A Tea Party member decided to pick a fight with the President of Ireland. It didn’t go so well.
Leave it to the Irish to teach their American cousins a thing or two about the ancient art of intelligent debate with an unarmed opponent.
This is a great time to look back at a 2010 interview between Michael D. Higgins, who was elected President of Ireland in 2011, and Boston conservative radio host Michael Graham.
Irish website Joe provides some background, writing that “When President Michael D was just plain old Michael D he was asked to come on George Hook’s Newstalk show to debate with Hook’s regular US right-wing contributor Michael Graham.”
As Joe observes: “Graham, who would be seen as part of the ultra-conservative Tea Party movement in US politics, got into a right row with Michael D over all sorts of things, and the clip, which you can play [bel0w], ends in our Pres calling him a w**ker.”
As to the interview itself, Higgins began by slamming the Tea Party movement, stating: “The tactic is to get a large crowd, to whip them up, try and discover what is the greatest fear, work on that and feed it right back and you get a frenzy.”
“This tea party ignorance that is being brought all around the United States is regularly insulting people who have been democratically elected,” he continued.
Graham tersely responded: “Deputy Higgins, I’m not going to insult you by bringing up your lack of knowledge on the tea party movement in the United States.”
Higgins sharply retorted: “You have the neck to say that people like me… are somehow in favor of murdering Jewish people? That is an outrageous statement. I wish you well, keep drinking Guinness and keep ranting away.”
Higgins ended the discussion, telling Graham: “Be proud to be a decent American, rather than just a w**ker whipping up fear.”
You can check it out the exchange in all its heated glory, below.
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