President Teaches Tea Party Pundit The Ancient Art Of The Smackdown

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Michael D. Higgins, Ireland President, Takes Down Tea Party Pundit Michael Graham



Leave it to the Irish to teach their American cousins a thing or two about the ancient art of the smackdown.

A 2010 interview between Michael D. Higgins, who was elected President of Ireland in 2011, and Boston conservative radio host Michael Graham has recently gone viral, with a YouTube clip of the debate attracting over half a million visitors. (Close to 200,000 of those visits were recorded in the past 48 hours, according to The Irish Times.)

The clip's newfound surge in popularity is due in large part to video-sharing website Upworthy, which posted the audio on Tuesday with the headline, "A Tea Partier Decided To Pick A Fight With A Foreign President. It Didn't Go So Well."

The contentious encounter occurred during a May 28 special broadcast of The Right Hook, a NewsTalk radio program hosted by conservative Irish radio pundit George Hook. The fiery Higgins, a longtime leftist politician and human rights activist, takes Graham, a Tea Party organizer, to task for the party's criticisms of President Obama and its strident opposition to the White House's health care reform bill.

"I think even the poorest people in the great country that is the United States should be entitled to basic health care," Higgins said. "And I don't think they'll thank the Sarah Palin lookalikes and followers for taking it off them."

Although Graham tries to interject, Higgins is clearly having none of it, continuing to berate Graham and Sarah Palin for perceived warmongering.

"You're about as late an arrival in Irish politics as Sarah Palin is in American politics, and both of you have the same tactic," Higgins continued. "The tactic is, to get a large crowd, whip them up, try and discover what is that creates fear, work on that and feed it right back and you get a frenzy."

Graham, who according to his bio introduced Sarah Palin during a Tea Party rally on Boston Common in 2010, is barely able to get a word in during the tirade, which lasts over four minutes.

As applause and cheering is audible in the background, Higgins tells the American pundit that "the image of the United States is getting better," and upbraids Graham, urging him to "be proud to be a decent American rather just a wanker whipping up fear."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...ichael-graham_n_1825812.html?utm_hp_ref=world
 
"be proud to be a decent American rather just a wanker whipping up fear."

That may be my all-time favorite political line. Or at least a close second behind Bill Baxley's reply to the KKK.
 
american politics relies heavily on fear. every party utilizes it. i'm don't think other countries use fear to the extent we do.
 
american politics relies heavily on fear. every party utilizes it. i'm don't think other countries use fear to the extent we do.

UK politics is becoming more like yours, but we don't have elections that seem to go on forever and burn obscene amounts of money on attack ads.
 
Michael D. Higgins, Ireland President, Takes Down Tea Party Pundit Michael Graham



Leave it to the Irish to teach their American cousins a thing or two about the ancient art of the smackdown.

A 2010 interview between Michael D. Higgins, who was elected President of Ireland in 2011, and Boston conservative radio host Michael Graham has recently gone viral, with a YouTube clip of the debate attracting over half a million visitors. (Close to 200,000 of those visits were recorded in the past 48 hours, according to The Irish Times.)

The clip's newfound surge in popularity is due in large part to video-sharing website Upworthy, which posted the audio on Tuesday with the headline, "A Tea Partier Decided To Pick A Fight With A Foreign President. It Didn't Go So Well."

The contentious encounter occurred during a May 28 special broadcast of The Right Hook, a NewsTalk radio program hosted by conservative Irish radio pundit George Hook. The fiery Higgins, a longtime leftist politician and human rights activist, takes Graham, a Tea Party organizer, to task for the party's criticisms of President Obama and its strident opposition to the White House's health care reform bill.

"I think even the poorest people in the great country that is the United States should be entitled to basic health care," Higgins said. "And I don't think they'll thank the Sarah Palin lookalikes and followers for taking it off them."

Although Graham tries to interject, Higgins is clearly having none of it, continuing to berate Graham and Sarah Palin for perceived warmongering.

"You're about as late an arrival in Irish politics as Sarah Palin is in American politics, and both of you have the same tactic," Higgins continued. "The tactic is, to get a large crowd, whip them up, try and discover what is that creates fear, work on that and feed it right back and you get a frenzy."

Graham, who according to his bio introduced Sarah Palin during a Tea Party rally on Boston Common in 2010, is barely able to get a word in during the tirade, which lasts over four minutes.

As applause and cheering is audible in the background, Higgins tells the American pundit that "the image of the United States is getting better," and upbraids Graham, urging him to "be proud to be a decent American rather just a wanker whipping up fear."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...ichael-graham_n_1825812.html?utm_hp_ref=world
You know what's funny is the right wing has played low ball politics for so long and Democrats have been such fucking pussies about it that it's a shame that a Irishman was to speak for them. I've been loving this years presidential campaign cause whenever the Republicans have hit below the belt Obama has kicked them in the balls twice and oh how those hypocrits scream "Foul"! I find that fucking hillarious. If Obama loses, it sure won't be because he was a pussy like Al Gore and John Kerry.
 
UK politics is becoming more like yours, but we don't have elections that seem to go on forever and burn obscene amounts of money on attack ads.
Almost a complete waste of money too. Hardly anyone bases their vote on some advertisement. Those adds might change the minds of only a hanful of voters (which can be significant in a really close election) but which serve mostly to enrich media companies to no productive end. Truly wasted money. That's why I don't contribute money to either party. It's not only wasted money but once you get on their lists as a contributor, good luck getting off of it.
 
LOL

Desperation is setting in, looking for any kind of glory from yesteryear.

Sorry to hear that.

Looking to the past for relief from your depression is what put you in a depression in the first place.

Try actually coming up with some NEW ideas the country likes instead of just trying to bring back the same tired retread policies from the Reagan era...that is sure to relieve your depression.
 
You know what's funny is the right wing has played low ball politics for so long and Democrats have been such fucking pussies about it that it's a shame that a Irishman was to speak for them. I've been loving this years presidential campaign cause whenever the Republicans have hit below the belt Obama has kicked them in the balls twice and oh how those hypocrits scream "Foul"! I find that fucking hillarious. If Obama loses, it sure won't be because he was a pussy like Al Gore and John Kerry.

I forgot that the election of LBJ happened just the other year...
 
Which brings to mind the greatest smackdown of all time .. and again, delivered by an Irishman.


BEAUTIFUL

Holy Crap! I've never seen that before.. Besides being dead-on, he gets awesome points for doing it while looking them dead in the eye and not once reading a 'script' or stammering..

BEAUTIFUL is right..
 
Bullshit yurt you dirty liar. Don't try to smear GOP shit over the whole country.

oddly, a socialist and a liberal thanked me for my post. but dunetroll has to call me a liar for it. i can't believe you actually claim that the dems do not also engage in using fear for political purposes. well...it is you and you are the biggest hack here.
 
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