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Christine O'Donnell and Me
I knew Christine O'Donnell as an ideologue of uptightness -- with a
fervent position on every issue under the sun. I saw her up close
when we debated during one of her several Phil Donahue show
appearances in 2002-03 on MSNBC, where I worked as an on-air
contributor and Donahue senior producer.
Sep 16, 2010
I knew Christine O'Donnell as an ideologue of uptightness -- with a
fervent position on every issue under the sun. I saw her up close
when we debated during one of her several Phil Donahue show
appearances in 2002-03 on MSNBC, where I worked as an on-air
contributor and Donahue senior producer.
Like Sarah Palin, O'Donnell has that dangerous mix of arrogance and
ignorance. Years before there was a Tea Party to put her in orbit,
O'Donnell was already adept at blending paranoia about Democrats
with blind faith in religious and market fundamentalism.
But even in the dark days of Bushmania eight years ago, I could not
have foreseen this foe of masturbation
and friend of for-profit healthcare as a serious U.S. senate
contender.
During a Donahue discussion on the rumor that Bill Clinton might
host a syndicated daytime TV talkshow, O'Donnell's opposition went
beyond her complaint that it's "so undignified":
O'DONNELL: One reason I care is because it's also a threat to our
national security.
DONAHUE: How's that?
O'DONNELL: You mentioned what is he going to do when the ratings
start to fall? Well, he's got access to classified information
that Anna Nicole Smith [then hosting a TV show] does not . . . So do
you really think the networks are going to sacrifice ratings for the
sake of not revealing information that he has?
After acknowledging that she "would certainly be a guest" on a
Clinton talkshow, O'Donnell repeated her fear about "this classified
data that he will have access to and that he will bring to the
discussion." It was so embarrassing that a fellow guest critical of
a Clinton show had to chime in: "He's not going to reveal state
secrets on the show!"
In our joint appearance on Donahue in November 2002, a panel
debated big and small news, including the Michael Jackson
baby-dangling incident. "Perhaps one thing they can do is revoke his
passport," she said, suggesting a Big Government approach.
Ironically, given the state of her race today, she expressed hope
that Al Gore would be the 2004 Democratic nominee because he was
somehow unelectable in the general election: "So let him be your
front man, Democratic Party. And you guys will lose for sure."
O'Donnell was a Tea Party candidate way before the party started --
with a faux-populism quick to defend corporate interests. Years
before the battle over Obamacare, she was already steeped in
obstruction and fear of change.
O'DONNELL: And why do we want universal health care?
COHEN: I guess you're not one of the 40 million people that has no
health insurance, are you?
O'DONNELL: Because -- No, actually I don't have health insurance
right now.
COHEN: And you think that's a good thing?
O'DONNELL: I pay out of my own pocket right now.
COHEN: We're the only advanced industrial country that does not have
health care.
O'DONNELL: Let me tell you. I would rather pay out of my own pocket
than have to wait two hours for some shoddy doctor to give me a
misdiagnosis. . . And pay more than half my wages in taxes to cover
this. It's ridiculous.
COHEN: We're the wealthiest country in the world and we've got 40
million people without health insurance. There's no advanced
industrial country that has that.
O'DONNELL: And throwing money into something like is not going to
help.
When she appeared on Donahue shows, O'Donnell represented The
Savior's Alliance for Lifting the Truth (SALT) -- the youth group
opposing pre-marital sex and intra-marital masturbation that she was
apparently still associated with last year.
On one episode, she repeatedly equated nudity with pornography.
On another show, she belittled an obesity suit against McDonald's as
frivolous ("what I want to know is, did the lawyer go to her or did
she go to the lawyer?"), but O'Donnell famously and somewhat
capriciously sued a rightwing nonprofit ex-employer for $6.9
million for wrongful termination.
In normal times, it would be hard to believe that a religious
fundamentalist like Christine O'Donnell could be a triumphant major
party nominee for U.S. senate. With the rise of Palin and Beck above
their hordes of fearful and energized followers, these are clearly
not normal times.
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Jeff Cohen
Jeff Cohen is an activist and author. Cohen was an associate professor of journalism and the director of the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College, founder of the media watch group FAIR, and former board member of Progressive Democrats of America. In 2002, he was a producer and pundit at MSNBC. He is the author of "Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media" - and a co-founder of the online action group, www.RootsAction.org. His website is jeffcohen.org.
I knew Christine O'Donnell as an ideologue of uptightness -- with a
fervent position on every issue under the sun. I saw her up close
when we debated during one of her several Phil Donahue show
appearances in 2002-03 on MSNBC, where I worked as an on-air
contributor and Donahue senior producer.
Like Sarah Palin, O'Donnell has that dangerous mix of arrogance and
ignorance. Years before there was a Tea Party to put her in orbit,
O'Donnell was already adept at blending paranoia about Democrats
with blind faith in religious and market fundamentalism.
But even in the dark days of Bushmania eight years ago, I could not
have foreseen this foe of masturbation
and friend of for-profit healthcare as a serious U.S. senate
contender.
During a Donahue discussion on the rumor that Bill Clinton might
host a syndicated daytime TV talkshow, O'Donnell's opposition went
beyond her complaint that it's "so undignified":
O'DONNELL: One reason I care is because it's also a threat to our
national security.
DONAHUE: How's that?
O'DONNELL: You mentioned what is he going to do when the ratings
start to fall? Well, he's got access to classified information
that Anna Nicole Smith [then hosting a TV show] does not . . . So do
you really think the networks are going to sacrifice ratings for the
sake of not revealing information that he has?
After acknowledging that she "would certainly be a guest" on a
Clinton talkshow, O'Donnell repeated her fear about "this classified
data that he will have access to and that he will bring to the
discussion." It was so embarrassing that a fellow guest critical of
a Clinton show had to chime in: "He's not going to reveal state
secrets on the show!"
In our joint appearance on Donahue in November 2002, a panel
debated big and small news, including the Michael Jackson
baby-dangling incident. "Perhaps one thing they can do is revoke his
passport," she said, suggesting a Big Government approach.
Ironically, given the state of her race today, she expressed hope
that Al Gore would be the 2004 Democratic nominee because he was
somehow unelectable in the general election: "So let him be your
front man, Democratic Party. And you guys will lose for sure."
O'Donnell was a Tea Party candidate way before the party started --
with a faux-populism quick to defend corporate interests. Years
before the battle over Obamacare, she was already steeped in
obstruction and fear of change.
O'DONNELL: And why do we want universal health care?
COHEN: I guess you're not one of the 40 million people that has no
health insurance, are you?
O'DONNELL: Because -- No, actually I don't have health insurance
right now.
COHEN: And you think that's a good thing?
O'DONNELL: I pay out of my own pocket right now.
COHEN: We're the only advanced industrial country that does not have
health care.
O'DONNELL: Let me tell you. I would rather pay out of my own pocket
than have to wait two hours for some shoddy doctor to give me a
misdiagnosis. . . And pay more than half my wages in taxes to cover
this. It's ridiculous.
COHEN: We're the wealthiest country in the world and we've got 40
million people without health insurance. There's no advanced
industrial country that has that.
O'DONNELL: And throwing money into something like is not going to
help.
When she appeared on Donahue shows, O'Donnell represented The
Savior's Alliance for Lifting the Truth (SALT) -- the youth group
opposing pre-marital sex and intra-marital masturbation that she was
apparently still associated with last year.
On one episode, she repeatedly equated nudity with pornography.
On another show, she belittled an obesity suit against McDonald's as
frivolous ("what I want to know is, did the lawyer go to her or did
she go to the lawyer?"), but O'Donnell famously and somewhat
capriciously sued a rightwing nonprofit ex-employer for $6.9
million for wrongful termination.
In normal times, it would be hard to believe that a religious
fundamentalist like Christine O'Donnell could be a triumphant major
party nominee for U.S. senate. With the rise of Palin and Beck above
their hordes of fearful and energized followers, these are clearly
not normal times.
Jeff Cohen
Jeff Cohen is an activist and author. Cohen was an associate professor of journalism and the director of the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College, founder of the media watch group FAIR, and former board member of Progressive Democrats of America. In 2002, he was a producer and pundit at MSNBC. He is the author of "Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media" - and a co-founder of the online action group, www.RootsAction.org. His website is jeffcohen.org.
I knew Christine O'Donnell as an ideologue of uptightness -- with a
fervent position on every issue under the sun. I saw her up close
when we debated during one of her several Phil Donahue show
appearances in 2002-03 on MSNBC, where I worked as an on-air
contributor and Donahue senior producer.
Like Sarah Palin, O'Donnell has that dangerous mix of arrogance and
ignorance. Years before there was a Tea Party to put her in orbit,
O'Donnell was already adept at blending paranoia about Democrats
with blind faith in religious and market fundamentalism.
But even in the dark days of Bushmania eight years ago, I could not
have foreseen this foe of masturbation
and friend of for-profit healthcare as a serious U.S. senate
contender.
During a Donahue discussion on the rumor that Bill Clinton might
host a syndicated daytime TV talkshow, O'Donnell's opposition went
beyond her complaint that it's "so undignified":
O'DONNELL: One reason I care is because it's also a threat to our
national security.
DONAHUE: How's that?
O'DONNELL: You mentioned what is he going to do when the ratings
start to fall? Well, he's got access to classified information
that Anna Nicole Smith [then hosting a TV show] does not . . . So do
you really think the networks are going to sacrifice ratings for the
sake of not revealing information that he has?
After acknowledging that she "would certainly be a guest" on a
Clinton talkshow, O'Donnell repeated her fear about "this classified
data that he will have access to and that he will bring to the
discussion." It was so embarrassing that a fellow guest critical of
a Clinton show had to chime in: "He's not going to reveal state
secrets on the show!"
In our joint appearance on Donahue in November 2002, a panel
debated big and small news, including the Michael Jackson
baby-dangling incident. "Perhaps one thing they can do is revoke his
passport," she said, suggesting a Big Government approach.
Ironically, given the state of her race today, she expressed hope
that Al Gore would be the 2004 Democratic nominee because he was
somehow unelectable in the general election: "So let him be your
front man, Democratic Party. And you guys will lose for sure."
O'Donnell was a Tea Party candidate way before the party started --
with a faux-populism quick to defend corporate interests. Years
before the battle over Obamacare, she was already steeped in
obstruction and fear of change.
O'DONNELL: And why do we want universal health care?
COHEN: I guess you're not one of the 40 million people that has no
health insurance, are you?
O'DONNELL: Because -- No, actually I don't have health insurance
right now.
COHEN: And you think that's a good thing?
O'DONNELL: I pay out of my own pocket right now.
COHEN: We're the only advanced industrial country that does not have
health care.
O'DONNELL: Let me tell you. I would rather pay out of my own pocket
than have to wait two hours for some shoddy doctor to give me a
misdiagnosis. . . And pay more than half my wages in taxes to cover
this. It's ridiculous.
COHEN: We're the wealthiest country in the world and we've got 40
million people without health insurance. There's no advanced
industrial country that has that.
O'DONNELL: And throwing money into something like is not going to
help.
When she appeared on Donahue shows, O'Donnell represented The
Savior's Alliance for Lifting the Truth (SALT) -- the youth group
opposing pre-marital sex and intra-marital masturbation that she was
apparently still associated with last year.
On one episode, she repeatedly equated nudity with pornography.
On another show, she belittled an obesity suit against McDonald's as
frivolous ("what I want to know is, did the lawyer go to her or did
she go to the lawyer?"), but O'Donnell famously and somewhat
capriciously sued a rightwing nonprofit ex-employer for $6.9
million for wrongful termination.
In normal times, it would be hard to believe that a religious
fundamentalist like Christine O'Donnell could be a triumphant major
party nominee for U.S. senate. With the rise of Palin and Beck above
their hordes of fearful and energized followers, these are clearly
not normal times.
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