In Wednesday’s Power Panel, Cenk rounded up Sam Seder, Michael Hirsh and Dean Obeidallah to chime in on the disappearance of moderate Republicans and the growing impact conservatives have in Hollywood.
Sam Seder is a political talk show host of the Majority Report. Dean Obeidallah is an Arab-American comedian and co-creator of the comedy show, Stand Up For Peace. Michael Hirsh is the chief correspondent at National Journal Group and author of “Capital Offense: How Washington’s Wise Men Turned America’s Future over to Wall Street.”
Here are some highlights from their discussion:
Are moderate republicans dead?
Michael Hirsh: “I think they have been an all but extinct species for sometime.”
How much further right can the GOP go?
Sam Seder: “The Republican Party has no policies anymore, all they are is an amalgamation of things they know they dislike…Their whole platform is based on trying to piss off liberals.”
If you have a party filled with just right-wing republicans, can you win a general election?
Dean Obeidallah: “Look at Huntsman running below 2 percent. He is running below the margin of error. That’s how bad he’s doing. He may actually have zero or owe somebody votes.”
Is Hollywood too conservative?
Sam Seder: “Hollywood has always been the same. They are interested in making money. The owners of these major entertainment entities have had one agenda, and that’s a very corporate agenda.”
Michael Hirshman: “You are always dealing with the same relatively small group of conservatives in Hollywood…So, I don’t see that there is any great turning point here in Hollywood.”
Cenk Uygur: “I’ve been in meetings when they say, ‘We’re not looking for a New York Intellectual look here.’ You know what that means? It means ‘We don’t want Jews.’ Another code word is ‘We are looking for Midwesterners.’ That means ‘We are not looking for Black candidates.’ Dean, you’re in a world of trouble. You’re a Muslim-American.”
Dean Obeidallah: “We are not looking for you. That’s normally what I hear. It’s not even code. I hear, ‘Would you leave now? We don’t even know how you got in here.’”
Cenk Uygur: “Sam, do you get a sense that TV execs are particularly liberal?”
Sam Seder: “They only care about making money and maintaining their jobs. I don’t think Jews have had an unfair shake in Hollywood, speaking as a Jew.”
Cenk Uygur: “When I heard the line about not looking for the ‘New York Intellectual type’, I said, ‘Have you heard of a guy named Jerry Seinfeld?’ He seemed to work pretty well on TV.”
