Forget about the liberal “new tone” that was touted in the wake of the tragic shooting in Arizona by a crazed political party-less lone wolf. It’s open season for media talking heads, who continue to marginalize conservative women because they embrace a right-of-center form of feminism.
The most recent — and altogether unsurprising — culprit is Bill Maher, who sat down with CNN’s Piers Morgan to spew his misogynistic rhetoric Monday night. Morgan proposed a choice between either Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann. That part of the interview went something like this:
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Morgan: Now, if you had a choice – gun to your head – which one is it? Palin or Bachmann?
Maher: I would need a gun to my head.
Morgan: [Laughter.]
Maher: I hope Sarah Palin gets in, so that they split the MILF vote.
Morgan: [Laughter.]
Maher: But I guess Bachmann… at least she’s somebody who can read. You know, she has a job. She was a lawyer. She’s in Congress. She’s not someone who just sits there and reads the prayers on her BlackBerry like Sarah Palin does. I mean, you know, we’re splitting hairs here.
Morgan: Could Sarah Palin become President? Is it possible in the current climate?
Maher: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes. People who say this one is a joke or this one is a joke. I remember when I was 12 years old in 1968 and Ronald Reagan was first considering running for President. And I remember what a joke that was. Ronald Reagan? You mean, the “Bedtime for Bonzo” guy?… though, I think he did become President. Yes, absolutely. Because if she could get the nomination and anything can happen… I mean, this Republican Party is not your father’s Republican Party. Somewhere along the line, they got on a short bus to Crazytown… And if someone gets the nomination of one of the two major parties — especially, in a bad economy with a black President… Yea, she could become President.
Ignore the fact that Morgan continues with the mainstream media’s Bachmann v. Palin false dilemma. (Perhaps I’ll save that for another day.)
He kicks off this line of questioning by using violent rhetoric: gun to your head. Where have we heard that recently?
Oh yea! Both Barack Obama and liberal investor Warren Buffet used the violent imagery to argue against Republican attempts to stop an increase to the debt ceiling last week. Buffet went as far as to say Republicans would “blow your brains out” in their quest for fiscal sanity in Washington. If anyone’s holding the American people hostage, it’s those in Washington who want to continue to spend us deeper and deeper into debt.
But nevermind that. Back to Maher’s hatred of conservative women. Piers Morgan didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow as Maher carried out his rant against conservative women. Morgan’s approving laughter is enough to make one shudder.
Just a last week on Maher’s HBO program, he was bested by Ann Coulter, who accused Maher (rightfully so) of being a misogynist. You can see the video here. While Maher flatly rejected the accusation, he then went onto defend his history of dating only supermodels by saying, “They don’t have to be [supermodels], it’s just suggested.”
Certainly, if a conservative pundit demeaned women in the way Bill Maher does, he’d be roundly criticized.
However, why should we be satisfied letting one of our own (Coulter) make the case against Maher’s misogyny? Feminists from my home state — the Tennessee Guerilla Women — have plenty to say about Maher’s unacceptable attitude toward women. (Their documentation of Maher’s offenses goes back to 2007.) It’s unfortunate the mainstream media is complicit in the marginalization of conservative women.
Is this the kind of backwards behavior we can continue to expect from our enlightened progressive friends? Regrettably, the answer is most likely yes.
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