# Has the right really sunk this low? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 8, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158 "2004-07-08T19:31:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/21 "2004-07-08T21:07:56Z")
Next week: White House staffer tips Drudge: “Kerry’s gay-- and _Canadian!_” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/22 "2004-07-08T21:21:48Z")
> [@yosemite](#): > > But something that _does_ piss me off are the comments about Mrs. Edwards’ weight. (My sister was listening to some talk radio program where they were discussing that.) Wow, I hadn’t heard that. How fucked up. At least it gives me a chance to dredge up [my favorite Rush Limbaugh moment ever](http://users.abac.com/ksitterley/rushp.htm) (not that I have a long list, mind you): > [@The Late Show](#): > > LIMBAUGH: I know everybody – I was out in Los Angeles > for a book party the other weekend, and her best friend is > Linda Bloodworth-Thomason who produced “Designing Women” and > “Hearts Afire” now, and she said, “If you just meet Hillary > you would love Hillary. Everybody that meets her says that.” > And I am sure she is a charming woman. Look, I have no > problem with Hillary Clinton’s personality, who she is, but > it’s like this Vogue magazine lay-out that everybody is just > tripping out over. Here are her photos, which I think one of > them looks like a Pontiac hood ornament, to tell you the > truth, if you look at it. > (laughter) > LIMBAUGH: Look at it and you’ll see. > LETTERMAN: You know, you can say that because you are > the finest-looking human specimen on the planet. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/23 "2004-07-08T22:43:03Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Yeah, that’s right. That’s what Drudge is all about. He’s not a muckraker. Well, OK, he is a muckraker, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt this one time. Oh, come on. It’s ludicrous. Absurd. Stupid. Lame. I remember when Drudge did an “exposé” on the Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” tit thing, where he showed close-ups of the exposed breast, feigning outrage in an obvious tongue-in-cheek manner. That was a joke too. I don’t know much about Drudge, but judging from the Jackson/tit thing, he’s capable of being full of shit and doing something that is _supposed_ to be “funny” (whether or not he succeeds is a judgment call). If you are determined to be offended, knock yourself out. But I think it’s misplaced. I’m sure there’s plenty of genuine muck-raking that you can focus on. But I don’t think this is an example of it. Daniel: Thanks for the link. Limbaugh got a good come-uppance from Letterman, eh? I remember that people were making comments about Barbara Bush being a (gasp!) size 14. Horrors! And then there were Hillary’s thick ankles. Horrors! And now Mrs. Edwards, a lovely woman who looks to be about size 12-14 or something. But for some reason this matters somehow? What bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/24 "2004-07-08T23:12:26Z")
> [@yosemite](#): > > . . . That was a joke too. . . “Joke” doesn’t equal “innocent joke.” Just because he was presenting it snarkily doesn’t mean he wasn’t expecting it to rake some muck. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/25 "2004-07-08T23:20:11Z")
HA HA HA! ROFLMAO! Lookit the funny homos! OMG LOL!!! Sorry, but it bugs me. It bugs me when SNL does the same thing with Bush & Cheney (and Ashcroft, and whoever else) too. It bugs me when people use implying that somebody’s gay as a slam. It bugs me when people think that the implication is “hitting a new low.” ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/26 "2004-07-08T23:26:10Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > “Joke” doesn’t equal “innocent joke.” Just because he was presenting it snarkily doesn’t mean he wasn’t expecting it to rake some muck. What muck was he trying to rake? Was he trying to seriously convince people that both Kerry and Edwards are cheating on their wives with _each other_? Do you really think anyone would buy that? Do you really think that he’d do that? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/27 "2004-07-08T23:31:41Z")
> [@yosemite](#): > > What muck was he trying to rake? Was he trying to seriously convince people that both Kerry and Edwards are cheating on their wives with _each other_? Do you really think anyone would buy that? Do you really think that he’d do that? You don’t seriously need me to explain it to you, do you? Seriously? ---
**Author:** ![milroyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@milroyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milroyj)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/28 "2004-07-08T23:32:28Z")
You have to admit, the picture on the bottom right looks like they are at a gay wedding and the preacher has just said “You may now kiss”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/29 "2004-07-08T23:33:35Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > You don’t seriously need me to explain it to you, do you? Seriously? You mean you seriously think that people will believe that Kerry and Edwards are cheating on their wives with each other? Yes or no? ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/30 "2004-07-08T23:39:56Z")
> [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > Matt Drudge does not represent the right. Someone didn’t get the memo, I see. > [@SolGrundy](#): > > …It bugs me when people use implying that somebody’s gay as a slam. It bugs me when people think that the implication is “hitting a new low.” Eh. Happens around here all the time. Just a bit 'o humor, you know… ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/31 "2004-07-08T23:47:26Z")
It’s sort of sad to say, but the reality is, it does represent a pretty significant portion of the right, and I hope the right that is disgusted by it won’t put up with it forever. When the Richard Clarke thing was going strong, the very next step in the smear campaign against him was “Dick’s a fag!” He went off the radar screen before it was necessary, lucky for him. But I’ve already heard this “John and John, buttbuddies for a fag America” thing snickered among national Pubs: big in-joke. A lot of this sort of thing lives under the radar, because they know it might alienate moderates if it got press, but it’s a definate subtext. And, of course, for right wing talk show hosts, this is par for the course (along with suddenly realizing that trial lawyers are the number 1 threat to America, unless Gephardt was picked, in which case unions are the number 1 threat). I expect Doors to walk in calling THEM propagandists akin to the Nazis any day now. Any day now. > [@](#): > > "It bugs me when people use implying that somebody’s gay as a slam. It bugs me when people think that the implication is “hitting a new low.” It’s quite possible to think it’s a new low BECAUSE it’s using “gay” as if it were a slam. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/32 "2004-07-08T23:51:42Z")
> [@yosemite](#): > > What muck was he trying to rake? Was he trying to seriously convince people that both Kerry and Edwards are cheating on their wives with _each other_? Do you really think anyone would buy that? Do you really think that he’d do that? Why wouldn’t he? It wasn’t that long ago that he completely fabricated a charge that Kerry was having an affair with an intern. He was also sued for falsely accusing Sidney Blumethal of being a wife beater. Not much is beneath this guy. Having said that, I doubt that Drudge intends any serious insinuation of man on man love between John Kerry and John Edwards, not because of any ethical constraints but simply because it’s so wildly implausible. I think what he is doing is just engaging in a little mean-spirited snickering for the benefit of those trogyldites in his party who find such insinuations to be the height of wit. It basically amounts to “look at 'em. They look like a couple of homos! haw haw haw!” It’s roughly the equivalent of saying a guy with long hair looks like a girl. It’s not said with any literal intent it’s just a completely witless attempt at humor. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/33 "2004-07-08T23:54:58Z")
> [@](#): > > Next week: White House staffer tips Drudge: “Kerry’s gay-- and Canadian!” Funny story. When the Bush campaign was pushing the “Kerry looks French, the French suck” angle, they bought some ad time with this theme in a certain area: fairly high Republican percentage, not a bad strategy for them. Well, this certain area also happened to have a high percentage of French Canadians living there. And fucks sake were they PISSED about it. There was an en masse move to unregister as Republicans and register Democrats. Moral of the story: being ignorant, hateful fucktards can come back to bite you in the ass. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/34 "2004-07-09T00:00:27Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Having said that, I doubt that Drudge intends any serious insinuation of man on man love between John Kerry and John Edwards, not because of any ethical constraints but simply because it’s so wildly implausible. That’s my point too. Nobody is going to seriously believe it. It’s a dumb joke. How “funny” it is depends on the individual. I don’t think much of it either way, other than it’s a rather lame joke. Not something I’d pick as being terribly funny myself. But I suppose some people might be tittering at the “scandal” of it all. Bleah. > [@](#): > > I think what he is doing is just engaging in a little mean-spirited snickering for the benefit of those trogyldites in his party who find such insinuations to be the height of wit. It basically amounts to “look at 'em. They look like a couple of homos! haw haw haw!” > > It’s roughly the equivalent of saying a guy with long hair looks like a girl. It’s not said with any literal intent it’s just a completely witless attempt at humor. I can buy that. It _is_ wildly implausable so I don’t believe he’s seriously trying to get people to believe it. I don’t know much about Drudge, don’t visit his site, but I’ll take your word on the fact that he’s tried to pin false claims on Kerry in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/35 "2004-07-09T00:02:58Z")
Another note: when Kerry announced Edwards, Drudge posted a story saying something like “Kerry picks Edwards… ethics charges already begin.” But the linked story was about an ethics charge against Mass governor Rowland for apparently illegally using his taxpayer funded offices to launch a partisan attack on Kerry and Edwards. That’s drudge in a nutshell: he leans right, but he’s also a joker. He’s not trying to do straight journalism, but also have a bit o fun. ---
**Author:** ![New\_Iskander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/db5fbb/32.png) [@New\_Iskander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Iskander)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/36 "2004-07-09T00:19:16Z")
So now we get “petting Johns”. Before that we had “kissing Al”. Before that - “bimbo Bill”. I must admit, Dems dig “Sex & Politics” hilarity. But can they defend “this Nation”? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/37 "2004-07-09T00:20:11Z")
> [@Brutus](#): > > Someone didn’t get the memo, I see. Ah, see what happened was I moved. I guess I forgot to ask them to update my customer record. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/38 "2004-07-09T00:34:04Z")
> [@New Iskander](#): > > So now we get “petting Johns”. Before that we had “kissing Al”. Before that - “bimbo Bill”. I must admit, Dems dig “Sex & Politics” hilarity. > > But can they defend “this Nation”? Defend it against what? All I know is that only one guy on either ticket _has_ ever defended his country against anything. Edwards was too young for Nam, Cheney had “other priorities” and Bush…well we know about Bush. [cue “Cocaine” riff on the soundtrack] ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/39 "2004-07-09T00:35:51Z")
> [@yosemite](#): > > You mean you seriously think that people will believe that Kerry and Edwards are cheating on their wives with each other? Yes or no? There are plenty of people who think “where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” In the first place. In the second place, a veiled accusation of homosexuality is meant to imply an accusation of effeminacy, or whatever: it’s an attempt to make them seem, to a certain segment of Drudge’s more retarded audience, less manly, and hold them up against Bush’s hips-forward cowboy diplomacy. It’s a thin layer of spin, but it’s spin nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/40 "2004-07-09T00:43:57Z")
The top-left and top-center pictures look like something out of a SNL skit. Damn, but Edwards has the most precious pouty-face in the top-left picture! And **lissener** , lighten up. Look at the pictures, and tell me comedy does not reside within. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158.md?page=3)