Althouse: Sean Hannity says the media "literally kiss Hillary's ass and Obama's ass every day."

August 16, 2016

Sean Hannity says the media "literally kiss Hillary's ass and Obama's ass every day."

ADDED: If you think "literally" is wrong, maybe you don't understand sarcasm.

92 comments:

MayBee said...: He literally went to the Joe Biden school of communication.; 8/16/16, 10:35 AM
CJ said...: Politifact can find no instances of any individual named "Media" or business operating under the name, "Media", placing their lips on either President Obama's or Hillary Clinton's gluteus maximus muscles in a gesture colloquially referred to as a "kiss". Therefore, we rate Sean Hannity's claim that the media "literally kiss Hillary's ass and Obama's ass every day" our highest rating **** "Pants on Fire".; 8/16/16, 10:37 AM
rhhardin said...: Literally is an emphasizer and listed as such in dictionaries.

It's alive because it's a figure of speech: so true that it might as well be literal.

Nothing prevents "literally" from being used figuratively, like any other word.

You'd think this would be simple.; 8/16/16, 10:38 AM
TosaGuy said...: Sean Hannity is the perfect example of how not to present a persuasive political argument.

The sooner he goes away the better.; 8/16/16, 10:38 AM
Big Mike said...: I wish there was a way to vote for both #3 and #5 at the same time.; 8/16/16, 10:40 AM
rhhardin said...: Other confusing figures of speech: Obama is the founder of ISIS.; 8/16/16, 10:41 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: I'd have cast my vote for "nothing."; 8/16/16, 10:47 AM
rhhardin said...: The Bourne Ultimatum displays news story briefly

His code name is Jason Bourne, but he had many identities, each one seemingly more deadly than the next

Screenwriters don't have the quality of proof reading that newspapers do.

Nevertheless it shows that people write by reassembling cliches carelessly.

Also I've found, after catching up on DVDs I never watched to current stuff, that replaying an old ones is more satisfying than the new crap, most of the time. You forget the plot details quickly enough so that it works.; 8/16/16, 10:47 AM
Mark said...: Trump's spokespersons misuse of literally was even funnier.; 8/16/16, 10:48 AM
Bob Boyd said...: "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Asses on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched lips planted in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears...in...rain. Time to die." - from Hannity's death scene monologue in 'Mouthrunner'; 8/16/16, 10:49 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Maybe the adverb literally is modifying the adjective every.; 8/16/16, 10:49 AM
Witness said...: need to be allowed to choose more than one; 8/16/16, 10:54 AM
mezzrow said...: The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen,
man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive,
nor his heart to report, what my dream was...

No. This is real. Would that it were a dream.; 8/16/16, 10:55 AM
Humperdink said...: I believe it was Rush who labelled it "anal poisoning". Either way it fits.

Or as we used to say, "throw a brick at Hillary's butt and you will hit Georgie Stephanopoulos in the back of the head". (Sub any MSM talking head or "anal"yst.); 8/16/16, 10:58 AM
Brando said...: He's right about the bias (wrong about "literally", and if we start using "literally" to mean "figuratively" then we no longer have meaning for the word "literally"). Considering he's such a complete Trump lickspittle, he's not the ideal vessel for this message. It'd be like Kanye West criticizing Trump for his excessive Twitter trolling.; 8/16/16, 10:59 AM
Anonymous said...: What's important here is that "the media is horribly biased" is ungrammatical. "Media" is a plural: one medium, two medium, a billion media. Remember McLuhan's book, "The Medium Is the Message"?; 8/16/16, 10:59 AM
Bob R said...: Literally is an emphasizer and listed as such in dictionaries.

The appropriate response to this is described in Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe novel Gambit.; 8/16/16, 11:02 AM
Gk1 said...: I sense the frustrations of the Trump forces trying to stem the tide of uniformly biased coverage. But they got to develop a strategy to overcome it as it won't get any easier if he wins the office. Whining about media bias makes you look weak and foolish.; 8/16/16, 11:05 AM
Bill Peschel said...: Bob R, I assume you mean "pfui"?

He used that a lot. He was also prejudiced against using "contact" as a verb.; 8/16/16, 11:06 AM
traditionalguy said...: Sean Hannity is literally passionate lately. He used to seem boring to me, until Trump arose and gave him a good fight to occupy his motor mouth talent.; 8/16/16, 11:06 AM
victoria said...: Talk about ass kissing. Sean Hannity, literally kissing Donald Trump's. Could he be anymore in the bag for Donald? The way he(Hannity)fawns over Donald is embarrassing. I am, literally, retching.

Vicki from Pasadena; 8/16/16, 11:07 AM
Paddy O said...: then we no longer have meaning for the word "literally"

At least it's not another word co-opted in order to mean "homosexual."

Well, maybe that is how Hannity is using it.; 8/16/16, 11:07 AM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Bob R, I have Gambit etext on hand, what do you mean? If I start rereading it now my work will suffer.; 8/16/16, 11:08 AM
mockturtle said...: whswhs, I think we are fighting a losing battle here. 'The media are' is correct but one seldom hears it properly used.; 8/16/16, 11:10 AM
Unknown said...: The media gave Trump over $2bn of free press in the first 12 months of his campaign. Now Trump and his acolytes whine and cry because the media have fallen out of favor with them.

Trump said a few weeks ago, "All press is good press". So, stop whining big boy and just suck it up.; 8/16/16, 11:10 AM
eric said...: There was a great example today on newsbusters of CNN bias.

The sister of the guy killed says on CNN not to bring the violence here. And CNN says she is calling for peace.

What they don't play is what she says after. She says they need to take the violence to the suburbs. They completely distorted what she said and lied about it by omission.; 8/16/16, 11:10 AM
rhhardin said...: wrong about "literally", and if we start using "literally" to mean "figuratively" then we no longer have meaning for the word "literally"

"Literally" isn't used to mean "figuratively." It's used figuratively.; 8/16/16, 11:14 AM
Brando said...: I think we need a word to replace "literally, though not actually 'literally'". As in "I could literally eat a horse, though not actually eat an entire horse." "Figuratively" is correct but sounds weak--if you say "figuratively I could eat a horse" it doesn't sound like you really really really could eat that horse.

How about "totally"? I could "totally" eat that horse. Hillary is totally being ass kissed by CNN.

And if "totally" sounds too much like a little kid, how about "massively"? Little kids don't use "massive."; 8/16/16, 11:17 AM
Brando said...: ""Literally" isn't used to mean "figuratively." It's used figuratively."

I used to think I was with it, then whatever "it" was I was no longer with.

Somewhere, someway, some kid is on my damn lawn...; 8/16/16, 11:18 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/16/16, 11:18 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Hannity preaches to his choir - but he is to blame for pimping the guy who will hand us Hillary.

Sean - you are to blame for Hillary.

*; 8/16/16, 11:20 AM
damikesc said...: Hannity is an insufferable prick (I hated him for years, so it's not like this is about his Trump love)...but he's right. The press is giving Hillary a piggy back ride to an election.; 8/16/16, 11:21 AM
Sebastian said...: Hopefully he didn't mean literally literally.

Of course, he's right about the bias. But whining won't work. For venting the Trumpite id, Hannity's perfect.

Judging by the latest speech, at least Trump is getting some higher-grade assistance now. Too little, too late, but better than nothing.; 8/16/16, 11:23 AM
Sydney said...: He misused "literally" but he is right about the figurative ass-kissing.
This morning NPR interviewed some former adviser to Bush, McCain and Romney criticizing Trump for saying the US should stop nation building. I remember when Bush, McCain, and Romney's ideas mattered. Back then, NPR was all against nation building and the only people they interviewed were also people against it. My how things change!; 8/16/16, 11:26 AM
Paddy O said...: You should see literally come round of a Saturday night for to get its wages, you see.; 8/16/16, 11:28 AM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Virtually? Essentially? Basically?; 8/16/16, 11:31 AM
Static Ping said...: Pedants, Assemble!; 8/16/16, 11:32 AM
Known Unknown said...: What Hannity said is no doubt true, but Hannity still sucks.; 8/16/16, 11:37 AM
jimbino said...: It's painful to read a blog post using "media is" or "criteria is" or "phenomena is."; 8/16/16, 11:40 AM
GWash said...: Hannity is the worst at logical arguments... no, i mean O'Reilly is the worst... wait, make it that eric bolling... hannity brings shame to the education you get at ND, o'reilly makes me question why Harvard is so expensive and bolling? i have seen all 3 of these proud 'journalists' go down in flames trying to argue a point...

I'm not a trolling robot...; 8/16/16, 11:49 AM
Bob R said...: At the beginning of Gambit, Wolfe is burning a Webster's third edition for (among other crimes) claiming that infer and imply are synonyms. One of my favorite Wolfe Novels.; 8/16/16, 11:50 AM
MadisonMan said...: If you think "literally" is wrong, maybe you don't understand sarcasm.

Needs a literally before don't.; 8/16/16, 11:52 AM
Bob R said...: Like "data," "media" can be used as a plural or (as it is here) as a collective singular noun (like "grass" or "rice"). High school Latin isn't the final word.; 8/16/16, 11:54 AM
FullMoon said...: MadisonMan said...

If you think "literally" is wrong, maybe you don't understand sarcasm.

Needs a literally before don't.

Your right about that !; 8/16/16, 12:22 PM
damikesc said...: Well, a member of the media literally offered to blow Bill for keeping abortion legal.

If that is all it takes to get free head from random women --- yay abortion.; 8/16/16, 12:29 PM
holdfast said...: Literally Lana. Literally!

/Archer; 8/16/16, 12:40 PM
Mark said...: Projection, I tell you.; 8/16/16, 12:40 PM
Fernandinande said...: Hannity's ludicrous misuse of the word "literally."

His use of "literally" was correct.

kiss ass mainly US offensive
to be very nice to people in authority because you want them to help you

kiss ass
Slang: Vulgar. to be obsequious; fawn.; 8/16/16, 12:41 PM
Gahrie said...: If members of the media were willing to suck Bill's dick, why is it so hard to believe that others are willing to kiss Hillary's ass?; 8/16/16, 12:43 PM
Fernandinande said...: Bob R said...
Like "data," "media" can be used as a plural or (as it is here) as a collective singular noun (like "grass" or "rice"). High school Latin isn't the final word.

Correct. Apparently a lot of people are too busy to look at a dictionary.; 8/16/16, 12:47 PM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: By the way, I literally searched Politifact last night to see if they had anything to say about Sen. Warren's statement that "Republicans have decided to sell guns to ISIS" or about Joe Biden's assertion that Republicans like Mitt Romney want to "put ya'll [black people] back in chains."

For some reason my searches turned up nothing. Isn't that weird? The Media didn't think it was worth judging or refuting those assertions! Inexplicable, I tell you.; 8/16/16, 12:49 PM
MacMacConnell said...: I don't watch Hannity. I stop long ago, I do agree with him, but he talks over those he interviews.
Food for thought, Michael Dukakis was leading Bush by 17 points at this time in 1988.; 8/16/16, 12:51 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Food for thought

Read this - it kills they myth that Reagan was behind. By Spring, he was ahead.; 8/16/16, 1:01 PM
Yancey Ward said...: I don't really doubt that many in the media would toss the salad of either one if asked to.; 8/16/16, 1:17 PM
jimbino said...: Bob R says: Like "data," "media" can be used as a plural or (as it is here) as a collective singular noun (like "grass" or "rice"). High school Latin isn't the final word.

Apparently a lot of people are too busy to look at a dictionary.

Bob R and intellectually lazy others (like the descriptivists over at Language Log) simply don't understand that "you are judged by the words you use."

Bob R is judged not to be schooled in foreign languages, including Greek and Latin. He also doesn't understand that a dictionary, unless it is a prescriptive one (like American Heritage) serves only to explain what common speakers of English mean, not what good speakers use.

I would venture that most of what Bob says or writes could not faithfully be translated into any Indo-european language. (Who would want to read it anyway?)

The plural is used for things that can be counted, like people, media, strata, errata, data, and phenomena. Rice and grass cannot be counted, so we say "rice is" and "grass is," whereas the others "are." That's why a grocery checkout where I shop says,"fifteen items or fewer." (Who wants to shop where the clients don't appreciate both good grammar and good customer service?); 8/16/16, 1:34 PM
Brando said...: "Read this - it kills they myth that Reagan was behind. By Spring, he was ahead."

This is true. Reagan I think was last behind Carter in late spring of 1980, then the combination of the Iran Hostage crisis and stagflation (plus the GOP coalescing around Reagan once he was nominated) gave him a lead that he never relinquished. It became a landslide when he defied expectations in the one debate (Carter came across sour, Reagan came across reasonable and likable), and when Anderson's numbers dropped and his voters broke for Reagan.

At least in modern times, no one who was behind beyond the margin of error at this stage in the race overcame that.; 8/16/16, 1:34 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Yes, Bob, that I remember. TY

Rex Stout was a fellow who lived a long life that wasn't nearly long enough.; 8/16/16, 1:40 PM
Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...: sarchasm: the gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the recipient who doesn't get it.; 8/16/16, 2:27 PM
Beldar said...: Hannity is only a figurative ass. And I think the blow jobs he administers to Trump daily are also figurative. But I've seen enough donkeys to be certain about the former, and I really am only speculating about the latter; I suppose they could be literal blowies, but I think Trump prefers them from fellators with large fake bosoms, which Hannity so far lacks.; 8/16/16, 2:30 PM
Beldar said...: @ rhhardin: If nothing prevents the word "literally" from being used figuratively, then nothing prevents the word "truth" from being used to describe a lie.

Now the rest of your comments begin to make more sense to me.; 8/16/16, 2:31 PM
Chris Lopes said...: Numbers 3, 4, and 5 are not really mutually exclusive. The media is biased, Hannity is an ass both figuratively and literally (well he has one anyway), and Trump is still a douche bag. Embrace the power of "and" people.; 8/16/16, 2:33 PM
mockturtle said...: I don't know how many times I've heard football announcers say, 'He literally took his head off!'. Brings up some vivid images.; 8/16/16, 2:43 PM
mockturtle said...: sarchasm: the gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the recipient who doesn't get it.

I like it, Gritzkofe!; 8/16/16, 2:45 PM
Michael in ArchDen said...: People who use "literally" incorrectly, figuratively drive me crazy.

sarcasm...; 8/16/16, 2:51 PM
JaimeRoberto said...: No option for "all of the above"? It might be literally somewhat contradictory, but still.; 8/16/16, 2:52 PM
Rumpletweezer said...: It's always been embarrassing to hear Hannity explain a position that I happen to share with him.; 8/16/16, 2:54 PM
Abdul Abulbul Amir said...: All of the above.; 8/16/16, 2:54 PM
C R Krieger said...: Understand sarcasm? Does anyone in the Media understand sarcasm?

Regards — Cliff; 8/16/16, 3:00 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Literally... Things Trump would NOT tweet but Obama's David Plouffe does.

David Plouffe Verified account 

It is not enough to simply beat Trump. He must be destroyed thoroughly. His kind must not rise again.

I could literally not believe my ears.; 8/16/16, 3:07 PM
Unknown said...: While the media is so mean to poor Trump, he gets away with continuing to solicit foreign governments for his campaign donations.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/fundraising/291503-trump-campaign-apparently-soliciting-foreign-cash-despite-warnings

Donald Trump's presidential campaign appears to be soliciting foreign donations despite multiple warnings and a criminal complaint filed with the Department of Justice.

On Sunday, an Australian member of parliament, Terri Butler, emailed The Hill the latest fundraising solicitation she’d received from the Trump campaign.

The email, received on Aug. 14 just after midnight Australian time, went to Butler’s government email account. It asked her to make a campaign contribution to Trump so she could “join the highest ranks of our campaign as an Executive Member.”
Butler told The Hill she has received several fundraising solicitations from the Trump campaign at her government email account.

Butler is hardly the first foreign official to receive solicitations from the Trump campaign. Members of the United Kingdom Parliament, Peter Bottomley and Bob Blackman, have told The Hill that they've received numerous fundraising appeals on the Republican nominee's behalf.

Fred Wertheimer, the president of Democracy 21, said the Trump campaign’s foreign solicitations are unlike anything he’s seen in the 40 years that he’s monitored campaign finance.

“It’s inexplicable and impossible to understand why the Trump campaign appears to still be illegally soliciting foreign donations after they have been put on notice numerous times that this is illegal,” Wertheimer said on Monday.

“There is no ambiguity about the fact that these solicitations are illegal.”; 8/16/16, 3:07 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: "Kiss ass" is a funny idiom. Imagine Hillary or Obama (Fully clothed, of course. This is a G-rated mental image.) trying to work while office sycophants and reporters stopped by now and then to bend down and literally kiss their fabric-clad cheeks. They would hate it! They would be hitting them, shooing them away, calling security.; 8/16/16, 3:10 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: "each one seemingly more deadly than the next"

That is great.

Bourne 7: The Pushover; 8/16/16, 3:12 PM
Bob R said...: My test for a change in the language is whether it adds distinctive meaning or destroys it. The use of "literally" to mean its opposite destroys its meaning and makes the word completely unnecessary. It is now used the way drill sergeants use the word f***ing. (Make the substitution in Hannity's tweet. The meaning is unchanged.)

One the other hand, allowing media to be either plural or singular can add nuance. "The media is manipulating the election for the Democrats" and "The media are in competition for advertising dollar" are both common usages. The first emphasizes the media as a collective entity, the second as a collection of individuals. "Data" works the same way. Do you want to emphasize the data as a set or as a collection of individuals?

Those of us who use language as a tool to communicate difficult ideas take a different approach than those who are primarily concerned with using it as a class marker.; 8/16/16, 3:14 PM
Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...: Several 2,000 pound increments of people literally misuse the word "literally." This is not just a one-off-a-kind. It is not something I could not care less about.

Just this morning many of us read an op-ed in which Jonathan Zittrain denounces the alteration of symbols used in communication. He correctly notes this is an impediment to effective communication.

What word shall we now use to replace "literally" in it's pre-appropriation meaning?

Well said, Bob R My test for a change in the language is whether it adds distinctive meaning or destroys it.; 8/16/16, 3:19 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: "The media gave Trump over $2 Billion of free press in the first 12 months of his campaign".
This is one of the biggest made-up financial lies in the history of politics IMHO.

And as a crappy lie, it was surpassed only one time: when dopey, lying Obama claimed the average family would save $2,500 per year on their health insurance. That, over 8 years, amounts to $2.2 TRILLION BUCKS making Obama the biggest political liar ever.; 8/16/16, 3:40 PM
Loren said...: all of the above?; 8/16/16, 3:51 PM
EsoxLucius said...: I thought kissing asses at Fox news was what got Rodger Ailes in trouble.; 8/16/16, 4:38 PM
MacMacConnell said...: AprilApple said...
"Food for thought

Read this - it kills they myth that Reagan was behind. By Spring, he was ahead."

What mythical universe did Reagan ever run against Dukakis?; 8/16/16, 5:24 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Beldar - so you prefer Clinton to Trump?

Beldar son of Ackroyd, I release you from my service. Go now and die in what way seems best to you. --America; 8/16/16, 5:57 PM
Lucien said...: Not so long ago people could use "virtually" instead of "figuratively", but then the IT folks started using virtual to mean God knows what, and have monopolized the word. Of course, in "virtual" reality one could see people "literally" kissing ass -- so there's that.; 8/16/16, 6:42 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: Yeah. And look whose ass Sean Hannity kisses.; 8/16/16, 6:51 PM
Jaq said...: In a court filing, Saucier's lawyer compares the half-dozen classified photos Saucier had in his possession to the 110 classified emails the FBI determined were on Hillary Clinton's personal server. "Mr. Saucier possessed six (6) photographs classified as 'confidential/restricted,' far less than Clinton's 110 emails," Derrick Hogan wrote to the US District Court in Bridgeport, Connecticut,

Stupid idiot thought he was royalty, like the Clintons... What a maroon, as Bugs would say.; 8/16/16, 7:28 PM
Jaq said...: If you substitute "not really" for "virtually" it will always work in tech.; 8/16/16, 7:29 PM
Jaq said...: "Virtually complete" is a favorite.; 8/16/16, 7:30 PM
Jon Ericson said...: Literally the best comment ever:
Beldar son of Ackroyd, I release you from my service. Go now and die in what way seems best to you. --America; 8/16/16, 7:51 PM
Phil 314 said...: And Sean knows ass kissing when he sees it.; 8/16/16, 8:20 PM
Brando said...: The word "sarcasm" has also been abused lately--as Trump tried to use it to explain his "Obama founded ISIS" comment. What he was going for was "hyperbole" or "symbolism". If he meant that comment "sarcastically" that means he really thinks Obama has been ISIS's worst nightmare.

A "sarcastic" comment meant to convey his belief that Obama's actions helped ISIS get started would have been something like "yeah, Obama's been real great at stopping ISIS, they're shaking in their sandals over Obama..."

Nice language we had...once!; 8/17/16, 6:16 AM
Captain Curt said...: "Very" used to mean "truly". "Really" used to mean "in reality". Now both are used as emphasizers and no one bats an eye.; 8/17/16, 9:28 AM
Rusty said...: I like how the usual suspects want to make this about Sean Hannity and not the kiss up media.
I guess the truth hurts too much to admit it.; 8/17/16, 11:02 AM
Bad Lieutenant said...: the usual suspects

Including of course our gracious hostess. The original poster.; 8/17/16, 5:51 PM
Rusty said...: Bad Lieutenant said...
the usual suspects

Including of course our gracious hostess. The original poster.

You misconstrue our hostesses motive.; 8/17/16, 7:46 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: You misconstrue our hostess's motive.

8/17/16, 7:46 PM

I did?; 8/18/16, 10:26 AM