# 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:** 4
**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, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/61 "2004-07-09T16:06:52Z")
> [@](#): > > Again, if this was Bush and Cheney on The Daily Show you guys would be laughing your asses off about it. Maybe. But if it was, it probably wouldn’t have the same “fags are ruining america” slimy feel that you get from people like Drudge and Pruden and all the local Pubbies who pushed the “John Johns for a fag America” theme I referenced earlier. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/62 "2004-07-09T16:17:50Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > 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. That crap just might wrap up Maine for Kerry, if that hasn’t already happened. I mean, just look at any Maine phone book - half the names have a Le or a De or a Du in front, and end in -et or a bunch of vowels. **lieu** : Mmmm… pizza … ---
**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, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/63 "2004-07-09T16:23:13Z")
> [@yosemite](#): > > Like I said, I don’t know much about Drudge, so I never heard anything about him being gay. I did a quick search on Google, and could find only “gossip” sites claiming this. > > Could you provide a reputable source for this? Accusing him of hypocricy in this particular instance seems a little premature if you don’t have a reputable cite backing it up. (Not that I’m attempting to defend Drudge in general. He seems like a piece of work.) David Brock describes several occasions, after he came out, where Drudge tried to get him into bed. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/64 "2004-07-09T16:40:11Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] Boy, Bush can just FORGET about carrying Quebec now!QUOTE] Yeah, there are _no_ people of French Canadian discent living in the United States at all. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![MrTuffPaws](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@MrTuffPaws](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrTuffPaws)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/65 "2004-07-09T18:51:52Z")
Personally, I think some of the photos are funny, but the contex is certainly not. Considering what a hoopla gays are going though, having a known right wing supporter insinuate that John ‘n’ John are guy is just low. Those Americans that think attacking ones sexuality is a valid attack will be eating this shit up. I can’t wait for the quote from Joe blow: “Kerry?, that French fag is gonna take our guns.” ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/66 "2004-07-09T19:10:58Z")
“Fuck the Right because they’re probably going to insinuate such and such!” “Ummm… did they?” “Well, no… but they could!” ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/67 "2004-07-09T19:35:52Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > 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. It worked for Cato the Elder. **Apos** , do you have a cite for the mass French defection from the Republican party? I don’t doubt you, but I’m curious as to where and when this happened. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/68 "2004-07-09T21:18:53Z")
> [@](#): > > John Kerry and John Edwards can’t keep their hands off each other! In the past 48 hours, “candidate handling” has become the top buzz on the trail. News photographers have been going wild with photos of the two Johns. [The scorned Dick](http://public.fotki.com/JohnBuckLINY/farks/kerry_gephardt-1.html). Two-timing / flip-flopping - is there really much of a difference? I, for one, am bracing myself for a bowl full of crappy ‘two Johns’ jokes and bumper stickers this Fall. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/69 "2004-07-10T01:25:01Z")
The Right hasn’t sunk that low, but apparently Matt Drudge has. What a doofus. He could have gone after their records and idealogies instead. There are many people of many different sensitivities on the Right and Left. I knew nothing about Matt Drudge until now, and I don’t like him. He’s one of those irrational, loud people that every group has. If you want to know how the Right really feels, read National Review and other respected conservative publications. Read more than one issue, too. (I am not a shill for NR, but I do like it.) The biggest problem with this is people have let it get to their heads. A stupid website won’t affect much of anything, so be angry and then let it go. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/70 "2004-07-10T02:07:49Z")
Don’t most mainstream comedians use ‘homosexual’ humour? Jay Leno does it. Hell, he’s even used “pedophilia” humour with Catholic priests. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/71 "2004-07-10T02:48:24Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I suffer no illusions as to their character, there is not one man among them who, if it would ensure their election to President, wouldn’t publicly blow any or all of the others, in Macy’s window, at high noon, and with all networks on live feed. My God, elucidator, that image is burned now so hard into my retinas that I see it when I close my eyes. Bastard. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/72 "2004-07-10T05:07:42Z")
> [@](#): > > Pardon me if I don’t chuckle with people who play the “hey: lookit the fags and fag lovers!!!” card. I know you don’t like this side of your party anymore than I like the “let’s abolish the military” or “all tax cuts are evil” Democrats. So why stand up for them? If I thought that was what it was, I’d condemn it. Because I can’t stand that crap. I just didn’t get that vibe. I thought it was just a joke. Not even a gay joke, just a, “Aw, they love each other” kind of joke. But I’m willing to admit that my interpretation of it could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/73 "2004-07-10T11:48:48Z")
> [@Brutus](#): > > And **lissener** , lighten up. Look at the pictures, and tell me comedy does not reside within. Yes, it’s comedy to most people, but there are still plenty of jerks out there who take this sort of thing literally. There are still people who consider the word “fag” to be the most serious accusation you can make about anyone. And there are still people out there who are getting beaten up or murdered for doing \*\*exactly the same things that are done in these photos. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/74 "2004-07-11T07:23:56Z")
The line determining what is tasteless in humor is always fluctuating and hard to nail down. Even as a Democrat, I can see the obvious humor here. But where that line of tastefulness falls depends in a large part to the source and target audience of a joke. A black comedian telling black stereotypes to a black audience is obviously a completely different animal than a Southern white comedian telling black stereotypes to a Souther white audience. So when [Wonkette](http://www.wonkette.com/) makes jokes about Bush suppressing his homosexuality or on the overly-close Johns, IMHO it has a totally different feel than when Drudge does the same about Kerry. Wonkette, a liberal gossip blogger, peddles to a liberal audience which is almost completely composed of people to whom homosexuality is only an afterthought. But the Republican Party right now is struggling mightly with the issue of homosexuality. From [Andrew Sullivan](http://www.andrewsullivan.com), a moderate gay Republican: > [@Andrew Sullivan](#): > > THE REPUBLICAN PURGE: It’s becoming clearer and clearer what the Federal Marriage Amendment is really about: the purging of gay Republicans and any Republicans who do not follow the dictates of the religious right. Listen to the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins in the New York Times today: “Social conservatives are looking at this issue so we know who needs to be **educated on this issue or removed if that is possible.** ”… I love that idea of “educating” politicians and, if they fail to be “educated,” removing them. You know that a party has become a sect when that kind of language is used. Yes, it is a double standard. But think of the comedian example; for social conservatives to be trashily playing this up reeks much more than similar jokes made by Democrats. Drudge is conservative and plays to a conservative audience. If anyone thinks that this line of humor does not parallel Religious Right push to use gay marriage as a major part of this election, they are closing their eyes to how trashy and crassly manipulative every aspect of politics has become in the last 10 years (on both sides…) ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/75 "2004-07-11T13:29:31Z")
Apparently, some good news on the Republican front: > **[Robert Novak: Biography and Latest Articles - Robert Novak](https://townhall.com/columnists/robertnovak/)** > > Robert D. Novak (1931-2009) was born Feb. Bush’s stance is alienating some Republcian moderates and their donors: “A footnote: Moderate Republican senators grumble that some longtime contributors are refusing their usual contribution to the Republican presidential campaign. Their biggest grievance: Bush’s endorsement of the anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/76 "2004-07-11T14:04:25Z")
These photo’s are really really hilarious. Kodos to the photographer who managed to recognize a comedic theme to exploit. I am presently composing captions to accompany these pictures. For example, for the top left picture, how about; **Kerry** : John baby, you are a very handsome man, and I’m proud to have you as my mate, er running mate" 😃😃😃😃 Please, I can’t help myself 😃😃😃😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/77 "2004-07-11T17:09:42Z")
As **edwino** mentioned, it’s the context of the pictures that determines whether this is offensive or funny. If Jay Leno had done this as a montage set to music, it would be funny because it’s irreverent and not politically motivated. In Matt drudge’s case, it is offensive because it is politically motivated and intended to insinuate something secret and possibly damaging. IMHO, Drudge really didn’t take it this steeply. He did this just to be funny and ended up looking stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/78 "2004-07-11T20:19:03Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Um, what fact is that? And if you don’t see what he’s snickering about, you’re either a liar, retarded, or a retarded liar. Duh. And you call me retarded? Two dudes are holding hands, giving each other long, deep looks in the eye, and patting each other’s face. That’s what got reported. With pictures. :wally ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/79 "2004-07-11T20:34:27Z")
> [@The Great Zamboni](#): > > If Jay Leno had done this as a montage set to music, it would be funny No it wouldn’t. Nothing Leno does is funny. 😉 ---
**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 13, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158/80 "2004-07-13T20:24:35Z")
In the interest of fairness, I have to admit that I _did_ find this funny: [Is President Bush a Homo?](http://www.bettybowers.com/isbushgay.html) Of course, it’s largely because it contains enough irony to seriously harm a child. Yeah, there are some funny pictures, but the supporting material goes a bit beyond “OMG! They’re totally touching each other! LOL!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-right-really-sunk-this-low/254158.md?page=5)