Leave it to CBS This Morning to push the idea that angry, controversial white men are strictly the province of the conservative side of the spectrum, while downplaying the inflammatory and arguably anti-gay comments of Brian Schweitzer, a left-wing populist and former Democratic governor of Montana who is considering a 2016 presidential run.
The oft-mentioned mastermind of Dave Brat’s shocking upset of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, 23 year old Zach Werrell, sat down for an interview on the June 20 edition of the CBS morning program. Pointing out a Facebook post Werrell had made regarding the Trayvon Martin case and abortion, interviewer Chip Reid questioned Werrell, “Would it be fair to say – at least politically – sometimes you're an angry young man?” [MP3 audio here; video below]
Brat’s campaign manager politely disagreed with the insinuation made by Reid:
I don't think angry. My goal is always to stimulate discussion. After learning what I've learned during this race, I would never ever consider using the same rhetoric ever again to start a discussion.
CBS–and all the major news networks for that matter–have either brushed aside or completely ignored Schweitzer’s incendiary comments about Eric Cantor and the supposedly “effeminate” nature of men who grow up in the South, along with his cheap shot at Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).
While CBS rushed to judgment in asking Werrell if he’s a hateful, angry man, CBS’s Norah O’Donnell dismissed Schweitzer’s comments by stating that he “may have put his foot in his mouth.”
Per usual, seasoned liberal politicians like Schweitzer get a pass from the liberal media when they make inappropriate comments, while conservative political novices like Zach Werrell get attacked for a mildly controversial analogy.
The relevant portion of the transcript is below:
CBS
CBS This Morning
June 20, 2014
7:43 a.m. Eastern
CHIP REID, CBS: You run the risk of this being the high point of your politicla career at age 23?
ZACH WERRELL: Right now, I have a better record than Karl Rove. I'm totally sarcastic.
REID:One week after handing Eric Cantor a humiliating defeat, Zach Werrell says it still hasn't fully sunk in. Do you feel like a giant killer?
WERRELL: No. I just did a job.
REID: He was not even a year out of Haverford College when he received a call asking him to help unseat one of the most powerful men in congress. After a job interview at a local restaurant, Werrell was given the keys to David Brat's shoestring campaign.WERRELL: We had three people working in the same space, and then volunteers coming in. It wasn't this machine–establishment machine kind of political campaign. It was the people who were doing it.
REID: The campaign was vastly outspent, yet still won with 56% of the vote. It was hailed as major political upset, but that victory came with a price. The self-described libertarian's social media accounts were scoured for controversial statements. One blogger called him a smug baby whose Facebook baby was a cesspool of contrarian bs, and when those posts started disappearing, it didn't go unnoticed.
WERRELL: The night of the election, I had about a bazillion notifications, so I just took all my social media down.
REID: What exactly were you trying to say about Trayvon Martin and abortion?
WERRELL: What I was saying is, people are calling for, you gotta get George–he’s gotta be found guilty of something! You gotta get him, you gotta get him. On the flip side they're for what I see as murder, on the other hand.
REID: Abortion.
WERRELL: Right.
REID: Would it be fair to say–at least politically– sometimes you're angry young man?
WERRELL: I don't think angry. My goal is always to stimulate discussion. After learning what I've learned during this race, I would never ever consider using the same rhetoric ever again to start a discussion.
REID: The searing experience, he says, is part of the reason why he doesn't want to work for Brat in Washington if he wins.
WERRELL: You know, I try to stay humble and above all that stuff and the name calling just because people don't agree with me on some issues, it’s just–it really irritates me and that irritates the American people too. We're sick of it.
REID: So you know how to run a campaign and you know how to win.
WERRELL: Theoretically, yes.
REID: Will you run one for yourself at some point?
WERRELL: It's not something I'm ruling out. I used to be much more enthusiastic about running for office until I started seeing politics from the inside.
REID: You sound like somebody who's going to run. You’re wrestling with the issue, not ruling it out?
WERRELL: It's possible. There's a lot going into running a campaign.
REID: Will you tell us first?
WERRELL: Sure.
