Jon Stewart places a mirror in front of Fox News
Jon Stewart took down Fox News’ coverage and stereotyping of the poor by placing a mirror in front of their coverage. It was likely one of Jon Stewart’s best justifiable excoriation of the network. It would be great if this segment were watched by every single misinformed Fox News viewer. In fact many of those viewers are the same ones being demeaned.
Fox News was taken aback because President Obama called them out at a panel on poverty he participated in at Georgetown University. He called them out for stereotyping the poor. It was a few seconds of an otherwise substantive discussion. He said the following about Fox News.
“The effort to suggest that the poor are sponges, leeches, or don’t want to work, or lazy, if you watch Fox News on a regular basis”President Obama said. “, it is a constant message they will find folks who make me mad.”
Fox News instead of discussing any substance covered by the panel on poverty, hyperventilated about the President calling them out. They claimed that they do not demonize or stereotype the poor. Instead they are simply the messenger.
Jon Stewart showed Fox News’ Stuart Varney attempting to give the impression that their coverage is fair and balanced and that they have nothing against the poor. Stewart summarily destroyed Fox News as an unbiased messenger by showing their ‘contempt for those in poverty’.
He showed clips with them using phrases like ‘America’s poor are actually living the good life’, ‘just call them pennies from government heaven’, United States of Entitlement’, ‘a nation of takers’, ‘the moocher class’, ‘people who sleep till noon’, sucking on the nipple of the government’, ‘subsidized freeloaders’, ‘bailout from cradle to grave’, ‘on a couch eating bonbons’, and ‘entitlement society’ to name a few.
Fox News in a dynamic graphic even showed a begging/taking hand busting out of the belly of the nation. It is ironic that the begging/taking hand came out of a core of Red States. One doubts that was the original intent.
Jon Stewart pointed out that “the main defender of your network’s attitude towards those in poverty is the main offender,” Stuart Varney. He then played clips of the evil against the poor that spewed from Varney throughout his appearances.
Stewart was exasperated with Fox News but he was resigned to their callousness. He was concerned that too many give Fox News a pass. He pointed out a journalist on Morning Joe who should know better claiming he never saw the President’s characterization of Fox News. Jon Stewart put that journalist’s ignorance to rest rather quickly.