Video: Letterman’s shocking interview with a tea-party leader
posted at 6:37 pm on March 31, 2010 by Allahpundit
No joke; this is a near-jawdropper. Even an apolitical mag like Entertainment Weekly calls it “quietly remarkable.” I don’t know what Letterman had in mind by booking her. Maybe he thought he was going to lure her into some sort of gotcha that would prove tea partiers are freaks, or maybe he was just interested in engaging someone from the other side’s grassroots — although he’s never done that before, to my knowledge. Whatever the reason, this ends up being one of the most efficient (if possibly inadvertent) debunkings of tea-party craziness to ever hit big media. Like Ace says, this woman comes off as a kindly aunt, soft-spoken and, per her own description, pacifistic. Even her one flirtation with fringiness, in what she says about Obama’s birth certificate, doesn’t go very far. She’s virtually the antithesis of the media narrative about tea partiers; imagine the surprise of the casual news watcher who’s been told the tea party is some kind of militia tuning into this. How on earth did she end up on this show?
Blowback
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I always enjoy watching a guy like Letterman pwn himself.
BadgerHawk on March 31, 2010 at 6:41 PM
I think Dave thought he could get her because she is from the place where Sarah was born and she would be some kind of nut.
Dave drank the left’s koolaid on the Teaparty.
William Amos on March 31, 2010 at 6:42 PM
HA! SHE’S WHITE! SEE, TEABAGGERS ARE RACIST!
/leftard
fossten on March 31, 2010 at 6:43 PM
I liked Ace’s 2 volume History of the Media post on this but I really hope they don’t apply his observations.
Spirit of 1776 on March 31, 2010 at 6:44 PM
So…. Sen. Corker of TN is also giving up on REPEAL on Obamacare.
http://nashville.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2010/03/29/daily23.html?ed=2010-03-31&ana=e_du_pub
What is the point in voting?
tetriskid on March 31, 2010 at 6:44 PM
Don’t worry. I’m sure the “progressives” will dig up — or make up — some dirt on her soon.
AZCoyote on March 31, 2010 at 6:44 PM
Maybe she reminded him of his mother.
Kissmygrits on March 31, 2010 at 6:45 PM
She was great!! She was calm, collective, and just a great spokesperson for the movement. Well done!
deidre on March 31, 2010 at 6:45 PM
All I can say for sure is, someone in the booking dept. is getting canned.
ThePrez on March 31, 2010 at 6:46 PM
Palin/Demint 2012!
milemarker2020 on March 31, 2010 at 6:47 PM
Color me surprised.
/sarc
deidre on March 31, 2010 at 6:50 PM
The left-wing hit squads have probably broken Google trying to find dirt on this woman.
Philly on March 31, 2010 at 6:50 PM
Well you can be pretty sure it won’t happen again or heads will surly roll.
MB4 on March 31, 2010 at 6:51 PM
That poor ladies life is about to be shredded by the left!
MHatch on March 31, 2010 at 6:52 PM
David Letterman is a complete a**hole, and that video makes me despise him all the more. The way he patronized this kind woman about the bank bailouts and Iraq in videos two and three was despicable. Not only that, but he doesn’t have his facts straight on which party most greatly enabled the financial industry collapse nor on the issue of “Iraq being a hotbed of violence” (which it is not, thanks to the surge he and other far left morons opposed). Who did he get his talking points from beforehand? Robert Gibbs?
SisterToldjah on March 31, 2010 at 6:53 PM
Another story that came out on Monday noted that Jay Leno had opened up a lead of almost 1 million viewers a night in the ratings over Letterman’s show since his return to the 11:35 p.m. time slot. This goes against the narrative that Leno had so alienated viewers that most would never go back to his show, and Jay has made a habit of inviting people from both sides of the political spectrum on the show, and not treating one side as his personal joke pinnata.
Someone at CBS or Dave himself might have suddenly figured out that — hey! — there really are people out there who don’t like what President Obama is doing and actually stay up after the local news and don’t really want to watch a show that’s going to treat the president with kid gloves while slamming the people they support and/or the ideas that they believe night after night. But my guess is also that Letterman caught a s-load of flack from his core viewers who were probably wishing Joy Behar was on with him last night dropping the F-bomb about Glenn Beck instead of doing it on Leno’s show. So we’ll see if this is the start of a trend or just a one-night anomaly.
jon1979 on March 31, 2010 at 6:54 PM
He’s fishing for a Palin interview.
PappyD61 on March 31, 2010 at 6:54 PM
Wow, if I didn’t see it and hear it with my own ears, I wouldn’t have believed it!
theenforser on March 31, 2010 at 6:55 PM
She did great … even got some applause for conservative ideas.
darwin on March 31, 2010 at 6:56 PM
Truth was Dave wanted to interveiw a member of the coffee party but he couldnt find any.
William Amos on March 31, 2010 at 6:57 PM
Palin/Stout 2012!
pugwriter on March 31, 2010 at 6:58 PM
Calm,well-spoken,and articulate!
Ordinary Americas,doing Extraordinary things!!
canopfor on March 31, 2010 at 6:58 PM
“Pure teabagging hate”
the_nile on March 31, 2010 at 6:59 PM
Letterman kinda had his hands tied too. If it had been some older white guy he would have been more on the attack. He couldn’t go after this woman like that. Perfect setup … game … match.
I’d like to thank her for being brave enough to go on national TV … with Letterman. Great job.
darwin on March 31, 2010 at 6:59 PM
Pam Stout and her kind are the reason why this is an awsome country. Let’s not blow it for her.
pugwriter on March 31, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Watched the entire interview and I can’t stand Letterman. That was one of the best interviews. Letterman was incredibly respectful and asked thoughtful, provoking, relevant questions. He even challenged her a bit, but always civil. She was fabulous too.
conservative pilgrim on March 31, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Good Job, If we call all speak so well when nervous maybe we could get some real change.
uber on March 31, 2010 at 7:00 PM
awsome = awesome
pugwriter on March 31, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Not too bad except the “Republicans were in power for 8 years”, “went into Iraq to destroy it” “who’s your charismatic leader”.
He seemed to be trying to be reasonable, but there are a few things liberals will never get – like a decentralized movement with no hero to worship.
forest on March 31, 2010 at 7:01 PM
Palin/Stout 2012!
pugwriter on March 31, 2010 at 6:58 PM
pugwriter:Sounds good,with Liz Cheney,as Secretary of
State!!:)
canopfor on March 31, 2010 at 7:01 PM
I’d loved when she said now, just because she’s leading her local tea party … people call her a racist and a hater. Makes the left look stupid.
darwin on March 31, 2010 at 7:02 PM
Wow…truly refreshing! She did well and was unafraid/unashamed. Great shout out to DeMint, too. I like this woman.
Agreed.
Diane on March 31, 2010 at 7:02 PM
Ann Coulter Press Secretary
darwin on March 31, 2010 at 7:02 PM
Wow, what has our country come to??? That lady is dangerous!!1!!
carbon_footprint on March 31, 2010 at 7:03 PM
Normally I’d be afraid of estrogen poisoning, but in this instance I’d have to say its an excellent line up.
pugwriter on March 31, 2010 at 7:04 PM
Normally I’d be afraid of estrogen poisoning, but in this instance I’d have to say its an excellent line up.
pugwriter on March 31, 2010 at 7:05 PM
Ace coughed up some original content? That’s bigger news than Letterman.
southsideironworks on March 31, 2010 at 7:06 PM
I didn’t watch the videos. I think Dave acted stupidly.
scituate_tgr on March 31, 2010 at 7:06 PM
Okay, I need coffee.
pugwriter on March 31, 2010 at 7:07 PM
BRAVO! She represented the Tea Party Movement very well!
Letterman just looked perplexed. Perhaps he doesn’t know very many real Americans.
wren on March 31, 2010 at 7:07 PM
I think Dave was being a condescending douchebag.
txag92 on March 31, 2010 at 7:08 PM
Ah, great, a comedian and a housewife talkin’ economics and not understandin’ any of it, and then a buncha idiots clappin’ at the talkin’ points.
Terrific.
Proud Rino on March 31, 2010 at 7:08 PM
Palin should interview her at Fox, now that LL quit..
the_nile on March 31, 2010 at 7:08 PM
tetriskid on March 31, 2010 at 6:44 PM
O/T but had to e-mail Cornyn today on that very issue.
I don’t know what is up with some of these guys, but to give up, or hint at giving up already is telling.
I thought better of Cornyn.
catmman on March 31, 2010 at 7:09 PM
Lots of conservative women out there who are quite, quite capeable …
darwin on March 31, 2010 at 7:09 PM
Well you know, those people in Northern Idaho are White Supremicists.
tru2tx on March 31, 2010 at 7:10 PM
Hows that stimulus working out for ya, no not those pills they give you..
the_nile on March 31, 2010 at 7:10 PM
FIFY
pugwriter on March 31, 2010 at 7:11 PM
UGH
William Amos on March 31, 2010 at 7:11 PM
Great job Mrs. Stout!
unlisted on March 31, 2010 at 7:12 PM
You have to ask…?
… He wanted to ‘hit’ it.
Seven Percent Solution on March 31, 2010 at 7:12 PM
Me likey.
John the Libertarian on March 31, 2010 at 7:12 PM
Pam Stout rocks!
Oh, and Dave, you are the KING of Ignorance and I’ll bet Glenn Beck makes you pee your panties!
HornetSting on March 31, 2010 at 7:12 PM
Yeah, I knew I should have put up the sarc tag.
pugwriter on March 31, 2010 at 7:13 PM
“I have some, what I think of as, novel ideas…”
I so LOLed. Pitch-perfect British understatement with a tinge of self-deprecation. Love it.
spmat on March 31, 2010 at 7:13 PM
Sounds like Franken talking to Klobuchar at a demorat committee meeting.
Bishop on March 31, 2010 at 7:13 PM
Dave’s liberal leaning questions aside, she wiped the lib turd away.
8 years of Bush destroyed the banking industry? Try the last 4 years of Pelosi causing 5% unemployment to rise to 10%. Increasing the minimum wage ALWAYS causes higher unemployment
Iraq a failure and a mess of terrorists? Try Bush won the Iraq war with the surge and terrorists are fewer and fewer in Iraq.
dthorny on March 31, 2010 at 7:15 PM
Ah, better than the toolbag YOU voted for, PR…a community organizer with NO clue of what he is doing and, well, Joe BIDEN as his Vice President.
I believe even David Letterman has more brain cells than Joe Biden.
HornetSting on March 31, 2010 at 7:16 PM
Yeah maybe you should actually check Klobuchar’s resume sometime.
Proud Rino on March 31, 2010 at 7:16 PM
For Letterman, this wasn’t bad. He threw out some cheap leftist applause lines, but people clapped for her as well, especially when she discussed welfare. Dave is usually a turd, but I have no complaints here. I thought he treated her well, and she was charming and articulate and a great ‘face’ for the tea party movement.
joejm65 on March 31, 2010 at 7:17 PM
Great. This woman comes off as normal, passionate, and patriotic, and concerned for her country.
Now some poor, lowly assistant is gonna have to sleep with Dave, to make up for this.
capejasmine on March 31, 2010 at 7:17 PM
This is a win/win for the Tea Party. If he treats her nicely she gets her message out. If he treats her poorly he is a jerk. The latter we already know the answer to. Now the people who didnt know what to think have to be wondering what the heck the MSM is going on about.
Spinstra on March 31, 2010 at 7:18 PM
Like you, at an Obama rally?
capejasmine on March 31, 2010 at 7:18 PM
Is Late Nighte still a comedy show? They missed some really easy laughs with this guest poking fun at how politicians hyperventilating over how dangerous tea partiers like his guest supposedly are. Extra security!
forest on March 31, 2010 at 7:18 PM
pugwriter:Sounds good,with Liz Cheney,as Secretary of
State!!:)
canopfor on March 31, 2010 at 7:01 PM
==============================
Ann Coulter Press Secretary
darwin on March 31, 2010 at 7:02 PM
darwin:Now were talk`n,and Michelle BachmannOverDrive,
as Attorney General!!:)
canopfor on March 31, 2010 at 7:19 PM
BTW – Here’s a ‘heads up’ for all you TP folks out there.
Expect ‘uninvited guests‘ on April 15th.
CPT. Charles on March 31, 2010 at 7:19 PM
No gotcha’s??? Attacking Beck is a no gotcha? Letterman followed the media’s attempt to frame the tea parties as either a third party, (which would be a defeatist idea) or a fringe group full of whackos. He failed on both attempts. Notice how these liberals would love to see a single leader arise from the tea parties so they could have a single entity to attack. These idiots have no conception of a grass roots movement disgusted with an overbearing government. Yes, Mr. Letterman, you’re an idiot!
Rovin on March 31, 2010 at 7:20 PM
Eww. I think I’ll take lethal injection.
HornetSting on March 31, 2010 at 7:20 PM
Did you even RTFA?
That’s not entertainment analysis. That’s a Huffington Post article re-framed with a light entertainment motif.
I would think you’re clever enough to spot veiled contempt, being so proficient at it yourself.
spmat on March 31, 2010 at 7:22 PM
You should actually check Franken’s resume sometime.
You often make it too easy, you should try harder.
Bishop on March 31, 2010 at 7:23 PM
Heh.
The last tea party rally I attended was going to be bombarded by anti-tea party libtards, they were going to shoot at us from the roof tops, they were going to make us pay for protesting obama.
We had a little over 350…they had 10, including the homeless guy that had to give up his corner for the day.
HornetSting on March 31, 2010 at 7:23 PM
lmao! too funny
Rovin on March 31, 2010 at 7:23 PM
Stout/Jindal 2012!
/semi-sarc
alohapundit on March 31, 2010 at 7:24 PM
Nah, I take it back. She was nice, he wasn’t as mean as he usually is. His fake ignorance is pretty grating and he actually went a little easy on her, but overall it was nice that he let her speak and make her points.
I just get irritated with the “Well we just have to take our medicine,” followed by “Well then they’ll tuk er jerrrrbs” kind of exchange in the first clip. So much stupidity in so few words. But other than that, whatever. I shouldn’t be expecting Stiglitz v. Becker on the Letterman show in the first place.
Proud Rino on March 31, 2010 at 7:24 PM
So I can expect peaceful liberals throwing molotov’s, bricks and dog poop at us?
Bishop on March 31, 2010 at 7:26 PM
Well done.
BrideOfRove on March 31, 2010 at 7:26 PM
Truth is, the only pols I get excited about (ahem, politically speaking) are women. They are the ones who step up and speak the truth without fear.
pugwriter on March 31, 2010 at 7:26 PM
Ah, great, a comedian and a housewife talkin’
Terrific.
Proud Rino on March 31, 2010 at 7:08 PM
Proud Rino:I dunno,she reminds me of my Grandmother,
cool,collect,and wise!
canopfor on March 31, 2010 at 7:27 PM
Was that moron auditioning for a job at Fox News?
Zorro on March 31, 2010 at 7:27 PM
More apolitical analysis from Ken Tucker, on Hitchens and Maher talking about “the rape and torture of children” by the Catholic Church.
Apolitical. Yep. Read the last paragraph of that little ditty if you want to make a poor case for objective analysis.
spmat on March 31, 2010 at 7:28 PM
UGH
Pete Sessions Held Fundraiser at Burlesque Club
At worst, one of the fundraisers, held in 2007, was at a Vegas burlesque club, Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce. FEC papers show Pete PAC spent $5,378 at the burlesque club, which also that year hosted porn-star Jenna Jameson’s 33rd birthday party.
William Amos on March 31, 2010 at 7:11 PM
Apologetic California on March 31, 2010 at 7:28 PM
Interesting take on it, I doubt Dave would be willing to work for Fox though.
carbon_footprint on March 31, 2010 at 7:29 PM
canopfor on March 31, 2010 at 7:19 PM
————————–
Truth is, the only pols I get excited about (ahem, politically speaking) are women. They are the ones who step up and speak the truth without fear.
pugwriter on March 31, 2010 at 7:26 PM
pugwriter:Your exactly right,so far,they are the one`s that
are taking the fight to the Left,without worrying
about themselves,with America as their goal!:)
canopfor on March 31, 2010 at 7:29 PM
Stiglitz huh? Is THAT how your brain fell out, PR. He used liberal talking points to try to ‘trip her up’. If that is ‘softball’, well, libtard arguments tend to be that way.
HornetSting on March 31, 2010 at 7:29 PM
She seemed like a very nice woman.
Proud Rino on March 31, 2010 at 7:30 PM
That’s a future community organizer your talkin’ about Sting
Rovin on March 31, 2010 at 7:30 PM
So I can expect peaceful liberals throwing molotov’s, bricks and dog poop at us?
Bishop on March 31, 2010 at 7:26 PM
Bishop: And eggs!!:)
canopfor on March 31, 2010 at 7:31 PM
…what exactly is shocking about this, AP? Watched this interview as it aired last night, and this seems to be pretty much the polar opposite of shocking…unless you are going for something like Shocking: Letterman interviews someone sane, in which case you could…yknow, actually say that…
das411 on March 31, 2010 at 7:32 PM
Lol, you try so hard to validate your own sense of self worth. I’m sorry your penis is small.
Socmodfiscon on March 31, 2010 at 7:32 PM
I can gaurentee you that people like Josh Marshall, Ezra Klein and the Huffington Post are scouring every apsect of this woman’s life in an attempt to discredit and humiliate her.
OxyCon on March 31, 2010 at 7:32 PM
She could actually throw a tea party. With tea and biscuits.
ronsfi on March 31, 2010 at 7:33 PM
canopfor on March 31, 2010 at 7:27 PM
——————–
She seemed like a very nice woman.
Proud Rino on March 31, 2010 at 7:30 PM
Proud Rino:)
canopfor on March 31, 2010 at 7:34 PM
Wtf? The movement has plenty of heros.
Dark-Star on March 31, 2010 at 7:40 PM
just as I thought.
letterman was nice to her, setting it up for his snarky jabs at birthers, beck, but in the end, he didn’t want to look bad tearing up a nice lady from the midwest.
jimmer on March 31, 2010 at 7:44 PM
Letterman’s flunkys screwed up. And he was smart enough to know that going one on one with her would not do anything to improve his ratings.
GarandFan on March 31, 2010 at 7:46 PM
She did great! The interview makes me want to drive up to Sandpoint and meet her.
Emily M. on March 31, 2010 at 7:49 PM
Not that she would ever lower herself to appear on his show, if she did I’m pretty sure that Dave would find himself draped over the back of the sofa in the Palin’s living room.
turfmann on March 31, 2010 at 7:50 PM
I watched it this afternoon and thought it was a great interview. Props to Letterman for handling it with class(mostly). Sure, he did come at her with the “failed policies of 8 years” talking point and the anti-Iraq stuff. But as Pam calmly emphasized, the Tea Party movement is about fiscal responsibility, not Iraq or Afghanistan.
Honestly, this is not only how the Tea Party should be approached by the drive-bys, but it’s how ALL political discourse should be conducted in this country. Yes, this is ultimately an ideological war and we will have to make loud and clear what we stand both for and against, but there’s no reason it has to be like MSDNC where partisan hacks scream at their guests for 5 minutes before cutting them off.
Doughboy on March 31, 2010 at 7:53 PM
That could not have been paid for… or, money can’t buy you love… and anyone in America that doesn’t love that woman after watching those clips ain’t no friend of mine.
Wow… and thanks!!
Shivas Irons on March 31, 2010 at 7:53 PM
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