Viewers of Fox News Channel's popular weeknight Hannity program got an unwelcome surprise during the Tuesday edition of the show, when liberal contributor Jehmu Greene tried to be funny by asking: “If [GOP Texas senator] Ted Cruz and [House majority leader] John Boehner were both on a sinking ship, who would be saved?” Her shocking answer: “America.”
As you might expect, it didn't take long for posters on Twitter to come out swinging.
“Jehmu's mean-spirited joke about drowning just fell flat, even with her Dem colleagues,” @Solameanie stated, while @asskickmchotti noted that the liberal's attempt at comedy was “so effing tacky!”
@CherylRenetteBa referred to “that little joke” as “inappropriate. She is stupid and looks foolish.”
Along those lines, @widdawisa said the remark “was rude.” In addition, @RuBEgonia tossed the joke back into the liberal commentator's face: “Your joke went down with the ship.”
@mazzeo_larry responded to the liberal's attempt at comedy by saying:
I had respect for Ms. Greene, but after her joke on Hannity tonight, not so much. Disappointed now.
@RBPundit took the discussion in another direction when he noted that Greene “stole” the gag from Politico's Roger Simon, who wrote a hateful column entitled “Government shutdown unleashes racism.” In that article, Simon asked if his joke was harsh and replied by stating:
Look around you at what is happening to America, and you will see harsh. I am not talking about closed parks and monuments. I am talking about the funds cut to nearly 9 million mothers and young children for food, breastfeeding support and infant formula.
And for what? Because Cruz, Republican senator from Texas, has grown so drunk on the sound of his own voice and so besotted with illusions of his own grandeur that he believes halting government today will propel him into the White House tomorrow.
Of course, the shutdown of 17 percent of the federal government was all “the Republicans' fault" despite the fact that the Democrats control both the Senate and the White House. In addition, it's not uncommon for liberals to first cut off services deemed essential by the voters. Often, the Democrats cry a river over the fact that essential personnel -- usually policemen, teachers and fire fighters -- are laid off while people including the desk jockeys quietly remain on the job.
Meanwhile, Greene attempted to double down on her misfire by also posting on Twitter and admitting she got the joke from the Politico columnist.
“I knew the answer to @jehmu's joke 'cause we've already heard it,” @MitchBehna posted. “But she got mixed up. It's Obama, Pelosi, Biden on the boat.”
After @BorisEP noted “Your joke did kind of bomb,” Jehmu replied:
Perhaps because it is the stone-cold truth. America would be better off without both of them on Capitol Hill.
Other posters asked what would happen if such “jokes” were made by conservative Republicans.
“Quick,” @RBPundit declared. “Someone at @FreeBeacon write an editorial that starts off with a joke about Obama and Reid dying. Let's see how it plays out.”
@sunnyright agreed by stating:
If Rush Limbaugh said what @politicoroger wrote, it'd be call for a National Discussion on Extreme Rhetoric and Civility. Simon will be allowed to get away with it, however, and his transgression either ignored or portrayed as edgy and refreshingly blunt.
“Some charming rhetoric this afternoon,” wrote @charlescwcook. “Exterminating your political opponents is fun!”
"Hey Mister, how did the shutdown end?" @charleswcooke asked a question a liberal might put to him. His answer: "We put the Republicans in a building and set fire to them!"
The imaginary liberal's reply: "Great!"
@iowahawkblog tweeted that he's curious: “When did the John F Kennedy wing of the Democratic Party get taken over by the Lee Harvey Oswald wing?”
While Simon's idiocy stands on its own, it is worth noting that the drowning gag appears to have been used long before the Obamacare/shutdown debate except the people in the boat were president Barack Obama and California congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. Of course, the people making the joke were not highly paid blowhards like Simon but rather average people just commenting on the news for fun.
This is not the first time that Greene has gotten in trouble for saying uncivil things about Republicans. Last year, she blasted conservative journalist Tucker Carlson as a “bow-tying white boy,” a reference to his former habit of wearing a bow-tie on television. While she was forced to apologize for her racist insult, she never faced any additional penalties from her employer, the Fox News Channel.
