Following the recent revelations from whistleblower turned fugitive Edward Snowden and more and more Americans turning sour on these government surveillance programs, The Daily Show's John Oliver opened this Monday's program by letting the viewers know we've finally found an issue that will bring liberals and conservatives together. But as Oliver noted, something about it didn't feel right.
July 29, 2013

Following the recent revelations from whistleblower turned fugitive Edward Snowden and more and more Americans turning sour on these government surveillance programs, The Daily Show's John Oliver opened this Monday's program by letting the viewers know we've finally found an issue that will bring liberals and conservatives together. But as Oliver noted, something about it didn't feel right.

OLIVER: That's right. Not only is Congress actually responding to this scandal, Democrats and Republicans are working together. That feels strange. It's like when an animal becomes friends with a totally different animal. It's lovely to see, but something about it just feels wrong. Sure, maybe they're going to work together to get a banana out of a tree, but call me cynical, but once that fruit hits the ground, you're going to end up with a dead bird and a blind monkey, both laying next to a rotten banana.

So what exactly is this magical amendment that has brought everyone together? […]

No longer will we allow the government to take our personal information. We will keep it where it belongs, on Facebook, on Google, on Twitter, on Instagram, on Vine and on Linked in! […]

Nevertheless, this proposed amendment triggered one of the rarest sites in nature. Shhhhhh. What you're about to witness has never been caught on camera before. Democrats and Republicans, both natural predators, feasting on the same talking points.

After showing footage of House members of both parties speaking out against the NSA surveillance program, Oliver continued.

OLIVER: That's great news for this bill then, because we all know that if you can get bipartisan support for something, it's going to pass... unless, another bipartisan group emerges to fight it. But there's no way that's going to happen, is there? Roll the tape. […]

Yes, John Boehner and President Obama agree on something. […] Nothing shows though, just how weird these coalitions have become than the fact that the President also ended up on the same side as this person. […]

You heard correctly. Michele Bachmann just asked you that we shouldn't deal in false narratives. For example, the false narrative that says Michele Bachmann doesn't deal in false narratives. […]

You know Mr. President, when Michele Bachmann is on your side, you may want to look at the side that you are on. She is the canary in the crazy mine. I myself wear a bracelet every day that says “What wouldn't Michele Bachmann do?”

As most of us know by now, the amendment failed, and Oliver wrapped things up with a final comment about that.

OLIVER: The system works! Yes! The system works! Once again Congress fails to get something done. The important thing is that this time, they failed to get it done, together.

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon