MASSA DID CALL OUT BECK ON HIS DEMAGOGUERY

(h/t Dana Milbank)

Aside from Milbank, this doesn't seem to have gotten much attention. Here's the transcript from LexisNexis¹:

MASSA: Well, I don't know how to answer specifically because my arm has been twisted 17 times to Sunday. You asked me -

BECK: By whom?

MASSA: It's called whipping. It's an institutional process. There is a state whip, a regional whip, a caucus whip, right up to the Speaker of the House on our side. And the Republicans have the exact same side.

That's why the Republicans have been very successful in voting en bloc. So you want something specific, Glenn? You tell your voters to forget about political party, Republicans and Democrats.

And tell them to call their Congressman and say, "Listen, if you vote against this health care bill, we will return you to Congress and we'll give you the backbone to do what you think is right, regardless of the political party. Regardless." Here is another specific thing. Stop calling fellow Americans names.

BECK: Stop what?

MASSA: Calling fellow Americans names, pejorative, insulting - socialist communist, whatever the case may be, colorful names design to emote emotion. I get it.

But I'm asking you and everybody if you remember the tea party movement, which I respected - because I'm a fiscal conservative. I always have been. You can be a progressive and be a fiscal conservative.

I know we're going to have an argument, but you can be. But you can't show up at a tea party rally and claim that the entire budget deficit happened this year.

¹Fox News Network
March 9, 2010 Tuesday
SHOW: BECK 5:00 PM EST
BECK for March 9, 2010
BYLINE: Glenn Beck
GUESTS: Eric Massa
SECTION: NEWS; Domestic
LENGTH: 6637 words