What say you, Tinky Winky?
There aren’t a lot of people who’s death provides me a smile. Jerry Falwell is one of those few, and I now wonder how one celebrates this occassion.
We watch the Republican presidential candidates and the White House give out carefully worded statements that appear to be complimentary, but when you look at them are not. McCain, Romney, and Tony Snow all have done so. There will be a number of politicians, those with a heavy religious right contingent of a constituency, who will go into somber and lovey dovey responses of merry mirth. Watch for them.  Political wise, it may be worth checking in and keeping a list of those politicians who opt not to make a comment on Falwell. They receive a point. It is too much to ask anyone to give a derogatory comment. Any who do get two points.
So… Tinky Winky, what say you? Christopher Hitchens — What say you? Larry Flynt — what say you?
May 16th, 2007 at 9:16 am
What Flynt actually said was quite nice, under the circumstances. And Flynt apparently listened to his mother:
“My mother always told me that no matter how much you dislike a person, when you meet them face to face you will find characteristics about them that you like. Jerry Falwell was a perfect example of that.
I hated everything he stood for, but after meeting him in person, years after the trial, Jerry Falwell and I became good friends. He would visit me in California and we would debate together on college campuses. I always appreciated his sincerity even though I knew what he was selling and he knew what I was selling.
The most important result of our relationship was the landmark decision from the Supreme Court that made parody protected speech, and the fact that much of what we see on television and hear on the radio today is a direct result of my having won that now famous case which Falwell played such an important role in.â€