Rep. Joe Pitts Ticked Off by Daily Show Coverage

Last week I wrote about Jon Stewart’s Daily Show commentary on the June 15th Congressional hearings on video game ratings. Rep Joseph Pitts (R-Pennsylvania) speaking in the hearings was all too ready to opine: “It’s safe to say that a wealthy kid from the suburbs can play Grand Theft Auto or similar games without turning to a life of crime, but a poor kid, who lives in a neighborhood where people really do steal cars, or deal drugs or shoot cops might not be so fortunate. There’s almost certainly child somewhere in America who will be hurt by these games. Maybe his dad’s in jail or his brother’s already down on the corner, dealing drugs.” A breathtakingly ignorant opinion such as this coming from an elected representative was as stunning as was his response to being ridiculed by Jon Stewart on the Daily Show. Stewart followed up Pitts’ blathering with: “Maybe he buys a gun. Steals a car and tries to run. But he doesn’t get far. In the ghettoooo, in the ghetoooo. Seriously, the House of Representatives is full of insane jackasses.” According to an article on The Daily Local Pitts issued a statement at the end of last week in which he complained that “I regret that Comedy Central’s ‘Daily Show’ portrayed my words the way they did.” Let’s see … The Daily Show showed a video of his comments so what he was objecting to was that Stewart should have the temerity to make fun of his opinion. Pitts should be embarassed by his own immaturity. Pitts’s statement continued: “I believe that gratuitously violent video games are inappropriate for all children. However hard it may be to prove their effect in any given instance, tragedies like the killings at Columbine High School and more recent events closer to home clearly show that children from every neighborhood and income level can and do get into trouble — sometimes quite seriously.” Yep, Stewart’s description of the politicians involved in the hearing as “insane jackasses” summed it up nicely. Note that Pitts is a big supporter of increased broadcast regulations and was part of the cheering section for the recently enacted Broadcast Decency Act that allows the Federal Communication Commission to increase fines from $32,500 per station per decency violation to $325,000! Any normal person has to wonder where this insanity will end. Are there no politicians who can see that all of these attacks on our First Amendment rights have a serious cumulative effect? How long until I can’t write articles like this? You can see the actual Daily Show clip here: