Anti-liberal radio host Michael Savage created a mythical liberal straw man tonight for his listeners.
Savage plucked two seemingly apolitical stories off the wires in order to set up a rant against three "libs" -- Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Charles Schumer (D-NY).
It was theater of the absurd. Here's a brief synopsis of each. (As I didn't tape the show, I paraphrased what Savage said in italics):
THE CASE OF THE FLYING SHRIMPThe family of a deceased man is suing the Benihana restaurant chain, claiming the man died from a series of events starting when he ducked to avoid a flying shrimp piece tossed by a hibachi chef. According to the family's lawyer, the man later needed neck surgery, developed an infection, and died.
Savage followed by essentially saying the man's family had no case against Benihana (for the record, I agree, based on the information given.)
But if Kennedy, Feinstein and Schumer had their say, the family would probably win their case. I'm surprised they didn't starting asking Supreme Court nominee Sam Alito whether he would side with the shrimp or with the dead man, Savage bemoaned.
THE CASE OF THE OILY HANDSA prisoner enters a courtroom, opens a bottle, and rubs his hands with the bottle's unidentifed contents. He then shakes hands with three courtroom officials, who later get sick.
The man claims the liquid was olive oil, but no one is buying it.
But these three libs would probably side with the prisoner, Savage exclaims.
"Do you now see what we're dealing with, with these libs?" Savage asked his listeners.
But what are we dealing with in this theater of the absurd that passes for anti-liberal talk radio? Two essentially fake tales of the burden created by having Kennedy, Feinstein and Schumer in the Senate.
Creating a mythical liberal straw man is a common trick among anti-liberal radio hosts.
One recent example of this, as related earlier on JABBS, came a few weeks ago, when Rush Limbaugh offered his own theater of the absurd:
THE CASE OF THE DEAD SEATTLE MANLimbaugh related a story about a suburban Seattle man who was dead on arrival at an area hospital's emergency room. He had a knapsack, in which there were homemade video tapes showing the man engaging in bestiality.
Limbaugh related the story over several minutes because he thought it was funny. But he also wanted to use it as a platform for building the mythical liberal straw man.
After finishing the anecdote, Limbaugh segued into wondering aloud -- assuming on behalf of his audience -- that the man and his friends were liberals.
Why turn the apolitical into an anti-liberal statement? To link bestiality with liberalism -- much the same way Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and other conservatives suggest that those who support gay marriage today will support marriage between man and beast tomorrow.
Just typing it out I'm amazed that this stupidity passes for anti-liberal talk radio.
Let's hope that the roughly
22 milion people who listen to Savage or Limbaugh daily -- more people than the number watching the nightly news on ABC, CBS and NBC nightly -- are smart enough to recognize theater of the absurd when they hear it.
***
This item first appeared at
Journalists Against Bush's B.S.
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