Work it, Sir Charles!

On Friday, CNN's The Situation Room inadvertently stumbled into some truth right before Lou Dobbs' daily dose of nativist, anti-Mexican immigration rhetoric delivered under the guise of populist middle-class advocacy. For no discernible news-related reason, ol' Wolfie had the reliably outspoken ex-NBA star and (hopefully) future Alabama governor Charles Barkley on his program and, as usual, Sir Charles did not disappoint! Why, it's almost as though the corporate media actually courts (pah!) controversial guests to deliver controversial rhetoric in order to keep the ratings up-but occasionally some good comes out of it, and for that we will credit them. The initial topic of conversation was Barkley's support for Barack Obama, but it inevitably turned towards his opinion of Republicans and conservatism:

Hey, I live in Arizona. I have got great respect for Senator McCain. Great respect. But I don't like the way the Republicans are taking this country. Every time I hear the word "conservative," it makes me sick to my stomach, because they're really just fake Christians, as I call them. That's all they are. But I just -- I'm going to vote Democratic no matter what.

A bit later, Wolf asked Sir Charles to clarify (or perhaps qualify?) his remarks:

BLITZER: All right. One quick point before I let you go. You used the phrase "fake Christians" for conservatives. Explain what you're talking about.

BARKLEY: Well, I think they -- they want to be judge and jury. Like, I'm for gay marriage. It's none of my business if gay people want to get married. I'm pro-choice. And I think these Christians -- first of all, they're supposed to be -- they're not supposed to judge other people. But they're the most hypocritical judge of people we have in this country. And it bugs the hell out of me. They act like their Christians. And they're not forgiving at all.

BLITZER: So you're going to get a lot of feedback on this one, Charles.

BARKLEY: They can't do anything to me. I don't work for them.

BLITZER: You feel comfortable saying all that?

BARKLEY: I feel very comfortable saying I'm pro-choice, and I'm for gay marriage. Very comfortable.

BLITZER: But you can't lump all these conservatives as being fake. A lot of them obviously -- most of them are very, very sincere in their religious beliefs.

BARKLEY: Well, they should read the part about they're not supposed to judge other people. They forget that one when it doesn't fit what they want it to say.

Work! It goes without saying that there is nothing whatsoever I find objectionable in these statements. But the interesting story here is not how Sir Charles correctly identified the rampant hypocrisy of the highly-politicized evangelical movement, or how the Republican party has become completely in thrall to the Christian conservative wing's completely incongruous agenda of authoritarian, puritanical social policy and laissezfaire economics...no, the real story is the reaction Sir Charles' candid speech is getting from people who probably aren't accustomed to being on the receiving end of such rhetoric: a reaction of outrage and indignation that starts to ring hollow when you consider the company some of these people keep...

Quick to jump on Barkley's comments was The Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson, a 4th-tier anti-civil rights activist who was allegedly born a poor black child and who has parlayed his Cosbyesque "blacks are the problem" schtick into a lucrative career as a 4th-tier radio talk show host, head of a conservative, "pro-family" nonprofit and the resident House Negro of The Sean Hannity Show...because after all, racism isn't really racism if it's a black man saying it, right...? Anyway, here's what Uncle Ruckus had to say about Sir Charles:

Barkley is getting a pass because he's a black liberal Democrat attacking Christian conservatives. The man is a bigot and has no moral character. He should apologize for his remarks.

I have no recollection of Peterson apologizing for calling the victims of Hurricane Katrina "too lazy, immoral and trifling to do anything for themselves," but be that as it may...

There have been other, less strident reactions, yet still unsustainable by the facts, such as Christian Anti-Defamation Commission CEO Gary Cass expressing his astonishment at Barkley's supposed assertion "that Christians cannot have an opinion about matters of public policy and personal morality," (huh??) but the point is that there is a specter that hangs over the entire right wing punditocracy, a 900lb gorilla (I so wanted to say transgendered gorilla but in light of recent events, and the overriding fact that I don't have anything against transgendered people, I decided not to insult them by even remotely associating them with the piece of human offal I'm about to mention) that automatically invalidates any sense of indignation they may proclaim when confronted with any sort of bold or impolitic commentary from the left.

Two words: Ann-fucking-C- sorry, I should be consistent with the naming convention that was started by Unwired Labs and simply refer to it as "That Cunt Who Shall Not Be Named", or TCWSNBN for short. Because apparently it's only permissible for leggy right-wing blondes with suspiciously pronounced adam's apples to issue provocative and sweeping statements against those with whom they disagree. And I have no doubt that the irony will continue to be lost on (or simply ignored by) Hannity, Savage, Malkin, Peterson, and their ilk as they continue to either actively or tacitly support TCWSNBN or invite it as an honored guest on their shows as it promotes its' forthcoming book: Liberals Should Lick My Real Pussy Juice And Die In Another 9/11; Please Pay Attention To Me.