Posted by
RME KRNL on Friday, May 29, 2009 11:05:26 PM
In a blurb entitled "Janeane Garofalo’s Lefty Mindset," Left Coast Report's James Hirsen recently noted that Joel Surnow may rue the day Janeane Garofalo got a role on “24.” Garofalo’s recent public denouncements of the TEA Party protests may have lots of conservatives turning the hit TV series off.
Hirsen also points out that the politically outspoken comedian, actress and failed liberal TV talk show host does, however, provide a look through the lens with which liberals view any criticisms of President Obama. The left sees Obama solely within the historical context of being the first black president and, as such, his success in all of the micro and macro machinations of governing apparently has to be defended, perhaps even beyond the point of rationality. To the liberals, criticism of any issue, statement or policy of his must take a back seat to the historic achievement of his black presidency. Well, except perhaps for one of the truer (and less offensive) things comedian Wanda Sykes, who is black, said at the recent White House Correspondents Dinner when she talked about knowing that Obama is biracial but she just liked saying "The first black president" - that is, unless he messes up, at which time she said it would change to "Hey, what's up with the half-white dude?"
You may recall, however, during the 2008 presidential campaign, that candidate Obama himself told a fundraiser crowd in Jacksonville, Florida, “We know what kind of campaign they're going to run. They're going to try to make you afraid. They're going to try to make you afraid of me. He's young and inexperienced and he's got a funny name. And did I mention he's black?” His "reverse psychology" yet deliberate playing of the race card caused many political pundits (I call them pol-dits) to wonder if any future negative comments about Obama’s words or actions would be dismissed as racist. Well, pol-dits, wonder no more.
This is exactly what Garofalo attempted to do on MSNBC's Countdown program with Keith Olbermann by insisting at some length and with a fair degree of vitriol that those who attended the recent anti-tax, anti-big government, anti-big spending rallies were “a bunch of teabagging rednecks.” She described attendees as being motivated by bigotry, adding “This is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism, straight up.” I don't recall any actual proof of that offered by Ms. Garofalo, then or since, but of course she is entitled to her opinion - however erroneous and unsubstantiated it may be.
However, when pressed about it in a recent ambush interview by Fox News, she did mention one sign she saw displayed at one of the protest sites. I guess that's enough "proof" for her to paint almost three-quarter of a million protesters at about 40,000 different sites all across the country with the same broad brush of blame. Hey, please put her on my jury if I'm the plaintiff but not if I'm the defendant. She gives a whole new meaning to the legal term "scintilla of proof."
Her liberal "open-mindedness" and "tolerance" were also fully displayed at the idea of conservative radio icon Rush Limbaugh making a vist to the “24” set. As she told the Village Voice, “When Rush Limbaugh visited the set, and when Lynne Cheney visited the set, I refused to have my picture taken with them or meet them or anything.” Well, for one thing, Rush recently indicated that he had never visited the set while Garofalo was a member of the cast of “24.” And, for another thing, it begs the question about what makes Garofalo think Rush Limbaugh or Lynne Cheney would actually want to meet her anyway? Get over yourself, Janeane.