Ambushing Al

I've watched this a couple of times and I have come to realize that people like Jason Mattera aren't really journalists or authors, but simply second rate hacks that have a camera and a unique set of talking point.



This clip was featured over at Fox"Nation" recently and was allegedly there to show that Franken is somehow an unhinged liberal that treats his staff and "reporters" like trash.

The only problem with this poorly constructed thesis is that it shows Al attempting to answer the questions and Mattera using the tried and true tactic of firing off as many inane questions and accusations within a 60 second period in order to muddy the discussion - hence Franken's "you need to shut up" bit.

It's easy to see how people can become so easily frustrated with rank amateurs like Mattera, who's pimping his book about how people that voted for and support Obama are somehow "zombies", and the completely nonsensical questions they ask.

KingOneEye over at Daily Kos brings up an interesting point.

So now we see that Breitbart and his ward are just as opposed to safe schools and nutritious foods as they are to preventing child abuse. But I have to admire his tenacity. After making an ass of himself over the non-existent jungle gyms, Mattera plowed ahead with a complaint about language in the bill that provides new mothers with reasonable breaks for breast feeding. I thought Republicans were supposed to be the "family values" party. Not that they ever actually supported family values, but they have long sought to pretend that they did. But here the truth is revealed as Mattera berates Franken for supporting a bill that permits new mothers to care for their infant children.

I'm not of the mind to admire anyone's "tenacity" when it comes to wasting the time of people like Franken. Like it or not, people like Mattera should realize that he's not anywhere near the dim-witted comic that they pretend he is. And also, the shear ignorance that Mattera uses to base his questions on is beyond laughable. Are conservatives really this upset that a mother will have time to pump breast milk for her baby? Not only that, but so what if there is money set aside for a playground. Would conservatives rather kids play in the street?

This is all standard fare today - conservatives pretending to be journalists and running up to members of Congress with a mic and some really bizarre and ultimately pointless questions. No wonder Franken expresses his complete disinterest in Mattera's premise.

I will offer this caveat - his staffer that tried to push Jason away wasn't helping the situation at all. It's people like that that feed the conservative ideal that liberals love to silence them.