Sandra Bernhard: Representing modern feminism (UPDATED)

Via NewsBusters:

The Washington Post isn’t the only daily D.C. newspaper to rave about Sandra Bernhard’s anti-Palin ranting. Wednesday’s Washington Examiner joined in, with the headline "Comedienne delivers enraged optimism." Barbara Mackay claimed "in the end, oddly and subtly, Bernhard’s message is positive."

That’s not the impression you’d get from the blog of Theater J, where Bernhard is appearing. It has video of Bernhard calling Palin "Uncle Women," a "turncoat b—h" and a "whore." One complaint on the blog that Bernhard crosses a line of political incorrectness draws a defense from Ari Roth of Theater J that really drops the curtain on how coarse this show is:

In fact, the play wears its politically VERY correct heart on its sleeve with its indictment of America as "A Man’s World, It’s a White Man’s World, It’s a F–ked Up White Man’s Racist World" and can only be suggested to be racist in its content if one is hell-bent on protecting White Folk for Sandra’s blistering indictment.When Sandra warns Sarah Palin not to come into Manhattan lest she get gang-raped by some of Sandra’s big black brothers, she’s being provocative, combative, humorous, and yes, let’s allow, disgusting.

The fact that the show has a few riffs like this does not — to my mind — make it a "disgusting show." there’s too much beauty, variety, vitality, and intelligence to label the entire show as "disgusting." I’ll agree with you that we produced this show because we did find it to be edgy — because we wanted to give right wing conservative Jews a good run for their money by being on the receiving end of some blistering indictments from Sandra.Does it go over the edge sometimes? On the gang-rape joke, yes. Sure. Not much else. It goes over the edge and then comes right back to the cutting edge. [Profanity editing is mine.]

Forgive me if gang-rape jokes don't greet my ears as oddly and subtly positive, as the Examiner suggests, and forgive me if gang-rape jokes aren't "a rotating sprinkler that a spectator washes in most happily," like the Washington Post insists.

Roth insisted to the complainer that the D.C. Jewish Community Center is loving their Bernhard show, and partied with Bernhard on opening night. They’re in tune with her right-bashing rage:

We’re proud of our producing -- proud of Sandra’s sense of timing -- taking the fight out to the house and to the street beyond, channeling so much of our rage and frustration at the bizarre recent twists of fortune since Karl Rove trotted out Sarah Palin for John McCain to briefly meet and then get in bed with.Sandra’s face is hanging 10 feet tall in a banner over the DCJCC steps and we’re proud that she’s a new emblem and ambassador for our theater and our center. She’s not the only one who represents us. But her large heart, her generous talent, and her big mouth are all a big part of who we are.

Wouldn't you like to be married to Sandra Bernhard?  Wouldn't you like to sit across a dinner table from her?  Wouldn't you embrace her as a compassionate, loving and diversity embracing liberal?

No?

Then you must be a racist, homophobic, fundamentalist and misogynistic conservative.

UPDATE: The Anchoress is mildly tweaked about this:

Sandra Bernhard, who I thought was funny about 25 years ago, but not since then, has decided to personify the “sick-with-hate” left in a rant that suggested among other things, that Gov. Sarah Palin - who has the temerity to be a woman and a feminist who is free, and not stuck on the Official Feminist Plantation towing the Correct and Official lines and living the Correct and Official Lifestyle - ought to go to New York and “get gang-raped by black men.”

How disgusting. How low-class. And racist, too. Bernhard says about the worse thing you can say: Palin should be gang-raped. But she goes out of her way to specify; she should be gang-raped by black men. Apparently that makes it even worse, in Bernhard’s little mind. So, Disgusting. Low-class and yes, Racist.

Can you imagine if anyone had ever - ever - said anything even half as heinous as this about Hillary Clinton, the justifiable outrage and screaming we’d be hearing in the press, on the talk shows, on Oprah?

But Sarah Palin is the wrong sort of successful woman, so this is taken with a shrug and a smile by the left. And the right is “over-reacting.”

It’s so infantile. Sandra Bernhard is another perpetual adolescent, standing at a microphone saying “twat” and thinking that makes her “edgy.” (Why is the left convinced that if they swear and show a little T & A they’re “edgy” - oh, right, they’re perpetually 14 years old).

Bernhard is infantile and tiresome. If only her mother had allowed her to say “poopyhead” when she was five; she might have it out of her system by now, and would not need to stand before a microphone running through all of her “edgy” words.

And these hysterical “sophisticated” women need to grow up, too. Do they realize that they make all women seem silly and less credible when they show themselves off as shrews and hysterics? Do they realize that when they say it’s okay to do these things to Palin, they’re saying “it’s okay to do these things to all women?” Asshats. Disingenuous, intellectually dishonest, emotionally infantile asshats.