Mainstream mean boys
by digby
Huckleberry Graham got in trouble this week for making a mean,sexist joke about Nancy Pelosi. He begrudgingly apologized clearly unconcerned about what he'd said. He's not the first Republican to be so rude. Hate radio has made millions with these cheap jokes.
But there is one person we can hold up as responsible for making this particular mean, sexist joke mainstream:
"Outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave a speech and handed the gavel to John Boehner. Very emotional moment for Pelosi, but she managed to keep a stiff upper lip, a tightly stretched forehead, and unnaturally arched eyebrows." –Jay Leno
"Ohio Republican John Boehner will take over for Nancy Pelosi. Those are some big eyes to fill." –Jay Leno
"Nancy Pelosi has now been elected the new House minority leader. She was smiling from ear to ear, which is pretty impressive considering how far her ears have been pulled back." –Jay Leno
"Christine O'Donnell has a new campaign ad where she says she's not a witch. Nancy Pelosi was furious. She said, 'Hey, that's my slogan.'" –Jay Leno
"Nancy Pelosi's Republican opponent, John Dennis, has an ad where he depicts Pelosi as the Wicked Witch of the West. Pelosi is very angry and the Wicked Witch is even angrier." –Jay Leno
"Of course, this all couldn't have been done without the help of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. And today, the president thanked her for her unblinking support." –Jay Leno, on the passage of health care reform
"Actually, Nancy Pelosi used the Internet to help gain support for this. She reached out to people on her favorite social networking site, Icantmovemyfacebook.com." –Jay Leno
"Before the health care vote, protesters on Capitol Hill heckled Nancy Pelosi. But she managed to keep a stiff upper lip, as well as a tightly stretched forehead, and an unnaturally arched eyebrow." –Jay Leno
"Before she left for China, reporters repeatedly questioned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about her claim the CIA lied to her. But Pelosi remained tight-lipped. She also remained tight-foreheaded and tight-eyelided." --Jay Leno
"It was so cold in Washington, it felt like Hillary's inauguration. It was so cold, Al Gore led a prayer for global warming. In fact, by the end of the inauguration, everybody's face looked like Nancy Pelosi." --Jay Leno
"Nancy Pelosi said today we've waited 200 years for this. 200 years? How many face lifts has this woman had?" --Jay Leno
There are a bunch of Bill Maher jokes in the same vein. You can understand why someone like Graham might assume that such jokes are considered perfectly acceptable. Many millions of people heard them night after night and laughed and laughed and laughed.
It's not the biggest problem in the world. But Pelosi is the most powerful elected official in the US Government. This stuff is demeaning and very much designed to portray her as an unserious old bag. Why not poke fun at her politics straight up instead of doing it with cheap sexist and ageist tropes? There's a ton of material there. Comedians don't really have to do it like this.
Certainly Huckleberry Graham can figure out how to deploy his dull, mean boy wit in less obvious ways.
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