Wednesday, February 09, 2005

We Exhort, You Deride

This is slightly dated, but interesting nonetheless.

I can't stand the fawning pageantry of inauguration coverage to begin with, but I think I'd rather have my balls crushed in a vise than watch the coverage on Faux News, which from its inception has functioned as Karl Rove's third arm (or Dick Cheney's middle leg, take your pick).

But this little episode serves as a fine object lesson as to the extent the Kool-Aid Network will go to stifle any and all dissenting voices.

Bachrach says she turned Fox down twice before agreeing to appear, on one condition: She told the producer she wanted to talk about the money behind the celebration....On prior Fox appearances she had called Teresa Heinz a disastrous spouse of a candidate, but she had also made a point of saying that Laura Bush was pro-choice in her private life.

“I criticize everybody,” Bachrach says. “They know I’m not a winger. I speak my mind.”

An hour before the Fox limo was scheduled to pick her up, a producer called and asked what else she wanted to talk about besides the money issue. Bachrach said that was it.


So it's not as if Bachrach sandbagged the Faux producers or anything. They knew what they were getting into; indeed, since it took them three tries to get Bachrach to agree to appear, they were practically asking for it.



Then it got testy: Bachrach said Franklin Delano Roosevelt served chicken salad at his wartime inaugural. She said the White House was spending $40 million when troops were dying for lack of proper armor.

Quinn started to sputter: “I really didn’t want to talk about politics this morning.”

Bachrach’s jaw dropped.

“Oh, really?” Bachrach said. “I thought I was allowed to talk about what I wanted to talk about.”


Yeah. God forbid someone should talk about politics. Someone should have explained to Bachrach that Faux just wanted an extra fluffer to preen over Himself's re-investiture, but then she wouldn't have shown up, now would she?



Quinn: “What should they have cut back on?”

Bachrach: “How about 40 million dollars?”

Quinn defended the President and mentioned his prayer service.

“Well, gee,” Bachrach said, “that prayer service should sure keep them safe and warm in their flimsy vehicles in Iraq.”


Good for her. The bizarre fetish that these moron iconodules hold for prayer services and prayer breakfasts and prayer this and prayer that. Mass invocations of off-putting public piety that mean fuck-all without deeds that back them up. Someone tell these idiots about the whole "faith without works" deal, once and for all.

This is exactly why I can't stand to watch these nonsense pageants. The commentary for the Westminster Dog Show has more of a connection with reality, and almost as much preening. Who sits through this shit?



Quinn had had enough.

“Well, Judy Bachrach, I think we’ve given you more than your time to give us your point of view this morning.”

Actually, Bachrach got the hook halfway through the planned segment....Bachrach says she felt shell-shocked as she left the set.

“No one said goodbye,” she said. “I got icy stares. It was like being among Moonies.”


Heh. Well, that's because you were, dear. Some kinda cult, anyway. The increasing lengths they go to in closing ranks to insulate Dear Cheerleader from even the slightest criticism, no matter how well-founded and well-deserved, is generally found only in your garden-variety cults.

Only this time, it's half of America that needs to be deprogrammed.

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