Ownage? Chauncey DeVega's Appearance on Ambush "Journalist" Jason Mattera's Radio Show to Discuss the Herman Cain is a Race Minstrel Affair

Sunday was the climax of the Herman Cain Race Minstrel Affair. After declining to appear on Fox News, I decided that if given an opportunity to go on a popular Right-wing radio show to discuss my views on black conservatives, I would accept such an invitation. Fate is indeed a trickster, as the next day I was invited to appear on the Jason Mattera Show on WABC 770 AM in New York City.

For those not in the know, this douche bag Right-wing personality has made a career as an "ambush" journalist whose claim to fame is a series of sophomoric "interviews" with Al Franken, John Murtha, and Charlie Rangel among other notable figures. Mattera, an unapologetic homophobe and bigot, is so unprofessional that even Bill O'Reilly schooled him on the importance of civility in journalism.

Thus, all subtlety would be thrown out of the window when/if I appeared on his show. I made a simple calculus: 770 AM is a huge station with great reach which I could play to my advantage; two, an appearance on a cookie cutter Right-wing radio show would be a chance to conduct a long-planned experiment.

The Right-wing echo chamber is not based on reasoned discourse because its premise is anti-intellectualism. Consequently, those not of the Right-wing tribe often lose in "debates" when on their turf because the tendency of progressives/Leftists/centrists/reasonable Conservatives is to want to talk and exchange ideas. Popular Conservatism is based on the opposite--scream, talk in bullet points, and recite talking points. The only way to win is to either play for a stalemate, or alternatively to deploy the rhetorical strategies of mouth-breathing Populist Conservatism against them.

In my appearance on The Jason Mattera Show I decided for a combination of both approaches. Mattera is a bully. Mattera is also someone who must control the situation in order to make his points because he is so utterly and totally bereft of substantive ideas. How do you beat a bully? You bully them back. How do you defeat an ambush? You ambush your attackers.

The Mattera Show did a good deal of subtle post-editing in their podcast of my appearance on Sunday (note to self: always record your own appearances for posterity sake) . In my live appearance, Mattera was noticeably flustered and could not answer basic questions: are black people who vote for the Democratic Party children or stupid? Are poor whites who vote for the Republican Party on a "plantation" of sorts?

He conveniently edited these out with repeated inserts of "lower his mic." During the live broadcast Mattera had no answer and fell all over himself evading the question.

I had some contacts listening to the show live. That group included neutral folks so that I could get some unbiased feedback. The consensus on their end was that I owned Mr. Mattera from step one. In the version which Jason Mattera did not throw down the memory well, I think I fought him to a standstill and won on points (especially given the fact that kicked me off the show in consternation and resorted to profanity and calling me a "kook" when he could not make his "logic" stick). There is also a caller--now edited out--who further angered Mattera when she seconded everything that I said.

The Right-wing shock jock class is not one that I want to be associated with on a repeated basis. As I told a friend, I felt as though I lost a few I.Q. points from merely being a "guest" in such a venue. I can only imagine the damage which Right-wing media does to its listeners. As always, your feedback is welcome and appreciated.

The segment starts at about minute 57.