NRA Head on FOX "News" Sunday. . .Why?

FOX "News" Sunday is the crown jewel of that "news" in the network's name, being the ultimate in newsiness, rather than opinion. After you finish laughing over that whopper, ponder this on: while it was great (and unusual) that host Chris Wallace used a semi-tough line of questioning on NRA head Wayne LaPierre. . .why was LaPierre on in the first place? He's not an elected official, he's not a policy maker, he's not a retired general or a scion of industry. He's a lobbyist. A lobbyist not for the 2nd amendment, or hobbyist (hobbyist lobbyist?) marksmen, or hunters or paranoid "preppers." He's a lobbyist for gun manufacturers. He's the "big guns" version of "big tobacco." And he's batshit crazy to boot! [Story continues below]



So, I don't really see why he's going around on the Sunday shows, or being trotted in front of Congressional panels.  I mean, sure, if the intent is to grill him that's one thing. But he's being used as the point to the Diane Feinstein counterpoint. And that's a false equivalence.

While we're at it, this false equivalence isn't just used in the gun argument, it's all over broadcast and cable news, and it's damned annoying. The one that grinds me the worst is whenever the topic of gay rights is discussed, they drag out somebody from a certified hate group for "balance." Peter Sprigg, Tony Perkins, somebody from a group with "family" in its name, or some ridiculous "ex-gay" closet case (not that any of those listed are mutually exclusive) is treated as though their "side" of the argument is equally valid. It's like booking the KKK Grand Wizard for "balance" when the subject is race relations.  And yet, they keep doing it. Fortunately, Wallace's competition is more consistently tough on them. That doesn't mitigate the fact that they book them in the first place.

A Thought on Bill Maher, and the Rush Limbaugh False Equivalence

This is not a post about the whole Sandra Fluke/Rush Limbaugh/Slut-gate affair. Though it can't be pointed out enough, that Limbuagh's 3-day rant bore no resemblance to reality, and was completely out of bounds. It's not really about Bill Maher, his comedic choices, or his potty mouth. And it's not even about the actual false equivalence: Sarah Palin, uber-famous political celebrity vs. Sandra Fluke, student activist; Rush Limbaugh, conservative messiah vs. Bill Maher, libertarian comic.

What this post is about is the mystery of the news cycle. For several days (and it's probably dying down a bit right now), conservatives were pushing the "Oh yeah? Well if you're going to blast Limbaugh, we're going to tear down Bill Maher!" line. As is common when this stuff hits right-wing talk radio and FOX "News," the mainstream (liberally biased, my ass) media picks up on it too. So, the storyline became: If Rush Limbaugh's so bad, what about Bill Maher?

So, I'm not going to argue the false equivalence, I just want to know, why Maher? Do you know how many comedians have used Sarah Palin* for a punchline? Or how many have used the same words Maher used about her? Patton Oswaldt, John Fugelsang, Hal Sparks, and many others have made Palin the butt of their jokes. And don't tell me it's because she's a woman­® either. Lisa Lampanelli, Sarah Silverman, Kathy Griffin? They're all women. They've all skewered Palin. It's because she's a dolt, not because she's a woman!

So, how did conservatives en masse decide that the issue boiled down to a) sexism, b) Bill Maher and c) Sarah Palin? It would be quite a leap for so many conservatives to go to. It can't be a coincidence, so what is it? Do conservative talkers, pundits, commentators and bloggers get marching orders from headquarters? Do they get a bullet-pointed talking points daily email? Do they have some sort of Star Trek Borg hive-mind? I'd really like to know.


*And back to the sexism angle. It isn't just Palin and Michele Bachmann who get skewered with dirty words. Off the top of my head, I can think of John Boner Boehner, Eric ("bitchface") Cantor, Mitch (Yertle) McConnell, Tom (Tipsy McStagger) DeLay, Dick (Darth) Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Scott (Recall) Walker, and George freakin' Dubya Bush--all men--who comedians have had a field day with. It's not about sexism. It's about comedic potential.