Feherty under fire for joke...

[justinbaker]

sucks that he is getting in trouble for speaking his mind. I have a couple friends in the service and they completely agree with his comments.

We need more new americans like him http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print...864&type;=story

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- CBS Sports golf analyst David Feherty came under sharp criticism Saturday for a joke he wrote in a Dallas magazine article that suggested American soldiers would be just as likely to knock off House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Harry Reid as they would Osama bin Laden. Feherty was among five Dallas residents who wrote for "D Magazine" on former President George W. Bush moving to Dallas, where the former Ryder Cup player from Northern Ireland has been living the last dozen years. David Feherty David Feherty is a golf analyst for CBS. "From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this though," Feherty wrote toward the end of his column. "Despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Osama bin Laden, there's a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death." Feherty is among the most popular golf analysts on television for his glib humor. He writes a monthly column for Golf Magazine, and the last of the four books he has written was titled, "An Idiot for All Seasons." CBS Sports quickly distanced itself from Feherty's writing. "We want to be clear that this column for a Dallas magazine is an unacceptable attempt at humor and is not in any way condoned, endorsed or approved by CBS Sports," spokeswoman LeslieAnne Wade said. CBS Sports is not televising the PGA Tour this week at The Players Championship, and Feherty did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment. "David Feherty is an insightful and sometimes humorous commentator for CBS Sports' golf coverage," the PGA Tour said in a statement. "However, his attempt at humor in this instance went over the line, and his comments were clearly inappropriate. We hope he will use better judgment in the future." Media Matters for America demanded an apology. "Mr. Feherty's violent comments about Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid are disgusting," said Eric Burns, president of the watchdog group. "Suggesting that our troops would attack the leaders of the very democracy they've sworn to sacrifice their lives for is an insult to their integrity, honor, and professionalism. CBS Sports should demand it's golf analyst apologize to our soldiers." Feherty, a recovering alcoholic, has been part of the CBS golf team since 1997 and has been an endless stream of comedy on the air. Last week in North Carolina, he stumbled over a line of questioning until he wound up asking Tiger Woods how it felt to be the "loser" after he finished fourth at the Quail Hollow Championship. That brought laughter from the world's No. 1 player. He has gone to Iraq the last two years over Thanksgiving to meet with the troops and deliver his irreverent humor, but the experience moved him to the point that he has applied for U.S. citizenship. Feherty is involved with "Troops First Foundation," with hopes of raising $15 million for soldiers who return wounded, many of them without limbs. He created his own division -- "F Troop" -- and last year took eight soldiers to South Dakota for pheasant hunting. "I think it was going to Iraq and being so proud of this country," he said in an interview in November. "The vast majority of Americans who haven't been outside of America don't really understand how wonderful this place is. ... And it just meant more to me, I think in the last year or so, having visited our troops abroad and spent so much time with them at home, that it will be a great honor for me to be an American." He is supportive of the 43rd president and his relocation to Dallas. "I think most of us here in Dallas would have understood if he and the former First Missus had moved someplace a little more secluded than Preston Hollow. Like Area 51, maybe, or some sandbar in the Galapagos Islands, just so they could catch their breath for a couple of years and take stock of their lives," Feherty wrote.

[Awsi Dooger]

David Feherty is receiving the scrutiny and adversity he richly deserves. Instead of saying he wanted to pull the trigger on Pelosi, which is obviously the truth, he hides behind a military cover, a pathetic hypothetical.

And now he predictably does not respond to an email, according to the article you posted. No kidding. The funny man is a wimp, needing time to squirm and concoct a circular deflective response, along with his agent or someone who is representing him. Maybe we'll have a word similar to iconic, the one Sergio used after the Master's remarks.

I posted this Feherty story on a major golf website on Friday. Almost immediately I was attacked via several heated PMs, right wingers saying Feherty was absolutely correct, that Pelosi and Reid are guilty of treason or worse, and should be done away with.

Never prevent a Republican from sounding like a Republican. That's the message here. Substitute conservative if you prefer. Seriously, as a supporter of the other party I'm almost saddened that the GOP is imploding to this degree. Runaway hate and calls for political assassination, no matter how they are disguised, are hardly the method to rebuild a party. Do public comments like Feherty's, and routinely issued by Ann Coulter and others, really work in terms of magnetizing the undecided voters and reluctant voters?

Gad, I'd hate to adopt that strategy, particularly when the sheer math is working against you in devastating fashion. The GOP relies on a white voting base which is shrinking all the time. That's what the mainstream media fails to emphasize, preferring to hype every cycle as a horse race. In 1988 whites made up 85% of the voters. In 2008 it was down to 75%. It is a consistent drop of 2% every four years. That would be like a golfer losing 20 yards off his driver every four years and wondering why he was struggling to keep up. The party yearns to return to Reagan, comically ignoring that Reagan would never manage those type of percentages in the new political climate. On top of that, Bush repulsed young voters in astounding percentage. Political allegiance is forged at very young age. 538.com broke that down yesterday and Pollster.com did the same two or three years ago. It is pure mythology that voters become more conservative with age. The presidential approval rating when someone turns 18 is significant to which party he aligns with. Bush had consistently low marks and now Obama, albeit very early, has high approval. The GOP is at risk of an 8-16 year voting block lining up against them for the remainder of their lives.

Against that type of foundational disadvantage, instead of branching out to attract new voters with some type of attractive message the GOP is determined to hate and ridicule current Democratic leaders. Marvelous strategy. And I'm hardly surprised Pelosi is the prime focus, as indicated by Feherty's two bullet desire. In David Brock's great insider book, "Blinded by the Right," he included a chapter detailing that women in position of high political power are particularly unnerving to conservatives. The right wing political magazines always sell in dramatically higher numbers when a woman is mocked on the cover.

I realize I've rambled long enough. I post on political sites but it's an awkward topic on golf message boards, particularly since the natural tilt is right.

Still, it amazes me that so many threads and posts on sites like this are devoted to fixing a slice, with great astute advice. Yet when the party of majority preference is slicing all over the place, and seemingly determined to make it even more dramatic a slice in face of adverse winds, repelling voters all the time, posters like the OP here say keep it going, everything is deserved and delightful.

[Fourputt]

sucks that he is getting in trouble for speaking his mind. I have a couple friends in the service and they completely agree with his comments.

Ain't that the truth...

Never prevent a Republican from sounding like a Republican.

And never prevent a liberal from sounding like a bleeding heart.

This thread is bound to be moderated soon, but.....

[zeg]

Bah, maybe that's a joke in poor taste, but honestly, I think it's kind of funny. And I'm pretty far left on the political spectrum. Perhaps Feherty should apologize for putting the joke in print, but it's hardly the appalling outrageous insult to the professionalism of our troops that's so breathlessly implied by the various commentators. People need to lighten up and realize that sometimes people are going to tell jokes that offend them... that's part of the freedom the troops are fighting for.

[apex53]

I'd like to have a copy of awsi dooger's post as an mp3, that way when I have trouble sleeping I could play it and fall asleep immediately.

[Awsi Dooger]

Ron Sirak has a very good article at GolfDigest.com. Not everyone is going to dance around Feherty's comments and accept the weak apology with no further scrutiny necessary.

Sirak expressed the same theme that I mentioned, that Feherty merely transported his own political views under cover of supposed military consensus:

http://www.golfdigest.com/golfworld/...rty_sirak_0510

"In trying gain as much information on this matter as possible in order to develop the most measured response possible I scoured the Internet all weekend. I came across this comment posted on one website:

"Wow, as a soldier ... this just blows my mind. A soldier would never speak this way about members of congress, at least to a media man. It's actually covered by the Uniform Code Of Military Justice. Disrespecting members of congress is a punishable offense. Obviously, most of my buddies lean to the right ... but they're not insane. I can't believe that guy ... "

I found that extremely troubling. It made me doubt whether any American serviceman or servicewoman said anything to Feherty anywhere near like what he wrote. My fear is he was expressing his political feelings and hiding behind those brave enough to wear the uniforms of this nation by putting words in their mouths. That possibility is just as disturbing as the lame joke itself."

***

BTW, kudos to Eric and The Sand Trap for allowing this thread and topic to stand. I had posting privileges suspended for two weeks at that other site, merely for posting a related thread and expressing disgust with Feherty's remarks. I did not expand similar to my first post in this thread.

This is a major golf announcer with a big reputation, and his comment was enough to prompt disclaimers from CBS Sports and the PGA Tour, along with an apology from Feherty himself. It may not be the end of the story. Yet some sites act like we're supposed to politely close our eyes and ignore. Unbelievable.

[NorCalGolfer]

Holy Lord.....

it's a f**kin joke. what if it were his views? who gives a shit? last time I heard it was a free country with free speech and since Feherty is not under the Uniform Code Of Military Justice, I guess he's free to say whatever he wants about Congress. Granted it's distasteful and a bit violent.. IT'S A JOKE!

[zeg]

Ron Sirak has a very good article at GolfDigest.com. Not everyone is going to dance around Feherty's comments and accept the weak apology with no further scrutiny necessary.

Yeah, some of us don't even care.

Sirak expressed the same theme that I mentioned, that Feherty merely transported his own political views under cover of supposed military consensus:

Your "theme" is absolutely ridiculous. His comments have nothing to do with anyone actually wanting to shoot at any politicians.

"Wow, as a soldier ... this just blows my mind. A soldier would never speak this way about members of congress, at least to a media man. It's actually covered by the Uniform Code Of Military Justice. Disrespecting members of congress is a punishable offense. Obviously, most of my buddies lean to the right ... but they're not insane. I can't believe that guy ... " I found that extremely troubling. It made me doubt whether any American serviceman or servicewoman said anything to Feherty anywhere near like what he wrote. My fear is he was expressing his political feelings and hiding behind those brave enough to wear the uniforms of this nation by putting words in their mouths. That possibility is just as disturbing as the lame joke itself."

It's apparent that these people have poor reading comprehension and lack the basic understanding of hyperbole necessary to grasp Feherty's joke, such as it was. Read it again. Tell me where he even implies any service member has said anything directly disrespectful or threatening toward a member of Congress. He doesn't. He's obviously commenting on his observation that the military folks he's met lean far to the right. He chose to do it using a coarse joke, and not even a particularly fresh one -- variations on that have been flying around for decades. Digging into his personal politics based on that is absurd.

BTW, kudos to Eric and The Sand Trap for allowing this thread and topic to stand.

Kudos as well.

This is a major golf announcer with a big reputation, and his comment was enough to prompt disclaimers from CBS Sports and the PGA Tour, along with an apology from Feherty himself. It may not be the end of the story. Yet some sites act like we're supposed to politely close our eyes and ignore. Unbelievable.

I don't read much into the disclaimers by the organizations since, in my experience, big organizations will disclaim everything at the first hint of trouble. I don't think Feherty needed to apologize for the joke, but perhaps for his choice of forum in which to publish it.

[perfectsim]

His joke reminds me of another one

So if Osama bin Laden and a lawyer are standing on the edge of a cliff, who do you kick off first?



Osama bin Laden. Business before pleasure.










If there are any lawyers out there who want me to apologize....


Feherty's comment was a joke, no more or less vicious or serious than other jokes told by people (on both sides) with or without generalities. That specific people were mentioned instead of a group of people (e.g. lawyers, politicians) makes little or no difference.

[WilsonWedgeMan]

as a vet, I realize that servicemen/women can't have an "official" opinion on their elected officials.saying something negative in an official capacity would spell doom for their career at most,and cause grief for them at least... only civilians are allowed to "speak their minds",whether it be in humor or dead seriousness. Personally, I'm glad someone is trying to convey the troops' mind, and knowing many Iraqi vets, David Feherty may not be too far from the truth.it was said in the wrong fashion,absolutely, but may not be far from those feeling from troops on the frontline. Congress has always been the Achilles heel to the military,in regards to mission objectives and tactics.

""Wow, as a soldier ... this just blows my mind. A soldier would never speak this way about members of congress, at least to a media man. It's actually covered by the Uniform Code Of Military Justice. Disrespecting members of congress is a punishable offense. Obviously, most of my buddies lean to the right ... but they're not insane. I can't believe that guy ... ""

thats' only one soldiers remark...one of many...using this lone quote could lead to bias.however, this particular joke was in bad taste,and should not have been told.

[iacas]

BTW, kudos to Eric and The Sand Trap for allowing this thread and topic to stand.

As Bobby Jones once said, that's like congratulating a man for not robbing a bank.

I did move the discussion to the Grill Room. No way it belonged in "Golf Talk." And personally, I couldn't care much less about politics, so this is probably going to be my only contribution here.

[Cody]

A joke is just that, a JOKE. JOKE: something said or done to provoke laughter or cause amusement, as a witticism, a short and amusing anecdote, or a prankish act.

It was meant to be a amusing. Saying that the speaker and the majority leader are worse than someone they obviously are not worse than. Get off the guys back. If you can't make a joke about everything, you can't make a joke about anything. It's all or none.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Who is talkin crap about my boy?! When he rides me..its all good!

Wait a minute....

[Trav]

David Feherty is receiving the scrutiny and adversity he richly deserves. Instead of saying he wanted to pull the trigger on Pelosi, which is obviously the truth, he hides behind a military cover, a pathetic hypothetical.

Feherty at times has sophomoric humor, or non-funny humor, or over the top humor, or loses sight of proper context (such as Don Imus at quasi-public functions), but that's true of all professional humorists. When he errs, he is still willing to laugh at himself (example - calling Tiger a loser - was that racist, or just a chuckle event where he was willing to make himself the butt of the joke he messed up?) They have to shoot a lot of shots to hit a few targets. (Is that an offensive metaphor?)

I do not believe for one second that you have never told, or enjoyed listening to, a political joke, especially on the golf course. If this had been an Al Franken riff on Bush, I doubt you would have complained (and we all might laugh at it). I'm guessing you have never heard of the Washington Correspondent's dinner (occurred last weekend), or the Alfalfa Club Dinner, which are annual events in Washington where insiders make far worse jokes about the political process, including the president who is usually a guest at such proceedings, and everyone else. Or you could just watch late night TV. Some people only like to joke about the politicians they oppose, but most people are equal-opportunity jokesters. Perhaps you should drop the partisan outrage and laugh a bit yourself.

[Lemay427]

What does him "being a recovering alchoholic" have anything to do with the story.

Here is what I have to say: "Media, go F yourself"

[misty_mountainhop]

Don't know which is funnier; the joke he made or the OTT response from CBS etc etc. Have Pelosi or Reid said they're offended? I can't see it's anyone else's business really but these days it appears to be the in thing to be offended on behalf of everyone else. Who cares?

[SubPar]

He was making a joke to illustrate a point. David does not understand that you can't joke about killing members of a certain political party, even in the most innocent and humorous manner. These same people and their supporters get a free pass when joking about the death of people they don't approve of (even when it is clear they are not kidding). If he had made that crack about someone named Bush, Cheney, Coulter or Limbaugh he would have heard little about it in the national press.


SubPar

[Fat Slice]

I think telling a joke about a US Serviceman killing a US politician is in poor taste, but many jokes are. Soldiers are under a lot of stress as it is (if you read the news today...)