EVEN THOUGH GREG GIANFORTE WAS CHARGED WITH MISDEMEANOR
ASSAULT TWO NIGHTS AGO, IT TURNS OUT HE DID WIN THE SPECIAL
ELECTION IN MONTANA AND IS NOW A U.S. HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE.
FOR
THOSE OF YOU WHO MIGHT HAVE MISSED THIS STORY, HE PULLED OF
VICTORY DESPITE HIS ALLEGED ASSAULT OF A REPORTER WEDNESDAY
NIGHT AT HIS CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS --
KEEP IN MIND THAT A LOT OF THE VOTES, OR A LOT OF THE
BALLOTS, HAD BEEN TURNED IN EARLY, WE WILL GET INTO THE
NUMBERS IN A SECOND.
SO PEOPLE HAD ALREADY VOTED BEFORE THIS
INCIDENT MADE HEADLINES, BUT --
THAT WAS NOT TRUE, THE AUDIO RECORDING THAT JACOBS HAD
REINFORCED HIS STORY, AND THERE WAS ALSO A FOX NEWS REPORTER
THERE WHO SAW WHAT HAPPENED AND ALSO AGREE WITH JACOBS.
AN ENTIRE FOX CREW, NOT JUST THE REPORTER.
YES, AND THE REPORTER CORROBORATED THE ACCOUNT GIVEN
BY JACOBS.
WITH THAT SAID, UNFORTUNATELY GIANFORTE STILL
WON, AND AFTER HE WON HE MADE A STATEMENT AND AN APOLOGY IN
REGARD TO THE ASSAULT SITUATION.
LAST NIGHT I LEARNED A LESSON.
AND -- PLEASE -- I NEED
TO SHARE SOMETHING FROM MY HEART HERE, AND I ASK YOU TO BEAR WITH
ME.
WHEN YOU MAKE A MISTAKE, YOU HAVE TO OWN UP TO IT.
THAT'S THE
MONTANA WAY.
LAST NIGHT I MADE A MISTAKE, AND I TOOK AN ACTION
THAT I CAN'T TAKE BACK, AND I'M NOT PROUD OF WHAT HAPPENED.
I SHOULD NOT HAVE RESPONDED IN THE WAY THAT I DID, AND FOR
THAT I'M SORRY.
AND YOU'RE FORGIVEN!
GLAD HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY FIREARMS AVAILABLE, IT WOULD'VE
BEEN A HORRIBLE MISTAKE.
FIRST THE MONTANA WAY IS THAT YOU LIKE ABOUT IT AND SAY
IT DIDN'T GO DOWN, AND ONCE YOU GET SUFFICIENT POLITICAL
PRESSURE PLACED UPON YOU, THEN YOU OWN UP TO IT.
WHEN THERE IS NO DANGER IN ANY WAY IN ISSUING THE APOLOGY.
THERE IS DANGER, HE'S STILL FACING CRIMINAL CHARGES.
BUT IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER BECAUSE THERE ARE ONLY
THREE QUALIFICATIONS FOR HIS JOB.
HE IS 25, HE RESIDES IN MONTANA, AND HE IS A U.S. CITIZEN.
SO THERE IS NOTHING THAT WILL DISQUALIFY HIM WITH THIS CHARGE.
AND ITS MISDEMEANOR ASSAULT, NOT FELONY ASSAULT.
SO IT'S NOT
LIKE HE WILL BE TAKEN AWAY FROM HIS JOB TO DO TIME.
HE COULD STILL SERVE IN HIS POSITION FROM JAIL, THAT'S
HAPPENED BEFORE.
BUT THERE WILL BE NO JAIL BECAUSE ITS MISDEMEANOR ASSAULT,
IN ALL LIKELIHOOD.
AND AS A PRACTICAL MATTER HE DIDN'T ADMIT TO ANYTHING
SPECIFIC, HE JUST THAT I DID SOMETHING.
SO HE LEFT THE DOOR OPEN SHOULD IT TURN INTO A LEGAL CATFIGHT.
HE COULD SAY I WAS APOLOGIZING FOR LOSING MY TEMPER AND NOT
HANDLING IT IN THE RIGHT WAY.
BEING ASSAULTED BY THE WRIST.
THE GUY WAS HOLDING A TAPE RECORDER, I GUESS HE HELD IT TO
HIS WRIST WITH ONE HAND AND THEN GRABBED GIANFORTE'S WRIST WITH
THE OTHER HAND, THAT SEEMS LIKE A LOGICAL HUMAN MOVE, I'M
ALWAYS DOING THIS.
ALWAYS WRESTLING WITH PEOPLE YOU ARE TRYING TO GET TO
ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.
FOR ANA, YOU KNOW FOR AS LONG AS YOU DON'T ME I LOVE TO TALK
ABOUT APOLOGIES AND HOW BAD APOLOGIES ARE.
THAT IS AN
ALL-TIME BAD APOLOGY, IT DOES A GREAT DISSERVICE TO SEAN CONNERY
WITH IT'S THE MONTANA WAY.
HE DIDN'T EVEN SAY THAT IN A COOL WAY.
YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT THE CHICAGO WAY?
IT'S THE CHICAGO WAY.
IS APOLOGY IS ONE THING, BUT WHAT WAS ALSO WORRISOME IS THE
RESPONSE FROM HIS SUPPORTERS, AND THEIR LACK OF CONCERN OVER
THE ASSAULT THAT OCCURRED, THE TREATMENT OF REPORTERS, THIS
LACK OF I GUESS INTEREST IN PROTECTING REPORTERS' RIGHTS,
OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, THE FIRST AMENDMENT.
IF THIS HAD
HAPPENED TO A REPORTER FROM FOX NEWS, A CONSERVATIVE REPORTER, I
WOULD VENTURE TO SAY THAT THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING REPUBLICANS
WOULD BE RANTING AND RAVING ABOUT NONSTOP FOR THE NEXT
MONTH.
THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION, THEY DON'T CARE
ABOUT FREEDOM OF PRESS -- FIRST OF ALL, THE ASSUMPTION WAS THAT
THIS WAS A LIBERAL REPORTER, EVEN THOUGH HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW
WHO THE REPORTER WAS, HE HAD TO ASK WHICH PUBLICATION HE WAS
FROM.
SO HOW ARE YOU ALREADY ASSUMING IT'S A LIBERAL
REPORTER?
AND NONETHELESS IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT THE REPORTER'S
IDEOLOGY IS, YOU DON'T GET ASSAULT THAT REPORTER, OR
ANYONE.
IMAGINE IF WHAT GIANFORTE AND HIS MINIONS HAD SAID WAS
ACTUALLY TRUE.
SUPPOSE THE REPORTER HAD ASSAULTED A MAN
RUNNING FOR CONGRESS, THEY WOULD STILL BE TALKING ABOUT IT.
BUT
HERE THE GUY WITH ALL THE POWER COMMITTED THE ASSAULT, NOT ONLY
DO THEY LIE ABOUT IT, HE BLAMED THE VICTIM.
AND THEN HIS AIDES
BRAGGED THAT OVER THE LAST 24 HOURS THEY RAISED SOMETHING LIKE
$100,000, IS THAT THE NUMBER I READ?
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF
DOLLARS, I THINK 100,000, AND CLAIMED THAT THEY RAISED IT ON
THAT.
SO THEY USED THE ASSAULT TO GENERATE MONEY, BLAME THE
VICTIM, AND THEN ISSUE AN APOLOGY FOR NOTHING THAT DOESN'T
INCLUDE THE PART WHERE I COMPLETELY LIED ABOUT IT TO YOUR
FACES, AND ONLY WHEN THERE WERE WITNESSES THAT I RECANT AND
BLAME THE PERSON WHO I ACTUALLY ASSAULTED WHO MERCIFULLY APPEARS
TO ONLY HAVE BROKEN HIS GLASSES AND SLIGHTLY INJURED HIS ELBOW.
AND TO ANA'S POINT YOU HEAR THIS LAUGHTER ABOUT IT, AND HE
MAINTAINS A SOLEMNITY BECAUSE HE'S TRYING TO SELL THAT
APOLOGY, AS BEN SAYS, MAYBE NOT SUCH A GREAT APOLOGY, AND EVEN
AS HE'S TRYING TO SELL IT THERE IS MORE LAUGHTER IN THE ROOM.
AND THE OTHER ASPECT OF THIS, I THINK VOX DID A PIECE ON THIS
TODAY, THE MACHO THAT WE CELEBRATE IN AMERICA CAN BRING
ABOUT A SUPPORT AND A FRENZY IT'S REALLY NOT HEALTHY FOR
THIS COUNTRY.
IT ISN'T, BECAUSE I ALSO FIND IT INCREDIBLY IRONIC THAT THE
SAME POLITICAL PARTY THAT IS SO DISTRUSTFUL OF THE GOVERNMENT
WANTS TO TAKE DOWN THE SAME PEOPLE THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE
SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER, REPORTING ON THE FACTS.
DO THEY
THINK STATE-SPONSORED MEDIA IS BETTER?
THEY THINK MEDIA IS THE
ENEMY BECAUSE MEDIA DOESN'T CONSTANTLY TELL THEM WHAT THEY
WANT TO HEAR.
IF YOU THINK MEDIA IS THE ENEMY AND WANT TO DO AWAY
WITH INDEPENDENT REPORTERS, REPORTERS WHO ARE TIED TO THE
GOVERNMENT, WHAT DO YOU WANT?
YOU THINK STATE-SPONSORED MEDIA
IS A GOOD IDEA?
THEY ARE JUST SO INCREDIBLY -- THE WAY THEY VIEW
THINGS IS SO SHORTSIGHTED AND IRRESPONSIBLE AND GOES AGAINST
THE CONSTITUTION, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THEY ARE EVEN AWARE OF
THAT.
I DON'T KNOW IF THEY REALIZE WHAT THEY ARE ADVOCATING
FOR WHILE THEY ARE CELEBRATING THE ASSAULT OF A JOURNALIST.
I THINK HE JUST GOT A LITTLE AHEAD OF HIMSELF AND HE DID WHAT
HE DID AND THEN HE WAS LIKE, UGH -- NOW THEY ARE KIND OF USING IT
AS HIS PLATFORM.
I THINK HIS CAREER WILL BE AS BRIGHT AS HE
HOPES, MAYBE HIS GOVERNORSHIP THAT HE WANTED WON'T HAPPEN,
THEY WILL HIDE HIM.
THAT'S EMBARRASSING.
EVEN IF HIS PEOPLE ARE LAUGHING AND THEY ARE MAKING MONEY,
IT WILL BE EMBARRASSING FOR THE REST OF THE PEOPLE HE IS
SERVING WITH.
I WOULD HAVE SAID THAT MAYBE A COUPLE YEARS AGO, BUT I THINK
WE'VE SEEN PERHAPS THE ULTIMATE EMBARRASSMENT, WHICH WAS THE
TRUMP ACCESS HOLLYWOOD TAPE, AND IT'S BULLETPROOF TO THOSE WHO
SUPPORTED HIM.
SIMILARLY HERE I THINK IN MONTANA THOSE
SUPPORTERS, AND THEY ARE SUBSTANTIAL IN NUMBER, WILL LOOK
PAST THIS INCIDENT.
SO WILL THOSE COLLEAGUES IN WASHINGTON.
THEY DON'T CARE,
THIS WILL BE OVER, IT WON'T MATTER.
WE'VE ENTERED INTO A NEW
WORLD WHERE NOTHING MATTERS AT ALL ANYMORE.
TODAY, READING FROM
A PIECE IN SLATE, JUST REAL QUICK, RUSH LIMBAUGH DESCRIBED
-- I LOVE THIS PART, DO YOU HAVE THIS?
RUSH LIMBAUGH DESCRIBED
HOW GIANFORTE WAS, QUOTE, MANLEY.
STUDLY.
THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
HE TOOK DOWN A PAJAMA BOY JOURNALIST -- I DON'T EVEN KNOW
WHAT THAT MEANS -- A 125 WET DISHRAG REPORTER AND YOUR
AVERAGE MILLENNIAL MAN TODAY.
ONE COLOR TO RUSH SAID THAT IF
EVERY REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE THREW REPORTER TO THE GROUND -- WE
KNOW THEY LOVE IT -- IT WOULD INCREASE MY CHANCES
EXPONENTIALLY IN VOTING FOR THEM.
A FOX NEWS ANALYST CALLED
JACOBS A SNOWFLAKE REPORTER.
BUT THE GUY WHO LOST HIS MIND AND
COMMITTED ASSAULT, HE IS MANLY, THE OTHER GUY IS A SNOWFLAKE.
YOU COULDN'T HANDLE A QUESTION ABOUT A CBO SCORE, AND THE DAY
BEFORE THE ELECTION THE GUY IS LIKE THE CBO SCORE IS IN,
IT'S NOW OR NEVER, AND YOU DECIDED TO ASSAULT HIM, BUT
THE REPORTER IS A SNOWFLAKE.
AND KEEP IN MIND THAT THE STATEMENT ABOUT GIANFORTE BEING
STUDLY IS ALSO COMING FROM THE SAME MAN WHO CALLED SANDRA FLUKE
A SLUT BECAUSE SHE TESTIFIED IN FRONT OF CONGRESS ABOUT THE
ACCESSIBILITY OF BIRTH CONTROL.
NO, RUSH LIMBAUGH, YOU ARE A
SNOWFLAKE, YOU CAN'T EVEN HANDLE A WOMAN TESTIFYING IN FRONT OF
CONGRESS ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL SO YOU HAVE TO CALL HER A SLUT, MAN
WHO CAN'T HANDLE A QUESTION FROM A REPORTER AND GOES AHEAD AND
ASSAULTS HIM FOR ASKING THAT QUESTION, THAT GUY IS A STUD.
THE DOUBLE STANDARDS ARE RIDICULOUS THAT YOU SEE IN
CONSERVATIVE ARGUMENTS, IT DRIVES ME CRAZY.
GIANFORTE IS
NOT A STUD, HE IS A SNOWFLAKE, HE'S AN INCREDIBLE LOSER FOR NOT
BEING ABLE TO HANDLE THAT SITUATION LIKE AN ADULT.
YOU ARE
RUNNING FOR CONGRESS, TO BE A REPRESENTATIVE, AND THIS IS HOW
YOU TREAT SOMEONE FOR ASKING YOU A SIMPLE QUESTION?
HE WILL HAVE DISAGREEMENT WITH COLLEAGUES OBVIOUSLY, AND THAT'S
WHY I SAID HE WILL HAVE ISSUES ONCE HE GETS THERE.
IT'S CUTE
NOW AND HIS SUPPORTERS THINK IT'S GREAT, BUT HE WON'T BE ABLE
TO FUNCTION IN THE ENVIRONMENT HE'S GOING INTO WHERE HE'S GOING
TO HAVE TO SPEAK TO PEOPLE THAT DON'T AGREE WITH EVERYTHING HE
SAYS.
I WILL AGREE WITH YOU AT CITY WILL NEVER BE CHALLENGED, AND IN
THAT REPUBLICAN CAUCUS NO ONE WILL DISAGREE WITH HIM BECAUSE
NO ONE DISAGREES WITH ANYTHING.
UNLESS THEY ARE TO THE RIGHT OF
THE PERSON THEY ARE TALKING TO.
THERE IS NO MORE REASONABLENESS,
THE ERA OF REPUBLICANS WHO YOU COULD, AS A LIBERAL, WHO I COULD
THINK I LIKE BOB DOLE, HE'S ALL RIGHT, ALAN SIMPSON, HOWARD
BAKER, ON MOST ISSUES I DISAGREE BUT YOU KNOW THEY WERE PREPARED
TO DO THE GOVERNING BUSINESS OF THE NATION -- BOTH GUYS ARE
GONE, JIM JEFFORDS WAS THE SYMBOL OF THAT AND HE THOUGHT
THESE GUYS ARE NOT INTERESTED IN GOVERNING ANYMORE, I'M OUT --
AND IN THE HOUSE, THERE MIGHT BE A COUPLE, MAYBE IN THE SENATE
IF YOU STRETCH THE DEFINITION OF WHO THOSE GUYS ARE AND WHO THOSE
WOMEN ARE, BUT IN THE HOUSE THERE ARE NONE.
TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF THE VOTING, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE
THAT RIGHT AS THE STORY WAS BREAKING --
THIS IS REPORTING FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT, BY THE WAY.
SO
--
THAT COULD HAVE PLAYED A ROLE AS WELL.
THAT 37% OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS -- 73% OF PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY
VOTED.
SO THE DIE WAS CAST BEFORE.
ONE QUARTER OF THE ELECTORATE COULD BE INFLUENCED BY THAT, AND
QUIST -- WE WON'T KNOW FOR SURE -- HE DID A LITTLE BETTER ON
ELECTION DAY THAN HE MIGHT HAVE, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO OVERCOME
THE