Last night, Jon Stewart cut through the spin and looked at the real reason Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) are threatening to shut down the government if Obamacare isn't defunded.
So repeal, defund, information blackout, misinform, appeal to fear of anal puppet finger-banging. What if none of these constructive solutions to improve Obamacare work?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA (9/22/2013): Some Republicans in Congress are threatening to shut down the government unless the president agrees to strip out funding for Obamacare.
Threatening? Threatening to shut down the government? To Republicans, that's not a threat, that's the goal! Wasn't that one of the themes at last year's Republican Convention?
Yeah, that's right! I remember that night. How....? (audience laughter) Filthy. How do you....? I'll let you read it at your own pace. (audience laughter) As it rolls around the room, some people are just getting to that.
How do you justify a government shutdown?
SEN. TED CRUZ, R-TX (9/23/2013): I believe nothing is hurting the American people more, nothing is hurting the economy more, nothing is damaging jobs more, than Obamacare.
Nothing makes food taste worse! Nothing makes it harder to get an erection! Nothing spoils Breaking Bad! Nothing sews you into a human centipede like Obamacare!! Obamacare will murder your hope!
Still, if Ted Cruz's problem with Obamacare is that it's hurting jobs, I'm curious, what would a government shutdown do?
CHRISTINE ROMANS (9/23/2013): Based on the last shutdown in 1995 ... Hundreds of thousands of federal workers sent home without pay. Many, if not most, federal offices and programs would be closed, shut down. During the last shutdown, 200,000 passport applications went unprocessed. Some services to veterans were suspended.
President Obama will be forced to get around on Air Force 3.
The Washington Monument's fluffer will be furloughed.
(audience laughter)
Why is that... we couldn't have pointed that in the other direction? (more audience laughter) For God's sakes. All right, move on, move on. But I guess....
There's a joke associated with that, but I didn't get to it because I moved on. (Jon facepalms to audience cheering and applause) All right, forget it. Let's go.
But I guess if you really sincerely believe this is a terrible program that Americans will hate, I have to respect your principled stand, Ted Cruz.
SEN. TED CRUZ, R-TX (8/1/2013): The Obama administration's plan is very simple. It is to get as many Americans as possible addicted to the subsidies, addicted to the sugar, because they know the simple fact that in modern times, no major entitlement has ever gone into effect and then been undone.
Right. But the sugar in your metaphor is, in this case, health insurance — something that can literally battle the effects of too much sugar.
You know how America is with entitlements, it's like crack to us. You give us one small taste of Social Security, and suddenly we're all sucking the glass tit of not having our old people freeze to death and live off cat food. (wild audience cheering and applause)
So that's it. I don't understand any of this. You're protecting America from this terrible Obamacare plan that once we get a taste of, we'll never want to be without. You only win if the program fails. Obamacare is your Springtime for Hitler. It turns out the Republicans aren't afraid we're all going to get finger-banged by a puppet Uncle Sam. They're afraid we gonna like it! (audience laughter and applause) We'll be right back.
Video below the fold.
Jessica Williams then looked at how America's international shipping conglomerates don't like people sending
cash instead of food and other supplies to poor countries.
Both
Jon and
Stephen opened their shows talking about how Stephen won TWO Emmy Awards this weekend.
Stephen then shockingly put Pope Francis
On Notice, talking about the Pope's recent interview with Father
Jim Martin.
Stephen had on
Metallica, who performed "
For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "
Master of Puppets". Jon talked with
Richard Dawkins, which went long. Here's the unedited interview in three parts.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3