Conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt interviewed Bill Donohue yesterday, and destroyed him on-air. Is this the beginning of the end of the Catholic League?
A decade ago, comedian and “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart appeared on CNN’s “Crossfire.” It was one of the most contentious, memorable, and truth-filled interviews ever. The full interview is here, and here’s a short clip of some of the best moments:
That was October 2004. By January, 2005, “Crossfire” was fired. Canceled. Kaput. Gone. Dead. In large part because of Stewart.
This week, Catholic League president Bill Donohue penned a disgusting statement in response to the terrorists who slaughtered 12 people in Paris, mostly members of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. In his commentary, Donohue blamed the editor-in-chief, for his own death.Â
NCRM attacked Donohue for the gross and ugly attack, as did several others.
Yesterday, Donohue was interviewed by longtime conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. For those unfamiliar with him, he is a law professor at the same school as the Chairman of the National Organization For Marriage, and has frequently had NOM Chair John Eastman on his show. Hewitt is a very conservative Roman Catholic, and has a strong social media following.
Donohue no doubt assumed he was walking into friendly territory.
He was not.
“Bill, I’ve often agreed with you over the years, because like you, I’m an orthodox Catholic, went to confession on Saturday, Mass on Saturday night,” Hewitt, about a minute into the interview, told Donohue. “I don’t believe, except maybe perhaps vis-à -vis Dennis Prager, I’ve committed any mortal sins in the interim, so I think I’m in good standing with the Church right now. And I have to say I’m appalled, and I’m embarrassed, and I’m urging you to rethink this.”
And then it really went south.
“You blamed the victim before their bodies were cold,” Hewitt accused. “Everyone listening to this show believes that you are blaming the victim before their bodies were cold. It’s deeply embarrassing to me as a Catholic.”
Hewitt also accused Donohue of being a “bully,” of “lying,” of being an “embarrassment” to Catholics. He said Donohue’s comments on the attack on Charlie Hebdo are a “scandal on the church.”
The entire 23-minute audio is below. You may think you won’t listen to it all, but you will. It’s like a train wreck, a car wreck – you can’t help but listen because it’s just so bad, for Donohue.
Is this the end of the Catholic League? No. But it’s likely the beginning of the end.
Of course, Donohue had a different take on the interview:
Just as when a better journalist, Jon Stewart, destroyed “Crossfire,” the better Catholic, Hewitt, has destroyed the Catholic League. Â He has exposed it as very un-Catholic, un-Christian, and nothing more than a money-making charade. And it’s about time.
Listen:
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Image of Hugh Hewitt via Flickr