MUTH'S TRUTHS 09/17/2018

What if Susie Lee did a Real Interview with a Real Journalist who Asked Real Questions?

(Chuck Muth) - I gotta admit; I fell for the hype.

Ever since she got into the race for Nevada’s 3^rd congressional district, Democrat Susie Lee and her protectors in the media have been telling us she’s a “philanthropist” and “education advocate.” 

We were led to believe this was a woman of substance who’s used her husband’s wealth to do so many wonderful things in the community.

But as a paid adviser to Republican Danny Tarkanian’s campaign against Lee since the June 12 primary, I’ve been digging into her narrative a lot deeper. And this turns out to be a textbook example of there being no “there” there.

The narrative is a fraud.  As a political candidate, so is she.  And unfortunately the media is aiding and abetting the hoax.

Shortly after the primary, Lee and her campaign handlers thought it’d be cute to challenge Tarkanian to a pair of televised debates in the standard format where media moderators choose the questions; where the public is not allowed to even view the discussion live, let alone participate in the questioning; where answers to complicated public policy issues must be answered in 2- to 3-minute soundbytes; and where the candidates don’t get to question or confront each other without being cut off by the moderator.

They bet that Tark would duck her challenge.  They were wrong.  Big time.

Danny saw their bet and raised them.  He not only agreed to the two televised debates but challenged her to a third televised debate - plus three public town hall-style debates where voters could not only attend, but ask questions.

At which point Susie’s handlers wrapped her up in a cocoon!  And the media has let them get away with it.

She’s only agreed to one 60-minute televised debate which will RECORDEDlater this week on Channel 8 and televised in two 30-minute segments a week apart. 

She’s yet to agree to a second televised debate, has cancelled one she had previously agreed to, and has refused to even respond to repeated challenges to face Tark in any public town hall forums.

And all you have to do is follow her tweets on Twitter to understand why. 

Susie’s understanding of public policy issues is paper thin – at best.  All she does is regurgitate talking points handed to her by her handlers and Nancy Pelosi – and even those are nothing but pap and pabulum.

Since the media is giving her and pass and not holding her feet to the fire, Team Susie figures the safest way to The Swamp is to simply duck facing Tark for the duration of the campaign.

And since Ms. Lee refuses to stand up for herself and face Danny one-on-one in public, we’re left to simply imagine how a real media interview might go if she decided to lace up and actually get in the game…

Host:  Joining me today is Susie Lee, the Democrat candidate for Nevada’s 3^rd congressional district who some critics claim is all sizzle and no steak.  All hat and no cattle.  All bark and no bite. All foam and no beer.  All icing and no cake.

Ms. Lee, I want to thank you for coming on the show to respond to those critics.

Lee (gushing):  Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!  I can’t WAIT to answer your questions in detail and prove that I’m a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very deep thinker!

Host:  Uh, great.  Let’s begin.

Ms. Lee, you recently tweeted that “If we want quality education, we must do more to support (teachers) in and out of the classroom.”  Would you care to elaborate specifically on what “do more to support” means?

Lee:  Nope.  Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th... That's all, folks.

Host:  Um, OK.  On to the next topic. 

You also recently tweeted that “DC Republicans are at it again with the #GOPTaxScam 2.0, which will lead to Social Security & Medicare cuts to pay for it.” 

Since everyone agrees that Social Security and Medicare will eventually go broke if changes of some kind aren’t made, would you care to explain what your solutions are?

Lee:  Nope.  Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th... That's all, folks.

Host:  Ooo, boy.  Sorry, did I say that out loud?

OK, after the recent school shooting in Bakersfield, you tweeted on September 13th that “The victims and their families are in our thoughts and prayers, but that is not enough.” 

Would you like to tell us specifically what more you believe needs to be done?

Lee:  Nope.  Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th... That's all, folks.

Host:  In a September 12^th tweet attacking Education Secretary Betsy DeVos related to student loans, you wrote that “We need leaders who will help our young people achieve their potential.” 

Some people might characterize that statement as nothing more than political gibberish.  Would you like to better explain exactly what you mean?

Lee:  Nope.  Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th... That's all, folks.

Host:  On the same day you also tweeted that “The GOP #TaxScam is legislative snake oil.” 

Yet the economy is booming, wages are rising and unemployment, including among minorities, is at historical lows.  Would you care to explain why the tax cut which ushered in this unprecedented economic success is “snake oil”?

Lee:  Nope.  Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th... That's all, folks.

Host (after a face palm):  On September 10^th in response to a story about teacher shortages you tweeted, “Maybe if we paid teachers more, we might not have such a big shortage.” 

Would you care to explain where the additional money would come from, whose taxes would be raised and by how much?

Lee:  Nope.  Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th... That's all, folks.

Host:  Lovely. 

Now, on September 9^th you tweeted that “expanding mental health resources is our ethical duty, plain and simple.” 

Again, would you care to explain where the additional money to expand mental resources would come from, whose taxes would be raised and by how much?

Lee:  Nope.  Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th... That's all, folks.

Host:  Soldiering on…

On September 8^th you tweeted: “Nevada has the largest class sizes in the country, and we rank 51st in education achievement.  It’s time we send a representative to DC who will fight for all students.” 

Since the current representative in DC for the seat you’re running for is a fellow Democrat, Jacky Rosen, would you like to explain exactly what it is she isn’t doing to fight for all students that you think you’d be able to do?

Lee:  Nope.  Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th... That's all, folks.

Host:  Uh-huh. 

On September 7^th you tweeted that “Congress’s failure to act on #DACA as Dreamers are being used as bargaining chips is what is wrong with Washington.” 

Again, would you like to explain what you think you can do on this issue that Rep. Rosen has been unable to do?

Lee:  Nope.  Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th... That's all, folks.

Host:  On the same day you also tweeted: “Washington needs to start getting real results for our community.  That’s why I’m running.” 

Again, would you like to explain why you believe you can get “real results for our community” that your fellow Democrat in the office right now has been unable to get?

Lee:  Nope.  Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th... That's all, folks.

Host (pretty much at wit’s end):  OK, let’s try one more along this line. 

On September 4^th you tweeted that “Our water crisis will only be solved by negotiating with neighboring states” and that “We need leaders in Congress who can work across the aisle to get results for Nevada.”

You seem to be inferring that Ms. Rosen isn’t willing or able to work across party lines to address this problem in Washington. Would you like to tell us why you think she’s failed in this regard and what you’d do differently?

Lee:  Nope.  Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th... That's all, folks.

Host:  Oy, vey.  I’m pretty sure I know the answer to this one, but I’ll ask it anyway. 

Would you care to explain to the voters of Nevada’s 3^rdcongressional district why you’re not just a bored, rich, “Mrs. Howell”-like housewife looking for something to do and wouldn’t just be a knee-jerk vote in Congress for whatever Nancy Pelosi tells you to vote for or against?  Seriously, why should anyone vote for you?

Lee:  I think I’ve made myself perfectly clear on this.  My opponent is a poopy-head.

Host:  Wow.  The first substantive answer you’ve given in our entire interview.  Way to end it on a high note!

(Mr. Muth is president of CitizenOutreach.org and publisher of NevadaNewsandViews.com.  He blogs at MuthsTruths.com.  His views are his own.)