The woman who was just fired from her regular gig co-hosting CNN’s New Year’s Eve special is an idiot.
But she’s an American idiot, meaning she has the freedom to express whatever stupid thought pops into the clearly empty space between her ears.
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., disagrees.
For the Minnesota lawmaker, there are certain political statements that one should never make, and that goes for a controversial photoshoot revealed this week in which Kathy Griffin, CNN’s now-ex New Year’s Eve hostess, is seen holding a facsimile of President Trump’s severed head.
It’s an idiotic and embarrassing plea for attention. It’s shameful. But she has a right to do it, contrary to what Sen. Franken suggested Wednesday during an interview on MSNBC.
The senator said he spoke this week to Griffin, a Democratic donor, about the controversy surrounding the beheaded photoshoot.
“I said that we can’t be showing images of a president who has been decapitated. I mean, I don’t even want to say what it was, but you can’t do that,” Franken said.
“You can’t do that,” he repeated.
The former comedian and broadcaster is wrong, however. Griffin can do that. She has every right to do it.
Whether it’s wise, prudent or in good taste is another matter entirely. So is the question of whether it’s funny (it really isn’t), or whether any television network should want any part of her now that she’s done it (CNN has terminated her contract). Let’s save those debates for elsewhere. For now, let’s focus on rebutting the very wrong assertion that Griffin “can’t do that.” Quite simply, she can, and we’re all better for it.
This isn’t meant to be a defense of what she did. Rather, it’s a defense of her right to do it.
Griffin is an idiot. She’s also an American. She’s free to be as stupid as she wants to be.
Lastly, just for some perspective, it’s worth noting that what Griffin did pales in comparison to the kind of protests that marked America’s earliest years.
“Those planning on using the Griffin episode to decry our “declining” culture should read about protest in the early American republic,” National Review’s Charles C. W. Cooke noted Wednesday. “We’re in a golden age of politeness in comparison. In late 18th and early 19th centuries public figures were routinely burned in effigy.”
“And the stuff that was printed in the partisan press—and sung by entertainers in taverns and squares—makes Griffin look like Mr. Rogers,” he added. ‘I know people get upset by this stuff, but I’ve never really understood why. I look at her and think, ‘well, this tells me I’m free.'”
Indeed. If the price of speaking freely in America means we may encounter a few loudmouthed idiots along the way, that’s still an excellent deal.
