Jun 12 2009
Lettermen’s Screw Up Highlights The Fall Of The Political Fringe
Update: Palin nails it again:
Sarah Palin says David Letterman owes an apology to young women across the country for his joke about her daughter.
…
Palin says the late-night funnyman has contributed to a thread throughout culture that says it’s acceptable and funny to talk about statutory rape.
The nation is starting to settle in on a lot of things about America that have been bothering its collective soul. One of these things is the debasement of women to nothing but sex toys by men who have brains with only one, sadly primitive thought in their head.
Another  issue is the dumbing down of TV entertainment as channel after channel heads for the crude and rude (which is why my favorite channels are all the science and history types). Again, it seems to be the driving force is those same dull, primitive guys who might be living at home into their thirties. Some channels are just amazingly packed with low-brow bathroom humor.
Another issue is the over heated rhetoric of the political fringes, who at times seem to be run by these very same emotionally disturbed minds that find their wisdom in mindlessly dumb slogans. The fear of the end of the world seems to be a common thread in these alarmists. Armed with an extreme depth of ignorance, these self proclaimed saviors insult everyone who dares challenge them with details.Â
All three irritating trends have coalesced into a single putrid event that has just about the entire nation shaking their heads in shame, and many opponents finally coming together to call an end to the madness. The single event is, of course, the crude comments of David Letterman against a woman governor, who also happens to be a heart warming example of the average American family. And as poor, dull minded Dave keeps sinking lower and lower, it is finally pulling people away from the fringes and agreeing to try to act maturely, civilly and with basic work-place respect:
Comedians in search of a laugh should really know better than to snicker about men having sex with teenage girls (or young women) less than half their age.
The sexualization of girls and women in the media is reaching new lows these days — it is exploitative and has a negative effect on how all women and girls are perceived and how they view themselves. Letterman also joked about what he called Palin’s “slutty flight attendant look†— yet another example of how the media love to focus on a woman politician’s appearance, especially as it relates to her sexual appeal to men. Someone of Letterman’s stature, who appears on what used to be known as “the Tiffany Network†(CBS), should be above wallowing in the juvenile, sexist mud that other comedians and broadcasters seem to prefer.
That is from NOW, the liberal women’s organization. I was wondering if finally political expedience was going to fall to outrage. And it did. You can see the damage Letterman is doing to himself, and the rallying of women to Palin’s side as years of the same crap, day in and day out, finally come flooding back into their minds and they seem to say ‘enough is enough’. You can see it in any adult woman’s eyes as they watch this story or talk about it. Gents, they have had it with this stuff.
The political fall out is in the commentary at Hot Air which follows this link. First Allah Pundit:
People on Twitter are grumbling about that last paragraph but (a) given how peeved the sisterhood will be that they’re defending Palin, surely you won’t begrudge NOW some sort of ass-covering knock on conservatives here, and (b) their point is, unfortunately, too often valid, as a scroll through righty blog comments about Michelle Obama or Hillary Clinton (at least before 2008) will attest. A compromise, then: The right will join in calling out sexism directed at liberal women when the left stops treating conservative women as “inauthentic†or traitors to their gender because they happen to be pro-life. Deal?
The fact is anyone like Coulter, Levin, Rush or Levin sitting in their insult wracked glass houses will look the fool trying to defend Palin’s honor. They have no room to talk, as Allah Pundit notes. Then Ed Morrissey chimed in:
Since NOW has been good enough to put principle above politics, then I can do the same by agreeing that conservative pundits should leave menstruation out of their criticisms of Sonia Sotomayor. If we complain about the belittling and sexualizing of conservative women in politics, then G. Gordon Liddy should stick to the substantive issues in the Sotomayor nomination. I hadn’t heard about that one until I clicked over to NOW’s site.
It seems to me people are starting to wake up to what is killing the political process and why the independents movement is so large? The fringes do nothing but throw insults and declare their moral superiority (which is incredibly ironic since superior ideas and morals would attract support, and insults would not be needed). Sarah Palin is middle America, and middle America is now pretty much standing outside both political parties looking at them with more than a little disgust.
interesting juxtaposition, last thread and this one. From the last:
“What a buffoon…. If we were so squishy and mushy how is it the ‘true conservatives’ aren’t smart enough to move us their way? Ever think about that Huckaboo?”
From this one:
“The fringes do nothing but throw insults and declare their moral superiority”
Pot. Kettle. Black.
WWS,
I was talking about an individual there buddy, and a small and viral group on the right. Huckabee aimed his barb at the entire center of America. A difference that seems to escape you.
What is amazing is how many readers assume I am talking about them!
Too funny. If you place yourself in allegiance to the cancer that is your fault, not mine.
AJ;
It is too bad that you dislike Rush, Levin, and Hannity so much. In fact, they were the First ones to speak up against Letterman and support Palin. In Fact, they were the first ones who supported Palin back in August, 2008.
I summarize that you don’t listen to them often, maybe once or twice a month. They are good people and have the best interest of America at heart. They are above the “party” lines and believe in Regan Conservatism. You should read Levin’s book “Liberty and Tyranny” – it’s been number one (NYT) for what 10 weeks!! I wonder why.
I think Rush is more accurate about what is happening to America with Obama. Is Obama abusing his power as seen with the recent takeover of the auto companies and now the attempted firing of some IG’s, which only Congress can fire? You decide:
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/06/12/obama-cronyism-going-after-americorps-ig-on-behalf-of-contributor/
I give political humor, satire, and parody a pretty big pass most of the time. However, the comments made by a serious news caster about the Clinton’s “pimping Chelsea” were just as outrageous as Letterman’s “Palin” comments. There are limits. Most Americans know where those limits are. I wish they were allas vocal as Sarah Palin about those limits.
Frogg:
Was it also just as “outrageous” back when Rush called Chelsea (a teenage girl at the time) “the family dog” of the White House in the 90’s?
AJ is right on this one: for Rush, Hannity, etc. to decry sexism, after all of the things they’ve said about Chelsea, Hillary, Pelosi, Michelle Obama, etc. is the very height of hypocrisy.
Guy,
Actually, I am on the record when it comes to Chelsea
Guy:
So, Rush says something about Chelsea back in what, 1995, and since then I can’t remember ONCE when one of your selections (Rush, Hannity, Levin) made any vulgar remarks or “knocked up” type jokes about politician’s children or teenagers.
But in your mind it is ok now to do that because Hannity, Levin, Rush make fun of ADULT politicians. Ok, I get the difference. Conservative adults and children are all fair game. Only Libs children are off limits. No wonder this country’s young generation are so confused.
To all,
I think the point is cheap talk is cheapening the debate all around. We don’t need to silence, just marginalize it and those who wallow in it. Which is why Levin falls into that classless class consistently.
believe it or not, I really couldn’t care less about Huckabee – didn’t like him during the campaign and don’t like him now. And since I never self-identified as a target of your post, you seem to have completely missed my point.
I thought this post was actually quite a good one – but you severely damaged your credibility on the topic by putting it next to a post in which you engaged in ad-homineim insults against someone you disagree with.
And call people “buffoons” all you like, if you want – but it can’t help but look just a tad bit hypocritical when you bemoan the lack of civility in the very next breath.
If you expect people to listen to you about standards of behavior, you really do have to live up to those standards yourself. I would indeed like for you to be taken seriously – but that won’t happen unless you keep yourself from taking the emotional way out and posting the kinds of things you decry coming from anyone else.
Bob:
Please note that I never said that Letterman’s “joke” was acceptable – it wasn’t. And I don’t care if he was making it about Bristol – I fail to see the difference between “joking” about sex with an 18 year old vs. a 15 year old. They’re both over the line.
But please cram your “sexism” complaints where the sun don’t shine unless you are equally willing to complain about sexist remarks from both sides of the political aisle.