My Candidate Has A First Name, It’s T-R-U-T-H-E-R

Glenn Beck:

Now, we’ve got a lot of people coming up out of the out of nowhere that have no record at all. So now what do you do? How do you judge these people? For instance, in Texas Rick Perry who’s always been kind to me, always been nice, I think I’ve been the same to him, I think I’ve been fair, he’s been fair with me. The things that I have witnessed firsthand on Rick Perry I like. For instance, we were standing backstage and at one point we were talking about the guy, you know, the guy who’s getting the death penalty. What was the guy’s name that killed all those people in Houston, the illegal immigrant, Pat?

PAT: There’s several. Are you talking about Angel what’s his face?

GLENN: Yeah, got the death penalty, Bush tried to push it off. And Rick Perry said to me, “I’ll throw the switch myself. He is going to die.” And I loved him for that.

PAT: And he did.

GLENN: Right.

PAT: He did.

GLENN: He’s bad on the border. You know, I think he talks out of both sides of his mouth on that. However, he’s great right now talking about the Tenth Amendment. States rights. I want to believe that he’s right on that, that he would do it. But you are in a campaign, so you don’t know. Now we have somebody who had 4% of the vote, has no money for ad campaigns and now she’s up to in three, four weeks she’s up to 24%? I know Kay Bailey Hutchison, forget about it. That’s just, I’m sure she’s a very nice lady. I’ve had her on the show before. I just, I’m not impressed with her at all. And again I don’t mean anything about her personally, I just don’t think she’s the answer for Texas. So I guess for me it would be between Debra and Rick. Wanted to get Debra on the phone because I don’t know anything about her.

Welcome to the program, Debra Medina. How are you?

MEDINA: Great. Good to be with you, Glenn.

GLENN: Tell me a little bit about yourself because, you know, the tea party people, they are coming out of the woodwork. People are just popping up, and I think that’s good but it’s also a little dangerous because we don’t know anything about you. Tell me who you are.

MEDINA: Registered Nurse, long time Republican Party grassroots activist from South Texas, entered the gubernatorial race a year ago today, which was before the first tea parties because I saw neither Kay Hutchison or Rick Perry bringing conservative constitutional government to our state. Had been watching both of them in office for a long time and I’ve got to take issue with you saying the governor’s strong on states rights. He has said we’re not going to nullify, we’re not going to interpose. He hasn’t done anything to stop the federal government as it steps time and time again outside the Constitution. He’s been in office for nine years. And even in the first debate when he was specifically asked whether or not he would stand to stop healthcare, he declined to do that. We’re looking to see what’s going to happen. All of America knows there’s no constitutional basis for nationalizing healthcare. He’s singing a song for the campaign and I think most of Texas sees that. I’ve been very gratified to have people from all over the state standing shoulder to shoulder with me. That’s how we take back our country and that’s what’s happening here in Texas.

[…]

LENN: I have when I said that I was going to have you on, you can’t imagine the mail pro and con that I received. There was a theme that ran against you and that is you are a 9/11 Truther.

MEDINA: Well, there’s lots of mud that people would like to throw at Debra Medina and make stick. The truth is I’m an everyday ordinary person. I am fighting for the things that our founders fought for, those very basic principles of a constitutional republic, and I’m going to champion people that hold their government accountable, hold me accountable but that’s the first time I’ve heard that accusation. So that’s an interesting one.

GLENN: Right. Here’s then let me be more frank and ask you the question: Do you believe the government was any way involved with the bringing down of the World Trade Centers on 9/11?

MEDINA: I don’t, I don’t have all of the evidence there, Glenn. So I don’t I’m not in a place, I have not been out 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 of the evidence there. So I’ve not taken a position on that.

GLENN: I think the people of America might think that might be a yes.

MEDINA: Well

GLENN: Do you have advisors, do you have advisor

MEDINA: I’m not going to take a position.

GLENN: That’s fine.

MEDINA: These questions have been raised and they are not answered.

GLENN: Do you have advisors that advise you or people that are around you that are 9/11 Truthers?

MEDINA: Not to my knowledge.

GLENN: Would you, if you found out that there were, would you disavow them like the president should have but I mean, he escorted them out in the middle of the night. Van Jones was a 9/11 Truther. If you found out that people around you are advising you were 9/11 Truthers, would you disavow them or allow them to continue to advise you?

MEDINA: Well, you know, that’s a federal issue. We’re very focused on issues in Texas, on Texas state government. I’m certainly not into mind control or thought policing people.

Debra Medina:

I was asked a question on the Glenn Beck show today regarding my thoughts on the so-called 9/11 truth movement. I have never been involved with the 9/11 truth movement, and there is no doubt in my mind that Muslim terrorists flew planes into those buildings on 9/11. I have not seen any evidence nor have I ever believed that our government was involved or directed those individuals in any way. No one can deny that the events on 9/11 were a tragedy for all Americans and especially those families who lost loved ones.

The question surprised me because it’s not relevant to this race or the issues facing Texans. This campaign has always been about private property rights and state sovereignty. It is focused on the issues facing Texans. It is not a vehicle for the 9-11 truth movement or any other group.

The real underlying question here, though, is whether or not people have the right to question our government. I think the fact that people are even asking questions on this level gets to the incredible distrust career politicians have fostered by so clearly taking their direction from special interests instead of the people, whether it’s Rick Perry and his HPV mandate or Kay Hutchison and voting for the bank bailout. It is absolutely the right and duty of a free people to question their government. Texas does not need another politician who tells you what you want to hear, then violates your liberties and steals your property anyway. I fully expect to be questioned and to be held accountable as Governor, and that’s the underlying issue here: should people be questioning their government. And the answer is yes, they should be.

Charles Johnson at Little Green Footballs:

Glenn Beck deserves some credit today for exposing Texas gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina as a 9/11 Truther.

Medina was known as the “tea party candidate,” which shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s been following the recent bad craziness at tea party events. It’s not mentioned in this article, but she has also appeared on the Alex Jones conspiracy show, worked for Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty, and even placed a banner advertisement on the neo-Nazi Stormfront website.

Michelle Malkin:

Since Republicans seem to shy away from ideological “purity tests,” let me propose a reasonable GOP pollution test:

Resolved: The Republican Party should leave Rosie O’Donnell/Van Jones 9/11 Trutherism to the Left and the Democrats. If they want to pollute the air with their “just asking questions” conspiracies, let them “ask” their cockamamie “questions” locked in Alex Jones’ tinfoil-covered studio and leave the Right alone.

Can we all agree?

Now: Say hello and goodbye to Truther-friendly Texas gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina.

Ed Morrissey:

No, the question wasn’t whether people “have the right to question our government.”  No one is locking up Truthers for asking foolish questions and spinning conspiracy theories.  Play the audio again, and you will hear Beck ask a specific question: do you believe that the government was involved in the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11?  Medina’s answer was “I think some very good questions raised have been raised in that regard.”

If Medina believes that, then she hasn’t paid attention to the answers that have long been in the public domain.  If she doesn’t, then she’s terribly inept at handling media interviews.  Either way, Medina’s responsible for her answers and their implications, not Glenn Beck or anyone else.  Any candidate who thinks that a nutcase conspiracy theory about the US government destroying the WTC is within the realm of reasonable speculation is a candidate that richly deserves the obscurity she will shortly enter.

streiff at Redstate:

I’m not going to go so far as to claim Medina is a troofer. She is, I think, merely a panderer and demagogue who has seized upon the Tea Party movement as a means to achieve elective office. It is cheap, tawdry, banal, pedestrian, and a whole string of similar adjectives.

She will not be the GOP nominee but it points to a larger issue. The Tea Party movement has to decide whether it wishes to be a footnote in books on the 2010 election or a long term influence on American politics. If the objective is the latter then the multitude of Tea Party organizations can’t afford to be hijacked by troofers, birfers, or whatever. This is not an easy task given the lack of organization structure but it is critical if the movement is not to be successfully labeled fringe.

Now I know a lot of folks are going to read this as an anti-Tea Party hit piece or a reflex action by an “Old Guard” GOPer. If that is your takeaway, fine. I would hope that more would grasp the vulnerability of the Tea Parties to all manner of snake oil salesmen and the non-negotiable requirement that you have to be serious to be taken seriously. The onus is on the Tea Parties to vet people operating in their name and speaking with that imprimatur.

Meredith Jessup at Townhall