NYC Letter: Just Vicious

Countdown 44 days to go

We had thought to start a series with the below post. The idea was to listen to some educated sensitive liberal get in touch with his or her inner brat, then go off the rails about the McCain-Palin ticket, the rant to be followed by a stupid explanation of what-I-meant-not-what-I-said (no apologies, please). There's a lot of material. It had seemed a promising project.

But there are no stupid explanations for much of the viciousness. It is as is, spewed as spewed, retched as retched, shat as shat, without extenuations and, most decidedly, without apologies. This is not vicious opinion, which is to say viciousness sitting atop an argument.

It's just viciousness. Simple as that.

For example, here is Sandra Bernhard.

Ms. Bernhard has turned an affliction, GTS, into a career by repurposing myoclonic fits and profanity into liberal entertainments. Yet, Mrs. Palin so discombobulates her, Ms. Bernhard cannot fluidly spew. A bilious pressure overwhelms her ability to move her mouth and she sputters. You can see the material escape her.

[Language warning.]

UGLY UGLY
Ms. Bernhard Refers Above To The New Testament

At one point Ms. Bernhard begins what is meant to be damning ridicule of Mrs. Palin's fashion sense:

You whore and your cheap fucking New Vision cheap ass plastic glasses and your hair up... [She winds her hands up over her head.] A Tina Fey Megan Mullally broke-down bullshit moment... [Trails off to nowhere. Laughter. Applause.]

As you can see in the video, Ms. Bernhard stalls as she suddenly realizes her own hair has been done up in "a Tina Fey Megan Mullally broke-down bullshit moment".

The curious thing about Ms. Bernhard's twitchy clip is that it is long on profanity, long on rage, long on viciousness, but it is lacking political content. Ms. Bernhard only wants us to know she hates Mrs. Palin. Simple as that.

And please tell someone. Ms. Bernhard implores you:

Call the shit in, call the shit in. Tell them what I said tonight. I hope you're filming shit. Put it out there.

Perhaps she senses being overtaken by obscurity come November.