Rick Sanchez is a man of the Left. You think he was harsh to Jon Stewart? You obviously haven’t heard him on the subject of Rush Limbaugh. Sanchez falsely reported that Limbaugh said, "‘Slavery built the South. I’m not saying we should bring it back. I’m just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark.’”
Sanchez was guilty of libel against Limbaugh, which SHOULD have gotten him fired long before this incident.
2) The people who SHOULD be most outraged aren’t Jon Stewart or Jews at large. Rather, it’s the people of Nebraska who should demand Peter Dominick’s head on a platter!
When Sanchez said there was no real discrimination against Jews, Dominick answered (thinking he was very clever), “You’ve obviously never been to Nebraska.”
WHAT???
Dominick just labelled an entire state as anti-semitic bigots, for absolutely no reason.
Say Pete- are you aware that Omaha had TWO Jewish mayors before New York City elected its FIRST??? No, of COURSE you weren’t aware of that. Nebraska is just one of those flyover states that’s run by the Klan, right?
Moron. YOU’RE the one who should be on the unemployment line right now.
Just as the anti-black racism has always been most associated with the South (though the South hardly holds a monopoly on it), anti-semitism has usually been strongest in NYC and other cities with large Jewish communities, and for the same reason: that’s where the minority exists in largest and most organized numbers. In areas where there isn’t that strong a Jewish presence there’s usually more ignorance about them than outright prejudice against them, and there’s a difference in ignorance and prejudice.
I’m certainly not going to say that never happens. But I will maintain that the level of actual inter-factual conversation that goes on on his show is remarkably high, particularly compared to almost any other show on TV. Seems to me he holds having reasoned communication as a very important value, and he tries hard to make that happen, even if he doesn’t necessarily succeed 100% perfectly. Do you disagree with that?
I love Stewart and his making fun of the shitty job that our media “watchdogs” do. He calls them out and they are usually found wanting. And Sanchez is an idiot.
But.
Nothing Sanchez said was any more idiotic than his usual idiocy and was a far cry from being overtly Jew-hating. We Jews are not so much an oppressed minority in America right now and yeah we are over-represented in the top ranks of the media. (Which does not mean that anti-Semitism does not exist and is not to be fought against … but an oppressed minority? Nah. We aint.)
Oh but he was stupid to play into old stereotypes and would have been smarter to say the point more clearly and cautiously. So I am sure they are going to replace him with a more classier person who never said or did anything poorly thought out.
It’s true he talks over people sometimes, and he does have the advantage of dictating the conversation. But he’s always been good about not using the crowd. I don’t remember seeing this as often lately, but I can remember many times where the crowd would start applauding something he said and he would hush them so his guest could talk.
You got this thread a bit wrong. Nobody’s defending anything. The discussion is about does what Sanchez said amount to anti-semitism, the “deep seated” kind, the most dangerous one, the kind of secret thoughts that come to life in the strangest places but usually when trapped by the interviewer. Methinks not. Some beg to differ by adding things up and mixing it. However, for some, including you, it’s enough that YOU think someone is a twit to be fired.
What matters is how it affects his marketability and his ability to sell tiime to sponsors. Whether or not you think his remarks reflected any true antisemitic sentiment, they were rude and inappropriate and were a turn off to audiences and sponsors. His firing was business, not politics.
No - you are missing the point, and **Dio **is right (hard to get that out sometimes, but its true in this case). It sounds like he was on his way out already, but Sanchez crossed a line - *Don’t Invoke Racist Words/Concepts, Even If You Are Trying to Make a Bigger Point *- it always seems self-serving, will be interpreted as racist by some audience out there, and will force the hand of your network employer who must fire you for appearance’ sake.
Whether or not what he said is true or not or anti-S or not is a sidebar conversation but not central to what went down.
If you’re David Letterman (a comedian) you can call your boss a weasel. If you’re supposed to be a legitimate news commentator and you call your bosses (in essence) racist, elitist Jews your ass is canned.
It’s the other way around, timewise. He was doing two shows. Everybody knew that the second show was temporary and the announcement of the new hosts being Spitzer and Kathleen Parker was made a long time ago.
Yeah, I realize you’re making some kind of point about Spitzer that doesn’t depend on logic, but the two events really have next to nothing to do with one another.
There are some real and serious points to be made, some of which can be made about Spitzer and comparing him with lots of other politicians who are already on the air after scandals and asking what happens after?
But my guess is that CNN had only one true concern. FOX News allows its commentators to say things as reprehensible regularly and doesn’t say a word. I’m sure that CNN felt it absolutely had to come down on Sanchez in order to make the hugely glaring comparison to FOX. Maybe viewers won’t get the point, but everybody inside the industry has.
Dennis Miller is the Coleridge of comedy. He produced some brilliant work, but one day he woke up to find that the muse had left him. Now devoid of talent, he fills the remainder of his hours on earth complaining about shit.
Some of you seem to be watching a completely different Daily Show. If you think Jon Stewart is an asshole, you must think Bill Maher is Hannibal Lector.
Is there another comedy show that apologizes for cheap jokes? The Daily Show keeps making them, but they do call attention to how cheap and sometimes mean they are.
When Stewart has a guest he disagrees with, he will talk over them to get his point in. Lots of hosts do this kind of thing, but who besides Jon Stewart self-flagellates over it? Yes, yes. We know: If he was really sorry, he wouldn’t do it. But let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
His political views are clear, but mostly what he makes fun of not is not political positions so much as obfuscation, spin doctoring and the laziness and complicity of the media in responding to such tactics.