DangerousTalk

Traditionally Political Correctness has been viewed as a liberal thing but quite frankly, I don’t see it. While it is true that Democrats usually try to play nice and look down on those who use racial and sexual slurs, Democrats don’t usually push for laws restricting free speech and when they do whine about “hurtful words” I tend to denounce that point of view in favor of free speech.

If you remember Janet Jackson’s now infamous “wardrobe malfunction,” it was the Republicans leading the censorship charge on that day. Religious fundamentalists whined about moral standards with righteous indignation. I will grant you that Democrats went along with that, but the effort was lead by Republicans.

When Congress wanted to raise FCC fines against broadcasters for “indecency” it was again Religious Right Republicans whined and cried about dirty words and sexually explicit language who lead the effort to increase those fines astronomically. At a time of war, they even tacked this resolution on a defense spending bill to insure 100% support from the Senate.

Now, Governor Sarah Palin is leading the latest anti-free speech campaign against jokes she considers in “poor taste.” After late night talk show comedian and host David Letterman told a few jokes about Palin, her daughter, and Democrat Eliot Spitzer, Governor Palin went on the warpath. Aside from her blatant mischaracterization of Letterman’s joke, Palin then insinuated that Letterman was a pedophile.

Here are the jokes that Sarah Palin found “offensive”:
Joke 1: “[Sarah Palin] Bought makeup at Bloomingdale’s to update her ’slutty flight attendant’ look.”
Joke 2: “An awkward moment during the seventh inning, her [Palin] daughter [Bristol] was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez.”
Joke 3: Palin having problems keeping Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter [Bristol].

Palin claims that the jokes were focused on her 14-year-old daughter Willow, but Willow wasn’t the one who has been in the news for being “knocked up” out of wedlock. That would be Bristol. So while Willow was the daughter at the game, the joke was clearly in reference to the older daughter. The joke just wouldn’t make sense if it were about Willow Palin. Governor Palin (who didn’t even understand the joke by her own admission) claims that it was aimed at Willow so that she can use the joke to claim that Letterman was joking about rape (presumably she meant statutory rape) and then insinuating that he could be a pedophile. When questioned about that insinuation, Palin attempted to back off that statement with the claim that her daughter Willow might use violence toward the talk show host. It was a pretty weak back track since her original meaning was very clear and obvious and even the new spin could be considered “over the line.”

While we could just laugh this off as that wacky Sarah Palin trying to get back in the news, she has gotten other Republicans to speak out against Letterman and his jokes. The head of the Republican Party is even calling for a boycott of Letterman’s show and I won’t be surprised if some sort of legislation is introduced because of Letterman’s jokes.

While Letterman tried to explain himself and defuse the controversy by inviting Palin on his show, Palin won’t have it. Instead, she and her religious fundamentalist base have stepped up the rhetoric and have taken the rest of the Republican establishment with them. It seems that the Alaskan Governor sees this as an issue she can capitalize on to elevate her status within the GOP.

As a free speech activist, I support David Letterman and his jokes. If Letterman had made jokes about the President’s daughters, I wouldn’t have a problem with that either if they were in the news. When Bush’s daughters were in the news for binge drinking, there were plenty of jokes being thrown around. Bristol Palin has become a public figure because of her mother’s abstinence only policies. Bristol of course got “knocked up” and paraded around during her mother’s failed VP campaign. Willow on the other hand has not made the news and had Letterman’s joke attacked her, I might be more inclined to take to her defense.

Now however, Sarah Palin has moved Willow into the spotlight so she is now fair game. What did the Alaskan Governor say to the mob of homosexuals when her witchdoctor pastor was visiting? “Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as [is] good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.” -Genesis 19:8

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