How many of youse guys here were Crossfire addicts way back when...
Last edited Wed Mar 8, 2023, 11:43 AM - Edit history (1)
Starting with Braden and Buchanan which evolved into Novak, Kinsley, and others.
I must’ve watched hundreds of these, but the one I remember, the one I will never forget, is the one where at the end of the show when just the two moderators were there exchanging conclusions and debate points, Pat Buchanan said to Michael Kinsley “After abortion we’re coming after birth control.“. And Kinsley just sort of waved his hand dismissively and said “Oh come on Pat, don’t be ridiculous.“ I remember thinking that you take these fascists at their word, unlike liberals who tend to overpromise, and then deliver moderation, fascists go for the throat every time. We see that now in this incarnation of 1930s Germany in which we live.
The other more humorous moment which I distinctly recall, was that in one episode Novak had obviously lost one of his crowns on his front tooth, and the cameraman instead of staying back was shooting his face so you could see the preparation of the tooth and the fact that he had lost the crown. If the cameraman and the Director had liked Novak, they would’ve just panned backwards, and on the old analog TV sets you might or might not have noticed it. But there was no missing this. I remember running around my house looking for a camera so I could take a picture of it but had no film.
When Novak died I was pleased that no one would ever again be subjected to that horrifying scowl and sneer. He was mean and nasty.
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Uncle Pat was a piece of work.
But I also remember John Stewart laying into Tuckums and making fun of his little bow tie.
The video is out there somewhere!
The conservative columnist was a real sweetheart. He’d have been all over the January 6 coup, right?
My favorite Crossfire memory, though, was the time Gore Vidal was on with Braden and Carlson. Carlson was all excited, I thought of being in the presence of greatness. He just wanted a chance to show how smart he is and was going to make the most of his opportunity to belittle Vidal, who had had an epic on-air confrontation with TV’s original conservative gasbag, William F. Buckley on his PBS show, Firing Line. Vidal called him a “crypto- Nazi” and Buckley said he wanted to “sock” the “queer.” So, years later, after being denied the chance to complete an entire sentence for most of the CNN Crossfire program, the quasi-exasperated author looked him in the eye and asked, “What, exactly, is a ‘Tucker’?” Carlson’s shit-eating wug transformed into sad.
I could not put a name to that character. All I could think of was Snidely Whiplash but I knew it was not him.
Simon Bar Sinister, I was an Underdog fan. 
I've used Simon as a standin for Novak on DU since he died in 2009.
the resemblance is uncanny.
…as we’re really good at pattern recognition.
