August 12, 2022

NPR's prissy headline: "Weighing the pros and cons of Beto O'Rourke dropping an f-bomb on a heckler."

Here. 

Dropped an f-bomb. Give me a break. Saying "fuck" isn't the equivalent of violence. It's not a bomb. Say "f-word" if you're somewhere — where?! — where you can't say "fuck." But in this case it wasn't the f-word. It was the M-WORD.

Beto O'Rourke called a guy in the crowd "motherfucker." "Motherfucker" is a lot worse than "fuck." It has a separate entry on George Carlin's 1972 list of "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television." As you can see at that last link, to Wikipedia, Carlin later spoke of some guy criticizing him saying "motherfucker is a duplication of the word fuck, technically, because fuck is the root form, motherfucker being derivative; therefore, it constitutes duplication. And I said, 'Hey, motherfucker, how did you get my phone number, anyway?'"

Anyway, what does NPR have to say about the pros and cons of Beto calling a guy in the crowd "motherfucker"? The guy laughed in the middle of O'Rourke speaking about the Uvalde massacre. NPR quotes a couple polysci professors: "Light cursing can make you seem more authentic to your supporters, but there are shades of language that are dangerous"/"It helps them, it hurts them... These are voters... who don't have an issue with profanity in their private life but hold public officials and those making public pronouncements to a higher standard."

Later, NPR refers to "toilet talk." So: "toilet talk," "profanity," "light cursing," "f-bomb." None of that gets to the heart of this issue: He said "motherfucker." That's a step beyond. And he aimed it right at a person, a private citizen. Okay, is that what we're saying is sometimes an appropriate manifestation of passion? The guy had it coming. He laughed. He laughed at the mass murder of children (or so it seemed/who knows why he laughed?). He had it coming and Beto O'Rourke was justly indignant (or wily enough to know he'd get attention manifesting just indignation). 

By the way, is anyone calling for a return to civility? 

98 comments:

Mike said...

Well it was particularly bad since most in the crowd knew that Beto was really a Mommy's Boy.

Now do we have all the playground stuff done?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Beto is a joke.

Gravel said...

My immediate thought was that the motherfucker was a motherfucking plant, because what motherfucker would actually laugh at Uvalde? Nobody.

Crimso said...

Lighten up, Francis.

Gravel said...

Didn't complete my thought.

Beto wanted a chance to butch up, so he planted the motherfucker just so he could call him a motherfucker.

RMc said...

Saying "fuck" isn't the equivalent of violence.

Not if a Democrat does it.

M Jordan said...

I’m walking on thin ice here but, hey, I like cold water. Anyway …

It’s always a bit jarring to me when Ann uses the F-word. Any time I hear a female use it, it jars. It seems … how shall I say this … trashy.

Ergo, I am asking Anne to say “F-word” instead of the actual F-word.

WK said...

I am not a lawyer. If the constituent is not a public figure does he have a libel/slander case against Beto? Beto didn’t just swear -it sounded like an accusation.

Mike Sylwester said...

I stopped listening to NPR two decades ago.

I am surprised to learn that NPR now is discussing "f-bombs".

The NPR that I remember was a rather high-brow medium.

Lurker21 said...

But according to WaPo, saying "Let's Go Brandon" is a vile, vulgar insult ...

Mike Sylwester said...

The heckler was not laughing at the massacre. He was laughing at Beto's rant about some gun in the Vietnam War.

That was my understanding of the situation.

RideSpaceMountain said...

My wife and I both have "F-Bomb" stickers on our helmets when we ride.

Last year we encountered a semi-serious road rage incident of a Karen (boy oh boy did she fit the profile...) who began shouting at us at a stop light because she thought that and my "I Support the Right To Arm Bears" stickers were obscene. I say semi-serious because she cut lanes to follow us after the light turned green and I thought she might run us over after my response at the light was turn my stereo WAY UP.

Luckily she wasn't going slow enough to take the quick turn I made into a grocery parking lot. All of that over an "F-Bomb"...

Buckwheathikes said...

Ann ... you're a law professor. Can you discuss whether we need a refresher on the concept of: "fighting words."

Are you allowed to just walk up to people and call them any nasty horrid word you want? Is that now allowed? What words are allowed and not allowed? Where's the current list of "fighting words."

If Beto O'Rourke calls me a motherfucker, can I legally punch him right in the throat? Because that's what needs to happen to this guy next time he strikes out at an ordinary citizen laughing (maybe caused by nervousness) at his public pronouncements, which frankly are laughable in their entirety - starting with his made up Latinx name.

His entire being is laughable, so he better get used to being the punch line or before he gets punched.

wendybar said...

Hunter Biden's tax payer funded Hooker said...
Beto is a joke.

8/12/22, 8:48 AM

So is NPR.

rhhardin said...

Fatherfucker is worse than motherfucker, I think Arlo Guthrie said somewhere, probably on the group-W bench, where all the bad people were put.

rehajm said...

Beto’s strategists figured out they can’t get paid for President Jed Bartlet’s Candid Comment Into A Hot Mic gambit anymore, so they rolled out Motherfucker Hail Mary

Beto got some play, so…works!!!

M Jordan said...

I should emend my previous post by saying, when Anne uses the F-word it doesn’t seem trashy so much as trying too hard to be, I don’t know, one of the guys, tough talking, brutally honest, whatever. My broader point is that women shouldn’t use it. Call me a chauvinist, call me an old fogey, call me an effing moron, I don’t care. It just bugs me.

Jersey Fled said...

I guess it's not worth repeating here anymore, but there are different rules for different people. Beto is both Gay and a Democrat, so he's a twofer. If he was Black NPR would be telling us that it's just part of his culture.

JAORE said...

Change of pace. Usually Beto saves the bombs for election day.

rhhardin said...

Fuck expresses authenticity not emotion. The rule about swearing is that you need permission of the listener to descend into authenticity rather than politeness. It's rude if you don't have permission, for you're being authentic where the other guy is still limited to politeness.

You have to learn how authentic it's possible to be. There are limits. Kids overuse fuck and it just makes them sound stupid.

Drago said...

Beto gets it wrong again.

If a New Soviet Democratical really wants the support of fellow lefties like Inga of gadfly or victoria of pasadena, then all Beto has to do is shower with his daughters, do (alot!) of coke and crack with underage trafficked hookers and find a sister in law to boff.

You know, "perfectly normal" stuff. In fact, "wonderful" normal stuff.

According to the Althouse lefty-commentariat.

Mike Sylwester said...

John McWhorter has written a book titled Nine Nasty Words, about profanity. I have not read that book, but I did watch a BookTV interview of him about it.

In this interview, he was wise and funny. I laughed out loud many times.

He pointed out that hundreds of years ago, the unacceptable profanity was about religious concepts. Then, decades ago, it was about excrement and sex.

Now, the unacceptable profanity is about racial minorities and other "marginalized persons". Now the very most offensive profanity is the N-word.

Now the expression mother-f***er is not much more offensive than "poop-head".

Ironclad said...

What I understood is that Beto went off about AR-15s and why the “ assault rifles” need to be banned. He mimicked holding and using one ( badly) and that’s why the guy in the audience laughed - Beto made a fool of himself to one who knew how to use the gun ( this IS Texas you know). It was mocking laughter on Beto - not on Uvalde.

This reminds me of the case earlier this week of the 17 year old “having to self abort” because of the “ cruel” state laws. The crime was burning a body and trying to hide it ( in the backyard too). But deflect, deflect - that’s media today.

Matt said...

He was not laughing at uvalde. He was laughing Beto’s ridiculous “Vietnam fighting stance” and his description of the AR-15. It was ridiculous and I too would have laughed at it if I was present. Beto and the left are so convinced of their moral superiority they have lost the ability to see themselves as an outsider would.

Aggie said...

The story is a confection of the press, though. The immediate context was not Uvalde, it was Beto demonstrating the assault weapon shooting stance while talking about our brave boys in 'Nam. It was an absurd connection and Beto came off as a buffoon, his only natural talent aside from scoring a rich wife. Hence the well-deserved guffaws. Maternal instincts by the press won't save Beto. Forever Dork.

Michael said...

So many prominent Democrats are imbeciles, but give the baton to Beto - he's leading the parade.

Rusty said...

Ooooh. Beta Beto boy broke bad.

rcocean said...

Robert Francis is your typical Leftist. A wussy little soy boy, who talks tough, and fights with his mouth. He'd scream like a little girl if you asked him to back it up and go outside.

And a politician calling someone in the audience a "motherfucker" is never acceptable. It shows a lack of dignity and shows instability, an inability to control your tongue and your emotions. IOW, its exactly what you do NOT want in a leader.

And we don't know why the man laughed. It could be Robert Francis said something absurd. Just because he's talking ABOUT a mass killing doesn't mean every word has to listened to with sacred reverance. Maybe Robert Francis said something incredibly dumb. I wouldn't be shocked.

Christopher B said...

<a href="https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2022/08/11/beto-at-rally-stop-laughing-at-me-motherfr-n488985>To back up Mike Sylwester, here's a report from Ed Morrissey at HotAir</a> that points out the laughter occurred when Robert O’Rourke was spinning a fake history of the AR-15 rifle design and apparently specifically when O’Rourke took up what he fancied to be a 'combat stance' to illustrate his fiction that the AR-15 platform, as the M-16, was designed to kill VC.

Russell said...

I'm curious if the people who were really concerned with Brett Kavanaugh's temperament after he got visibly angry during his hearings will have the same concern here about Beto? I mean, sure Kavanaugh was mad about being accused on national TV of being a gang rapist, but gee why can't he remain calm and all? Beto seems to continually fail the 'keep his cool' standard, no?

ConradBibby said...

From what I've seen and read, the "heckler" wasn't laughing at Uvalde, he was laughing at Beto's silly attempt to mimic a soldier using an AR-15 and his ill-informed overly dramatic lecture about that weapon. As I understand it, the AR-15 is not a military weapon and is, in fact, an incredibly popular rifle owned by tens of millions of law-abiding citizens. I'm not a gun person at all, but I can well imagine that an actual gun person who was watching Beto's pretentious performance would think it was hilarious -- sort of like Steve Carell in The Office when his character (Michael Scott) tries to make a point to his staff in a serious/dramatic way.

John henry said...

Not the first time "Beto" has culturally appropriated. First pretending to be Mexican, now this?

Everyone knows that "motherfucker" is a black word and it is not appropriate for any non-black person to use it. It has to do with slavery and the white man fucking the black man's mothers.

Don King explains it to a preacher and his wife here: https://youtu.be/9K0Q934XGjQ?t=46 He convinces them that it is an empowering word for blacks and after a minute or so has both preacher and wife shouting it.

Gershon Legman, in his book Rational of the Dirty Joke recounts from the 20s or 30s: A colored lady is out with her small son and runs into an acquaintance. "My what a handsome boy" says the friend. "Yes he is. 3 years old and talking already. Say motherfucker for my friend Janet" He then goes into a long explanation of the meaning of the word motherfucker to the black community.

John LGBTQBNY Henry

Russell said...

Michael said "So many prominent Democrats are imbeciles, but give the baton to Beto - he's leading the parade". Democrats do seem to favor a particular type of vapid white male politician: shockingly unaccomplished yet continues to fail upward. John Kerry is the archetype here.

Howard said...

The stupid kid down the block had a speech impediment and said Beto instead of Better. I can't help but to imprint that kid onto Mr. O'Rourke .

Milo Minderbinder said...

He laughed at O'Rourke's inane comments about preventing future Uvaldes. More are calling for a return to common sense from politicians than for civility, and the longer it takes to get back to the former the less of the latter we'll likely see.

John henry said...

The O'Rourke clip is hilarious, BTW. O'Rourke is the most insincere person, in the speech leading up to the remark and the remark, you have ever seen.

Comedy gold

John LGBTQBNY Henry

Blair said...

Beth is just an embarrassment. He's the clinching reason why Texas should just cede El Paso to New Mexico and be done.

Joe Smith said...

Shouldn't he be out building dams on some river?

Or driving a car off a bridge into one (pretty girl included, of course)?

I don't know how the guy even talks through those beaver choppers...

John henry said...

Blogger Buckwheathikes said...

starting with his made up Latinx name.

Please stop with he racism. It is deeply offensive and cultural genocide.

O'Rourke pretends to be "Latino" not "Latinx". Actually, he pretends to be Mexican. or Mexican-American or something.

Latino itself is a pretty stupid word itself since it excludes much of the so-called Latino world. Latinos do not include Romanians, Italians, French and others. May or may not include Catalans if you think they are Spanish speakers.

But I am seriously asking you not to use the word Latinx. It is racist.

John LGBTQBNY Henry

Jersey Fled said...

Sorry, I got Beto mixed up with Pete. I always do that for some reason. As far as I know, Beto is not gay. Just a Democrat.

Ficta said...

It may be a little tired as a stock phrase at this point, but isn't "drop the f-bomb" the standard locution for using "fuck" in an inappropriate venue, like when a guest on a radio show says it? Of course, in this case, it was the mother of all f-bombs.

typingtalker said...

Dropping an f-bomb demonstrates lack of creativity and mastery of language. It has lost its power through careless overuse. It no longer raises the hackles of anyone who doesn't work at NPR. It isn't fun anymore.

Insert plural form of f-bomb here.

Next week we can talk about one who orally applies a partial vacuum to external male genitalia.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Strange how NPR just flat out lies about the context as if their “report” was written by someone who either wasn’t there or failed to actually look at O’Rourke performing his version of a “combat stance” and somehow NPR missed Bob’s brief incorrect “history” lesson while he awkwardly posed as a little green army man. Of course the crowd laughed!

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

This really calls out for a video link.

TrespassersW said...

Anyway, what does NPR have to say about the pros and cons of Beto calling a guy in the crowd "motherfucker"?

A more pertinent question: Who cares what NPR has to say about the pros and cons of Beto calling a guy in the crowd "motherfucker"? Neither NPR nor O'Rourke are worth paying attention to.

Buckwheathikes said...

"From what I've seen and read, the "heckler" wasn't laughing at Uvalde"

You're a Uvalde denier. - NPR

Kevin said...

Is anyone talking about Beto today if he DOESN'T say it?

Owen said...

rhhardin @ 9:07: “ Fuck expresses authenticity not emotion. The rule about swearing is that you need permission of the listener to descend into authenticity rather than politeness. It's rude if you don't have permission, for you're being authentic where the other guy is still limited to politeness.

You have to learn how authentic it's possible to be. There are limits. Kids overuse fuck and it just makes them sound stupid.”

Fucking true. Serious here.

hombre said...

How about the pros and cons of the room full of Democrats who gave him a standing ovation for it?

Ignoramuses AND cretins. Democrats meeting expectations.

traditionalguy said...

The Professor is a word usage artist. She sees all language as really interesting including the Bad Words that fighting men have used since Cain slew Able. In combat serious soldiers curse, swear and pray as loud as they can. Throwing bad words at God or the enemy in peaceful gatherings seems to be out of place because it is out of place. The words themselves are still ammo when used in the right place. Another reason women and children should not be combat soldiers.

Steven said...

As far as his run for office, there are no pros and cons. My former congressman could spend his time at campaign events singing the praises of Osama bin Laden, Adolf Hitler, and the trans-Atlantic slave trade for all the practical effect it would have on his election chances. This ridiculous sideshow is being cancelled on November 8th.

What's left is what effect it'll have on his campaign fundraising, since that determines how many dollars from dimwitted California progressives get spent in Texas. And I doubt that this will discourage such donations.

Inga said...

“It’s always a bit jarring to me when Ann uses the F-word. Any time I hear a female use it, it jars. It seems … how shall I say this … trashy.

Ergo, I am asking Anne to say “F-word” instead of the actual F-word.”


Who cares if Beto called some guy a motherfucker, what’s more important is that women shouldn’t use the word “fuck”! Well, F-word that!

Gusty Winds said...

Beto is a really weird motherfucker. Seriously.

When he was running for the Dem Presidential nomination he put of this “everyman” video of him pulling some cheeseburgers out of a frying pan, and putting them on and English Muffin. On the plate there are just two staged pcs of broccoli. You can tell he is out of place in a kitchen.

What kind of stupid motherfucker puts a cheeseburger on an English Muffin and thinks that connects with the “common man”?? Who eats broccoli with a cheeseburger?

Charlie said...

"Lighten Up Francis"


Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner!

Paul said...

Beto:
"I want to take your guns"!
then a few years later...
"I will protect the 2nd Amendment and nobody wants to take your guns"!
then a few months after that...
"I want to take your guns"!

And Beto got $1M from Soros just a while ago...

And the AR-15 was not designed for Vietnam... M16 was actually designed for Air Force base defense, Gen. LeMay wanted it. Army thought it was ideal for jungle fighting but being new it had lots and lots of problems in Vietnam and many GIs got killed cause of that.

But I stray from the issue at hand.

That "Mother*ucker"'s dog won't hunt, for Beto's character is well known! A liar and a fake who uses his wife's daddy's money (and Soros) to fun just another losing campaign.

Paul said...

Blogger Buckwheathikes said...

Ann ... you're a law professor. Can you discuss whether we need a refresher on the concept of: "fighting words."

Are you allowed to just walk up to people and call them any nasty horrid word you want? Is that now allowed? What words are allowed and not allowed? Where's the current list of "fighting words."

If Beto O'Rourke calls me a motherfucker, can I legally punch him right in the throat? Because that's what needs to happen to this guy next time he strikes out at an ordinary citizen laughing (maybe caused by nervousness) at his public pronouncements, which frankly are laughable in their entirety - starting with his made up Latinx name.

His entire being is laughable, so he better get used to being the punch line or before he gets punched.

Buckwheathikes, you cannot do that in Texas... you cannot use force on someone who uses just verbal attacks NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY. You will be promptly arrested, especially at a political rally.

Now if Beto had the guts to go up to the guy and push him (assault) then maybe a right cross to the chin. Punching in the throat would be deadly force and you most certainly cannot use deadly force to stop a simple assault as there was no disparity of force. Beto can't even punch his way out of a wet paper sack.

JAORE said...

Beto demonstrating the assault weapon shooting stance while talking about our brave boys in 'Nam.

Yeah. He should arrange to take a tank ride while wearing a big ol' helmet.

gilbar said...

i think he was laughing at 'penetrate a soldier's helmet at 500 feet'.
I've never (NEVER!) heard Anyone describe military/ballistic distances in feet..
I'm not even sure what that would be in yards (167?) But, i'm pretty sure that Most rounds could 'penetrate a 1960's helmet at that distance. They were called tin pots, for a reason.

Beta O'Rourke seems a sad excuse for a texan, you'd think he'd study up, just a little.
Kinda like the Colorado Representative that filmed a reelection commercial as he was "fly fishing"
It turns out, that
a) he CLEARLY had NO CLUE how to fly fish (i watched the ad, take my word for it)
b) he had to but a fishing license, because he didn't have one
c) he bought a ONE DAY fishing license, because not only wasn't he Ever going to 'fish' again, he didn't realize that that would come out, and look BAD.

Sebastian said...

"polysci professors"

Polysci: sounds kinky.

Yancey Ward said...

Beta O'Rourke is still trying to wipe the memory of his intrusion into that Uvalde press briefing. That was a colossal political mistake, and people haven't forgotten that he used the moment for an attempted campaign ploy that backfired in the most hilarious way.

Yancey Ward said...

"Who eats broccoli with a cheeseburger?"

Howard? Freder? Gadfly? Inga?

Rusty said...

Who eats broccoli with a cheeseburger?
They same people who put ketchup on a hotdog. Howard.
Beto can't even fake sincerity. He's checking everyone out to see if they're wearing the "Polo" logo.

Michael K said...

Mike Sylwester said...

The heckler was not laughing at the massacre. He was laughing at Beto's rant about some gun in the Vietnam War.


Others beat me to it but the guy (presumably a Democrat) laughed at Beto's attempt to demonstrate a shooting stance and describe distance in feet which the military hasn't used in decades.

The incident reminded me of Biden's 1987 blowup at a campaign rally in New Hampshire.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

ConradBibby said...

From what I've seen and read, the "heckler" wasn't laughing at Uvalde, he was laughing at Beto's silly attempt to mimic a soldier using an AR-15 and his ill-informed overly dramatic lecture about that weapon.

This is what I have also read. Apparently Beto was under the wrong impression that the AR-15 was designed specifically to kill Viet Cong even though the rifle had begun to enter service prior to the Vietnam war. It was his clumsy attempt at acting out 'stalking Charlie through the bush' that caused the laughter.

The real take away from this is that Beto takes himself too seriously. His opponents could have a lot of fun with that.

Inga said...

“Who eats broccoli with a cheeseburger?"

Howard? Freder? Gadfly? Inga?”

Good grief no, not me! Freedom fries only for me, with no ketchup.

Ted said...

I vaguely remember an old sitcom making fun of how "Die Hard" had been edited for television. It had Bruce Willis saying something like "Yippee-ki-yay, brother trucker!"

John henry said...

My joke from Gershon Legman should have been in quotes.

The use of "colored" was his or the jokes use, not mine. It was appropriate in the context of the time.

Not today

John LGBTQBNY Henry

MadisonMan said...

Beto wants publicity is my take.

M Jordan said...

Thank you, Inga. Very ladylike (serious).

“Well, F-word that!”

Jim at said...

The sniveling little bitch said this to a person in a room full of his supporters. Just imagine what he thinks of his opponents.

The problem with people like him - and Obama, as a prime example - is they never got their asses kicked in grade school.

dwshelf said...

And a politician calling someone in the audience a "motherfucker" is never acceptable.


It's hard to understand why Beto getting attention, fawning from the press, sneering from the right, is bad for Beto.

Ann Althouse said...

“ If Beto O'Rourke calls me a motherfucker, can I legally punch him right in the throat? ”

Unfortunate that you said that the morning Salman Rushdie was stabbed in the neck.

The fighting words doctrine has to do with when government can punish a speaker, the scope of the free speech right.

It is not about giving the hearer of the words a privilege to commit an act of violence,

Drago said...

MadisonMan: "Beto wants publicity is my take."

That's Robert Francis.

gilbar said...

Serious Question
How did calling one of his own supporters a motherf*cker help get him votes? get him Anything?*
Will a single republican switch over this? Will a single independent?

Anything* i suppose it WILL get him More Contributions and Money is what he's really all about right?

The Vault Dweller said...

I try to avoid profanity. I think social interactions are more pleasant when people avoid profanity. That being said I don't really get bothered if people use profanity. However, if a political candidate frequently used profanity I would be less likely to support them.

I do dislike NPR running this story as a political process story. It strikes me as an effort to try and shield Beto from any negative blowback from the event.

Leland said...

No calls for civility, I agree wit Beto on this. His supporters listening to him talk are motherfuckers.

gilbar said...

Our Professor wisely says:
The fighting words doctrine has to do with when government can punish a speaker, the scope of the free speech right.

It is not about giving the hearer of the words a privilege to commit an act of violence

Or, in the immortal words of Robert A Heinlein.. Inciting to Riot is no excuse to Riot

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

In May at Uvalde Beto waited until Gov. Abbott stopped speaking, then stood in the audience and yelled at him, interrupting the Lt. Gov. "This is on you, you should have done something," etc. Heckling? The mayor called Beto a "sick son of a bitch." Ouch. What did you say about my mother?

tommyesq said...

Con - it might hurt Beto's chances of being elected.

Pro - it might hurt Beto's chances of being elected.

M said...

I watched it. Even if Beto was my preferred candidate I would have cringed. He didn’t seem outraged, he seemed like the weak, skinny, dorky kid on the playground who tries to sound tough by using bad words and just comes off sounding weak and mewling. While I don’t like him in any way this actually triggered a tiny bit of sympathy for him. Such a Freudian slip of his inner weakling was embarrassing to watch.

rhhardin said...

An exclamatory fuck probably comes from the same non-linguistic center as Tourette's syndrome, which I'd say just lacks the need for provocation.

n.n said...

Misogynistic? Motherphobic? Incestiphile? Semantic violence?

Readering said...

AA off her game. Prissy not to use the word motherfucker in a headline? Incorrect usage to call it an f-bomb? (It isn't) If you start to read an article with one assumption and your assumption turns out to be wrong (he said not fuck but motherfucker) maybe skip blogging. Ignoring the point of the article--experts advise that candidates should not use such language at rallies. Which makes sense to me.

n.n said...

The f-word? Try the d&c-word... no, not [elective] abortion, not district of corruption, dysfunctional convergence a.k.a. clusterfuck.

J Melcher said...

Beto is "The Candidate" in the Robert Redford, Hollywood, life-imitating-art sort of way.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Candidate_(1972_film)

With no big-name Democrat eager to enter the unwinnable race, [the professional campaign manager] seeks out Bill McKay (Robert Redford), the idealistic, handsome, and charismatic [never-held office empty-suit with a famous name.]

It's all about keeping the fund-raising machine working.

gilbar said...

When you've lost both Readering AND Freder..
You've lost the moronic imbecile wing of the democrat party

Rusty said...

"“ If Beto O'Rourke calls me a motherfucker, can I legally punch him right in the throat? ”"
Phhhhp! He's a beta male. The minute you come close he's going to hide behind somebody else. They can call names all day those type of guys never act on it unless they're going to hit a woman.

FullMoon said...

And then, flashing back to sixth grade, the heckler responded
"Motherfucker? Yep,your house is next"

RoseAnne said...

"Motherf-----" or "Son of a B ----" are sexist. When you use either phrase you are attacking the character of a woman for the perceived actions of a man who may or may not be related to the woman in question.

FullMoon said...

“If Beto O'Rourke calls me a motherfucker, can I legally punch him right in the throat?"

No,but maybe you can sue him and try to get him canceled for hurting your feelings.

Oh, wait, we all here grew up with "sticks and stones". Nevermind.

Kevin said...

Should the R's retake government, they could make motherfuckers a protected class.

That would throw a wrench into the diversity machine.

LGBTQM.

Clyde said...

Crimso said...
Lighten up, Francis.


Thread winner.

Marc in Eugene said...

Is there an 'official' reason why Mr Biden didn't give Beto a job in his administration? At this point my own supposition is that Beto is just not quite right in his head.

Chris Lopes said...

"The fighting words doctrine has to do with when government can punish a speaker, the scope of the free speech right."

Thank you for pointing that out. I was confused about the issue myself.

Mary Beth said...

Was it nutso "I think children being murdered is hilarious" laughter or nervous laughter? Sometimes people who are stressed about something respond with inappropriate laughter. I can't tell without hearing the exchange. I'm not sure I could even tell then. Or maybe he was ignoring the speech and listening to a friend say something funny. I don;t know, but I guess Beto knows. He got to act tough; now maybe people will stop calling him a soy boy.

Mary Beth said...

Never mind, now I see he was laughing at Beto's mock combat stance. If you're going to pose and act a fool, you should expect laughter.

T2 said...

Someone needs to remind NPR and Beto that it is “birthing-person-fucker”.

mikee said...

Beto acts tough - acts - in situations where he can be absolutely certain there will be zero response, no consequences, for his misbehavior.

Beto will do this again, I bet, because it is the only action getting him any attention. And perhaps he will try it in front of someone who will object, and he'll have a local Texas woman slap him one across his arrogant chops. What you are seeing is an entitled, foolish brat of a child acting self-righteous with zero reason. Not what Texas needs as a governor.