Monday, May 11, 2009

Wanda Sykes Compares Limbaugh to bin Laden

Over the weekend at the White House Correspondents Dinner, "comedienne" Wanda Sykes riffed on Rush Limbaugh.

Rush Limbaugh said he hope this administration fails. So you’re saying, ‘I hope America fails.’ He just wants the country to fail. To me, that’s treason. He’s not saying anything different than what Osama Bin Laden is saying. You know, you might want to look into this, sir, because I think maybe Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker but he was just so strung out on OxyContin he missed his flight.

Where does one begin?

Well, I suppose she is a "comedienne" and thus we should not take anything she says seriously.

Except there is every reason to believe she meant every word of it.

So assuming Sykes meant what she said let me dissect it.

First, is Wanda Sykes going to tell us that she wanted the Bush Administration to succeed? Her side of the aisle questioned Bush's very legitimacy. Wishing him success would have been an act of heresy in Hollywood. No guest spots on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Second, if we take Ms. Sykes arguments to its logical conclusion she is saying that disagreement with the Obama Administration is tantamount to treason.

Third, if Ms. Sykes is saying that disagreeing with the Obama Administration is tantamount to treason then what about disagreement with the Bush Administration? By her argument wouldn't that be treasonous? Nope. Remember Dissent was patriotic - until noon on January 20, 2009.

Fourth, as for the bin Laden comparison, I don't recall Limbaugh telling conservatives it was their duty to kill liberals.

Of course, if Rush Limbaugh had told the Conservative Political Action Conference that he wanted Wanda Sykes' kidneys to fail he would have been called a) racist b) sexist c) homophobic d) accused of stifling dissent and e) fomenting a climate of hatred in this country.

To quote the late Sonny Bono, "And the beat goes on."

1 comment:

Anderson said...

Comedians and comediennes are struggling. They are entertainers, not leaders, so it would be tough to expect them to have a strong stance on anything.

Unfortunately, Ms. Sykes has no choice but to mock the previous administration. I believe that in a previous stand-up session she made a harmless joke about Obama that backfired horrendously. Standing in front of the O-man himself, she was not going to test those murky waters again. It is sad, but I can't find it in me to blame her for trying to do her job.

Bernie Mac, before his death, was performing at an Obama rally. Bernie made a joke that didn't go well, but Obama pounced on the opportunity to throw Mr. Mac under the bus. I think it became apparently clear to many true comedians at that point that this guy was trouble. The ones who haven't wised up will also get such treatment.

When comedians or comedy writers talk about how the O gives them no material, they are flat liars. That they cannot talk about O for fear of their careers, that is a different story.