Jon Stewart and other liberals have long accused Republicans of waving the bloody shirt of 9/11 for political gain. “There’s only three things he can mention in a sentence: a noun, a verb, and 9/11,” said Joe Biden in his memorable attack on Rudy Giuliani.
So last week, Jon Stewart devoted his final Daily Show episode of the year to attack Republicans’ alleged 9/11 hypocrisy. He railed against the “Republican-led filibuster” that was blocking the Zadroga Act—a bill that would spend over $11 billion to provide health care and compensation to those affected by the attack on the World Trade Center. “Apparently, the party that turned 9/11 into a catchphrase [is] now moving suspiciously into a convenient pre-9/11 mentality when it comes to this bill,” said Stewart. “This is an outrageous abdication of our responsibility to those who were most heroic on 9/11.”