Today on Capitol Hill, the House Judiciary Committee held a very important hearing about the censorship of conservative viewpoints online. At the center of the discussion was GARM, the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, which Republicans have accused of being a de facto cartel that pressures advertisers to avoid any websites with a conservative viewpoint.
Speaking on behalf of that conservative viewpoint in the hearing was Ben Shapiro, founder of The Daily Wire. Earlier today, Twitchy covered Shaprio's testimony and receipts about how GARM suppresses advertising on sites that are guilty of 'wrongthink,' and how this is related directly to government pressure on social media platforms.
Obviously, this issue is a big concern for us at Twitchy, not to mention countless other conservative news sites, small and large, so we took it very seriously.
The Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee did not take it seriously apparently, since none of them used much of their time to talk about GARM. Instead, they gave speeches about their new favorite boogeyman, Project 2025. Moreover, most of the Democrats in the first hour of the hearing did not ask any questions of Shapiro directly but merely talked about him and other conservatives.
That is, they did Rep. Eric Swalwell's turn to speak. Swalwell also chose to speak exclusively about Project 2025, but he chose to ask Shapiro directly about it.
Big mistake, Eric. HUGE.
In the opening minute of their exchange, Swalwell should have gotten the hint that this was not going to go well for him. Watch:
WATCH: @BenShapiro DESTROYS Eric Swalwell. pic.twitter.com/IKw2M71HHw
— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) July 10, 2024
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BOOM. Like Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. 'If they say 'Project 2025' enough, their presidential candidate becomes alive again.'
We'll give you a minute to stop laughing. Because we need one too.
Look, we've seen much smarter people than Swalwell come out on the losing end of a debate with Shapiro. The fact is that he is an exceptional debater and no one will ever 'wrong foot' him in any exchange. Especially an exchange where Shapiro is asked about his personal beliefs.
But this was just the first minute, an amuse bouche, so to speak, for the beatdown that Shapiro was about to deliver to Swalwell. Here is the rest of their exchange:
.@RepSwalwell attempts to spar with @benshapiro. It doesn't end well for China's spy guy.
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) July 10, 2024
FULL EXCHANGE: pic.twitter.com/Fp3R4n42Ac
We're not sure which part is the best of this back-and-forth. Swalwell thinking he could shame Shapiro about positions he publicly and proudly holds, Swalwell trying to make jokes after Shapiro embarrassed him for his dumb questions, pretending he had 'receipts' (Shapiro's response to that, 'Yes, I agree with me.' was pure gold), or Swalwell ending his embarrassing time by going on an unrelated rant about Alvin Bragg and impeachment.
But maybe Rep. Tom McClintock's comment after Swalwell yielded his time was the one that should be framed and put in a museum:
"I would remind him of the first rule of holes, when you're in one, stop digging."
— Methshin (@Methshin) July 10, 2024
GOLD.
Swalwell never should have picked up the shovel in the first place.
IDK why Eric Swalwell thought it was a good idea to question Ben Shapiro on his personal and religious beliefs before Congress just now. He just made viral video gold.
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyDillon) July 10, 2024
He did accomplish that much. It is already trending on Twitter and probably will be for a long time.
Swalwell got WRECKED 😂 https://t.co/gw83BXtPMT
— Cuse Mode Jimbo (@CUSEmodeJimbo) July 10, 2024
@RepSwalwell should’ve just stfu after Ben’s tinker bell comment. Instead, he made Project 2025 sound like the American dream. https://t.co/rfm32ELe1u pic.twitter.com/cj7dQK37IY
— moderatorscanblwme (@Ripleysdad11) July 10, 2024
We're not sure, but we think by the end, we could see on Swalwell's face that he knew he had just gotten demolished in public.
Eric “Fang Fang” Swalwell picked a fight with the wrong conservative 😂😂
— Cash Loren (@CashLorenShow) July 10, 2024
Boy howdy, did he ever.
Capitol police I'd like to report a homicide. 👏🏼😂
— Jon Nicosia (@NewsPolitics) July 10, 2024
Someone call CSI.
Swalwell just is not good at the one thing he most thinks he is good at. https://t.co/VFSszd3moR
— Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) July 10, 2024
Give him a break. Just like Joe Biden, he tried his 'goodest.'
Swalwell vs. Shapiro is the mismatch of the century. https://t.co/B7ad9QaSjs
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) July 10, 2024
Who even sanctioned this fight? It was like watching a five-year-old take on Mike Tyson.
Is it a sin to sleep with a Chinese spy? https://t.co/79sbXK9gLg
— Mark Kennedy (@RealMarkKennedy) July 10, 2024
HAHAHAHA. We don't know why Swalwell thought even asking Shapiro about religious sin would go well for him.
I feel bad for Eric Swalwell. He went to all that trouble of printing up those posterboards with quotes only for Ben Shapiro to destroy him with one line:
— Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) July 10, 2024
"I agree with me. Yes, that's true." https://t.co/W3X9AbiBz2
Poor clown @ericswalwell just got obliterated by @benshapiro. It's obvious that Ben thinks on a different level and that Eric struggles to think at all.
— kyle j hunt 🇺🇸 (@kylejhunt) July 10, 2024
1st Rule of Holes Mr Swalwell! https://t.co/IbiU02SwGy
The 'first rule of holes' line was the cherry on top of the gigantic sundae Ben Shapiro dumped right in Eric Swalwell's face.
In the end, Swalwell did nothing but humiliate himself. But he did at least succeed in spending his time distracting from the primary reason for the hearing: that organizations like GARM are promoting the silencing and demonetization of conservatives through cartel-like activities.
Sure, we'll take some time to enjoy Shapiro taking a flamethrower to Swalwell's questions, but that issue is still a critical one. Even if House Democrats don't take it seriously, Twitchy and other websites like ours will continue to fight that censorship until it ends completely.
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