# Have you all heard the latest political victim of Sacha Baron Cohen's new political show? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 23, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485 "2018-07-23T23:55:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/1 "2018-07-23T23:55:29Z")
Hey everyone, I’ve been reading about several politicians (mostly) Republicans who’ve been manipulated by Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Ali G, etc) into making fools of themselves on camera, The latest victim is a legislator from Georgia, who allegedly mooned the camera, and shouted expletives and racial slurs, egged on by Cohen in a disguise: ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia lawmaker is the latest public figure caught with his pants down on provocateur Sacha Baron Cohen’s new cable TV series, this time literally, as the state legislator exposes his bottom, speaks with a mock Asian accent and yells a racial slur all in the name of fighting terrorism. In Sunday night’s broadcast of Cohen’s Showtime series “Who Is America?” Cohen poses as an Israeli military expert who persuades Republican Rep. Jason Spencer to take part in several outlandish exercises. The lawmaker is told they’re making a counterterrorism video. My question is, how stupid are these politicians to allow themselves to be recorded doing these asinine stunts? I realize they want airtime but this just seems so blatantly stupid. Other victims are Sarah Palin, Joe Arpaio, etc., who stated they were tricked into acting foolish and at least Sarah Palin threatened legal action. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/2 "2018-07-24T00:17:46Z")
> [@medstar](#): > > My question is, how stupid are these politicians to allow themselves to be recorded doing these asinine stunts? I just assume they do shit like that on a regular basis when they are among likeminded folk. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/3 "2018-07-24T00:21:00Z")
How can she sue? I’m sure there was a release signed as for any tv appearance. Can you sue just because you come off looking like a jackass? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/4 "2018-07-24T00:25:18Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > I just assume they do shit like that on a regular basis when they are among likeminded folk. I do a lot of work in scissor and boom lifts. Sometimes, it takes more than one person to do whatever it is, so someone else will get in the basket with me, we’ll go up and take care of our task and move on to the next one, etc. For some reason a shocking number of people have decided that once we’re in the air and isolated, they’re gonna tell me just what they think about black people or Mexicans or Jews or women… Just a couple of weeks ago I had a lady tell me on the way to our ballroom, alone in a long hallway, “Have you noticed how lazy all the black people are? I mean, the ones we have to work with?” I cut her off, told her to stuff it and altered my pace. Thirty minutes later she starts in on me _while we’re working_ with “So you know, I’m not racist-” I cut her off “Yes; you are. Now stop trying to talk to me about this.” When I tell others, most are shocked. “So-and-so? Are you kidding?” No; I wouldn’t kid about this. It is astounding what people will do when they think they are among likeminded folk. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/5 "2018-07-24T01:01:17Z")
Cohen is doing God’s work. (If I believed in such a thing). ---
**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 24, 2018, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/6 "2018-07-24T01:04:34Z")
> [@medstar](#): > > ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia lawmaker is the latest public figure caught with his pants down on provocateur Sacha Baron Cohen’s new cable TV series, this time literally, as the state legislator exposes his bottom, speaks with a mock Asian accent and yells a racial slur all in the name of fighting terrorism. > > In Sunday night’s broadcast of Cohen’s Showtime series “Who Is America?” Cohen poses as an Israeli military expert who persuades Republican Rep. Jason Spencer to take part in several outlandish exercises. The lawmaker is told they’re making a counterterrorism video. His explicit excuse for his behavior in that video is that he thought it was actual anti-terrorism tactics for an actual anti-terrorism video, and that Baron Cohen was playing on his fears. Uh, no shit, dude. That’s the joke–that you’re so bugshit paranoid about Muslims, and so racist, and so credulous, and so stupid, that you’d literally show your ass on camera rather than question your underlying assumptions. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/7 "2018-07-24T14:00:05Z")
Showing politicians up as gullible twits has an established history, at least over here, and is a public service, after all. Sometimes the sting doesn’t particularly work, and shows up the prankster more than their victim. But it did once (not one of Cohen’s) get as far as persuading sundry people in the public eye to speak out against a new drug called “cake”, even getting an MP to put down a formal question to ministers about it. [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-mp-tricked-into-condemning-a-fake-drug-called-cake-has-been-put-in-charge-of-scrutinising-drugs-a6704671.html](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-mp-tricked-into-condemning-a-fake-drug-called-cake-has-been-put-in-charge-of-scrutinising-drugs-a6704671.html) ---
**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 24, 2018, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/8 "2018-07-24T14:27:10Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Showing politicians up as gullible twits has an established history, at least over here, and is a public service, after all. Sometimes the sting doesn’t particularly work, and shows up the prankster more than their victim. But it did once (not one of Cohen’s) get as far as persuading sundry people in the public eye to speak out against a new drug called “cake”, even getting an MP to put down a formal question to ministers about it. > > [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-mp-tricked-into-condemning-a-fake-drug-called-cake-has-been-put-in-charge-of-scrutinising-drugs-a6704671.html](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-mp-tricked-into-condemning-a-fake-drug-called-cake-has-been-put-in-charge-of-scrutinising-drugs-a6704671.html) The cake is a lie! ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/9 "2018-07-24T15:08:51Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > The cake is a lie! Someone left it out in the rain. I don’t think that I could take it. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/10 "2018-07-24T15:32:46Z")
I know Noel Edmonds isn’t a politican but this still remains glorious. > [@television presenter Noel Edmonds](#): > > What is Cake? Well, it has an active ingredient which is a dangerous psychoactive compound known as dimesmeric andersonphosphate. It stimulates the part of the brain called Shatner’s Bassoon. And that’s the bit of the brain that deals with time perception. So, a second feels like a month. Well, it almost sounds like fun…unless you’re the Prague schoolboy who walked out into the street straight in front of a tram. He thought he’d got a month to cross the street. Seriously, if you are saying that and no part of your brain is sending up red flags, you deserve a certain amount of public ridicule. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/11 "2018-07-24T16:32:19Z")
/ Melania voice … he was… egged on. This is … boy talk. / Melania voice ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/12 "2018-07-24T16:43:49Z")
He who who shows his true colors while falling for a Sacha Baron Cohen gag is no victim. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/13 "2018-07-24T16:43:58Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > His explicit excuse for his behavior in that video is that he thought it was actual anti-terrorism tactics for an actual anti-terrorism video, and that Baron Cohen was playing on his fears. That doesn’t really explain much. _How_ did he think that baring his ass to the camera was going to stop terrorists? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/14 "2018-07-24T17:15:53Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > He who who shows his true colors while falling for a Sacha Baron Cohen gag is no victim. And how do people not recognize him at this point? I’m pretty sure I could ID him and Johnny Knoxville from across the street. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Profound\_Gibberish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Profound\_Gibberish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profound_Gibberish)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/15 "2018-07-24T17:53:10Z")
There has to be some underlying mental illness in this guy. The fear and paranoia is so intense. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/16 "2018-07-24T19:33:19Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > That doesn’t really explain much. _How_ did he think that baring his ass to the camera was going to stop terrorists? Because muslims believe that if you touch them with your bare ass, it will turn them homosexual. At least, that’s what SBC’s character told him. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/17 "2018-07-24T19:55:14Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > At least, that’s what SBC’s character told him. Thanks for clarifying that you don’t _necessarily_ believe that yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/18 "2018-07-24T21:12:25Z")
I wonder how many of the people who are outraged about SBC have used footage from Project Veritas and James O’Keefe to support their positions. ---
**Author:** ![Aescwynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Aescwynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aescwynn)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/19 "2018-07-24T21:23:57Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > And how do people not recognize him at this point? I’m pretty sure I could ID him and Johnny Knoxville from across the street. 😕 He was pretty well disguised as an Israeli counter-terrorism expert: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k4pMTsa1Kw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k4pMTsa1Kw) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485/20 "2018-07-24T22:07:12Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Because muslims believe that if you touch them with your bare ass, it will turn them homosexual. > > At least, that’s what SBC’s character told him. Clever. And that’s supposed to work over the television, too? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-all-heard-the-latest-political-victim-of-sacha-baron-cohens-new-political-show/818485.md?page=2)