SNL spoof of Hagel hearings pulled

It’s often said that ridicule is a very potent weapon. Hollywood routinely makes fun of Whites with politically incorrect attitudes. Norman Lear’s Archie Bunker comes to mind, as well as the depiction of neo-Nazis in The Blues Brothers (1980) which I happened upon recently.  But that’s just scratching the surface.

The ridiculous fealty of U.S. politicians to the  Israel Lobby would be a rich vein to mine, and that’s exactly what Saturday Night Live did, in a sketch written by Jim Downey. A video of the dress rehearsal of the skit managed to get out.

The Republicans competition over who loves Israel the most is delicious, and the Lindsay Graham character can’t conceive of the possibility that U.S. interests could differ from Israel’s.

It ends with the Sen. McCain character saying,

Sen. Hagel, I think you know no one cares more deeply about the safety and security of Israel than I do. So let me pose to you a hypothetical. You get an urgent call from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who truly is one of the greatest men of this or any age, and he says to you it is vital to Israel’s security that you go on national television that night and perform oral sex on a donkey. Would you do that for Israel?

When Hagel refuses, McCain announces he won’t support him. Beautiful.

The skit was pulled before airtime.  (Unfortunately, no one advocating the interests of Whites had the power to get Archie Bunker off the air for his entire 12-year run on two different shows.) No indication how it happened, but one must suspect that the Lobby was offended. Philip Weiss  links to this explanation:

The SNL dress rehearsal begins at 8:00pm with an [audience] arrival time at the studio of 6:30pm. The SNL live show begins at 11:30pm with an arrival time at the studio at 10:00pm. Each show has a different studio audience. The rehearsal is recorded to tape and is used for backup in case the live show cannot air. Many skits in the rehearsal do not make it into the live SNL show. Many fans prefer to see the rehearsal because it’s more relaxed and enjoyable and some of the best skits have been cut-out in the live show because they are too risque for NBC execs.

Well, I suppose we shouldn’t jump to conclusions, and the  idea of oral sex on a donkey is a bit much. But I can certainly imagine the usual suspects being apoplectic if it was aired—terrified of the power of ridicule. I know it’s a bit reckless, but I’m going to blame Abe Foxman.