Why is Lawrence surprised: We like to give credit where credit is due.
Last night, on the O’Reilly Factor, Bernie Goldberg went off. He discussed an ongoing campaign to make J. C. Penney drop Ellen DeGeneres as a spokesperson:
GOLDBERG (2/7/12): There's something that needs to be said, no matter how uncomfortable it makes some people listening to us. There is a strain of bigotry—and that's the word I want to use—running through conservative America.We’d be slower to drop all those B-bombs ourselves. But we’re glad that Factor viewers got to see Bernie go off.
It doesn't mean all conservatives are bigots or even that most conservatives are bigots. That's not what I'm saying. But there is a strain of bigotry, and it goes against gay people, for instance.
Ellen DeGeneres did nothing wrong. She's gay. Right? There is—reasonable people may disagree on gay marriage. That's fine. But to, but to call on somebody's dismissal to be fired, to lose her job because she's gay is bigotry. And I don't care how many people listening to us right now don't like that.
O'REILLY: Well, I mean, the argument though—
GOLDBERG: Let me say—let me say one other thing briefly, Bill. In the middle of the last century, in the 1950s and 1960s, there was another strain of bigotry on the right, and it was against black people. That has to leave the conservative movement.
I used to be a liberal. I became a conservative because liberals were a little too crazy for me. A lot too crazy for me, actually. But you know what? I am immensely uncomfortable with the bigotry on the right, and I don't care how many people don't like it. I am sick of it.
Just for the record, Factor viewers saw Mr. O taking Ellen’s side too! Earlier in the evening, he spoke with Sandy Rios, who supports the effort to get DeGeneres canned:
O'REILLY (2/7/12): You have a right to your opinion.Good for Mr. O! As we watched him challenge Rios, our thoughts drifted all the way back to Monday's TV entertainments.
RIOS: Yes.
O'REILLY: And we respect that opinion, and the Fox News Channel, I think, has made a tremendous, tremendous contribution to the country by respecting traditional opinion.
However, this, as I said, is a business deal. Ms. DeGeneres is hired as a spokesperson by J. C. Penney. J. C. Penney has an absolutely perfect right to do that, as you have in your belief system. OK?
So there she is, earning a salary to represent the department store chain. And then the Million Moms say, "Hey, because we feel a certain way about Ms. DeGeneres' lifestyle, you need to fire her."
I don't think that's the spirit of America, Sandy, I've got to tell you.
On Monday evening, Lawrence interrupted The Last Word three separate times to play tape from Mr. O’s program. Each time, he marveled at the way Mr. O was taking a liberal-ish stand.
Lawrence played tape of Mr. O criticizing the Hoekstra “broken English” ad. He played tape of Mr. O defending the Clint Eastwood ad about the U.S. fighting back. He played tape of Mr. O saying that things are looking up for President Obama’s re-election chances.
Lawrence marveled every time, dumbing his audience down.
Mr. O can be awful on some topics, but he isn’t Sean Hannity (or certain others). We were glad to see Bernie say what he said. But we weren’t hugely surprised.
Mr. Somerby writes: "Mr. O can be awful on some topics, but he isn’t Sean Hannity (or certain others). We were glad to see Bernie say what he said. But we weren’t hugely surprised."
ReplyDeletePerhaps he really does buy into the "fair and balanced" slogan.
Do I really need to point out saying a propagandist isn't on the level of Hannity (a point that is debatable to say the least) is really damning them with faint praise indeed?
I'm still marvelling at the contortions Mr. Somerby goes through to praise a self-professed member of the right for condemning the bigotry of his own "tribe" while condemning others for pointing out the racist overtones coming from the same group.
ReplyDeletePerhaps its possible in Mr. Somerby's world to be a bigot without being a racist.
To me its a distinction without a difference that's meant to distract from realizing how dangerous these people really are.
Whew... they're only bigots...right!?!?
"Perhaps its possible in Mr. Somerby's world to be a bigot without being a racist."
DeleteProbably by being a homophobe.
The problem is that the "racist overtones" alleged by the left are usually nonexistent and have taken the place of facts. Want to shut down criticism of Obama? Invent some absurd "racial overtone" within the criticism and all of the clowns will nod their heads and sell it to the rubes on the next MSNBC clown show.
ReplyDeleteIs the Lawrence referred to Lawrence O'Donnell? Can we have some more context please.
ReplyDeleteAnother way of looking at this is to say the right realizes the anti-gay stuff is a horse that's about done. The upcoming generation doesn't care about it; the old generation that did care is rapidly dying off. I would also point out that the only constituent group on the left with any fire in it is the LGBT community. Once they have all their rights and find other stuff to do, the left becomes even more limp and accomodating than it is now.
ReplyDeleteAs suggested - I think - above, this might just be a cynical "let's show the independents we're not really that nasty" ploy. It is Fox, after all.
ReplyDeleteYes, please let's not have any suggestion that anything anyone in the Other Tribe does is done in good faith.
DeleteObviously you're one of those people who doesn't believe in research-based evidence. Bernie Goldberg is one of the biggest dickheads on the planet, and O'Reilly is a bully and a blowhard who didn't quite make the big time. That hasn't - and won't - change.
DeleteAnonymous: No doubt about it. I'm not "tribal" myself...I can't stand Obama and 90% of so called "liberal democrats" (because I often find them anything but)...but because a Goldberg or O'Reilly gets it right on an issue once in a blue moon means nothing. Mr. Somerby picks pet members of the left to nitpick to oblivion (not to say that some of his claims aren't valid...they are), but O'Reilly gets the kid gloves treatment? O'Reilly has proven time and time again he'll shamelessly lie and stir up hate with the best of them. He was busy spreading total lies about Planned Parenthood just this week.
Delete"Want to shut down criticism of Obama? Invent some absurd 'racial overtone' within the criticism and all of the clowns will nod their heads and sell it to the rubes on the next MSNBC clown show."
ReplyDeleteWant to shut down defenders of Obama? Accuse them of playing the race card.