban college towns continue to elect this fraud as they are the hotbeds of liberalism in the state. If he were to run this year it could be a different result but sorry to say I don’t think the fool has to.
I wrote this clown three times on Obamacare and my last response to him as he defended at all costs, Obamacare, was,
” you sir are either a fool, a buffoon, or an outright liar and since you do not even live in IA but in the Bahamas, conveniently close to those offshore banks, and you only come here to campaign I know the last applies.”
This tool is very good at pandering having been the first politician to send my son a congratulations on his Eagle Scout award and later a congrats on his AFROTC scholarship.
He avoided at all costs any townhalls where he might have had to answer questions rather running a couple of scripted ones in eastern IA but avoiding the west where we would run him out of town on a rail.
dhunter on March 29, 2010 at 10:58 AM
Mattera displays exactly the pitbull – albeit polite! – approach needed today by conservatives when confronting Leftists.
It ain’t just for Brooklynites anymore.
I’ve heard the “momma didn’t bring me up to protest” attitude for too long. But, y’know what?
Maybe she didn’t but I bet she’d be darned proud of you if stood up to punks like Mattera does.
Lockstein13 on March 29, 2010 at 11:00 AM
It is wonderful to see a young person who, obviously, has more sense in his little finger than that old goat has in his whole dried up body …It is hard to argue with him, isn’t it, Senator? “There are none so blind as those who will not see”…
theaddora on March 29, 2010 at 11:03 AM
Harkin (and other Dems), your gerrymandering tax dollar at work.
Speakup on March 29, 2010 at 11:04 AM
Jason does a good job going after lib Congressmen. It’d be great to see him do more interviews with average Obama Zombies, especially the kind where he acts like them and gets them to make outrageous comments and agree with ludicrous assertions.
Christien on March 29, 2010 at 11:09 AM
When Mattera is questioning Sen. Smalley, he should have asked the aide to stop assaulting him. That guy could not keep his hands off of Mattera.
Sporty1946 on March 29, 2010 at 11:11 AM
The aide did what he needed to do to keep him (Smalley)from slugging Mattera in the chops. Now that woulda been sweet.
Jed1899 on March 29, 2010 at 11:22 AM
sweet = great evidence for Smalley prosecution.
Jed1899 on March 29, 2010 at 11:23 AM
Thanks for the clarification there, Jed. I was starting to wonder.
Sporty1946 on March 29, 2010 at 11:27 AM
Don’t fret. It’s happened to the best of us. (And the worst of us.) However, it’s always best to use a scac tag as there is always – always – someone who’ll pounce on you if you miss it – even for the most obvious sarcastic posts.
Rod on March 29, 2010 at 11:34 AM
With stones that large, how does Jason get his pants on?
The Monster on March 29, 2010 at 11:38 AM
“…geniuses like you…”
Oh, my goodness.
Jaibones on March 29, 2010 at 12:04 PM
I just can’t decide who I have a bigger crush on…jason mattera or andrew breitbart?!
jeanneb on March 29, 2010 at 12:38 PM
I swear, while skimming I thought it said Jason tried to butthole Harkin…
bikermailman on March 29, 2010 at 12:58 PM
This moron (Harkin) thinks that Authors are employees of Publishers? LOL!
- The Cat
MirCat on March 29, 2010 at 1:27 PM
P.S. Yeah, public education!
MirCat on March 29, 2010 at 1:28 PM
My in-laws in Cedar Rapids voted for him and just LOVED him! They were quite proud of everything last year.
This year? Funny, they just don’t want to talk about it.
I wonder why?
karl9000 on March 29, 2010 at 1:40 PM
When did a Dem ever need actual voters to gain or keep office?? Doesn’t Iowa border Illinois? Plenty of cemeteries in both states.
TugboatPhil on March 29, 2010 at 3:18 PM