Patterico's Pontifications

6/1/2011

Martin Bashir Is Shocked and Angry that… a Politician is Using a Flag in an Ad (Update: Harsh Video Added)

Filed under: General — Aaron Worthing @ 2:04 pm



[Guest post by Aaron Worthing; if you have tips, please send them here.  Or by Twitter @AaronWorthing.]

Update: I have been completely outclassed:

Hat tip: Hot Air. That’s gonna leave a mark.

——————

Boy, this guy is not even trying to hide his bias.  You see yesterday Martin Bashir decided to chide Sarah Palin for using the U.S. Flag in advertising, even insinuating that this violated the law!

And look it is fair as to point out as Newsbusters did that in fact that if you can burn the flag, Congress really can’t restrict what you do with it, and the Flag Code is purely voluntary anyway.

That’s all well and good, but what is really wrong about this is just how selective this is.  No flags in advertisements?  Well, then you better tell Barack Obama…

…Hillary Clinton…

…and John Kerry…

And those are stills of ads you can find here, here and here.

Oh, and not to mention that the very network that Bashir hosts has been known to use the flag in an equally inappropriate setting:

And really do you have to think too hardly to know this?  Politicians wrap themselves in the flag all the time.  Love it or hate it, it’s what they do.

So why is he singling out Sarah Palin?

Or is that a dumb question?

[Posted and authored by Aaron Worthing.]

59 Responses to “Martin Bashir Is Shocked and Angry that… a Politician is Using a Flag in an Ad (Update: Harsh Video Added)”

  1. see? i actually posted on something besides Weinergate! yay!

    Aaron Worthing (e7d72e)

  2. Wow, this is some weapons grade stupid on display.

    Palin was seen with a flag! Burn her! Witch!

    The one hope she’s got is that the media is so ridiculous about her that they just turn off all the moderates. Americans don’t like unfairness or being told what to think.

    Obama is golfing for the 70th time on memorial day, while we have the military at war with Libya, against the constitution they are sworn to uphold. We have real crises of leadership. And they care if Palin dares to use patriotic imagery?

    It’s just a show. They want to be unfair. Their boutique audience wants to see them treat Palin to a ridiculous standard. That’s the only explanation.

    Dustin (c16eca)

  3. Martin Bashir is approaching nishidiot and epwj levels of idiocy. He needs to have Andrew Breitbart on again so AB can kick him in the teeth again.

    http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj269/anna_apple/bumpersticker2-1.jpg?t=1279846159

    That is a riff on the stars and stripes, no?

    FU, Martin, and MSNBC for subjecting the world to this insufferable priggish weinerhole.

    JD (318f81)

  4. I got filtrated.

    JD (318f81)

  5. I simply noted that Bashir is an insufferable prlck, that is approaching nishi and epwj levels of krazy. I then linked to an O ’08 bumpersticker that ridged on the stars and stripes. I then told Martin and MSNBC to go practice self love on themselves, Martin for being a pompous wiener that Breitbart needs to kick in the teeth again, and MSNBC for subjecting us to him. That is all.

    JD (318f81)

  6. poor delicate Martin is in for a very trying summer

    happyfeet (a55ba0)

  7. Martin Bashir was obviously hired because Americans confuse a british accent with intelligence.

    What an overreach to smear Palin… go back to the UK and stop bashiring real Americans!

    MT (14c1f6)

  8. I also gotted filtrated.

    happyfeet (a55ba0)

  9. As if anyone give a rat’s a** what this guy says.

    Terrye (9d8507)

  10. “The Flag Code is more what you’d call guidelines than actual rules.”

    Capt. Barbossa (ad93c9)

  11. Aaron

    Are the two vids above the fold supposed to be different? I sure wish they had been; instead I was subjected to the same asinine one twice. A man can only take so much.

    Keyboard cleanup on isle two.

    Leonardo DaFinchi (1cb4ff)

  12. Oh. Dagnabit, I figured it out finally. Must engage brain before spouting. Two times on the audio still made my stomach too queasy.

    “Scuse me.

    Leonardo DaFinchi (1cb4ff)

  13. If it wasn’t for the a$$hole$ in the media, their reputation would be truly bad.

    AD-RtR/OS! (b8ab92)

  14. Bashir, Kerry, Tingles, et al are frothing at the mouth in high dudgeon because they’re scared witless of Sarah Palin and her supporters in the TEA Party.

    MSM’s cowardly pretenders and their accomplices in progressive politics can’t stand up to Palin, she’s way too strong. So they resort to scapegoating her.

    To the self-anointed, she’s just another dumb uppity girl who’s in the way of their Grand March to the dictatorship of the proletariat (with them occupying the leadership positions, of course).

    Simple truth is the Tundra Bunny’s got all the Left’s girly talkers completely buffaloed. All they can do is yell and scream, point fingers, and hope Obama can fool the voters again.

    ropelight (570c43)

  15. Is Bashir really advocating legally punishing our political opponents for (alleged) bad rhetoric?

    Fritz (b12543)

  16. What’s that old legal saw?
    If you don’t have the facts on your side, argue the law; and, if you don’t have the law on your side either, pound the table?

    Well, I surely hope the media doesn’t get any splinters (well, not really. splinters can be painful, and some in the media deserve a little pain).

    AD-RtR/OS! (b8ab92)

  17. Is Bashir really advocating legally punishing our political opponents for (alleged) bad rhetoric?

    Comment by Fritz

    Yes sir he certainly is.

    Let’s never forget that freedom is not free. It’s always under attack. With enough power, the democrats (and some Republicans) will happily reduce freedom of speech on patently cynical grounds. Some will take any chance they can get to go beyond what is constitutional.

    Dustin (c16eca)

  18. Um, what Palin ad is he criticising, anyway?

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  19. Well, I guess any ad where Palin has an American flag in it, or displays that bus’s graphics.

    Palin, like most politicians, has American flags in a lot of her material. It runs across the side of her entire bus. It’s the looming major graphic on her PAC’s website. In fact, more images on that site have a US flag or part of one than don’t have one.

    This reminds me of Hillary and Gore and to some extent Obama giving sermons, while any Republican referencing religion was called intolerant and bible thumping.

    MSNBC sees no problem in a democrat wrapping themselves in the flag, or Kerry ‘reporting for duty’. They don’t mind seeing Malia and Sasha Obama used to show one of the best sides of Obama (that he’s got a beautiful family).

    They nakedly want to force Palin and any other major Republican to live by an impossible set of special rules.

    Dustin (c16eca)

  20. I just wasn’t aware that Palin has been advertising anything recently. After all, the last time she ran a campaign of any sort was in 2006, wasn’t it?

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  21. After all, the last time she ran a campaign of any sort was in 2006, wasn’t it?

    Comment by Milhouse

    She’s got a political action committee. She’s not running ‘vote for me’ ads, but I’d say that huge bus is an advertisement for the “fundamental restoration of America’, as they say.

    It’s one of those things where if you look hard enough, you’ll find something that can be called an ad.

    Dustin (c16eca)

  22. The United States Flag Code establishes advisory rules for display and care of the flag of the United States. It is Chapter 1 of Title 4 of the United States Code (4 U.S.C. § 1 et seq). This is a U.S. federal law, but there is no penalty for failure to comply with it and it is not widely enforced — indeed, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that punitive enforcement would conflict with the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

    also

    The flag should not be used as “wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery”…

    I been looking for an American flag/old glory what have you euro sham – I tried online but you really can’t be sure of the quality.

    then it just goes on and on blah blah blah

    here’s sumping I didn’t know

    On Memorial Day, the flag is displayed at half-staff until noon and at full staff from noon to sunset.

    no one tells me anything

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  23. , the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that punitive enforcement would conflict with the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

    In other words, it is contrary to the bedrock principles of this country, and is not really the law of the land in any sense.

    Freedom of speech. You’d think MSNBC would like that idea.

    Dustin (c16eca)

  24. Just because a graphic image, item of clothing, or anything else has a stars and stripes motif does not make it a flag.

    A flag is a specific object.

    Molon Labe (615079)

  25. Great video by Reason. Thanks for providing it. And thanks for the points you made and as well as the, Aaron.

    Dusty (57ca8f)

  26. First of all, I would like to thank happyfeet for not taking advantage of this story to malign Palin with typical misogynistic denigrations, and to clearly recognize who the real dimwit in this story is.

    Secondly, Bashir is so stupid that, in his attempt to castigate Palin and make her appear as a possible law breaker in a dishonorable use of the American flag, he instead outs himself as yet another media hack Palin is leading by the nose. He has taken a different tack in addressing her magical mystery tour, but he took, along with the rest of the MSM, simply can’t resist her.

    Who’s zooming who?

    Dana (4eca6e)

  27. you are welcome

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  28. Evidently a diploma from Ringling Bros. Clown College is a job requirement at MSNBC.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  29. Martin Bashir, this guy, is supposed to be judge of anything;

    http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article6586855.ece

    ian cormac (72470d)

  30. Meanwhile, the paparazzi are apparently upset that Palin is treating them like what they are. I don’t understand why they expect not to be. Honestly, from their POV, what distinguishes them from paparazzi?

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  31. Bozo Bashir has taken enough laps in the clown car on this one to place high in the standings at the Indy 500. What an idiot.

    Mike Myers (0e06a9)

  32. To my knowledge Mr. Bashir is not an American citizen. I think most of us who are, prefer to get our interpretations of US law and US cultural mores from someone who knows what they are talking about.

    elissa (444ec3)

  33. our interpretations of US law and US cultural mores

    that’s not the product MSNBC is delivering. Their audience tunes in expecting to see unfairness towards those evil conservatives. It’s some kind of sport.

    Dustin (c16eca)

  34. You would at least think someone at MSNBC had taken a civics course at some point before letting this clown’s natterings on the air, but I guess not.

    Ag80 (1bc637)

  35. Well Dan Abrams, once had a clue, then he went to run his own clown circus at Mediaite, they got rid of Olbermann, as part of the Comcast buyout, but
    the raw crazy quotient hasn’t subsided,

    ian cormac (72470d)

  36. It is difficult to imagine he is as stupid as he obviously is. What a PUTZ!!!

    WarEagle (2ca889)

  37. Yeah, me, I love being lectured on patriotism by a Brit ex-pat.

    mojo (4e4a98)

  38. Olby liked the flag. You will have to go to the wayback machine though; it has mysteriously disappeared from the internet.
    http://web.archive.org/web/20090220151057/http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/13559914/the_most_honest_man_in_news

    Vatar (3899d0)

  39. mojo #38 – would you prefer to be lechered on it by Rep Wiener ?

    (innocent smile)

    Alasdair (205079)

  40. Even for Salon, this is low

    The comment below pretty much sums it up:

    http://letters.salon.com/opinion/walsh/politics/2011/06/01/lessons_not_learned_from_weinergate/view/?show=all

    Wednesday, June 1, 2011 12:19 PM ET
    Weiner sends a young black woman a photo of himself with an erection bulging in his underwear and it’s Breitbart’s fault?

    Only in Joan’s world.

    —frances bavier
    Read frances bavier’s other letters

    EricPWJohnson (607b20)

  41. Yes the nerve of them not having Bretbart derangement syndrome. Islam is a totialitarian ideology it is the communism of religion. All muslim tyrants are lefty.

    DohBiden (15aa57)

  42. Breitbart*

    totalitarian.

    Sorry if i misunderstood you.

    DohBiden (15aa57)

  43. Doh

    what are you talking about?

    EricPWJohnson (607b20)

  44. Sorry.

    DohBiden (15aa57)

  45. LOL, EPWJ whining that someone is randomly straying off topic.

    Dustin (c16eca)

  46. Greetings:

    At the risk of going “ad hominem” on the good Mr. Bashir, I wonder how many different countries he has passports from.

    11B40 (d31160)

  47. I swear Palin probably raised taxes on his peanut butter cup pooping unicorn.

    DohBiden (15aa57)

  48. I am not for or against Palin. But Palin is only making MONEY with this family vacation. She’s not campaigning or any other political business where people normally use the image of our flag in advertisements. The newscaster is only pointing out the fact that Palin is using the United States flag to make money. Taking from the comments and article it seems most of these people are just offended personally. And not politically reasonable. I read much illogical personal\political bias above. People need to be able to look at all sides of an argument. Lastly if there had been overwhelming support for the newscaster and everyone against Palin for personal\political reasons I would have argued for her case.

    Robb Colin (617af7)

  49. She’s not campaigning or any other political business where people normally use the image of our flag in advertisements.

    That’s simply not true. She is there on behalf of a registered political action committee, with a specific and well articulated political agenda.

    Taking from the comments and article it seems most of these people are just offended personally.

    No, it really really really really doesn’t seem like people who wrap themselves in the flag are actually sensitive to its use. MSNBC in particular actually does have an end goal of making money, and their use of the flag is for such a purpose. They are not sincerely upset that Palin used the flag for her bus tour, which its explicit patriotic intention. That is absurd.

    I read much illogical personal\political bias above.

    What exactly? Quote it and respond, calling it out.

    if there had been overwhelming support for the newscaster and everyone against Palin for personal\political reasons I would have argued for her case.

    ?

    Dustin (c16eca)

  50. Comment by Robb Colin — 6/2/2011 @ 8:27 pm

    Car lots use the Flag to make money.
    So, your point is what exactly?

    PDS clean-up on aisle #49!

    AD-RtR/OS! (b82f22)

  51. Those damn flag makers, selling those flags for that evil evil money.

    Damn them all.

    Would you believe that Betsy Ross was a professional upholsterer and seamstress? She MADE MONEY doing this stuff.

    I fainted when I first realized that.

    Dustin (c16eca)

  52. How dare Palin act all uppity.

    DohBiden (15aa57)

  53. Remember . . . Robb Colin is only taking Bashir’s side because we’re all picking on him.

    Icy Texan (41af2c)

  54. Robo Colon and his ilk is the same one who mollycoddles illegal aliens and compares us to hitler stalin and pol pot[I thought the latter two were fighting injustice and the man?]

    DohBiden (15aa57)

  55. Bashir has been made sick — SICK, I tells ya! — by Sarah Palin’s patriotism. I mean, how . . . DARE she love her country, and want to be a force for standing by our founding principles!!!

    Icy Texan (41af2c)

  56. Ok I noticed from some of the comments I read I’m one of the few willing to put my full name on what I write. Anyway look at this. Bashir is only singling out Palin because she’s not afraid to speak her mind, And to stand up for what she believes. She is a patriot, and like any good patriot our flag is a symbol of that. Bashir knows he’ll get attention just by speaking her name. So he thought by bashing Palin with false reports all eyes would be on him. It’s a typical scenario of the weak attacking the strong. The failed trying to catch a ride on the coattails of the successful. Palin is spreading good will and patriotism like more of us should. See not hard to argue either way.

    Robb Colin (617af7)

  57. Palin is only making MONEY with this family vacation

    Huh? How is she making money? Who’s paying her, and for what? It seems to me all she’s doing on this trip is spending money, just as we all do on our own vacations.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  58. Ok I noticed from some of the comments I read I’m one of the few willing to put my full name on what I write.

    So you’re making douchy personal attacks on people who don’t use their full names now?

    But you’re ignoring the actual discussion. If someone argues against you, you ignore what they say completely.

    Why are you here, if not to have a discussion? Is it just to talk about yourself, and boast that you’re a sophist?

    Dustin (c16eca)


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