RICK SANCHEZ, GO ENJOY SOME QUIET TIME…. Part of CNN’s Rick Sanchez’s shtick is that he’s something of a buffoon. Despite occasional moments of lucidity, Sanchez is known for making odd on-air remarks and pulling bizarre stunts for no apparent reason.
With that in mind, it’s not surprising that Jon Stewart has, from time to time, made Sanchez the target of some barbed jokes. After having been embarrassed on “The Daily Show” more than a few times, I don’t doubt that Sanchez starts to get resentful. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to respond to this sort of mockery.
This, for example, is the wrong way.
CNN’s Rick Sanchez made controversial comments on a Sirius radio show Thursday, calling Jon Stewart a “bigot” and saying that CNN and the other networks are all run by Jewish people.
Discussing Stewart with radio host Pete Dominick, Sanchez said that the “Daily Show” host has a limited worldview, and called him a “bigot.”
As Sanchez sees it, Stewart is one of the “elite, Northeast establishment liberals” who consider Sanchez unworthy, apparently because of his ethnicity. After talking about Stewart’s parents — I’m still not sure why — Sanchez was asked who, exactly, Stewart is bigoted against. The CNN personality “everybody else who’s not like him.”
If he had just stopped there, this would only be a dumb thing to say. But he didn’t stop there.
[Sanchez] made a larger point when Dominick suggested that Stewart could understand being part of an oppressed minority group because he is Jewish.
Sanchez scoffed at the claim, snickering and suggesting that CNN and the rest of the media is run by Jewish people.
Specifically, Sanchez said, with plenty of sarcasm, “He’s such a minority, I mean, you know, please, what are you kidding? … I’m telling you that everybody who runs CNN is a lot like Stewart, 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?”
I have no idea what this guy was thinking, but these remarks are both offensive and idiotic. An apology seems like a no-brainer, and I wouldn’t be surprised if CNN asked Sanchez to go enjoy a little quiet time.
Update: Greg Sargent posted the relevant portion of the transcript, and suggests there’s a way to interpret the comments as being less anti-Semitic. I’m not convinced, but go ahead and check it out and see what you think.
