Sean Hannity Chickens Out of Debate with Salt Lake City Mayor

Oh but they are crumbling at Fox News.  There's this little sordid episode, for instance.  After challenging the wildly popular Democratic mayor of Salt Lake City to a debate on Iraq and impeachment, Sean Hannity has backed out of the debate and tried to foist it on Anderson.

Conservative talk show host Sean Hannity has claimed on his syndicated radio program that Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson is putting up roadblocks to get out of their proposed debate.
    But it is Hannity who is balking, and here is the proof, based in part on e-mails between Anderson's office and Hannity's staff that I obtained through an open records request:
    * Hannity said on his radio program Monday: "First, he [Anderson] said he wanted a joint press conference instead of a debate. If it's just a press conference, I might as well just send a video."
    * But here is a March 12 e-mail from Eileen Lofrese, Hannity's producer, to Patrick Thronson, Anderson's communications director: "For the sake of bipartisanship I think it is best to refer to this as a 'Joint Press Conference' and not a 'Debate' and I will relay that to all parties intending on broadcasting this educated and civilized forum for the voicing of opinions and conflicting viewpoints."
    * Thronson responded: "Mayor Anderson cannot agree to any other format than a structured debate format, with a moderator. Mr. Hannity has repeatedly expressed his desire for a debate on the Iraq War and impeachment, not a 'press conference.' We are mystified as to why he has now apparently changed his position." Lofrese then apologized and said the misunderstanding was her mistake.

The whole Fox News charade is coming apart.  According to Mark Mellman, surveys he did showed that the audience of Fox News is the single most Republican voting block in the country.  People like Sean Hannity (whose spokesperson refers to bipartisanship when discussing a debate with a Democrat... hmmm) are unwilling to confront their opponents or follow through on their public commitments out of fear their bluster will be exposed.  And Democrats have moved out of their 1990s induced torpor, bringing a new hard-edged attitude that we are right, they are immoral fools, the public is sick of them, and calling Fox News Republicans out is a productive strategy.

Hopefully we can be done with the Fox News fight at some point soon.  I hadn't realized the depths to which the Democratic establishment is still split over the news channel, and how productive an open debate can be.  Hannity is worth understanding as a public figure.  He is an important Republican surrogate, and his attempts to lie about this debate and about Rocky Anderson are a tremendously weak cover to the role he and most Repulbican leaders played in operating as lackeys for Bush.



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Re: Sean Hannity Chickens Out of Debate with Salt (none / 0)

Just a quick corrective here regarding Jim Matheson. While his district includes Anderson's turf, it also stretches out to include a lot of quite-conservative rural territory in the southern part of the state. Its easily one of the most Republican districts in the country represented by a Democrat. This was a deliberate gerrymander by the GOP ot try and defeat Matheson in 2002-- his old district was more focused on SLC and its environs-- and it nearly worked then, but he's managed to slaughter his last two opponents. Matheson caucused with the Blue Dogs before he got his new district, but hes become more pronounced in that identity since then.


by sip1983 on Wed Mar 21, 2007 at 10:36:49 AM EST

Re: Sean Hannity Chickens Out of Debate with Salt (none / 0)

Yup, I took that section out.  I thought the district was moderately right-leaning, but it's not.  It's very very red.


by Matt Stoller on Wed Mar 21, 2007 at 10:49:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sean Hannity Chickens Out of Debate with Salt (none / 0)

At what point does the whole "liberal media" lie fall apart?  The right has had it's chance with Fox News.  And now with things like GodTube.com and Conservapedia.com.  At what point does all this break down and reveal the lie that it is based on?  How long can they keep up the obviously false claim that media organizations that the right does not control are inherently against conservative?  Can they simply not understand that objective reality does not fit their talking points.  Seriously, when will this end?


by Reece on Wed Mar 21, 2007 at 10:58:48 AM EST

Re: Sean Hannity Chickens Out of Debate with Salt (none / 0)

  It's ALWAYS someone else's fault.  From King George to repug spokemen, to Faux Noise Channel.  It's always the other person who is to blame!!
 
by ocdemocrat on Wed Mar 21, 2007 at 11:45:43 AM EST

Sean Hannity Chickens Out of Debate (none / 0)

Did anyone else see Mayor Anderson on O'Reilly last night?  He made O'Reilly look like a chump.  It was great.  Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvTJD_N4y Ic

I agree with something that Anderson said in an earlier interview that we need to take the message right to Fox and make sure its audience is hearing the truth from someone.


by ditka on Wed Mar 21, 2007 at 12:33:41 PM EST

Re: Sean Hannity Chickens Out of Debate (none / 0)

O'Reilly doing his usual - shouting someone down and claiming superior knowledge. I guess this is what passes for debate at Faux.


by Ghost of McGovern on Wed Mar 21, 2007 at 12:53:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Venue (none / 0)

You will never see Hannity in a venue he can't control.  I was surprised to see O'Reilly do the Colbert Report.  He won't do it again.


by jayackroyd on Wed Mar 21, 2007 at 03:40:09 PM EST

O'Reilly looked bad (none / 0)

O'Reilly did look stupid on that video.  I think people are making a bigger deal out of this Hannity issue than it is though.  


by ChubbyRain on Wed Mar 21, 2007 at 05:16:32 PM EST

Re: Sean Hannity Chickens Out of Debate with Salt (none / 0)

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by xionino on Thu May 10, 2007 at 07:13:56 AM EST


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