Glenn Beck Outs Truther Candidate

Flickr/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kolleggerium/50745355/" target="_blank">Andreas Kolleger</a> (Creative Commons)

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Texas gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina, a state-sovereignty advocate, may have expected her interview today on Glenn Beck’s radio program to be a big break. Instead she put on a show that at the very least should make Sarah Palin feel a better about her disastrous Katie Couric interview. Medina plodded along for a few minutes—perhaps a little too eagerly—until Beck asked whether she was was a 9/11 Truther. And that’s when Medina’s campaign blew up like a frozen can of Cola:

Beck: Do you believe the government was in any way involved with the bringing down of the World Trade Centers on 9/11?

Medina: I don’t have all the evidence there, Glenn. So I am not in a place, I am not out there publicly questioning that. I think some very good questions have been raised in that regard. There are some very good arguments and I think the American people have not seen all the evidence there, so I’ve not taken a position on that.

Finally, Beck cut her off, saying, “Debra, you’ve answered the question.” Then he ended the interview and poured on the mockery:

“I…. [makes crashing sound] while I don’t endorse anyone, I think I can write her off the list! [Laughs.] Let me take another look at Kay Bailey Hutchison if I have to! [More laughter.] Rick [Perry], I think you and I could French kiss right now!…. WOW! WOW! The fastest way back to 4%! [Yet more laughter.] Phoo! Ho-ly Cow!”

You can listen to the interview here.

Medina almost immediately put out a statement asserting that “Muslim Terrorists” were responsible for 9/11, but it might be too late for her. An un-dorsement from Beck isn’t likely to bolster her fundraising or win over undecidedstwo things she sorely needed to do to have a chance on March 2. As Texas Monthly‘s Eileen Smith spun it, “If you can make Glenn Beck look like a perfectly rational human being, you need serious help.”

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THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

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