On Wednesday’s edition of his eponymous program, MSNBC anchor Martin Bashir and his liberal panel continued their staunch defense of Bill Maher while ripping into Rush Limbaugh. MSNBC contributor and former Democratic National Committee communications chief Karen Finney gave her tortured defense of the media's double standard:
You know, he is a public person. Sandra Fluke is not a public person. Bill Maher is a public person. Sarah Palin is a public person. You could make the argument whether you like what Bill Maher says or not, when you are in the public arena, you do put yourself out there in a way that a private person asked to testify in Congress should not expect to be attacked. [See video below. MP3 audio here.]
So Karen has contradicted herself, saying that Fluke is a random "private citizen" who just happened to be "asked to testify in Congress." In fact it was Democrat Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, who discovered Fluke. His aides heard Fluke speaking at a televised press conference on February 9 at the National Press Club. Private citizens do not have the habit of participating in press conferences at the National Press Club. Secondly, if she was a ‘private citizen’ as Finney claims, it was the Democrats that selected her to "testify," making her a public figure. But even then, her participation was not legitimate congressional testimony, as it was an exchange with a Democratic steering committee, not a duly-constituted congressional panel.
Democratic strategist Julian Epstein chimed in, attempting to distort the Maher comments even further by arguing that:
Bill Maher is not the spiritual leader of the Democratic party as Rush Limbaugh is of the Republican party. Secondly, many Democrats have said that when Bill Maher has used some of the offensive words that he has crossed the line. Third of all, comparing what bill Maher's rift is on Sarah Palin is basically that she is an empty suit when it comes to public policy, and that I think is true and factually based.
Maher may not be the "spiritual leader" of the Democrats, but he makes no bones about his liberal and anti-conservative political sentiments both on his HBO program and when he appears on other televised outlets. What's more, Maher cut a $1-million check to Obama's Super PAC recently, money the Super PAC will not give back, by the way.
What's more, because Maher is a comedian, his comments are supposedly excusable, yet Rush Limbaugh, who on a daily basis makes comedic comments, is beyond the pale? How is that not a double standard?
Liberals have tried to transform Fluke from a seasoned political activist into an apolitical victim of conservative talk radio. To quote Ms. Finney, “we’re not that stupid.”
Below is the relevant transcript:
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/j...-palin#ixzz1p97ZW2Ul