Earlier this week, former Washington D.C. mayor and current D.C. councilman Marion Barry made headlines when his car was impounded due to several thousand dollars in unpaid tickets dating back to 2012. While many have raised questions as to why Barry was able to get away without paying the fines for so long, at least one reporter got under the councilman’s skin when she confronted him about the situation.
“We have some of the most incredible audio for you to hear,” Glenn said on radio this morning. “This is… from the local Fox station in Washington, D.C. And [the reporter] runs into Marion Barry because she wants to talk to him about parking tickets that he hasn't paid for. This [shows] the problem with our system of government.”
WTTG-TV investigative reporter Emily Miller spoke Barry outside of city hall, where raw footage captures the former mayor berating the journalist about her credentials.
“How long have you been with Fox 5,” Barry asked before adding: “You've been here since April. You don't know a damn thing about Washington, D.C.”
Ultimately, Barry suggests Miller “go find something else to do.”
Below is Miller's report for WTTG:
As Glenn explained, Barry’s attitude personifies the problem with too many politicians in this country. The sense of entitlement and lack of accountability not only allowed Barry to avoid paying his tickets for several years, but it also allows him to believe he is above the law.
In the past, Glenn has talked about the history of government/media relations. Since Woodrow Wilson’s administration, there has been a cozy, ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch your back mentality’ that is evident in Barry’s dismal of Miller.
“This goes to the Woodrow Wilson kind of philosophy of… get all of the politicians and reporters together and they'll work together. They'll become friends,” Glenn explained. “‘Look, we're not going to hit them on that because we need to get this story done and we need to do this.’ And that's what happens. They scratch each other's back. Now Fox is going to pay a price because they ambushed Marion Barry.”
Glenn, Pat, and Stu agreed no one wants to live in an America in which this kind of ‘above the law’ behavior is commonplace. With the midterm election just around this corner, perhaps now is the time to really consider the types of people we are putting in office and the values they represent.
