Some of what Sanchez said that sunk his dinghy
CNN's firing of Rick Sanchez over some controversial comments made on a satellite radio show is asinine, short-sighted and hypocritical in the extreme.
Yeah, he called The Daily Show's Jon Stewart a "bigot," but then he withdrew the comment later during the same conversation. What is the big frickin' deal? When did Jon Stewart become a sacred cow on par with Walter Cronkite?
Granted, Sanchez's comments regarding those of the Jewish faith are hardly defensible, but are they worth firing the guy over?
"Everybody that runs CNN is a lot like Stewart," Sanchez is quoted as saying. "And a lot of people who run all the other networks are a lot like Stewart. And to imply that somehow they, the people in this country who are Jewish, are an oppressed minority? Yeah."
Naturally, I disagree with that. Jews and synagogues are regularly targeted in this country by anti-Semites, sometimes in very violent ways. And Jews are subject to bigotry, religious slurs, conspiracy theories, and so on.
Should Sanchez be taken to task for his comments? Sure. But firing him is wrong, insipid, and reeks of a knee-jerk PC mindset.
I've always liked Sanchez because he was willing to take on people like Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Lou Dobbs, state Senator Russell Pearce, and neo-Nazis from Arizona, unlike any other person on TV, certainly unlike anyone else on CNN.
But the ultimate hypocrisy is that CNN has just given a show to disgraced former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. You know, the schmuck who was reportedly paying for high-priced hookers dating back to when he was New York's Attorney General.
Not that I'm against prostitution, mind you. I just can't afford it.
Basically, prostitution should be legal. But it's not. Spitzer broke the law, when he was supposed to be upholding it.
I don't care too much that he wanted to bed hookers, but CNN can hardly hold itself out as some righteous news organization when it's giving a guy who had to resign because he was "Client 9" his own show.
Give me a break. I hope Sanchez finds a new home. CNN's move is a classic overreaction. Jeez, the guy was a talking head. It's his job to be controversial, for Chrissakes.
