I'm writing this from memory from my car ride home this afternoon but during the last half of the 5 o'clock hour, 3 callers got through to Handy Hannity's radio show and absolutely kicked his right wing ass despite Hannity talking over them, eventually cutting the mikes, and calling people names after he hung up on them. It shows once again that Handy Hannity, when faced with someone who knows how to debate, has to run and hide. Hannity even ran from a bunch of Republicans in the streets of New Hampshire because he couldn't handle their questions.
Given that Handy Hannity is McCain's surrogate and a deplorable hateful individual, Democrats would be wise to link McCain to the radical Hannity by simply highlighting Hannity's nutcase associations, their quotes, and Hannity's quotes and history itself.
I don't know who any of these three callers were nor did I have any role in forwarding the questions (Note to Hannity - That's not always been the case.) but these callers easily debunked Handy Hannity's propaganda despite Hannity cutting off their mikes on multiple occasions. For those thinking of calling in, learn from these three callers.
Caller 1 was Tim from Arizona who was faced with the Hannity lie of fake Obama flip flops that don't exist. Tim remained cool when Hannity tried to bully him by responding on his terms and actually listening to what Hannity said, absorbing it, and then responding. Tim correctly pointed out fake flip flop number one by giving the actual quotes as opposed to the misleading partial quotes of Hannity. Hannity was trapped so quickly went to fake flip flop number two. Fake flip flop number two involved two purported quotes about Iran. Tim, like myself, didn't know where these quotes came from or their context. So instead of playing Hannity's game, Tim simply said that he had no knowledge of these remarks. This was effective b/c if Hannity is going to make a charge, make him back it up. Make Hannity play the quotes in their entirety first before conceding them. Demand context, the full quote, etc... By doing this, Tim got the better of Hannity. When Hannity asked a BS question, Tim calmly asked Hannity to repeat it. Hannity, thinking he had a draw, went to fake flip flop 3. Here, Tim had done his homework. Hannity was taking quotes out of context and Tim called him on it. Hannity had to hang up.
Caller 2 took an entirely different approach but it was effective. He took the approach of what a good Christian would do, got Hannity to acknowledge that Obama is a Christian, and then played up the angle that Obama's views are simply a reflection of his values and religion. Hannity was twisted in a pretzel trying to say that Obama didn't stand on principle and was flip flopping. had Handy Hannity all over the place on Christianity as Handy Hannity, but the caller still played the religious angle about evolving and how one is not perfect and is a sinner in the eyes of god, and is learning as he goes along. It worked.
Caller 3 was the best. This woman knew her stuff cold. When Insanity tried to list imaginary Obama flip flops, she came back with what about McCain's flip flops and started listing them. When Hannity said that let's forget about McCain, she said no let's not and listed a couple of more. Hannity then shut off her mike which inevitably leads to a few seconds of Hannity spin and a bullying type questions along the logical lines of "When did you stop beating up your spouse?" This caller would have none of it and immediately insisted on finishing her point. Hannity claimed that Obama was flip flopping on public financing which, like most things out of Hannity's mouth, was a flat out lie. Hannity tried playing a series of sound bites which proved nothing yet Hannity claimed it did. The caller (NOTE to listeners, HEAR what is being played carefully before commenting) shrewdly pointed out that he didn't say he would commit to public financing but that only he would try to work out a deal with McCain. (And the deal fell through as McCain is cheating.) Hannity tried to ask the caller if she was convinced. The caller was brilliantly, immediately saying no, said Hannity was misleading and how and upon being exposed, Hannity immediately hung up on her and called her an "Obama Kool Aid Drinker."
These were 3 successful models on how to kick a right winger's ass. There are many ways to do it since the facts are on your side and they are not on the right wing's side. Remember, any skilled debater will kick the ass of a right winger in a fair forum which is why people like Sean Hannity try to have individuals arrested if they fear they may ask a question Hannity does not want to hear.
But putting that aside, here were some successful skills shown by the three callers.
- Know your issues.
- Listen to the question asked. (If unsure, ask him to repeat it.) Don't succumb to questions with only false choices. Point out that the question is unfair.
- Point out a lie or when something is not played in full context.
- Be prepared to list 5-10 accomplishments of Obama.
- Know the right wing talking points of the day. They coordinate with the RNC, they are all saying the same things. Learn their talking points, learn the falsehoods, do your research, and anticipate this line of questioning.
- Let it be clear that Hannity is shutting off your mike. When he does this, a few audience members will pick up on the fact that Hannity is hiding something. (The effectiveness of caller 3)
To the 3 people out there, great job. Maybe 1 of you, if not all 3 of you, were Kossacks.