Juan Williams knew exactly what he was doing when he opened his yap on Bill O'Reilly about being freaked out when he sees Muslims on his airplane flights. He didn't say that from the heart. He said that from his wallet.
Barely 24 hours after getting fired from NPR, Juan Williams just happened to get a payday from Fox News for $2 million over three years. What a coincidence.
That offer must have come completely out of the blue - like Dick Clark and Ed McMahon showing up on your front lawn with the big check during the Super Bowl.
Juan did what any Judas does - he takes the cash and makes sure he put his former employer gets crucified.
Juan had to be in on the knowledge that Fox News wanted him full time. And he had to know that Fox News was certainly going to pay him more than NPR. Why did he want to have to deal with pledge breaks and other torments of being part of a radio show. He could be making the fat cash like Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity. It must have hurt him while hanging around the Fox News headquarters and seeing the joy on payday versus wondering if his NPR check will include a totebag as a Christmas bonus.
How many times was he told that NPR was holding him back from his true earning potential. He already knew that he gets more response from his face time on Fox News than anything he's said on the radio.
Of course he also knew that he can't be a full time Fox News pundit because of that pesky contract with NPR. He knew NPR hated how much time he spent at Fox News. He knew it was time to jump ship, but he couldn't allow himself to just let the contract end and slide over to Fox News. There must be dramatics. Everyone loves free publicity.
So what did he do? He's on the hot seat with NPR over how he talks differently on Fox News than when he works at NPR. He didn't want to have to break the morality clause - cause that only means you'll end up at CNN as Spitzer's new friend. He dropped a Fox News appropriate bomb that would piss off his NPR bosses.
when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.
This was the perfect thing for him to make the leap for the $2 million brass ring. He's the liberal "balance" on Fox News, but he's willing to tell the paranoid, angry conservative Archie Bunker viewers, "I'm one of you."
He knew this would set NPR off. And they tore up his contract that was holding him back. Then he got major righties putting out press releases and tweets upset that NPR would silence him. Who were they? Sarah Palin. Mike Huckabee. Bill O'Reilly.....People who were already getting fat checks from Fox News. They might as well be screaming, "Red rover, red rover....send Juan Williams right over. And Juan allowed himself to be lovingly wrapped up in their arms so he could join their team and tax bracket.
But that wasn't good enough to make the splash. Juan did the proper Judas farewell to NPR by getting Senator Jim DeMint to start proceedings to defund NPR of government funding. Way to make sure you old bosses have to worry about the getting hammered into a crucifix.
This is nasty corporate business. This is like a bitter baseball player bad mouthing his old coach after he forces a mid-season trade by refusing to swing at pitches. But that won't stop DeMint from getting in the middle of this made for media event to scoop up more face time. He's not ashamed to be a tool for Rupes.
And what's Juan going to do in this crisis. Will he call DeMint to let him know it was all just a contract breaking ploy? Will he let him know that it's all cool because he's getting $2 million? This is not like some guy at a South Carolina factory being told he's fired because a worker in China can do his job cheaper. Juan Williams isn't going to be eating government cheese this Thanksgiving. What's Juan Williams going to do? Laugh all the way to the bank. He got what he wanted and his old NPR bosses can sit and spin.
He's got the ultimate Fox News cred - Juan Williams is the liberal that liberals want to silence! he's out kind of liberal!
Juan Williams must be smugly pleased at screwing people over for the sake of his career payday. Hopefully none of his NPR co-workers will ever step onto an airplane and see Juan wearing Fox News garb.