November 24, 2013

Following Sarah Palin's not too terribly gracious "acceptance" of Martin Bashir's apology for his remarks in response to Palin's comparison between the federal debt and slavery, CNN's Reliable Sources devoted a segment to the topic this Sunday which included Glenn Beck's The Blaze contributor Amy Holmes. To no one's surprise when guest host Eric Deggans asked Holmes if she felt her boss owed anyone an apology for his remarks accusing President Obama of being a racist, Holmes demurred and said she can't speak for her boss.

Because we all know being a right-winger means never, ever, having to say you're sorry about anything. I can't defend Bashir's remarks and won't, but I'm sorry that the larger context of what he was trying to explain about how really offensive Palin's remarks were was lost in the frenzy that followed them. Palin of course doesn't see anything wrong with what she said and doubled down on the statement during her interview with Chris Wallace today.

And Glenn Beck's remarks about President Obama hating white people are just one tiny portion of the really offensive b.s. and just outright lies that come out of Glenn Beck's mouth day after day, but don't expect an apology from him for any of it any time soon, like before hell freezes over. Being offensive is a feature for Beck, not a bug. He thrives off it it like the rest of the trolls on the right and his buddies on hate-talk radio, that have to say more and more outlandish things day after day to keep the outrage meter pegged for the lemmings that follow them.

I'd like to know why Amy Holmes or anyone that works for Beck now after he got booted off of their network and then Fox is someone CNN's producers think ought to be getting air time in the first place, but here we are with the audience being treated to this pearl clutching by Holmes for poor old picked on Palin:

DEGGANS: So, Amy, I'd like to start with you. Martin Bashir apologized for his comments. He reached out to the Palin family.

Is there really a problem here? Or are competitors and partisan people try to make an issue being made out of something that has already passed?

AMY HOLMES, THEBLAZE.COM: Well, obviously, MSNBC and Mr. Bashir believes that there is a problem there. I mean, like most Americans, I don't watch his show. It's a low-rated show.

But his remarks, as Joe Scarborough said, they were deplorable. And not only that, they were planned. There was malice of forethought, and bizarrely for a TV host who is constantly attacking the president's critics as racist, he cast himself in the role of a vicious slave owner who wanted to meet out this dehumanizing punishment on this public figure.

What MSNBC decides to do, it's completely up to them. But let's reflect back that in 2008, David Shuster, he was guest hosting for MSNBC. And he made a remark that was offhand and distasteful about Hillary Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea Clinton. And he was put on indeterminate suspension and eventually after acrimony, left the network.

DEGGANS: I'd like to pushback just a bit and note that your boss, Glenn Beck, accused President Obama of being a racist. Later reconsidered his words, apologized, people moved on.

Shouldn't Martin Bashir get the same sort of consideration?

HOLMES: I don't think the remarks compare. I can't speak for Glenn Beck. You know, you can make your decision about what you think about the president's racial outlook.

But what Martin Bashir was doing was actually casting himself in the role of an 18th century slave owner who suggesting that Sarah Palin be treated to what we agree is vicious, vulgar punishment.

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