Corny versus cosmopolitan, Rachel Maddow takes-on Christine O'Donnell (with a vibrator !?)
By: Brendan Patrick Keane | Published Wednesday, June 12, 2013, 2:08 PM | Updated Wednesday, June 12, 2013, 2:08 PM
Don't rub-out masturbation metaphors lightly. That's what I've learned this news cycle.
I had written quite generally about theory-heads always tying-in their specialty with everything else. You can read
my wanky piece here.
masturbation was "in the air" that news cycle. So was the Delaware race where Christine O'Donnell beat the much more ethical candidate--Mike Castle--with slanderous lies. Rachel Maddow responded when news came live on-air of the defeat, and with it showed a clip of Christine O'Donnell from many years ago. In it, O'Donnell talks like a goodie-two-shoes not much older than 20.
I think we all know that masturbation is not a campaign issue. Whatever the reasoning, the tactic to criticize sexual mores is wrong.
Christian-heads are a sweetly prudish segment of American society. They dress neatly and mean well, always tying-in their thing with everything else.
There's no need to get all serious on virgins like O'Donnell for being out-spoken virgins. Teasing-out a politician's masturbatory thoughts is best left in the masterful hand of Stephen Colbert.
Instead of being funny or substantive, Maddow would prefer to psychoanalyze the corny virgin right. This kind of more-worldly approach will only end-up hurting the plain corny feelings of Americans like O'Donnell seems to represent.
Soccer moms are corny. McDonalds is corny. 1776 imagery is corny. America is corny. Sarah Palin's voice is corny. Corny is the flavor of populist movements.
American cities, on the other hand, are cosmopolitan bastions where people are perfectly comfortable to masturbate and God damn it, talk about it too.
America knows all about the cities. They know all about how we masturbate here in New York. They masturbate right along with us at home on TV, and then go to church on Sunday to get a dose of repression. Cities use "the office" for our repressive training. O'Donnell's chastity may unbelievably be absolute in public presentation, but young women respond differently to the culture's demand that they "be sexy."
Taking-on this candidate about masturbation prudishness will only reduce O'Donnell to something like a pornographic image of chastity. It will remind us that she's corny, but that will only make her more popular among people disciplined enough to do that corny thing called "voting."
22 Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.BrendanPKeane | Sep 28, 2010, 02:48 PM EDT
yeah, yeah, real smart the masturbation attack. that stuff is best left to comedians, like I said, but whatever, it led to gay-bashing, think what you want
eirighamach | Sep 24, 2010, 10:07 PM EDT
Right, you did not write about gay bashing, and I did not say that you did write about gay bashing. I suggested that your critique of Rachel Maddow brought the gay bashers out of the woodwork even though, as as 2 or 3 others here have commented, you got Maddow's tactic wrong. The gay bashers do not care that you got it wrong. They're just happy that you gave them an opportunity to bash. However, those of us who respect Maddow's intelligence and integrity do care, and you should expect we will comment when you oversimplify her approach to someone like O'Donnell. Instead of lashing out at the people who have tried to induce you to re-assess Maddow's tactic, you might try replying to their argument. As Vinnyboomboom put it, "Maddows 'tactic' is to point out that O'Donnell is a theocrat who wants to police people's bedrooms." Probably the gay bashers and the woman bashers would creep out of the woodwork even if you had complimented Maddow on her handling of O'Donnell. There is a plague of them visiting Irish Central! But I think they might eventually grow weary and go elsewhere if they find you consistent enough in your critiques of media figures. So that's my unsolicited advice--figure out where you stand and be consistent.
BrendanPKeane | Sep 21, 2010, 07:03 PM EDT
éirighamach: I did not write about gay bashing. I wrote about a highschool tactic used to criticize a candidate. I'm done with the topic, as the debate has descended into typical American-style demonization with the most serious of accusations being bandied about without a care in the world for measure.
eirighamach | Sep 21, 2010, 01:53 PM EDT
Brendan Keane: why are you stirring up the gay bashers and the woman bashers with a slipshod take on Rachel Maddow? I guess if you give a good enough thrashing to 'theory' you can stir up the anti-intellectuals too, at least those of them who can handle spell checking. A few visitors have tried to inject some sense into the discussion of your blog but you seem to be telling them off and catering to the good ole boys. For most of it, picking my way through the comments people leave here is like trying to dodge the barkers at a bigotry bazaar. Is this becoming the company line now at Irish Central? Please, Mr. Dowd and Mr. Keane, figure out who-all is out here because it's getting to be embarrassing visiting Irish Central only to find that a blogger I thought had some good sense has taken on the role of Mr. Rogers to the Tea Party set.
maloney | Sep 19, 2010, 05:39 PM EDT
Watching MSNBC is like being stuck in San Francisco without a gun & chastity belt. Their coming at you from every direction, head to toe. Flame on.
MAnicShiocain | Sep 19, 2010, 04:48 PM EDT
No, Maddow was not criticizing O' Donnell's sexual mores, as you think, Brendan. Maddow was quite sensibly objecting to O'Donnell's prurient interests in the sex lives of other people. O' Donnell's concern with others' sexualities is odious, not only to LGBTs, but to anyone who prefers to keep his or her intimate relationships and sexual orientations and practices out of the purview of elected officials, the media, homophobes like some posting here, and theocracy-fantasy loonies like O' Donnell. Rachel is adept at skewering the likes of O' Donnell; she has a gift for satire that you might be worth your study.
GeorgeDillon | Sep 18, 2010, 01:52 PM EDT
beachline: "she never mentioned the word "masturbate", she likened it to another rhyming word." Ya got me stumped. What is the rhyming word? I can only think of words. "Faster Rate"? "Nastier Date"? Help me out here.
maloney | Sep 18, 2010, 08:59 AM EDT
Many seem to want to demonize O'Donnell. Maybe a look at her opponent would put things in perspective. Coons has voted to raise taxes every chance he has had. He also has voted yes on every spending bill to come along & came up with some himself. He is an admitted MARXIST!! That should help the honest to make a wise decision. maddow is a vile, flaming dyke who lies every time her mouth opens.
Monsoonman | Sep 17, 2010, 10:04 PM EDT
"she's beginning to smell like day old dog urine !!!!" No she smells like a san francisco public phone booth...
MadUSMC01 | Sep 17, 2010, 04:55 PM EDT
I think that Madcow Maddow is on a personal crusuade because of her personal preference. This pervert makes me sick to my stomach. I feel sorry for her. She obviously is a very lonely woman seeking validation for her existance on this planet. She has her head up every liberal ass in the country and she is a BAD ... VERY BAD .... representative of this great & wonderful nation. Please, someone, get this Madcow Maddow off the air .. she's beginning to smell like day old dog urine !!!!
Vinnyboomboom | Sep 17, 2010, 04:08 PM EDT
"Maddows "tactic" is to point out that O'Donnell is a theocrat who wants to police people's bedrooms. That's actually worth pointing out." Then how come Maddow never pointed out the governemnt is planning on policing our lives by forcing us to buy health insurance or pay a fine?
Monsoonman | Sep 17, 2010, 10:48 AM EDT
LOL!!!This is hilarious, try to reason with your sisters beachline and hollabackgurl, then give a try with your bosom friend dennisq, whose record is permanently stuck on 911 conspiracy theories....Yes a sterling cast you have there me boy., bring plenty of thorazine cocktails to the party....
BrendanPKeane | Sep 17, 2010, 09:54 AM EDT
beachline: I never quoted Maddow. I just described accurately what she did. You lie. hollabackgurl: You may well be right. Her sister is lesbian, however, so I'm not sure you're accurately portraying her attitude towards homosexuality. Again, my purpose was not to analyze O'Donnell. If anything, I was critical of her for her slanderous campaign.
beachline | Sep 17, 2010, 09:34 AM EDT
@hollabackgurl: Thanks you, you said it very well. Rachel Maddow is one of my favorite journalists, and she never mentioned the word "masturbate", she likened it to another rhyming word. IC writers seem to alter facts to suit themselves.
hollabackgurl | Sep 17, 2010, 09:17 AM EDT
As for being anti-gay, she started a fully fledged program to "help" gay people "escape" their demonic possession. That's pretty anti-gay, wouldn't you say? I mean all that's out there, just a Google click away. I'm sure she's not as anti-gay as I say either, she's just acted like someone who is for her entire career. Especially when she's after votes.
hollabackgurl | Sep 17, 2010, 09:14 AM EDT
Maddows "tactic" is to point out that O'Donnell is a theocrat who wants to police people's bedrooms. That's actually worth pointing out.
maloney | Sep 16, 2010, 10:17 PM EDT
Maddow is sweet on the both of them.
maloney | Sep 16, 2010, 09:40 PM EDT
hollowbutt...stuck that foot in the same old place once more.
BrendanPKeane | Sep 16, 2010, 09:27 PM EDT
hollabackgurl: We're talking about Maddow's response, not mine. Don't scold me for not attacking O'Donnell properly. That wasn't my article. Maddow's angle was my article. Maddow's going for masturbation attacks. SHE said nothing about the stuff you're saying. If O'Donnell's sister is gay, I doubt she's as anti-gay as you say. I'm not analyzing O'Donnell. I'm analyzing Maddow's tactic against O'Donnell.
hollabackgurl | Sep 16, 2010, 09:03 PM EDT
I can only assume you're winding us all up, or the topic doesn't interest you - how else to explain your conclusions? Was Christine O'Donnell being "a sweetly prudish segment of American society" when she stated that people with AIDS shouldn't be called "victims" since contracting the disease was their own fault? Did you know that an entire generation of young men died by the hundreds of thousands in America and there was "sweetly corny" Christine telling them they had it coming? If you contracted HIV would you see the corny fun in her tone? I think she's a genuinely hateful, bigoted a-hole. You shouldn't give her a pass because you haven't done your research. O'Donnell says that women should be barred from the US military. She says they're a distraction. She says that gay people are an abomination (ask your gay friends how sweet they think that is). She won the vote by gay-baiting her opponent, something even Karl Rove though too much. Her sister, by the way, is a lesbian. How 'sweet' is it to trash your own family just to get ahead?
BrendanPKeane | Sep 16, 2010, 05:21 PM EDT
I never spell check. I'd forget how to spell if I did. I obviously don't write about masturbation enough. I much prefer masterbation as a spelling, and in this case, as with all cases of conflict with Oxford's decisions, I will claim the Hiberno-English dialect the authority for that masterful use of the letter "e" instead of "u."
jamieLM | Sep 16, 2010, 04:12 PM EDT
Don't you have spell-check? It's m-a-s-t-U-R-bate. You people on IC should learn that it's "Scotch-Irish," not Scots-Irish, too.