Michelle Wolf is not the first so-called comic to maliciously insult conservatives and Republicans at a White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, but she was intentionally mean-spirited, and even after the blowback, she’s unrepentant.
Members of the liberal mainstream media have expressed disapproval over some of Wolf’s comments, saying she went too far. But I’m not buying it. This is what passes as liberal humor these days. Just watch Jimmy Kimmel, Bill Maher and Stephen Colbert and tell me their humor is less malevolent.
But hold on, you say. There’s a difference between late-night TV and a formal dinner pregnant with self-important dignitaries of the Washington press corps. Perhaps, but the point is there is a receptive constituency for this kind of bile. The organization had to have known what to expect from Wolf, and she admits she was just being herself that night. “If you’ve seen any of my comedy, you know that I don’t — I’m not (nice),” said Wolf. “I don’t pull punches. I’m not afraid to talk about things.”
Revealingly, comedian Tina Fey said, “When you invite a comedian into that place, where that tone is set, they’re going to give it to you straight, and I think that’s pretty much what she did.” Whoa! In one line, Fey defends Wolf’s nastiness, confirms that the association should have known what it was getting with her and fixes her stamp of approval on Wolf’s calling White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders a liar.
The unapologetic Wolf, however, denies she was ridiculing Sanders’ looks. But in her indignant denial, she admitted something just as damning: “I think if you listen to the joke, you’ll understand that it’s about the fact that she lies, and if it’s taken another way, I think you should go back and listen to it again.”
Oh, OK, Michelle. You are not a bad guy after all. You only vaguely hinted at Sanders’ appearance, but you admittedly called her a liar outright — right to her face in front of a large crowd present in the room and an exponentially larger one watching on television. Now that’s virtuous. Bless you, you crusader for truth and all that is good and decent.
It is shocking that anyone would think her disparaging slander was funny. But it is not surprising that she would assume that calling Sanders a liar would be well-received or socially acceptable. This is the way far too many leftists think these days. How else do you explain the popularity of their comedians who routinely traffic in this bilge?
Indeed, no one really cares what Wolf thinks. If she had made these remarks in a smoky nightclub, who would know or care? It’s what it says about the left that makes it newsworthy.
Based on my own interactions with people of this mindset, I think many of them are so consumed with their contempt for conservatives — and especially President Donald Trump — they believe that almost anything goes if it advances the cause of denigrating them.
Their thinking seems to be that conservatives and Trump are so evil that ordinary rules of decorum can be suspended to speak “truth to power” — as if they’re not themselves powerful and as if they are speaking truth. (See Tina Fey’s comments, above.) It’s the same thought process driving their rationalization that free speech can be denied to conservatives who express ideas they find repugnant. With every passing year, leftists gain more recruits to serve alongside them as mini-ministers of truth. The level of self-deceit they possess that twists their minds and darkens their sensitivities is alarming, and it’s getting worse.
I assume that many of you will think I am hyperventilating or exaggerating — blowing this way out of proportion and making unwarranted generalities.
I understand you believe that, but I’ve witnessed this growing hostility on the left for years, which leads even mainstream liberals to reflexively brand conservatives as racists, sexists and homophobes simply by virtue of their conservatism. You can’t oppose illegal immigration or criticize Barack Obama on policy without being called a racist. The smear has worked, which I dare say is why such a disproportionate percentage of minorities vote Democratic when Republican policies benefit them more — and why Democrats are losing their minds over Kanye West’s praise of Trump and his assertion that African-Americans should be free to think for themselves and not be pressured into identity groupthink.
I could cite examples all day of liberals condemning conservatives as evil because of their political views and consequently justifying their mistreatment. Jon Favreau, a former speechwriter for Obama, snidely defended Wolf’s remarks, mocking complaints about her tone and civility. He was not alone; all kinds of leftist figures defended Wolf, as you can verify with a quick Google search.
Actor Robert De Niro doubled down on Wolf’s invective, not only defending her but also castigating the White House Correspondents’ Association for distancing itself from her. “Shame on them! Stand up and strap on your balls and deal,” said De Niro. De Niro justified Wolf’s vitriol because Trump and Sanders and company are “liars and bullies.” What did I tell you? Anything goes as long as you’re attacking evil conservatives.
ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, hardly an outlier on the left, took to Twitter to chide the media for not defending Wolf, who “was FUNNY.”
Wolf put the elite leftist media in a box when she so openly attacked a woman in public while they were conspicuously present, but this is how far too many of them think, and this is why they invited her to the event and why they invited the equally offensive Wanda Sykes and Stephen Colbert in the past. Please spare us the feigned disapproval, guys. This is what you do.
David Limbaugh is a writer, author and attorney.
(Creators, copyright 2018)
