Those offended by Wanda Sykes’ jokes about Rush Limbaugh at the WHCD last night might do well to remember some of what has gone on in the past at a similar party, the Gridiron dinner (h/t commenter JK):
Things got no better at the Gridiron that night. Absolutely determined that a good time would be had by all, and equally determined to bring down the house, Richard Nixon appeared as the final act. The curtain pulled back to reveal the president and Vice President Spiro Agnew seated at two modest black pianos (Dwight Chapin at the White House had requested grand pianos or at least baby grands but the Statler Hilton could only manage uprights). This was the first time a chief executive had appeared on the Gridiron stage, and Nixon opened by asking: “What about this ‘southern strategy’ we hear so often?” “Yes suh, Mr. President,” Agnew replied, “Ah agree with you completely on yoah southern strategy.” The dialect, as Wilkins observed, got the biggest boffo.
The Gridiron club is “a select covey of journalists who are to the Washington news fraternity what Skull and Bones is to Yale” according to one of its current members. It’s worth noting that Obama didn’t go to the Gridiron dinner this year, something that the same Toby Harnden who was so upset by Wanda Sykes thought was a terrible move on the president’s part.
Now, I realize that the Gridiron dinners that featured Nixon were a very long time ago. But bear in mind also that many Gridiron members — such as David Broder — are themselves quite ancient and are most likely somewhat aware of what has gone on at past dinners.
When powerful white people put on minstrel shows for other powerful white people, that’s comedy. When a black comic makes a joke about a white millionaire, it’s over the line.
Mr. Stuck
Filed under “last laugh the loudest”.
Adam Freeman
Politicians and Reporters act like Rush Limbaugh is some sort of dignitary. He is an entertainer no different than Kurt Warner, Will Smith, Brad Pitt, Kat Williams, and Tyler Perry.
He has never run for public office, he has never been a public servant. He is a RADIO talk show. I have no idea why people take him serious. For all the people Rush has offended over the years. I truly wish his kidney’s fail. The world will be a better place.
OriGuy
In the it-cuts-both-ways department, at least two diaries at DKos were complaining about Obama’s joke about going to Iowa with Axelrod. They thought that since he was opposed to single-sex marriage, he shouldn’t make a joke about it. Sure, Obama was trying to have it both ways in the campaign, but I doubt he’ll stand in the way as President
TenguPhule
Nothing or noting?
TenguPhule
Rich Whitey priviliges.
Also, Shut up, that’s why.
Martin
Actually he is – he’s a drug addict. Put him in the Barry Bonds, Robert Downey Jr, Amy Winehouse category – all of whom are regular punching bags for comedians.
YellowJournalism
Yeah, but those people actually have talent.
southpaw
I think it’s probably a bad idea to get into a contest with Rush Limbaugh over who can be a bigger asshole. He’s like three generations ahead of us in his research into ginormous assholery.
Nylund
Here is the issue. Rush is pushing the GOP towards an extremist position that will make the party entirely unelectable on a national scale. Many people in the GOP have said some unflattering things about Rush in an attempt to distance the party from him. Every single one has gone grovelling back and begging for forgiveness.
They don’t hate Wanda for saying mean things. They hate her for having more balls than them. The GOP isn’t THAT dumb. They’d love to tell Rush off but they’re too gutless to do it. Wanda isn’t. She didn’t just insult Rush, she just emasculated every one of those rich white GOP bastards that has had to beg Rush for forgiveness recently.
As for journalists making a big brouhaha about the whole thing, I’ll pay attention to them once they stop providing a mass public forum for people like Ann Coulter who says way more uncivil things with way more frequency than anything that came out of Wanda’s mouth.
Silver
You think Wanda’s mad about her marriage being voided?
Brachiator
@Nylund:
Yeah! Including rich GOP bastards like Michael Steele.
oops.
You know when they say,”Don’t try this at home.” It also applies when amateurs try to do racial contextualizing.
No one really needs to drag the ghost of Dick Nixon into this, or to pay any attention to the myth that the GOP is the party of straight white people (and the sexually- and species-ambiguous Ann Coulter).
Nylund
Considering that Rush once said, in regard to black people, “They’re 12 percent of the population. Who the hell cares? ” I assume he won’t be terribly offended what some black woman said. That, or he’ll tell her to “take the bone out of her nose” or remind her that he thinks, “slavery had its merits.” Or maybe he’ll once again restate his belief that MLK’s assassin deserves the Medal of Honor.
Maybe he’ll reiterate the point he made about Elizabeth Edwards about how a woman’s mouth has better uses than talking, namely, blow jobs.
Or maybe he’ll whip out one of his numerous anti-gay comments instead.
The truth of the matter is that he has said many many terrible things about women, gays, and black people. Is it really so surprising that a gay black woman wouldn’t think so fondly of him?
JenJen
That was actually pretty shocking to read. And what’s sadder is that, really, it wasn’t all that long ago.
Nylund
Fine, she didn’t just prove that only the white guys in the GOP have no balls, but that none of them do. I’ll accept that. Racial contextualization removed. Heck, I’ll remove the rich and male qualifiers as well. She has more guts than anyone in the GOP, man, women, rich, poor, black, white, whatever.
If she had said it to just about anyone else, I’d say it was in poor taste, but that man has shown so much racism, homophobia, and sexism over the years that he doesn’t deserve a single ounce of respect.
If he feels upset, he can pack his pain killers and viagra and go off on one of his little jaunts to a country known for its underage sex industry as he is wont to do.
Calouste
@OriGuy:
Obama’s smart enough to have known what was all in the pipeline for gay marriage at the state level (although Iowa might have been a surprise) and to work out that this will most likely go quicker via the states than it could go at the federal level without actually giving the religious right something to rally around.
Brachiator
@Nylund:
A gay black woman like Elizabeth Edwards?
You’ve ably demonstrated that Rush has pretty much offended every rational human being.
I want to see how Rush and his surrogates try to fight back here, if they dare. Because it’s one thing to keep things in the political arena, another thing entirely to try to fight with professional comedians of any gender, race, or sexuality.
gocart mozart
The Limbaughy Pantload can suck on a bag of Dominican dicks.
gocart mozart
or has that pussified, septic tank of horseshit already done that?
tc125231
Personally, I’m in favor of having hostile parties waterboard Limbaugh, Cheney and the torture memo authors 183 times each in the space of a month.
Let’s see if they think it’s like a fraternity prank then.
tc125231
And, of course, Rush is like 0% of thje population. So “who the hell cares” what happens to him?
asiangrrlMN
@tc125231: This is my frustration with Rush and his ilk bleating about how we’re all a bunch of wusses for calling what happened torture (and yet, someone calls him a name, and it’s BIG NEWS). They know it will never happen to them, so they can make as much fun of the torture techniques as they like. I mean, Hannity will never take Grodin up on Grodin’s challenge to be waterboarded. As Wanda said, she could break Hannity by making him ride in a middle seat in coach.
It’s frustrating to me that the big cowards on the right spew so much machismo (including the women).
Joshua Norton
Rush’s kidneys failing? Srsly? Sorry, but succumbing to renal failure is for poor folks. Jabba The Hutt Jr. keeps a staff of flunkys around for spare parts.
Just like Darth Cheney does. He’s probably on his 5th heart by now. He needs to get a new one whenever Lynn is gets tired of following him around with those damned paddles.
Mike S
Limbaugh says his friend believes “Obama is terrorist attack number 2; Obama is the follow-up to 9-11”
Limbaugh on health care legislation: “Before it’s all over, it’ll be called the Ted Kennedy memorial health care bill”
March 06, 2009 1:33 pm ET filed under Clips
Brick Oven Bill
When powerful white people put on minstrel shows for other powerful white people, that’s comedy. When a black comic makes a joke about a white millionaire, that’s biology.
The behavioral aspect is discipline. Hardy har har.
Irregardless, Stockman’s is the place to stay on I-80. Happy Mother’s day Krista.
Balconespolitics
@Brachiator:
Rush has gotten away with straddling that line for a decade plus, running back across the line each time he’s called on some particular piece of bile to claim “I’m just an entertainer”.
Well, let’s let him fight it out with the professional entertainers, then.
Dan
Wanda Sykes is black, a woman and gay. She has 1 -2 times more reasons than most people to hate Limbaugh.
El Cid
What? You mean nobody’s still rolling in the aisle when that CBS golf show host suggested that a U.S. soldier on an elevator with Nancy Pelosi would shoot her? Now, that’s good-natured Republican humor right there! Dijon!
Demento
Wanda’s wish is coming true, Rush was caught coming back from the D. R. with viagra that wasn’t prescribed so one of his body parts has already failed. What’s next won’t be his kidneys, more likely the colon he exhales from.
sgwhiteinfla
Both Joe Scarborough and Chris Matthews are now complaining about Wanda Sykes. Both of these jackasses also claim to listen to Rush Limbaugh on a regular basis. So I guess listening to edgy stuff is just fine when they are in their car and nobody can hear them laughing their asses off at racist, homophobic and violently innappropriate jokes. Just don’t let a comedienne tell an edgy joke in front of their wives and colleagues at a fancy event. That’s just wrong.
Fuck those guys.
Dennis-SGMM
It was to be expected from Scarborough. When all is said and done, Matthews is a fat, white, rich, gasbag. Sykes attacked his tribe.
kommrade reproductive vigor
Listening to edgy stuff is fine if it is racist, sexist and/or homophobic (YMMV if the speaker voted for Obama). Besides, Dick Cthcheney has give Rush the GOP seal of approval, that means he’s really popular. Right?
Whatever. I wonder how long it will take for some fReichtard to claim Syke’s comments are evidence of a brewing race war.
sugarfree
That Politico column from two years ago is revealing, isn’t it?
Only in the Beltway would a ticket consisting of a moderate Republican and a conservative Republican be considered “squarely in the middle of the road”.
harlana pepper
@JenJen: And what’s even sadder is it’s still working, to some degree
MattF
The difference is that one female black gay comedian gets to do her bit in front of national media once. And the wingers get to do their bits on multiple channels from multiple ‘expert’ sources all the time. And then get to complain about how unfair it all is.
The Grand Panjandrum
What I find most fascinating about the entire “Limbaugh Effect” is that his followers take him very seriously, until of course his says something utterly and completed offensive, then suddenly his minions recall that “he’s really just an entertainer.” How convenient.
When I watched the video of Sykes sketch at the dinner I was pretty sure the deadenders would be all over it. They didn’t disappoint. I just wonder if Republicans at the dinner will now have to denounce and reject Sykes sketch as fearmongerning hate speech or incur the wrath of America’s most famous Little Blue Pill Popper? It will be interesting to find out who will be the first to kiss Rush’s ring.
kay
@Dennis-SGMM:
When all is said and done, Matthews is a fat, white, rich, gasbag. Sykes attacked his tribe.
I keep saying it, and yet Chris Matthews retains some fans.
Add “coward” to your list. Can anyone point me to an instance where Chris Matthews expressed an opinion in opposition to whomever was in power before that opinion became popular?
Watching him poll his guests on torture was absolutely disgusting. I could see the mental tally. He was fretting, trying to add up votes and discern if he would dare to express an honest opinion.
As usual, like always, he choked.
He’s nothing: he’s a sum of pundit parts.
Dennis-SGMM
@kay:
Cheney seems to be taking his Torture is Good tour on every show that will have him. Matthews is likely stocking up on industrial strength chapstick now in anticipation of having the distinguished ex-VP as a guest.
Zandar
So…we’re really going to let Rush Limbaugh play the victim card here?
Honestly? That’s the great “The future of the GOP is now!” plan?
harlana pepper
Damn, Cheney flappin his jowls still, unfuckingbelievable – sorry, did not watch bobbleheads yesterday – jeebus,wtf? make it stop – the only instance in which I want to ever see Bush or Cheney again is behind bars, it gives me the heebs when I see them on the teevee, like a flashback, and then I have to remind myself all over again that it’s over, officially anyways
DrDave
Fuck Rush and his listeners and defenders including Scarborough and Matthews.
I thought Wanda was funny as hell. The only thing funnier would be if Rush’s kidneys did fail. The guy is a hateful douchebag. There aren’t enough bad things that could happen to him.
harlana pepper
@sgwhiteinfla: They never went to public school like I did. They never had a black kid publicly make fun of some of your less attractive attributes, like skinny legs, etc. That’s what cracks me up about these guys, they’re all pinkies-up when something a little gritty comes along, cuz they have no clue how to handle it, it’s coming from a source they don’t understand. So soft.
I was always trying to please that black kid and their friends that didn’t accept me. But I found out the hard way, it’s the soft, spoiled ones that seem to end up running the things that matter.
kay
@Dennis-SGMM:
I have a friend who listens to the call-in shows on C-SPAN. She laughs and laughs at the regular people who call in with a spirited defense of insurance giants, Wal Mart, and the unfairness of the estate tax.
She calls them “volunteer lobbyists”.
Chris Matthews is a volunteer lobbyist for whomever and whatever least needs defending. Cheney on his show will be perfect. He’ll lean forward and make sure that Dick Cheney gets appropriate deference for his “views”, and you can bet that Cheney will intimidate the hell out of him, and 5 minutes into it, Matthews will be nodding along like a moronic bobblehead.
Notorious P.A.T.
I have some more jokes about Rush:
“Rush Limbaugh once told a black caller ‘take that bone out of your nose!’ Rush should know all about bones, since he was once caught with a bag of Viagara, going to one of the world’s leading sex-tourism destinations.”
“Rush Limbaugh once accused Michael J. Fox of exaggerating his physical condition. Rush should know all about that, too, since he claimed he could not serve in the Army because of a cyst on his ass.”
“Rush Limbaugh once called Chelsea Clinton the ‘White House dog’. Rush should know all about dogs because he is a smelly pile of crap that a dog chewed up then vomited back up.”
TR
Sykes should have said something like, “They were going to try and waterboard Rush Limbaugh, but Greenpeace kept trying to roll him back into the ocean.”
John S.
Nice work, DougJ – you snagged yourself a Jules Critterdumb!
His response is quite amusing, and he really lives up to his name. Apparently, mocking the fauxtrage over Wanda Sykes means you are very sensitive to the right’s criticism.
See also: tea bagging.
Comrade Jake
Morning folks. The Today Show is leading off with Cheney’s remarks yesterday. You sort of wonder how frequently he can go on the Sunday shows and accuse Obama of weakening America before it stops being “news”.
Also I swear Cokie Roberts started her piece this AM with “Well it’s interesting…”
DougJ
Noting.
harlana pepper
Another reason to not watching Sunday morning shows, Cheney may appear at any moment. naaaahh, not gonna risk it, the rest of you guys can suffer in silence for me
Notorious P.A.T.
@Brachiator:
Gimme a break.
Beej
@TenguPhule: Also, it’s “seriously” not “serious”. Sorry, the old English teacher couldn’t help it.
Krista
Thank you, B.O.B.
And with this whole Sykes thing, the left should just take a page out of the right’s playbook. Reiterate that Wanda Sykes is “just an entertainer” and accuse the right of not being able to take a joke. They’ve accused us of being humourless on more than one occasion, but it looks like the shoe may be on the other foot. So why be defensive about it? Wanda Sykes is funny as hell, she’s a comedian, and she’s an entertainer, not a politician or a pundit or a policy analyst — if the right is going to get all bent out of shape over a few jokes, then they really need to lighten up, now, don’t they?
Svensker
Ordinarily I would have found Sykes over the line with her jokes about torture and Cheney and the Rush L. stuff. “Ordinarily” being those in power shouldn’t overly criticize those out of power. However, anyone who is proud of torture deserves no respect whatsoever and anyone who is sorry for Rush Limbaugh because he was the butt of mean-spirited joke doesn’t understand irony.
He who makes his living off mean-spirited “humor” can’t cry when it gets used against him.
Krista
Since when have any of us been silent about anything? :) You’re referring to people who are not shy when expressing opinions about anything from the political climate in South Asia, to our bodily functions, and everything in between.
Ash Can
The extent to which Limblow is defended over the next couple of days against that mean old Wanda Sykes’ remarks, and by whom he’s defended, will tell us a lot about the extent of his control over the GOP (or what passes for it nowadays).
@John S.:
::eyes glaze over::
Is it too much to ask that these right-wing commentators make just the tiniest bit of sense? Is that really too fucking much to ask??
jibeaux
Well, I caught her live and I thought she was hilarious. Rush as the 20th hijacker too strung out on OxiContin to make the flight — giggles. I also liked, for some reason, the “sleeves cost money” bit.
If Rush doesn’t like being the butt of jokes, he’s welcome to fight back, isn’t he, make a joke about Wanda? Or does he need protecting a la Operation Chickenhawk?
Brian J
I haven’t seen the clips from the dinner yet, I’ve just read some of the remarks from Sykes and others. She was a little edgier than we’ve seen in the past, but I think this is a good thing. I’d like to thank Obama, because when I’m president, and I want Lisa Lampanelli to host the event (assuming she’s still alive), there’s now a precedent for more off color humor. First came the jokes about Limbaugh. Then came the jokes that used the word c-nt.
TR
There’s a difference?
dmv
Wait, wait, wait, folks…
Let me get out my tiny violin.
Seriously, Rush is a giant douchebag; Wanda Sykes was hilarious; and the right is retarded. Check, check, check.
But let’s not wish death on Rush, either. He is still–his behavior to the contrary notwithstanding–a human being. We can all ardently wish he’d shut the fuck up or just go away, but wishing death on another human being? Nah.
TMLutas
Treason jokes are just so funny. “I think Rush Limbaugh is a traitor. You should look into that Mr. President”. It’s a laugh riot. And that 20th hijacker bit, priceless! It’s all comedy gold.
I guess now it’s ok to question people’s patriotism. Thanks for letting us know Wanda. You’re the best! You’re just like Spiro Agnew, DougJ says so.
Incertus
@dmv: Sykes didn’t wish death on Limbaugh–she wished dialysis on him.
tc125231
@Demento:
dmv
@Incertus:
I wasn’t referring to Sykes’ jokes. I was referring to the people who have posted in this thread saying that they really do hope his kidneys fail, etc.
Brian J
Good point. Except that I think the word c-nt is still too nice to describe Limbaugh.
tc125231
@dmv:
tc125231
Notorious P.A.T.
If someone says they want their country to fail then yes, it’s okay to question their patriotism.
dmv
@tc125231:
Sigh. I don’t need to prove it. He’s a human being. Period. End of story. We can all dislike him very, very much, and I’m sure we all do. But let’s not go down the road of dehumanizing people we find repugnant or the source of great evil and hate. Human beings are capable of such things. Let’s not pretend otherwise.
Kris
And people wonder why I think DougJ is a brotha.
Shinobi
I have heard funnier from Wanda Sykes, I would definitely buy Sean Hannity’s middle seat in coach though. Hilarious! And while I do hope that Rush eventually realizes the full extend of the damage he has done to America, I don’t actually want him to retire or anything, because I’m afraid that what comes after might be worse.
I know I’m late on picking this up, but I think it is bullshit that when we invaded Iraq, and did all that other shit during the Bush years and the left was all ‘Uhm… Hey… Guys? Uhhhh maybe not a great idea?” The right was all “TRAITORS! YOU WANT US TO FAIL! YOU WANT OUR TROOPS TO DIE!!!!!” And now people on the right have actually SAID they want us to fail……. and it’s okay? We’re not even allowed to make fun of them?
How do people live with that kind of cognitive dissonance?
tripletee (formerly tBone)
@TMLutas:
Sorry, we forgot that was the exclusive province of Republicans.
Democrats put up with it for eight years from people who had actual power, and you guys get all butthurt about one joke from a comedian at a clubby Beltway dinner? Your tears, they are delicious.
jong
Don’t forget the wonderful performance by Bush at the 2004 Correspondents dinner when, with soldiers fighting and dying in Iraq, he did his “can’t find them damn WMDs shtick”. Now that was obscene.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvliUuXjbL4
Notorious P.A.T.
Exactamundo.
tammanycall
Wanda’s got a late night tv show set up at Fox – this won’t be the last time she’s “in front of the media”.
And please let the far right and the beltway media freak out about this – because the guys who did stand up with her for years have their own tv shows now and they’re always looking for new material.
Rev. Dr. E. Buzz Miller
Hmm, wonder if Rev. Dr. Jerry Wright ever said anything like this, or Bill Ayers…
And if they did, how did Barry react?
Sorry, I forgot, you knuckleheads said that the American People needn’t worry about what insanity was fomented in that sick church. Maybe Barry laughed then too, at the leftist rage.
Righto!
maya
The real question for the Rushublican Party is this:
When Limbaugh’s kidneys do fail, which one of them will volunteer to donate one of their’s?
Ash Can
::reads #75, bangs head on keyboard::
Wanted: Conservatives/right-wingers to carry on intelligent, fact-based debate in Intenet forum. Independence optional, but coherence a must. Direct applications to Balloon Juice.
gwangung
@Rev. Dr. E. Buzz Miller:
Well, his Republican friends in the Illinois state legislature thought it was funny.
Gawd, even for a troll, this is pathetic.
TenguPhule
I refuse to accept that until the autopsy.
TMLutas
tc125231 – It’s not about Rush. It’s about treason. It’s about wishing that somebody you don’t like politically gets a fatal condition. It’s about the ghosts of the Clinton administration where the right’s foundations and beltway people got audited disproportionately and how we might be starting to go down that road again. Rush Limbaugh is a veteran of the game and has thick skin. I’m not really that worried about him. He’s got lawyers and a fat enough bank account to make things right if he’s actually injured.
The little fry that are afraid to put up a bumper sticker because their car got keyed last time they did so is more my concern. These days that’s a problem that the right has to worry about more than the left.
tripletee – Aside from the morons who sported banners like “we support our troops when they shoot their officers” there’s a wide range of dissent that was fine by most of the right that I saw. I might have disagreed with it, but them’s the breaks in a free society. There was plenty of faux outraged “how dare you question their patriotism” when what was being questioned was their judgment. Go listen to the bit again from last night. She called Limbaugh a traitor. Unless you have an actual treason case, that should be out of bounds for both left and right.
TR
Technically, the thickness is in the folds of blubber.
My, what a serious hypothetical to get your panties in a twist over. When the evil leftists reach the level where they’re burning CDs of conservative musicians and sending them death threats like the right did with the Dixie Chicks, we can talk. Until then, sack the fuck up.
Dylan
For people who disapprove of her there’s always this:
Being a lesbian (and let’s all hope that she’s ‘true’ to the gay/lesbian/bi/transgendered/questioning ‘culture’ and stays monogamous with her partner and their lifestyle) she probably won’t have the opportunity to pass her genes on to another generation.
So we probably won’t have to deal with the comic stylings of her offspring at the very least.
Indeed, one could make the argument that homosexuality is simply verification of Darwin’s theory of evolution. Without the medcial advances of the past 50 years, every homosexual who was ‘true’ to that inclination in his/her life would not have children. So each generation would roughly have 10% of the population selected by nature to be discontinued. (I’m arguing from a premise that homosexuality is inherint from birth and not a choice.) Sure there would be the outlying .05% or .06% who would ‘cover’ and live a lie with a wife and family. But by and large this segment of the population are one timers unless they jump through several scientific hoops and include someone with the one chromosome that they, as a couple, are missing.
tripletee (formerly tBone)
@TMLutas:
Apparently I was living somewhere else from 2001-2008, then, because in the country I was in, sporting insufficient wood at the sight of Old Glory was enough to be labeled a traitor.
Are you really going to pretend that Limbaugh, Hannity, and every mouth-breathing winger with a blog were just “questioning judgment”? Do we need to take a trip down Google memory lane?
As for the “little fry” who might be too afwaid to put a bumper sticker on their car – give me a fucking break. For such a bunch of manly men, you sure spend a lot of time on the fainting couches when liberals say anything mean about you.
gary
It is funny to hear so many times how hateful Limbaugh is, followed by a hateful rant about him, including wishes for his death, disease and torture because of his opinions.
It is sad that so many believe Limbaugh having an opinion and using words is worse than a terrorist intent on killing us – Limbaugh is deserving of a punishment (just for fun) which is now forbidden to use to get info from terrorist.
Hypocrisy on display – conservatives used to laugh this stuff off. The point is that for years any time a conservative says anything remotely off base, they are criticized relentlessly. Fine, but you are hypocrites if you don’t say this is over the line too.
I hear limbaugh about an hour a week. There is more hate in this thread than he has stated in 1,000’s of hours of broadcasting.
Once again, liberals are hypocrites guided by emotion rather than reason, facts, or moral consitency.
Comparing to Nixon and Agnew? Priceless. Great defense.
Trollhattan
@Shinobi,
Completely agree, I didn’t laugh out loud until she got to cracking Hannity by making him fly coach in the middle seat. Comedy gold–I actually though she was just warming up on Rush to take out Hannity at the knees, after.
IMHO he’s a much more visible presence and a far more vulnerable target. Not to mention his Twiddle Dum: Glenn Beck. Also.
Mnemosyne
@TMLutas:
Since that was an urban legend and never actually happened, what other imaginary “roads” are you worried about us going down? Maybe Obama will use his flying unicorn army to spear Limbaugh and Cheney in the butt and fly them in formation around DC.
Oh, and before you go crying crocodile tears over the poor, persecuted director of the White House Travel Office who was fired by Hillary Clinton, maybe you can explain what the perfectly innocent explanation was for that $50,000 of Travel Office money that ended up “resting” in his account. Dale sure never bothered to give one.
Mnemosyne
@TMLutas:
So the little fry on the right are worried that someone will key their cars, while the little fry on the left are worried that a gunman will burst into their church and start killing them.
Yes, those certainly are equal worries, aren’t they? Tell you what, you take your keyed car to Knoxville and tell those people at the Unitarian Church that you’re just as much of a victim as they are. They’re polite, so they probably won’t kick your ass.
TenguPhule
See also, Republican Party 1992 to present.
Boo hoo. Cry me a river of bullshit.
The imaginary people in your head don’t count.
Brachiator
@Notorious P.A.T.:
Consider yourself broken.
Right on!
gocart mozart
Are all conservatives liars and cowards or just the ones with internet access?
TenguPhule
Yes.
Zen Answers to Simple Questions.
harlana pepper
Doh!
harlana pepper
@TenguPhule:
He’s a human being. Period. End of story.
I refuse to accept that until the autopsy.
I feel the same way about Cheney
harlana pepper
@gary: This is an interesting “broad sweep” observation considering that at least one of our commenters here castigated others for the “death wish” thing.
That said, I’m a broad-sweeps, hyperbolic type of gal when it comes to repubes, so I plead guilty w/o remorse. Even though I have yet to wish any repube dead, all manner of torture is on the table, the more humiliating the better.
Indie Tarheel
@tc125231:
Makes?
harlana pepper
Honestly. We won and we control the debate now. NO APOLOGIES. End of discussion.
TenguPhule
100% against torture, even of Republicans.
A bullet to the back of the head and dumping the body out at sea for the sharks because a grave in US soil is too good for them.
Indie Tarheel
@Shinobi:
In order to live with it, one has to recognize it.
The cognition is not strong in them.
DrDave
@dmv:
I thought it was funny when Rush lost his hearing to drug abuse. And poetic.
I didn’t say that I wished that his kidneys would fail; I said that it would be funny if they did.
I don’t wish bad things on the man but because he is a gigantic ass who has made a fortune BEING hateful, there is little bad that could happen to him that would not evoke some sense of schadenfreude from most people.
TenguPhule
We don’t need to. They do such a wonderful job of that on their own.
gwangung
You’re concerned about all those scientists and scientist types who get burgled, vandalized and intimidated by mouth breathing creationists? Great! Glad to know you’re on our side, fighting ignorance and the use of force over reason. Can’t tell you how pissed off I get when yokels vandalize my car over simply seeing my Darwin fish.
Tax Analyst
The Republican right-wing reminds me of the Pro Wrestling that used to be on TV (I haven’t watched any since sometime in the 1960’s, so I have no idea what it’s like today). Freddie Blassie – or someone just like him – would have his opponent down on the mat and would be doing awful and illegal things to him when the ref wasn’t looking. When the ref managed to look over he would pull his hands back and feign innocence, and then continue with the mauling as soon as the ref looked away…of course the whole thing was a complete fraud. Even a unsophicated teen-ager could see those “punches” that had the poor “victim” writhing on the mat actually were missing him by at least 6 inches.
I guess the root of the resemblance stems from the fact the those “wrestlers” were just a bunch of feckless clowns providing faux mayhem in faux matches for the puerile enjoyment of stupid, unsophisticated teenagers and similarly silly people. Just substitute “Rush Limbaugh” for “wrestlers” and “listeners” for “teenagers”.
…and I used to watch Roller-Derby back then, too. Now for a while I thought THAT actually was at least partially “real”. What a moran. Anybody who thinks what Limbaugh says has any factual basis is probably still under the impression that Roller-Derby isn’t a fixed and choreographed farce.
Bulworth
Nobody could have predicted that at yet another one of these Media Village events* the Media Villagers would get upset about something that was said (or who attended or failed to attend) so they can spend the next week flogging another pointless “story”, until it’s time for the next Media Village event.
Rinse, repeat.
*How many of these stupid things are there (the “gridiron somethingorother” and this WH correspondents thing)? Enough already.
gocart mozart
As long aqs we are talking about big
Wile E. Quixote
@TMLutas
Translation: “Wahhhhh, wahhhhh, a negro woman made fun of a white man and now my Republican mangina is all hurty and bleedy. Wahhhhh, wahhhhh. And a negro stole the presidency from a white man. Wahhhhh, wahhhh.”
Blue Raven
@Wile E. Quixote:
Ain’t it a shame when those people think they get to be human beings? You see the anarchy that results? One colored dyke gets all uppity and the world ends.
(Of course, the world in which “colored” dykes aren’t allowed to be “uppity” SHOULD end. In case nobody caught the sarcasm. So sayeth this white bisexual chick.)
Ash Can
@TMLutas:
I’m trying to see your arguments from your point of view since your post is refreshingly free of laughable hyperbole, but this just strikes me as thoroughly overblown. Do you have any evidence to back this up, particularly since, as others have pointed out here, it’s been the extremists on the right who have (overwhelmingly so) established a track record of violence against the left?
I’d be interested to know how your right-wing acquaintances responded to your expressing this sentiment when critics of the Bush administration and the invasion of Iraq were denounced as treasonous not too long ago. And I mean that seriously; I’m not going for irony here and I’m assuming that you did in fact say this to them.
@gary:
Full disclosure: I do not participate in, nor do I condone, the calls for Limbaugh’s death, dismemberment, etc. Nor do I believe he should be silenced. What I DO wish for is for people — and that means everyone — to stop taking the things he says seriously.
Having said that, don’t kid yourself. If you listen to Limbaugh and defend him, then you know even better than I do the extent to which his listeners side with him and take his messages to heart. And you also know that words can inspire actions. Is Radio Rwanda off the hook for rallying Hutus to attack Tutsis? Is Hitler off the hook for his beer-hall speeches? After all, those were all just words too.
OK, fine. Let’s forget about this thread. Let’s focus on what Limbaugh says. If I take your sentence at face value, Rush must be a great guy. Right? Tell me — what has he added to your life? How has he influenced or changed your ideas and/or opinions? If you had never heard of him at all, what would you think today when you heard the term “liberal” or “feminist”? How would you view people who identify as such? What’s good about his broadcasts? About him? How would you go about convincing us that there’s no hate in his broadcasts?
Seriously, go ahead. If you can persuade me, I’ll change my mind about him. Go for it.
gwangung
Well, thank you for adding to the levity on this thread.
And Michael J. Fox thanks you.
gwangung
@gwangung: And probably Chesea Clinton’s childhood, as well….
Diane
Boo Hoo Hoo!
Rush can dish it out, but he can’t take it.
republicans should be worried about other things then an entertainer getting his feeling hurt.
Trollhattan
Let’s see, what was the name of that Coulter book?
Oh yeah: “Treason.”
I’m sure you Rush defenders likewise shouted her down on the occurrence of its publication in those halcyon days of ’03. And her kvetch was basically that liberals were mushy on communism, not that they specifically wished ill on their commander and chief and his success in leading the nation.
Yeah, traitor fits.
Little Dreamer
I call bullshit, and if you enjoy Limbaugh’s style of cutting down others who are not like him, then why do you take people to task here who are doing to him exactly what he does to others? You know you come here watch others do the very thing you are decrying. You are the hypocrite Gary.
Little Dreamer
@Diane:
Neither can his fans.
Little Dreamer
While it’s an interesting exercise, don’t you already have enough knowledge to tell you that you should not want to change your mind?
If someone tells me the reasons why they like Rush, that would never make me see him any differently, it would only make the listener’s POV different in my mind.
Joel
I thought Sykes’ lines were well timed. A little nasty, but that’s comedy. It’s good news, as she hasn’t been funny in my book since she worked with Chris Rock. Also noticed that she’s taken a lot of Rock’s stand-up mannerisms.
I mean, has anyone ever seen Jeffrey Ross? These clowns are just looking for something to hang their hat on.
Little Dreamer
Can someone point out to me where Jesus said it was okay to damage other people’s property?
grumpy realist
Considering that Rush calls people like me “feminazis”, I have absolutely no interest in worrying about the potential harm to his feelings from what another entertainer said at a public roast.
He who demands respect must treat others with respect as well. How much respect has Rush shown to people he disagrees with?
Considering what Rush has said about blacks and women in the past, I’m surprised Sykes didn’t hit him harder. I would have.
Little Dreamer
This is a point that conservatives will never get, they think that by the simple fact that they are not DFH’s, they are deserving of all manner of respect. It’s a conventional wisdom lie that’s come down through the ages, and it’s pretty hard for those conservative types to grasp the error. They are self-important assholes and they like it that way.
Mnemosyne
@DrDave:
Nah, there’s much funnier fates that could strike him. I’d love to see him have to broadcast his show standing up for the rest of his life because the butt cyst that kept him out of Vietnam comes back with a vengeance and prevents him from ever sitting in a chair again.