Greta Van Susteren vs. Gloria Allred
I’ve thought for quite some time that Greta Van Susteren is one of the very best interviewers on TV.
There’s something about her that’s intensely likable—and this despite the fact that she’s (gasp!) a lawyer (some of my best friends…). She’s down-to-earth and has a remarkable lack of ego for a TV personality. Her interviews and commentary seem sensible and without much political slant; her devotion is, if anything, to making an attempt at getting the truth. She’s not afraid to ask more pointed questions than her fellow press-members usually do, and more follow-ups.
And she’s smart. Very very smart.
The following exchange makes me like Greta even more. It’s more aggressive by quite a bit than her usual style. But her combativeness here seems driven by a sense of outrage, both as a lawyer and as a decent human being, at what fellow lawyer Gloria Allred has been up to lately.
Allred doesn’t see it coming at first. But she gets the drift pretty quickly as to what’s happening to her, and by the end she looks as though she’d rather be almost anywhere than on this program, answering to Greta Van Susteren:
I was thinking the same thing about Greta Van Susteren when I saw that clip last night. She is really good as an interviewer, in that she asks questions and lets people talk. But she is also very straight-up and challenging.
That’s one of my favorite interviews of all time. She tore Allred to shreds.
I like Greta too…for the same reasons you do, Neo.
I listened to this last night…I say listened because I was in one of those situations where my eyes were not on the screen, but the sound was still very present. I was shocked by Greta’s aggression – she sounded like she was totally “losing it”. Then her voice dropped again and she went into the usual “thanks for being on” routine… I’d say she feels pretty strongly about it. And strangely, the things she felt so strongly about weren’t really the political things – it was the lawyer thing…how could she set up her client for what was likely to be prosecution, etc. Of course, given that the client is in LA, her client is probably in no danger… And of course, with 3 US born sons…we just _can’t_ break up the family, you know.
And yeah…I like Greta too…
The question is not limited to why Allred is given air-time, but why Allred is given air at all.
Ran across this article – just filled with questions…
http://hoguenews.com/?p=12171
Wow. Thanks for posting that interview. Greta must have been one heckuva lawyer.
Gloria must feel like a human punching bag. First, Hugh Hewitt ripped into her on his progam, so much so that she hung up on him. Then Mark Levin creamed her on his program. Now Greta has her turn at the Allred punching bag.
I bet Gloria’s wishing she’d thought of a different way to try to damage Whitman’s election prospects. This one looks like it backfired.
I agree that Greta won the debate on the point she and Gloria went back and forth on – the significance of that notice with the note from the husband. But, she should have hammered Gloria on the bigger issue – what abuse? Why does the illegal have an attorney? To do what exactly?
It seems to me that Meg was intending to remain silent about the whole matter after releasing the illegal lady, but the Democrats found out and decided to make an October issue out of it.
I went looking for the press conference video and watching I kept wondering what exactly are the allegations? They seem to sum up to – she hurt my feelings.
I’m in California and have become inured to pervasive stupidity here. Meg isn’t perfect, but is definitely the better choice of the two. Moonbeam Brown is probably a better man than when he was governor before, but I would never vote for him.
All politicians are basically liars. We’re choosing between two sets of people – two parties. Both lie about what they believe and what they’ll do, but what one group secretly believes and really wants to do is a whole lot worse than what the other bunch of corrupt liars secretly believes and really wants to do.
It’s really interesting. I would never hold Greta up as a poster child for Conservatism. she is and has been an advocate of liberal causes. Never the less, give credit when it’s due! She has tried to be concise and thorough in her reporting. She has tried to keep her personal feelings out, preferring to let the news take her where it may. In this instance, however, she let her feelings out and good for her! She is first and foremost a lawyer by profession. when she laid into Alred and reminded her that she (Greta) had taken on more liberal causes legally and in effect denounced Allred for putting another bad slant on the profession, i would like to have patted her on the back! Good even reporting combined with being insulted by a out of control loonie. Great work Greta!
The absolute hatred in Allred’s eyes is unmistakable.
Not a nice person.
LOLOLOL omg that was rocking — I’ve always admired Greta .. someone you definitely want on your side.
“The question is not limited to why Allred is given air-time, but why Allred is given air at all.”
–Vanderleun
I agree wholeheartedly. I am not knowledgeble about Gloria Allred’s entire practice, but over the years, I have viewed her antics with ever increasing distaste. She uses the media (ironically, Fox has given her a major platform, and, much to my irritation, has had her as a regular “legal analyst/commentator” on some of its legal forums; yet in this exchange with Greta, Allred attempts to divert attention from Greta’s salient points by accusing Greta, and then Fox, in particular, of bias — which Greta neatly cut off.
Rather than a lawyer, Allred is more a P.R. hack and a master spinner of fact and all too often has been successful at it under the guise of being a dedicated champion of women’s rights. Poppycock! I don’t want to rehash some of the examples, but suffice it to say that a good number of her stunts have seemed to hinder justice rather than promote it.
This latest one stinks all the way around, obviously politically motivated, but with the double whammy of hanging her “client” out to dry and jeopardizing her and her family’s situation.
When it comes down to it, I think this boils down to the same arrogance and patronizing attitude displayed by the current Administration and its leader, i.e. you folks out there are really stupid, haha. I’ve so successfully manipulated you all before, and here I am to do it again in the name of political justice.
I just hope this may be her one “bridge too far” which will not only backfire deliciously on her friend Jerry Brown, but on Allred, as well. If there truly is such a thing as karma, may it bring just desserts to those who deserve it!
Greta is correct that Gloria has painted a big target on this woman.
Isn’t Jerry Brown the attorney general of California? He must be very incompetent and negiligent if he will not prosecute Gloria’s client. She falsified government documents under penalty of perjury. Your or I would go to jail for that.
So, let me get this straight. Liberals are upset that Meg would hire an illegal alien to be her maid, apparently unknowingly. Yet liberals knowingly hired an illegal alien to be President.
LOL. Lets see if that stirs up any trolls.
And let’s not forget Ye Olde Gloria likening Meg’s poor illegal immigrant housekeeper to Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks. Disgusting and insulting. Greta rightfully ripped her for that one and asked her to explain herself, and despite every evasive maneuver she was couldn’t.
Greta Van Susteren is very smart. I can feel myself (if only temporarily) getting smarter just listening to her
By contrast Mark Levin is just downright ruthless.
According to this interview Ms. Allred’s sole reason for representing the illegal immigrant lady was to recoup unpaid wages earned but not received.
I think a simple private phone call to Ms. Whitman from her lawyer would have solved the problem.
But, nooooooo!!!
Ms. Allred has to put her client in legal jeopardy by announcing to the world her status as an illegal alien.
And for what purpose? Ms. Van Susteren suggested “blackmail”. I mean what else could it be? None of what Allred has done makes any sense from a legal perspective. She’s clearly out to get Whitman and will step over anyone, including her client, to do it.
She was also interviewed by Hugh Hewitt.
All 3 interviews were brutal.
I missed Hewitt and van Susteren but I heard Levin’s interview live when it happened. I’d sure hate to get on his bad side.
Like Scott said, “human punching bag”.
I believe Greta became a little more conservative in her reporting due to the vicious, baseless smearing of Sarah Palin during the ’08 campaign by so many liberals. And for that, I say good for her.
But I will also say that the one major problem I have with Greta is her affiliation with Scientology. Anyone who is a member of that rancid mindless cult loses tons of credibility in my book, no matter how much on a certain issue/interview (as in this Allred case) she and I are in agreement.
The Levin interview is fun. He obviously knows what she is.
“Scott Says:
October 2nd, 2010 at 3:15 pm
I bet Gloria’s wishing she’d thought of a different way to try to damage Whitman’s election prospects. This one looks like it backfired.”
Like the dims and Obamacare, Gloria is thinking she has not explained the situation in a way that the unwashed masses can understand.
I agree with RickZ above, on both counts.
baseless smearing of Sarah Palin during the ‘08 campaign … it wasn’t baseless. The woman thought Europe was a country … and probably never made the connection that Hungary, Turkey, and Chile in an international discussion is not someone saying, “I’m Hungry for some Turkey-Chili!” … just .. no.
Who is this ynyo, and why is he wasting our time?
Hey it’s a topic.
ynyomythu,
Your “base” for the smear sounds made up. Provide links or give it a rest.
ynyom is nyomythus,
He wrote that Sarah thought Europe was a country.
And Obama thought there were 57 states.
One had the prescription
One had the virus.
Nyom voted for the virus.
Perhaps, but at least in theory she set her client up for prosecution (using fake documents) and deportation. Her client is now very high profile, so there might be pressure on ICE to go to work, given public opinion and the fact that this lady used fake documents.
It would interesting to find out who’s SSN she used, and what consequence this person faced.
Lies come easy too you, don’t they?
This is pretty much what Susteren was getting at, although she didn’t go so far to say that.
Oh my god. The woman had to drive her car and she wasn’t compensated on a per mile basis!
The cost / benifit ratio just don’t make any sense, except as an October (Sept!?) surprise to harm Whitman.
A lawyer’s first duty is loyalty to her client. There is nothing in this “case” that shows Gloria has anything but loyalty to the Democratic Party and to her own celebrity. She should be disbarred.
The money-grubbing Allred took on an illegal Mex domestic AS A CLIENT? I smell rats here. A strong stench.