Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Robespierre Goes to Lake Wobegon

I don't much care about Matt Lauer, but Garrison Keillor getting the pipe is a story:
Garrison Keillor, the force behind the popular “A Prairie Home Companion” show, was fired by Minnesota Public Radio over inappropriate behavior claims.

The radio station received a complaint about improper actions with an employee while he oversaw the popular Saturday afternoon radio show, the station said in a lengthy statement. He retired from it last year.

“MPR takes these allegations seriously and we are committed to maintaining a safe, respectful and supportive work environment for all employees and everyone associated with MPR,” the broadcaster said in a statement.

The station has cut ties with Keillor’s private companies, the statement continued.
Truth be told, I'm not surprised at all. Keillor has been a hateful crank for at least 25 years. The tell for me was the publication of The Book of Guys, which I always assumed was an admission of sins and/or cry for help rather than a work of satire. Misanthropes are the way they are for a reason, and the reason is usually self-loathing. I'm sure we'll learn more about the particulars in the coming days, but Keillor has only intermittently tried to disguise his bile for a long time now. Let's just say this moment has been coming, and in the current environment Keillor was a high-probability target for the tumbrels.

13 comments:

Bike Bubba said...

How do you fire someone who retired over a year ago? It reminds me of the King of England exhuming Wycliffe so he could burn the corpse at the stake, really.

It will be interesting to see how far this Reign of Terror goes, that's for sure. Looks like things are getting especially interesting at NPR.

Gino said...

these things are really hitting the left hard. why is that?

Mr. D said...

these things are really hitting the left hard. why is that?

Although I assume you’re asking a rhetorical question and actually know the answer, Gino, I’m still gonna say this — from what I can tell, two reasons.

First, people on the Left love humanity, or at least claim to do so, but often hate people, especially at the individual level. Since people are argumentative and quarrelsome and don’t always get along with their moral instructors, it’s easier for someone on the Left to treat individuals with contempt. So there are more potential haters on the port side.

Second, there’s ultimately a strategy involved. If enough lefties leave the stage in disgrace, eventually those who are left will then start to make the argument that, “hey, we’ve cleaned up our mess, when are you hateful Rethuglican bigots gonna clean up yours?” And by that they mean Le Grand Orange. Count on seeing that argument, and soon.

Brad Carlson said...

If enough lefties leave the stage in disgrace, eventually those who are left will then start to make the argument that, “hey, we’ve cleaned up our mess, when are you hateful Rethuglican bigots gonna clean up yours?”

That can't credibly occur until there are actual requests from high profile leftists for Al Franken to resign. The deafening silence is even more conspicuous now that there's talk from Pelosi et al that they'll force John Conyers to walk the plank. Why are Dems such racists?

Bike Bubba said...

Brad: :^).

One other reason you're going to see a lot of people on the left get hit hard by this is because the most leftist institutions are those where the good will of one person makes or breaks a career. Makes things a lot easier for a Weinstein, no? Hollywood, politics, the news.....and I bet we're going to see some things from the universities if this whole deal isn't just Kabuki theater intended to settle scores.

Mr. D said...

You’re right, Brad. But once they grease the skids for Conyers, they’ll be able to shiv Franken much more easily. Or so they think. But I suspect we’re going to see a hell of a lot more people in the tumbrels, including Franken, before they get to the endgame. Events are in the saddle, baby!

The part that amuses me — the Dems are such hypocrites and scoundrels that they can’t really say jack squat about Roy Moore. His repugnant behavior will actually seem straightforward and refreshing by the time all the dirty laundry is out of the hampers.

Mr. D said...

if this whole deal isn't just Kabuki theater intended to settle scores.

Can't rule that out either, Bubba.

3john2 said...

By the time attention turns to Trump the public may be desensitized to the whole thing. While no one has ever, to my knowledge, come forward to lay a charge on him (which should have happened by now given his own words), by the time they do I don't know that those left standing on the Left will have much of the public's ear. There might be an attitude, among Trump supporters, that "yeah, so what? We knew that going in. What irks us is all the sanctimonious posing by you guys. I've already arranged fake identities for my all my pigs to vote for Judge Moore."

3john2 said...

I haven't listened to PHC for decades, but I used to enjoy the show. Somehow I half-expected accusations that Keillor would run through the MPR offices, waving his genitalia and saying, "Heavens, they're tasty!"

I still get the Writer's Almanac emailed to me daily; I always read the poem and save the ones that I like. Every year on her birthday, I send my mom a collection of the poems I collected in the previous year. Sounds as if WA is being discontinued now, too.

Bike Bubba said...

Big argument against kabuki theater; you'd expect conservatives to be the first casualties. Since they're not, that suggests it's real.

And I'm guessing Mr. "I slept last night on a park bench" Keillor's crimes were a bit more interesting than he describes. I'm reminded of a coworker's description of the sexual harassment she endured--I instinctively backed up and raised my hands as she described it quite vividly. It wasn't anything that was halfway debate-able.

Either that, or MPR is the biggest set of ninnies I've ever heard of. I can't argue against either one there....

Gino said...

time for a Perve Pool. name 5 creeps who are going down before the end of the year.

i'll go...

Anderson Cooper
Roger Goodell
Geraldo Rivera
Chuck Schumer
Rahm Emmanuel

Mr. D said...

I was thinking about doing one of those, Gino. Glad you got the ball rolling. You'll also be tough to beat with Geraldo, who looks (and sounds) ostentatiously guilty. Post coming soon.

Bike Bubba said...

Given that Geraldo claims to have slept with thousands of women, it would be a real surprise if none of them had some dirt on him, even if (as I suspect) he's greatly overstated the actual number of his conquests.

Unless, of course, the old joke about Geraldo and Wilt Chamberlain unknowingly sleeping with each other thousands of times has some merit. (washes hands vigorously)