New York magazine reported this week that NBC was willing to move heaven, earth and heaven again if necessary to corral Comedy Central's Jon Stewart to moderate "Meet the Press." Anyone who heard Rush Limbaugh's epic evisceration in response is likely to see Stewart and NBC in a dimmer light.
Limbaugh could see this coming months ago, telling his listeners in May that "comedians are now the 21st century journalists for the far left" (audio) --
Whatever the story, it is viewed through the prism of, does it hurt or help Barack Obama? Journalism has reached such a sad state and I predicted this, unknowingly! Unknowingly I predicted this. Snerdley (Limbaugh's producer), did you see the story that NBC News offered Jon Stewart anything he wanted to host "Meet the Press" before they settled on F. Chuck Todd, they backed up the Brink's truck for Jon Stewart, not because he's a journalist but because of his demos, because of the demographic. All of his audience is apparently 25-54, all one million of 'em, and NBC looked at that just like (CBS president) Les Moonves admitted when replacing Letterman, it isn't about ratings, it's about hip. It's about bragging rights. And I've got a sound bite from me, previous program, and I'm going to play for you, and in this sound bite I predict that the new credible left-wing journalists of the day are today's comedians. And lo and behold, here comes NBC and the news, this is in New York magazine. I don't know why Stewart turned it down, I didn't read that far, but it's clear they offered him whatever he wanted. And they approached him, I guess he took some time off last summer to produce some movie and they thought, well maybe he's getting tired of doing this Daily Show, and they thought that was an opening to approach him then.
Now you imagine yourself, your F. Chuck Todd today and in your own mind, if you're F. Chuck Todd, you are Edward R. Murrow. They all think they're Edward R. Murrow and they all think they're Walter Cronkite. They all think that the world hangs in the balance on them doing their jobs every day. I mean, these people take themselves seriously, you can't believe, modern day, old day, future, you name it, journalists think they are the sun in our solar system. Everything revolves around them and if they weren't doing what they're doing, everything would crumble. So you're F. Chuck Todd and you get the gig and you go on a diet, start losing weight, you trim the goatee a little bit, you try to have a more professorial look, you work as hard as you ever have and your first guest is the prez and then you wake up one day after a month of doing the show and find out they wanted a comedian from Comedy Central to do the job they gave you. And then you find out they offered him the bank. I don't know what you as F. Chuck Todd are getting. And how do you think every other serious journalist is viewing this news now that it has come out? I mean, well, how many serious journalists, what? That's not the point, they all think they're serious.
Limbaugh then read from the first few paragraphs of the New York magazine story, tweaking as he went (audio) --
This Sunday marks the one-month anniversary of hosting "Meet the Press" for Chuck Todd. Despite an opening week ratings' spike from his exclusive sit-down with Barack Obama, "Meet the Press" has settled back into third place behind "This Week" on ABC and "Face the Nation" on CBS. This has been frustrating to NBC News executives who at one point considered going in a radically different direction with the show. Before choosing Todd, NBC News president Deborah Turness, a British import, held negotiations with Jon Stewart about hosting "Meet the Press," according to three senior TV sources with knowledge of the talks. One source explained NBC was prepared to offer Stewart virtually anything to bring him over. 'They were ready to back the Brink's truck up,' the source said. A spokesperson for NBC declined to comment. James Dickson, the agent for Stewart, didn't respond to multiple requests for comment.
Limbaugh takes off from there --
And then this, "It makes sense," this is in New York magazine, now -- "It makes sense that NBC would make a run at Stewart." It does? It makes sense? Yes, you see, because the comedian cum media critic possesses something that broadcasting executives covet -- a loyal, young, stupid (Limbaugh reacts with feigned shock), a young, loyal, malleable, low-information audience. And it's not the first time. NBC tried recruiting Stewart, according to sources, NBC Entertainment courted Stewart several years ago for a 10 p.m. variety show that eventually went to Jay Leno.
(Limbaugh cites New York mag story again) "Though not a traditional journalist, Stewart can be a devastatingly effective interrogator and his "Meet the Press" might have made a worthy successor to Tim Russert's no bull**** interviews." I kid you not. Meet the clowns, not "Meet the Press", meet the jokers, meet the court jesters. And so now we know, we have proof! We have, as Lanny Davis says, we have tuth! Ladies and gentlemen, what news has become. It isn't journalism. It's demographics, pure and simple. It's bragging rights.
Turns out Limbaugh was just warming up (audio) --
The myth of Barack Obama and journalism have done great damage to this country at the end of the day. Barack Obama is a myth. He could have, if he were properly vetted, could have been beaten and journalism not doing its job has done great damage to this country! Journalism not doing its job vetting candidates, ferreting out details of stories such as Benghazi, they joke about it when you bring it up to 'em. Journalism clearly has laid down between widespread deceit and political cowardice. This country doesn't know who to trust or what to believe any more, even on something as serious as Ebola. People don't think they're being told the truth. People now sense that everything is being subordinated to politics, the politics of the Democrat party. Whatever happens, it can't hurt the Democrats, doesn't matter who gets sick, doesn't matter what happens to the country.
Years after all of these scams occur, the country is getting a glimpse of the depth of corruption that liberalism brings with it. Liberalism is a political philosophy wholly dependent on lies, fraud and deception, totally! Now I know those are fighting words for some of you and I know some of you are probably, especially if you're new, c'mon, you know you're just saying this to get a rise out of 'em -- no I'm not. I gave up doing that long, I don't say things to get a rise out of people. If I say something, I mean, outside of parody and satire, if I say something I genuinely mean it and it really is nothing new. I think liberalism cannot be honest about what it is. Liberals cannot be honest about who they are.
Liberals cannot, it's like this babe in Kentucky running against McConnell. She's running a campaign, trying to tell everybody in the coal industry that they have nothing to fear from her, that she's going to do everything she can to protect the coal industry in Kentucky. And yet somebody had a hidden video camera at a big, big, wealthy donor fundraiser she held and a bunch of her supporters were told, it was caught on video, don't worry, she's gonna f*** the coal industry after she gets elected, meaning she's lying to people, she's misrepresenting her position because if she were to tell the voters of Kentucky what her real intentions are vis-a-vis the coal industry she wouldn't get elected. Well that's liberalism across the board.
Obama had to tell you that you get to keep your doctor. Obama had to tell you that you get to keep your plan. Obama had to tell you that your premiums were going to come down $2,500, in order to get the support of low-information people on his attempts to take over the health care industry. He had to lie about it and they do it about virtually everything. So in this context, folks, it makes perfect sense that Jon Stewart would be hired to moderate "Meet the Press." A liberal philosophy, a political philosophy wholly dependent on lies, fraud and deception. Here we have a partisan wiseguy who specializes in giving incomplete facts to advance complete nonsense is seen as the optimal messenger for liberalism, and that is exactly right. Laughing our way, all the way, to the false promise of utopia is just what the scam artist ordered. If you're gonna be fleeced, why not enjoy it right up until you realize you've been had.
So it makes perfect sense that NBC would want a comedian to represent and host what is arguably the signature program of their journalistic identity.
Ouch! That one had to sting at NBC or Comedy Central. (At least for the brave ones risking their careers by listening on the sly). As for Limbaugh seeing this coming back in May, here's what he said (audio) --
So a comedian finds fault with the regime, Jon Stewart blasts government before state-controlled media and what this does is now give permission to other Obama stenographers to go out and get mad at the regime. Why else is this news? Have you ever heard of this? When's the last time what Johnny Carson said that was a news story, or Letterman? It was a news story. Might be water cooler chit-chat the next day but a news story. So comedians now, and of course what are comedians, they're jokes, they don't deal in reality either, by definition. Now there has to be a grain of it for comedy to be funny, but comedians are now the 21st century journalists for the far left. For the left, comedians are source authorities. Comedians are gradually replacing the New York Times, the Washington Post, CBS, NBC, PBS, ABC, CNN as the arbiters of when Democrats can be held accountable and when they can't be.
So if you want to know when the drive-bys are going to harp on Obama, pay attention to the comedians. When they do, it's a signal to the drive-bys that it's OK to. It's very pathetic and it's how you end up with low-information voters who don't know what the hell is going, it's how you end up with millennials down on the country, down on themselves, rather than on the people responsible for the mess that we live in and that's the Democrat party.
Even though Stewart declined NBC's offer, assuming the New York magazine story is accurate, I wouldn't rule out a similar scenario in the future for precisely the reasons Limbaugh is citing. A comedian named Al Franken once performed on "Saturday Night Live" and somehow wormed his way into the Senate. (Yes, by theft). Jon Stewart hosting a Sunday talk show isn't nearly as big a leap.
