For the blissfully uninitiated, Melissa Harris-Perry is MSNBC's deep thinking host who wore tampons as earrings in support of late-term abortion (or something), and who declared that parents need to come to grips with the fact that their kids really "belong" to the broader community. In other words, she's been scraping the bottom of the barrel for some time. But is this a new low?
“Everybody loves a baby picture,” Harris-Perry said, “and this was one that really, a lot of people had emotions about this baby picture this year. This is the Romney family. And, of course, there on Governor Romney’s knee is his adopted grandson, who is an African-American, adopted African-American child, Kieran Romney.” As Harris-Perry made the introduction, panelist Pia Glenn sang “One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just isn’t the same,” a tune whose original lyrics read “one of these things doesn’t belong.” “And that little baby, front and center, would be the one,” she added...Comedian Dean Obeidallah chimed in by reducing the baby to a token. “I think this picture is great,” he said. “It really sums up the diversity of the Republican party, the RNC. At the convention, they find the one black person.” Whatever you think of the quality of the jokes, using a baby to make a political punchline is a tough sale, with a high bar for comedy and commentary.
The Right Scoop's Caleb Howe:
It’s funny because Romney is white and his grandson isn’t, which is obviouslyhilarious. Because as everyone knows, the races should not mix.
Twitchy has a round-up of reactions, some of which are understandably scalding:
Make a note that it's a progressive on MSNBC mocking a family for their unsegregated adoption. #LeanForward
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) December 30, 2013
The Harris-Perry panel's mean-spirited mockery of a child and his loving adoptive family is a cherry atop the vile sundae that was MSNBC's 2013 programming. The Washington Free Beacon compiled a condensed year-end montage of lowlights. The ridicule of Mitt and Ann Romney's grandchild didn't make the cut, as it came too late on the calendar. So much self-unaware venom, so little time:
My heart goes out to the interns who had to sift through that footage (though they're probably treated better at the WFB than they would be at lefty rags who claim to be strong supporters of "living wages"). MSNBC will surely clean up its act in 2014, right? Feel free to contemplate that question after you stop laughing.