Conservatives Should Demand This From Any Liberal Hoping to Interview Them

I watched Ann Coulter brave the four harpies and the one MSNBC-Conservative on the View, and it reminded me of other times that I've watched conservatives brave the gauntlet of the MSM interview.

Condi Rice on Laurence O'Donnell. Jonah Goldberg on Piers Morgan. Ari Fleischer on Chris Matthews. Andrew Breitbart on Bill Maher. I watched these interviews, and plenty others, and compared them to whenever a liberal host like those above bring on liberal guests.

Watch any of the interviews between Keith Olbermann and Janeane Garofalo. There are several. Note that he lets her have complete freedom to speak her mind for as long as she needs to make her point. The interviews above? You can barely hear what the guest is saying, because the host won't shut up.

They talk over the guest, they interrupt them, they cut mic's. Now, say what you want about Bill O'Reilly (who I've never really liked) but most of the time when a liberal is invited on a FOX News program, they can actually get a word in edgewise. Off the top of my head, the Jon Stewart interview with Chris Wallace that I've already discussed springs to mind. I mean, yeah, I didn't like what he said, but I do like that he was allowed to say it.

When you think about it, that made Wallace look like the bigger (and smarter) man. Let Stewart blab, let him expose his ignorance, let him show just how little he actually knows when he's not in his echo chamber, and then, when he's said his piece, eviscerate him.

That's not how liberals work, though, and in the above interview examples, I think one of the reasons why is clear to me, even if it's not clear to those who do it; they're worried that the guest may say something they can't refute. They're worried about looking stupid. And they're right to worry. Ann Coulter vs. Whoopi Goldberg? Bitch, please.

However, it has to stop. One of the reasons type-1 liberals remain liberal is that whenever they're in a situation where they're watching a conservative, they come away thinking conservatives must be stupid and mean. Any time they watch a conservative, they're always fighting to be heard over the host, so they look hostile.

But conservatives can't just stop going on these shows. It would look cowardly. Since liberals have set the narrative, they can always just say "conservatives won't come on these shows because they will only go where they're made to feel comfortable and no one asks them hard questions." I mean, that sentence is entirely true of liberals (which is why Barack Obama has instructed his staff not to talk to FOX News, and why, after some pressure, he agreed to all of ONE interview in four years). But projection is one of the ways liberals deflect criticism, and as of yet, that won't work for conservatives because we have lost control of the narrative (some would say we conceded the narrative). So what can we do? Continue to go on these shows to be brow-beaten by the host and made to look bad?

No. We can start by saying that we will not agree to go on any show until the following conditions are met:

1) The interview must be live. Never submit to a pre-taped interview or you WILL find yourself edited to look less smart. Any point where you stumped the host will not make it to air. Similarly, never submit to a magazine or newspaper interview.


2) Prior to air, the host or producers must be completely honest about the tone and line of questioning in the interview. We could be prissy like liberals and demand to see the questions beforehand, but since we already know what we believe and why, we don't have to prepare answers. However, since liberals are always fully prepped by the host, conservatives must be as well.

3) When the host asks us a question, he must wait at least three minutes for us to answer, and is not allowed to cut us off mid-sentence. If he does interrupt after you've said a complete sentence (after the three minutes), the three minutes start again. I say three minutes only because I know a TV show has a limited time slot and you're usually not the only guest. However, I think that if the whole show is one long interview with you, that three minutes should expand to six.

Then, during the interview, if the host breaks the third condition, the guest must say "Okay, you just broke the condition to let me actually articulate my position, and everyone watching saw it. Strike one. You don't get a second strike." Then hold to that. If he breaks it again, he's out. Get up and walk out. But first, tell the host "If you ask me to come back on this show, I will, but only if next time you actually agree to let me get a word in edgewise. This time, however, you blew it, and this interview is over."

You may be thinking this will make us look more hostile. The first couple of times, maybe so. But when it becomes obvious that this is happening with EVERY interview show on CNN or MSNBC (or morning talk) and ONLY with conservatives, soon people will be able to see that conservatives are always entering a trap when they go on these shows, but they're no longer allowing the trap to be sprung.

EDIT: Someone's been reading my blog. Go Congressman Ryan!