Did Martin Bashir Really Need to Apologize to Sarah Palin?

Last updated on November 13th, 2014 at 10:41 pm

MSNBC host Martin Bashir went on the air Monday and apologized for remarks he made about former half-term Alaskan Governor and Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin during his show on Friday. Bashir’s comments were in response to Sarah Palin’s speech in Iowa a little over a week ago when she made this statement:

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Our free stuff today is being paid for today by taking money from our children and borrowing from China. When that money comes due and, this isn’t racist, so try it, try it anyway, this isn’t racist, but it’s going to be like slavery when that note is due. Right? We are going to be beholden to a foreign master.

Palin made things worse when she sat down with CNN’s Jake Tapper after the speech and tried to explain herself. As she has proven time and time again, she is her worst enemy due to the fact that she really has no idea what she is talking about. The most interesting exchange was this part:

TAPPER: You can understand why African Americans or others might be offended by it, though?

 

PALIN: I — I can if they choose to misinterpret what it is that I’m saying. And, again, you know, I’m sure if we open up the dictionary, we could prove that with semantics that are various, we can prove that there is a definition of slavery that absolutely fits the bill there, when I’m talking about a bankrupt country that will owe somebody something down the line if we don’t change things that is, we will be shackled. We will be enslaved to those who we owe.

Basically, as Jason Easley pointed out at the time, Palin was telling African-Americans that they don’t really know what slavery is, and it takes someone like Palin to explain it to them. If you think that’s offensive, well congratulations, you are a normal functioning human being. It is with that backdrop that Bashir made the following comments on his show Friday:

Obviously, Bashir was incensed that a dunce like Palin continues to be treated like a serious person in our national political landscape. The anger he had towards her offensive comparison between slavery and the national debt was palpable. He used descriptive language to try to relate the true atrocities of slavery’s past and how perhaps Palin needs to experience that first-hand before making dumb statements like that again.

Of course, the outrage from the right was quick and loud. As with all things Sarah Palin, she was quickly made into a martyr and victim, reminiscent of the David Letterman episode. The voices from the right were turned all the way up, demanding blood and Bashir’s head. After the conservative anger simmered all weekend, Bashir went on his show and offered this apology:

Bashir contritely and professionally offered a full apology to Sarah Palin. He seemed legitimately sorry for his choice of words and stated that he would make sure to carry himself in a more mannered, adult way in the future. The sad thing here is that Palin’s idiotic statements get swept under the rug, as she now continues with her well-worn brand of victimology. It is always about poor little Sarah getting picked on by the big, bad liberals. It doesn’t matter that she is a polarizing idiot that says dumb, offensive things and helps push the Tea Party’s barely-masked racist agenda against this president.

No, the main thing here is to make sure that Palin is treated with respect, even when she never shows any herself. It is perfectly fine for Palin to constantly insult and denigrate POTUS, liberals, Democrats and anyone that just doesn’t agree with her. Why? Because they deserve it, that’s why! However, let anyone truly dig into her and take her to task for the ignorant, hateful a-hole she really is, then out comes the victim mentality. Her and her supporters immediately cry ‘sexism’ and immediately blame the ‘lamestream’ media for allowing this to happen. And then she gets her apologies. It has all grown so tiresome.

Maybe Bashir was right on Friday. Perhaps he shouldn’t have apologized yesterday. Maybe someone does need to take a big sh*t in Sarah Palin’s mouth. At the very least, it would keep her quiet for a bit.

Justin Baragona

Justin Baragona is the Managing Editor at Politicus Sports as well as Senior Editor at PoliticusUSA. He was a political writer for 411Mania.com before joining PoliticusUSA. Politically, Justin considers himself a liberal but also a realist and pragmatist. Currently, Justin lives in St. Louis, MO and is married. Besides writing, he also runs his own business after spending a number of years in the corporate world. You can follow Justin on Twitter either with his personal handle (@justinbaragona) or the Sports site’s (@PoliticusSports).