WaPo's Gerson Blasts Franken, Ignores GOP "Vulgarians"
In case there was any doubt that former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson is now performing the same role for the Republican Party on the Washington Post opinion pages, today's column should put it to rest. Labeling former comedian turned Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken a "vulgarian," Gerson proclaimed the Democrat's satirical writing of the past the "Federalist Papers of lifestyle liberalism." As it turns out, Gerson not only has no sense of humor, he has no sense of balance: the legion of Republican vulgarians whose stench still taints Washington needless to say go unmentioned.
No doubt, Franken the comedian could talk - and write - some trash. (That said, Franken's performance during my 2005 interview of him was 2005 was strictly PG.) In his quest to aide the puerile Norm Coleman (a vulgar man who tastelessly declared of his late predecessor, "I am a 99 percent improvement over Paul Wellstone"), Gerson blasted Franken for off-color material past. A satirical 2000 piece titled "Porn O Rama" especially drew Gerson's ire:
"Porn-O-Rama!" is a modern campaign document every voter should read -- the Federalist Papers of lifestyle liberalism. It has the literary sensibilities and moral seriousness of an awkward adolescent nerd publishing an underground newspaper to shock his way into campus popularity. But, in this case, the article was written in 2000 by a 48-year-old man.
Of course, if Michael Gerson is worried about the "moral seriousness" of an "awkward adolescent," he should start with his former boss and current occupant of the oval office. Candidate George W. Bush, after all, called a New York Times reporter a "major league a**hole." (His vice president concurred "big time" and for good measure later told a United States Senator to "go f**k" himself on the floor of the Senate.) President Bush's own sensibilities include a grotesque nonchalance when it comes to matters of life and death, war and peace, as his "dead or alive," "bring 'em on," "I'm a little envious" and "kick ass" tough talk demonstrates.
Then there is John McCain, whose politics Gerson lauds as an example of "civility and generosity that challenge selfishness and prejudice." Last November, McCain laughed when a support asked him about running against Hillary Clinton, "how do we beat the bitch?" And in 1998, the paragon of virtue joked at a Senate GOP fundraiser:
"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno."
That same John McCain also dropped the F-bomb on his Republican allies John Cornyn (R-TX) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA). He also called his fellow GOP Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) an "a**hole." In 2006, McCain came to blows with his now-indicted Arizona colleague Rep. Rick Renzi, who objected to Mr. Straight Talk taunting him as "boy." In 1995, McCain had a "scuffle" on the Senate floor with then-92 year old Strom Thurdmond. And in 1992, McCain in the presence of reporters allegedly called his wife Cindy the c-word. It's no wonder that Mitt Romney, the man who would clearly love to be McCain's running mate, in January published a list of the future GOP nominee's top 10 moments of adolescent fury.
McCain has had plenty of company when it comes to Republican vulgarians in Congress. Mark Foley's pursuit of underage House pages, a long running scandal his GOP colleagues Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and Tom Reynolds (R-NY) helped conceal, helped cost the Republicans control of Congress in 2006. Clinton inquisitor, family values crusader and Louisiana Senator David Vitter was revealed to be a client of prostitutes. And Idaho Senator Larry Craig adopted his infamous wide-stance in an airport men's room in Norm Coleman's home state of Minnesota.
It's also no surprise that Gerson omits any mention of the cottage industry of right-wing hard liners turned soft core pornographers. Former Cheney chief of staff and convicted Plamegate felon Scooter Libby seemed quite comfortable writing about prostitution, deviant sexual acts and "man-on-deer, bear-on-girl" bestiality in his bizarre coming of age tale The Apprentice set in 1903 Japan. Fox News commentator and culture warrior Bill O'Reilly got down and dirty in his 1998 pulp novel, Those Who Trespass. And in 1981, future Second Lady Lynne Cheney published Sisters, a tale of forbidden lesbian love in the old West.
Understandably oblivious to the recent McCain c-word dustup, Michael Gerson concludes his assault on Franken:
"Our popular culture, of course, violates even these expansive boundaries of tastelessness with regularity. We laugh at comedies featuring the C-word and at cartoons of foul-mouthed third-graders. In the cause of relevance and realism, our common life is already decorated with excrement. Why should political discourse be any different?
For at least one reason: Because vulgarity is often the opposite of civility."
Al Franken was a comedian (one who happens to have made numerous USO trips to entertain our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.) Franken was paid to make Americans feel uncomfortable. As for John McCain, George Bush and the myriad other gutter dwelling Republican politicians, what's their excuse?
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