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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

CNN Covers Michelle Malkin Being an Asshole

I've been chewing over this CNN article about a homeless woman, Henrietta Hughes, whose plea for help from President Obama sparked an outpouring of support from Florida neighbors in the Ft. Myers area. Obviously, I'm glad to see the community respond so quickly once they heard of this woman's plight. At the same time, it's abundantly clear that individual acts of charity are not a systematic solution to the problems people like Ms. Hughes face, and I'm uncomfortable with the triumphalist tone the article is putting out. If she really is the "face of the economic crisis," then we need a policy solution that addresses these issues as a totality. The Florida politicians who are racing to help Ms. Hughes, personally, should likewise be racing to their legislative offices to get some useful bills passed.

Meanwhile, CNN cites extensively to the reaction from conservative bomb-thrower Michelle Malkin, who seems to determined to reenact the Graeme Frost fiasco:
Blogger Michelle Malkin, in a story on the conservative Web site TownHall.com on Wednesday, said that if Hughes "had more time, she probably would have remembered to ask Obama to fill up her gas tank, too."

"The soul-fixer dutifully asked her name, gave her a hug and ordered his staff to meet with her. Supporters cried, 'Amen!' and 'Yes!' " she added.

One reader blasted Hughes' motives and questioned how the homeless woman got to the rally at all.

"How does a 61-year-old homeless woman who's living in a pickup truck with her son JUST HAPPEN to get a ticket so she can VERY PUBLICALLY ask Prez. Obama for a HOUSE? Anyone? Who pushes her up on stage? She's right at the front of the crowd. Did she just happen to get a seat there?" asked reader Erik E.

Malkin responded: "Silence! Do not question Dear Leader. ... Like Mighty Mouse, President Obama is here to save the day. The government is here to help -- and it is your patriotic duty to pay for it all without preconditions."

Malkin's ability to try and slime poorer Americans for having the temerity to ask anything of their government is apparently boundless. But while the nation recoils in disgust from Malkin's sludge, the media is finally starting to catch on that for the Republican base, Malkin's words are standard operating procedure, and worthy of coverage on that ground alone.
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1 comment:

  1. PG4:11 PM

    Shrug. Malkin, Limbaugh et al. are entertainers, not party activists. Their allegiance is to their own wallets and not to the strength of the GOP. It's more profitable for them to get the base riled up about those damn sponging poors than to consider the effect their words and actions have on the reputation of conservatives, and how that effect hurts conservatives' ability to get elected.

    What's sad is that so many elected conservative politicians still believe it's in their interest to brown nose rightwing entertainers who simply give conservatives a bad image. (I would say the same if Democratic politicians were afraid to annoy Michael Moore, but they're not -- Obama was criticized by Moore fans for suggesting Sanjay Gupta for Surgeon General, because of Gupta's criticisms of "Sicko," yet Gupta's still the nominee.)

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