We Irish: Goldie goes there!

FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2012

Lawrence still hates Clinton/Gore: On Tuesday evening, Lawrence O’Donnell treated himself to some good solid fun involving the “girls” at the Bunny Ranch.

Last night, he was all over Marianne Gingrich’s claim about that “open marriage” request. Lawrence had invited Touré to opine. As usual, the erudite gent was a bit too hip for the country:

TOURE: This proposal that he’s making is not toward an open marriage. He’s saying, “Hey, I got a mistress, are you going to roll with that or not?” That's not an open marriage. That’s ridiculous leveraging. And he’s actually giving the very interesting and viable concept of an open marriage a bad name, just by being in the same room as it. We can make a reasonable case for it.

O'DONNELL: A reasonable case for open marriage? You have the floor, sir.

TOURE: Absolutely. It’s about honesty, right? Two people decide we are comfortable with extracurricular affairs, as long as you come home at the end of the day, as it were. There are millions of Americans who are cheating and being dishonest with each other. These people are saying, “We are not going to be dishonest,” they’re on the floor, or on the table, saying, “You can do what you want to do and come home at the end of the day.” There's nothing wrong with that.

In America, we freak out at the term "open marriage." In Europe, they don’t even bat an eye. This is no big deal. Major leaders can have open marriages and nobody cares.

We don’t care about other folks' marriages either. On the other hand, we don’t go on TV "news" shows and wax and wane about it.

But people! In Europe, they’re so much hipper! Touré was offering Euro-friendly remarks right from a Mitt Romney wet dream! Luckily, Lawrence also had Goldie Taylor on hand. She proceeded to hose her colleague down, offering much-needed balance.

Lawrence went right at his favorite target, rubbing the itch that will never be scratched. After that, he learned that Goldie very much does not favor open marriage:

O’DONNELL: What is the difference between Newt, Goldie, proposing for an open marriage and Bill Clinton simply executing an open marriage, pretty much throughout, as far as we can tell, every year?

TAYLOR: Well, let’s be clear. There is no difference.

O’DONNELL: OK, we can start there.

TAYLOR: We can start there. There is no difference. The only thing “open” in an “open marriage” is somebody’s legs at the wrong time.

O’DONNELL: Oh, boy!

Ooooh boy! That one just came out of nowhere!

Lawrence is very hip, as you know; it’s a key subtext of his program. But he has never quite moved past his joneses concerning the Clinton/Gore era. A few nights ago, he again linked Gore to Willie Horton, a deeply punishing, bogus linkage the RNC began crafting and spreading as far back as 1989.

Then last night, Lawrence had his big long nose right back in Bill Clinton’s underwear drawer! Have we ever mentioned the fact that We Irish were the number-one foot soldiers in this stupid, destructive “journalistic” war—the war against Clinton, then against Gore, which sent George Bush to the White House? When it comes to this kind of shit, We Irish are ready to serve!

We liberals! Our knowledge of the nation’s ethnic tribes tends to be somewhat limited. We know all about them southern whites. We don’t know enough to be on alert for the ludicrous instincts of We Irish, at least the old throwback kind. (Most Irish-Americans are much more advanced that the mossbacks you see on TV.)

We liberals! Lawrence was up to his favorite old tricks. With a genuine burst of feeling, Goldie brought him up short.

Extra credit: What do the girls at the Mustang Ranch think about open marriage?

Discuss. You can be sure Lawrence does!