Thursday, March 24, 2011

CNN and the Inner Sexist, Erick Erickson



One year ago CNN hired Erick Erickson, a wingnut, and described him like this:
"Erick's a perfect fit for John King, USA, because not only is he an agenda-setter whose words are closely watched in Washington, but as a person who still lives in small-town America, Erick is in touch with the very people John hopes to reach," said Sam Feist, CNN political director and vice president of Washington-based programming. "With Erick's exceptional knowledge of politics, as well as his role as a conservative opinion leader, he will add an important voice to CNN's ideologically diverse group of political contributors."

CNN loves sexists. Erick Erickson has his very own radio show, and this is what he said about Obama's Libya decision:
Here's another Erickson theory about Libya, also from the his March 21 radio show:
ERICKSON: By the way, it's the women's fault. … It's, apparently, the women in the Obama administration who have decided we needed to go to war in Libya. … This is typical. This is so typ-- i'm mean, I'm going to bring my inner sexist out I'm afraid tonight, some of you are going to be very upset with me. But this is like women drivers. We're going to war in Libya, we have no plan, we have no map, even if we have a map of war, um, it wasn't going to get read, they were going to pull over and ask the French apparently for help, or at least make the guy pull over and ask the French for help. This is crazy.
And more:
ERICKSON: This is just silly. I mean, back-seat driving by the women, and they're gonna get Barack Obama lost. What is it with Barack Obama caving to the women? I mean, now we know who rules his personal life. I guess Michelle is firmly in charge as well, if Barack Obama is going to cave that easy to three women in his administration over what to do with Libya.
And even more:
ERICKSON: It took the women to get him involved, and the women apparently went in without a clear plan. No shopping list.

Bolds are mine. You can listen to Erickson if you wish. He then continues, in a nasal voice, by not being able to remember numbers and by not being able to pronounce Russian names. Note that I make no conclusions about men's ability to remember numbers or to learn foreign languages from that.

Neither do I point out that George Bush went to Iraq with no exit plan or with no obvious planning at all, and I make no conclusions about other men on that basis. That's because I'm not a sexist.

But Erickson is a proud sexist. And "an important voice", according to CNN.

Pause here for a moment and ask yourself what would happen to a conservative commentator who let his or her "inner racist" go wild in a radio show. That person wouldn't have a commenting job to return to, at least for a few months. But an inner sexist? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. We all know how women are. But those Ay-rabs, they sure oppress their little brainless women, don't they?

That's the conservative non-religious take on women. The religious take is worse. In either case, I don't understand women who vote Republican, especially without complaining loudly and long about total miscarried zygotes such as Erickson.

Not that it's necessary loads better elsewhere on the political spectrum, except for the blatant blurting out of the nastiest statements about one half of all humanity: That, my friends, the conservatives excel in. And they think it is funny and fair.

In any case, now we know what CNN thinks of women, too.