Jon Stewart had author and tea party proponent John O'Hara on "The Daily Show" last night to talk about his new book, "A New American Tea Party." In a two-part interview, Stewart and O'Hara sparred -- generally politely -- on their differing opinions on health care, government intervention, and the rhetoric of the tea party movement.
O'Hara attempted to portray the movement as being much more moderate than it is usually considered to be, calling it "bi-partisan," composed of both Democrats and Republicans. Only 58% of tea party activists are conservatives, he claimed.
Stewart pointed out that the movement, and O'Hara's book, presented "a false choice between tyranny and anarchy," and suggested: "Why not try competent government intervention?" O'Hara seemed generally open to this more moderate stance, claiming that the tea party movement doesn't deny that there can be good government intervention, just that Obama's choices have so far been poor.
The conversation only became slightly less polite when Stewart called O'Hara out for using the term "Obamacare" to talk about the new health care bill. "I don't think it's a slam, it's just a moniker," O'Hara defended, to which Stewart responded: "Why don't I call it the teabagger book? It's not a slam."
WATCH:
Part One
Part Two