Here's talkshow pundit, Mr. Glenn Beck, holding forth on Senator Hillary Clinton on GMA:

And here's the text of that interchange:

SHIPMAN: Is that stuff sexist, funny, or really bad taste? We asked Chris Matthews and Tucker Carlson if they wanted to talk about it; the only personality, though, who manned up to talk about his words with us -- radio and TV host Glenn Beck.

I'm going to show you examples of --

BECK: I feel like --

SHIPMAN: -- one thing you said. All right, don't get nervous.

BECK [audio clip]: She's the stereotypical bitch, you know what I mean? She's that stereotypical nagging -- [screeching]. You know what I mean?

BECK: Do you know what I mean? Do you?

SHIPMAN: What did you mean?

BECK: This is what I meant. We were watching one of her interviews, or whatever she was doing, or a speech. And she had that tone of voice, where she just sounds like [covers his ears]. I can't listen to it 'cause it sounds like -- it sounds like my wife saying, "Take out the garbage."

SHIPMAN: But what about the "B" word?

BECK: Go ahead and say it.

SHIPMAN: Is that OK to use?

BECK: Say it. Go ahead.

SHIPMAN: You think I should say it? I don't want to say it. I don't like it.

BECK: No, you know what? Here's the thing: Calling her that -- no. I don't think I'd call her that. I hope I've never called her that. Saying, "sounds like the stereotypical" -- probably a better word was "nag."

SHIPMAN: One of the problems is sexism is hard to define. The virtue of name-calling, if you will, or slurs like "iron my shirt," is that, sexist or not, they are so obvious. But what about the very silly, a pen with Hillary's cackle? A Hillary nutcracker, her legs lined with spikes? In the bigger picture, even Obama supporters like leading feminist Naomi Wolf think Hillary is feeling unfair pressure, but she thinks it's self-defeating for the candidate to talk about it.

Do I think Senator Clinton has had a rough time as a candidate because of her gender? You bet. Do I, like Senator Clinton, think she's had it rougher than Senator Obama? Nope. As one who counts as a twofer (nigger and bitch) I can tell you that that's a pointless conversation. Did she have an opportunity to elevate the conversation from one where she expressed being victimized ("Why do I have to always go first") to one where we move wormen's rights forward? Yup. Did she? Sadly, you know the answer to that. It is largely because of the way that she's allowed herself to be framed as a victim--a new jack, New York Southern Belle--that I refused to vote for her. Where was your "Towards a More Perfect Union" speech, Ms. Clinton? I remember a woman candidate--a white woman--telling me that she was counting on my vote. "Why?" I asked her. "Because we're women" she said. I didn't vote for her. Neither race nor gender are necessary and sufficient to garner my vote, though how a candidate conducts him or herself in the face of these realities does mean something to me.

Still, the chatterheads like Beck, Carlson and Matthews (and Olberman and others) are in an ever escalating race towards uber venality. When they win, we lose.

Lalita Amos's blog | login or register to post comments