Lieberman versus Hollywood
Mon Dec 8, 8:19 AM ET – washingtonpost.com
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman remembers where he was (at home in Connecticut, sitting on the couch) and when (the fall of 1993) the notion first struck him: Television can be toxic, especially to young children. With his stepson, then 17, and daughter, then 5, beside him, Lieberman sat through an episode of the bawdy sitcom “Married . . . with Children” that night with a growing sense of discomfort.
At first he was surprised and embarrassed. Then he was angry. It was, he says, “the moment that got me going.”
In the months and years that followed, Lieberman would become the Senate’s, and arguably Washington’s, leading pop-culture crusader. In news conferences and speeches, he repeatedly denounced the entertainment industry for selling “debasement,” “garbage” and “cultural poison” to children. His targets quickly stretched beyond Al Bundy to the broader seep of junk media: Geraldo Rivera and “trash” TV talk shows, violent video games such as “Mortal Kombat,” misogynistic “gangsta” rap music, sexually frank prime-time TV programs. “It’s time,” he once declared, “for a revolt of the revolted.”
…This is a persistent criticism of Lieberman — that he works with a broad brush and lacks direct knowledge of the products and programs he goes after. Several entertainment-industry lobbyists and reporters remember a news conference Lieberman and [“moral guru” and Lieberman adviser William] Bennett called in 1994 to condemn media violence. When a reporter asked Lieberman to name a favorite TV program, the senator cited “The McNeil-Lehrer Report” on PBS. Pressed for the name of an entertainment program, Lieberman hesitated, seemingly unable to come up with an answer. Several people then overheard an aide whispering, “Touched by an Angel .” Lieberman immediately named the wholesome CBS drama as a favorite.
“I never mind having arguments with someone who knows the subject matter,” says a lobbyist for an entertainment concern, who asked not to be identified, “but Lieberman didn’t know what he was talking about. He was just using it for politics. I don’t mind that, either, except when he got holier-than-thou on you.”
He adds, “Lieberman is better at holding press conferences than legislating [on culture issues]. He’s better at wagging his finger. This is a wonderful political issue with almost no consequences.”
Lieberman defends his sincerity but concedes that his campaign schedule and Senate duties preclude him from paying much attention to current TV, movies or records. When he has time for TV, he says, he enjoys reruns of “Seinfeld” and ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” with Chris Berman (ESPN, however, says Berman has other anchoring duties and rarely hosts the program anymore). A self-described movie lover, Lieberman says the last three movies he saw were “Mystic River” with Sean Penn, the 1993 AIDS drama “Philadelphia” with Tom Hanks, and the musical “Chicago,” which was released in late 2002.
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Reminding myself why this guy doesn’t get my vote — he claims he’s progressive and liberal, often pointing out that he was once a civil rights activist, but anyone who emphasizes a return to “family values” has clearly missed the point of that particular movement. President Bush’s comments regarding the flap between the Dixie Chicks and Toby Keith and his faux pas regarding GWBush.com during the 2000 election have been more well-publicized, but Lieberman’s subtle push to return American culture to Ozzie and Harriet are just as disturbing, and just as damaging, in the long run.
