Fox News Ambushes Janeane Garofalo

[Max Goldberg]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wYcKDO8RFI&NR=1



The "white power" opening line sounds like it would have been hilarious.

[darrylduffy]

this apparently is a guy named ken pittman who is a radio host in MA?

i guess he tried to stage a protest at one of her shows and was the only one who showed.

http://www.kenpittman.com/blogs/150/...re-May-8-.html

maybe a less biased recount: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertai...ig_rings_true/

[RubelT]

This would be a great audition tape if Joy Behar ever retires from the View.

[dan telfer]

Poor GRIFF JENKINS, look at him trying to say tea baggers. It hurts his mouth.

I had the extreme pleasure of opening for Ms. Garofalo in Chicago a couple days after she was ambushed. That was indeed her opening line, and it killed. Oddly no protesters responded or waited outside.

[Keith Whitener]

I'm glad they're finally asking Garafolo the tough questions.

[Batman The Horse]

She made them look like fools to me.

[Hated Milk Machine]

Calling all of them racists is pretty stupid, but most of her other points were good (why didn't they care when Bush ran up the defecit?)

[isoS]

Their assertion that they didn't "see" any racists at the tea parties is equally stupid. They don't wear team jerseys, guys. It's more about their actions. But c'mon, isn't it just that, after 8 years, these guys had protest envy and wanted to get their civil disobedience on? This was the first issue that came along, and they would've done it no matter what color Democrat was in office.

[Adult Ed]

Saying that teabaggers are a fortiori racists cuts two ways. There were a lot of racists at the tea parties and it is disingenuous of the jackass to pretend that he didn't see them there. That doesn't mean that massive spending increases paired with tax hikes on the rich that won't begin to pay for the new spending isn't a legitimate issue.

At the same time, I went to the anti-RNC protest march during the convention in NYC and it was damn near impossible not to get caught within the camera range of a sign with an opinion that I found embarrassing or wrongheaded. It would be equally disingenuous for me to argue that there wasn't a substantial fringe-left element at the march but I don't think that undermines the legitimate reasons for protesting the presence of the RNC in heavily Democratic New York City.

[Kon Darp]

Their assertion that they didn't "see" any racists at the tea parties is equally stupid. They don't wear team jerseys, guys. It's more about their actions. But c'mon, isn't it just that, after 8 years, these guys had protest envy and wanted to get their civil disobedience on? This was the first issue that came along, and they would've done it no matter what color Democrat was in office.

The most significant exposure I've had to Janeane is on Comedy And Everything Else.

Based on her guest spot, she calls the right racist independent of Obama. She called them racist before him, and will after him. And no, she didn't really support her opinion there either.

[scamboogah]

I don't understand how she didn't support her opinion. She cited a specific sign. Just because Hannity said he didn't see it, sure as shit don't make it so.

She only said 'all' of them were racists once she realized who this douche was working for, and was clearly, from that point on, being facetious. She even did a curtsy after saying it again after about the fifth time the guy asked the same question.

[Hated Milk Machine]

She only said 'all' of them were racists once she realized who this douche was working for, and was clearly, from that point on, being facetious.

That's a pretty generous reading of the situation.

Whatever, I agree with her, it's just dumb to set yourself in an indefensible position by using words like "all." It weakened her argument.

[aenemaTron]

Yeah. It's not like she hasn't done it before. She has good intentions but she's basically the left's Chuck Norris.

[Kon Darp]

Eh, she just has no desire to reason with the right, as she stated on CEE. So it basically amounts to mental masturbation for people who already agree with you.

She makes valid points, but her method and approach are caustic and overall unhelpful. But she's a lot smarter than Chuck, you must admit that.

At least in my exposure to her, which is admittedly limited.

[aenemaTron]

Yeah it was probably a bad analogy made ten minutes after I woke up. But what I really want to say is, I like her a lot, she's really funny, and she should shut up.

[scamboogah]

Janeane has recognized that there are large swaths of the right wing that simply can't be reasoned with. The gun nut, religious zealot branch of the party absolutely will not respond to cogent, well thought out points.

Even though it may seem childish, and make her look like the left's Chuck Norris (You're right Tron, it was a terrible analogy), she recognizes that someone has to exist to counteract someone like Sean Hannity using the same childish, all or nothing, non-nuanced tactics. If she said, "Maybe there were some racists at the tea-bagging parties, but I'm sure most of them are nice people", FoxNews would've only played the last part and beat their chest about how Janeane Garafolo is now on their side and everything she ever believed up until now was a joke.

Democrats can be big, giant pussies when it comes to this kind of confrontation, and it's nice to see someone won't let the screaming retard in the football helmet have the keys to the car because that would be the fair thing to do.

[Kon Darp]

Janeane has recognized that there are large swaths of the right wing that simply can't be reasoned with. The gun nut, religious zealot branch of the party absolutely will not respond to cogent, well thought out points.

So, instead of trying to start a discussion with valid points she responds in kind?

All that does is give her detractors ammo to discredit her. It allows people to paint her like radical, or at least irrational leftist.

When you're calm and rational, you can at least make your detractors look like idiots to other rational people. If you're emotional and as you said, childish and lacking nuance, then you either appeal to childish people who already agree with you or you anger people who already disagree with you, who you weren't going to influence anyway. It only serves to hurt your point of view.

[bao]

Funny, I feel like I'm the opposite of many of you (most notably Tron) on this: in general, I would like Janeane Garofalo to shut up about a lot of things -- I think she represents the vulgar, victimized, and hip left that I find very irritating -- but on this issue I think she's making a very important and very good point (and articulating it well).

In other words, why are so many middle and working class white people SO angry at the Obama administration, to the point they will take to collective action? I agree with isos that part of it comes from this desire to fight back after being (rightfully) attacked in the last two years, especially. They won, they got to make up the rules to game and play on their terms, calling all the plays, AND IT WAS A COMPLETE DISASTER, and they have been attacked and repudiated for their failures, and they are responding like a child -- with aggression.

That said, it would also be unfair to dismiss the racial component. The fact that this movement of tea baggers is tolerating and absolutely NOT backing away from -- and is in fact defending -- the blatant and open (and extreme) racism of some of its participants is very, very problematic. It is, I think, indicative of a palpable undercurrent of racism on the newly consolidating far right.

I'm glad that Janeane is bringing this up, and I'm glad that she is defending herself so well.

I should add that while her politics do annoy me, she is actually quite funny.

Also, this thread -- or at least this post -- belongs in the non-comedy section

PS. Also, I think its great to admit when somebody says, "you just called a lot of my friends racists," that yes, I am calling your friends racists.

[scamboogah]

How many smart, nuanced, non-emotional people are you ever going to see on FoxNews? I think Garafolo knows that if she's the calm voice of 'let's try and find some middle ground' liberalism, that the right will ignore her like a public radio host. By saying at least one inflammatory thing, she can get many other points across to their sheep-like viewers.

How else would the 'Where have those people been for the last 8 years' comment have ever gotten anywhere near Fox? Maybe Colmes may have said it, and that's exactly why they canned his ass.

[aenemaTron]

Maybe I should have watched the video before I commented? I thought I understood that painting racism with a broad brush was stupid, no matter what the reason.

By the way, if you explicitly disagree with something I said in a post, you don't have to also vote it down. Jeez.