The latest attack by Media Matters on Tucker Carlson happily gives me occasion to celebrate a February essay by Jack Cashill on “the death of irreverence.”
Cashill’s topic was Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who at that time looked like he might lose his job over a picture in his 1984 medical school yearbook that depicted someone in blackface enjoying a beer with someone in a KKK costume. While conservatives have plenty of reason to dislike Northam, his sense of humor should not be one of them.
Cashill puts the yearbook photo in context with what he calls “The Age of Irreverence” — which he sees starting in the early 1960s with films such as “Dr. Strangelove” and continuing through Mel Brooks’ “Blazing Saddles” until the 1970s when “Saturday Night Live” could be seen as the apotheosis of irreverence. Northam would have been attending college when “Animal House” was glamorizing sexist, brainless fun in the form of John Belushi, the patron saint of irreverence. (Imagine the penance Belushi would have to pay today to atone for his Samurai Delicatessen skit! He culturally appropriated a language, a robe, a hair-do and a sword for goodness sake!)
Living in the Age of Irreverence was much different than living in the Age of Political Correctness. As Cashill notes, “During the Age of Irreverence, young people like Northam used the occasion of Halloween to tweak, to shock, to step out of oneself for an evening and be mischievous.” The author describes several costumes of his own that pushed the limits — and notes how well they were received, even by liberals! Not surprising since at one time liberals prided themselves on being humorously irreverent (think Lenny Bruce or Mort Sahl) and mocked Republicans as buttoned-down, staid and boring.
Which brings us to Tucker Carlson, the Fox News host who got his start at CNN and MSNBC and used to wear a bow tie, for goodness’ sake, yet brands “Tucker Carlson Tonight” as “the show that is the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness, and groupthink.” He is clearly not someone who plays by the rules, which is another way of saying he is a bit, well, irreverent. I wouldn’t be surprised if “Animal House” was his favorite movie!
The left-wing thought police at Media Matters don’t like Carlson carving up their sacred cows of political correctness, socialism and gender madness, so they have made it a point to try to destroy his career. The latest effort involves listening to 10-year-old tapes of Carlson appearing on the radio show of “Bubba the Love Sponge” and saying the kinds of things you say when you are in a show like “Bubba the Love Sponge.” The whole idea of the shock jock genre is to push the envelope so far that people are (hey, imagine this!) shocked. It’s not my cup of tea, and so I don’t listen to the sophomoric blathering of shock jocks, but it never occurred to me to take them off the air. That kind of censorship only comes from the left these days.
CNN just ran an op-ed by left-wing lawyer Jill Filipovic in which she proclaims “Tucker Carlson’s words reveal who he really is.” She is, of course, right, but in a way she could never understand. They reveal that Carlson is a guy with a sense of humor — warped as it may well be. And humor is something which can’t be allowed to exist in a world of political correctness.
Carlson, unlike most Republican politicians, is fighting back against what he calls the outrage “mob.” You can read his monologue from Monday night’s show here. It is a beauty.
As an antidote to Media Matters, take a look at my new book “The Media Matrix: What If Everything You Know Is Fake?” — a collection of nearly 100 columns about Fake News and liberal media bias. This and “Why We Needed Trump” are available at Amazon in paperback or Kindle editions. Thanks!
Item #1: Would you please get a message to Tucker Carlson that Joe Morrisco’s family and extended family are behind him, his opening statement on Monday, March 11, 2019, and his entire observation of the Democrats and their accomplices, Paul Ryan and other Republican poseurs. I heard his entire program and NO APOLOGY IS NECESSARY. EVER. He has more integrity and brains than most of the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. They tried to get Sean Hannity, then went after Tucker. It is the liberal way of doing things. Smear and destroy the opposition because the Liberal way of life cannot stand up to debate and honesty. It’s not who they are. It is scary.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Joe Morrisco
Bedminster, NJ 07921
One more thought about Jack Cashill’s analysis of humor, political correctness, and Tucker Carlson. Can you see a corollary of how the tyrannical outrage presented by Media Matters is supported by the GOVERNMENT which gave them tax exempt status although they embroil themselves in politics and political tirades due to their lethal ability to cut anyone down. Threatening, right? To a greater degree, Scientology also received tax exempt status under a pretext of what? Their ability to destroy anyone and anything that disagreed with their policies. Threatening. When The TeaParty groups requested tax exemption, under Obama’s administration, the IRS made up policies to harass them with Lois Lerner and her thought police; they burdened the TeaParty advocates with investigations from the IRS to OSHA, because why? They are non-threatening. Just like the FBI uncovering something that has been going on forever in colleges, particularly with basketball and football recruits who only knew where the gym was, along with a percentage of kids getting into Yale through pay to play, etc. The similarity between Media Matters and Scientology being allowed a tax exempt status and the FBI going after the college scam rather than McCabe, Comey, Brennan, and even Mueller, is that the college scam is non-threatening. The FBI looks as though they’ve been working hard at crime and not sedition by their fellow FBI comrades. They are looking for leaks of Jussie Smolletts medical records, but the FBI can’t seem to find out who “unmasked” Mike Flynn, or leaked testimony from the House Intel Committee, or signed their name to false FISA warrants for surveillance or leaked the crazy dossier to BuzzFeed, CNN etal. By golly, this new and improved FBI is something. How about the domestic terrorists, Antifa and BLM. They are paid by someone. But it is too threateng to follow the money for the 3 busses of men who dressed in black who attacked, burned, and destroyed property on U.C.Berkley in 2016. One or two people were caught and then released. Same on Inauguration Day. How dare these people destroy cars and buildings because someone paid them to be outraged. The FBI should follow the money and let the American people know that these are not spontaneous riots of outrage against conservatives, they are well planned and intended to intimidate and threaten. Mr. Cashill’s article reminds us of the 60’s. Newark was set on fire, not by Black men and women, but by professional agitators who were not looking for racial equality, but were being paid to keep the anger going. Martin Luther King was the voice of reason. He saw what could happen if civilized people, not people, not those who threaten, worked together. It is sinful that the voices like Star Parker, Kimberly Klacik, Brandon Tatum, and by all means Christopher Harris, are barely heard. Reverend Jasper Williams, pastor of the Salem Bible Church in Atlanta, was criticized for saying “the black father should help raise his children in the home.” Difficult observation and doesn’t fit the story certain people are telling the people they hope will just follow them without questioning them. Bob Woodson, on Tucker Carlson’s show back on August 22, 2018, author of “The Triumph’s of Joseph,” said taking a federal statue down at UNC, doesn’t save any lives in Chicago. Deroy Murdock, Dr. Darrin Porcher and the wonderful Gianno Caldwell. These are Patriots and I just noticed most of them are African American, even though Christopher Harris is so correct to advocate for an “Unhyphenated America.” And not to forget Charlie Hurt’s consistent insight into motivations with his August 21, 2018, interview where he said, ” ‘Mobocracy’ is not the way to change things. The UNC students who vandalized the Silent Sam statue should be rounded up and put in jail and forced to reimburse the college (taxpayers of North Carolina).” Charles Hurt said the Dean should kick them all out. Horrible vandals and bullies in “Mob” mentality. And thank you to Frank Miele for introducing me to Real Clear Politics. Thank you, all of you.
Joe Morrisco
Bedminster, NJ 07921
3/13/19 12:44 pm