How Did SNL ‘Big Bird’ React to Romney’s Vow to Cut PBS Funding? (Hint: It’s Not What You Might Expect)
(Photo: NBC)
The same night that Saturday Night Live ridiculed MSNBC for its dramatic reaction to President Obama’s debate performance, the comedy show interviewed “Big Bird” over Mitt Romney’s assertion that he would cut funding to PBS if elected president.
“I like PBS, I love Big Bird…But I’m not going to — I’m not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for,” Romney explained Wednesday night.
But surprisingly, Big Bird’s SNL interview was largely devoid of pot shots at the Republican nominee. There were none of the “I’ll be gone forever,” or “the Republican will barbeque me” antics some have come to expect from the organization that caricatured Sarah Palin so effectively. More than anything, the “Big Bird” interview was merely a collection of mildly clever bird jokes that somehow tie into popular culture.
For instance, after Big Bird said he found out he was mentioned in the debate because he got “a million tweets,” Seth Meyers seemed surprised that the Sesame Street character is now on Twitter.
Gesturing with his left hand, Big Bird replied: “No, I’m a bird! Tweeting is how we talk!”
When asked if he wanted to make a political statement, Big Bird even responded that he didn’t want to “ruffle any feathers.”
The New York Daily News summarized: “Big Bird is remaining perched above the political fray.”
Watch the entire interview, via NBC, below:
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Comments (87)
soybomb315_II
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 12:25amI was thinking today about how Romney said he would cut the PBS funding (in the hundreds of millions of dollars). I then thought about how our government spends hundreds of millions every year making military advertisements and pro-active recruiting for our supposedly all volunteer military.
Let’s be reasonable. Cut funding for PBS and military recruiting – that way both parties are happy
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FstEti
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 8:48amGreat analogy, except for one minor flaw; when (not if) it becomes necessary for our government to remove, or help to remove, the Iranian nuclear threat to Israel and/or our men and women serving in that part of the world, you, as a part of the “War is not the answer” crowd would prefer to depend upon Big Bird to fly over to try to reason with Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Taliban, and any number of radical Islamic nuts in order to protect them, whereas most people would prefer that our military might be better equipped to respond to those threats. I truly wish that our young men and women didn’t have to come home in boxes or with life altering injuries but unfortunately morons like you will never understand that there are evil and dangerous people and nations that have agendas that will not be deterred by Big Bird or a president who believes, contrary to all of human history, that a strong military deterrent to aggressive peoples is the only method that, unfortunately, has proven to be effective. If there are any, and they would be damn few, times when appeasement towards aggression has ever led to a LASTING peace and no social, economic, or religious freedoms were surrendered for those opposing aggression with appeasement ,or having a dialog ad infinitum, while the aggression, even “passive” aggression continued I would appreciate your responding as the where and when that happened. I will await your enlightenment.
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DimmuBorgir
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 8:59amTeaching kids socialist ideas does not equal recruiting for our military.
they don’t compair
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SquidVetOhio
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:00amThey advertise so we can continue to have an all volunteer military and not the draft. Man, do you actually think about this stuff at all before you post it?
Let’s see….. the Constitution specifically charges the federal government with… what was it now…. national defense or pre-school entertainment…..
Military Readiness > Sesame Street
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loriann12
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:04amWhat I hate is the billions the government spends to let us know we’re not eating right, how we should eat, etc. But if PBS is going to be so obviously left leaning, they shouldn’t get public funding. Let the left support them. When the government supports them, they feel they can tell them what to say. Just like the GM bailout and then picking a new CEO.
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XScramblerX
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:30amStop funding Socialist Street! If people want it, they can pay for it! It’s this thing we call capitalism.
You find out what people are willing to pay for, then you market that product. It’s not a new idea.
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johnjamison
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:40amPBS should lose all of it funding if for no other reason than WE CAN’T AFFORD TO KEEP DUMPING BILLIONS INTO WASTED PROGRAMS. Then there’s the fact that pbs IS HARD SLANTED LEFT AND THE FACT THAT MULTIMILLION DOLLARS MARKETING CAMPAIGNS LIKE SESAME STREET not only mimic the democratic platform but makes hundreds of million why advertising for free on the tax payers dollars via PBS.
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nonyabizness999
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 11:07amThe difference is that “Provide for the common defense” is actually in the Constitution provide for Big Bird is not.
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ghostsouls
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 11:18amFunding for our military is in the constitution, funding for big bird is now. If all these bleeding heart liberals want big bird, let pbs be self sufficient and get their own support, all those Hollywood mogus can afford to support big bird, without a dime of tax payer money, Just give up a gift to someone, skip a night out at the clubs, skip pizza night with friends and family….Hey I heard that somewhere before…
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encinom
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 11:38amSesame Street is not PBS, but a separate, independent, company that provides content for Public Broadcasters.
Romney is repeating the failed party line that dates back to Nixon. The Federal Government spends more for a single fighter jet than it gives PBS. So lets talk about the reality of the situation. Thirteen, a place I know well, since I once worked there is in a large market. Even they are not immune from the down turn in the markets and the drying up of private donations. But, that is not who the cut will primarily affect. Each public broadcaster is an independent station. PBS provides content and aids with funding. It’s the rural, small market public broadcasters that are most dependant on PBS funding.
The elderly, the poor, those in rural areas are the ones that can’t afford cable or have limited access to, that is who Romney will hurt with his cutting of PBS. But, since they are more likely in the 47%, Romney doesn’t care about them. Romney’s tax breaks for the rich are the threat to financial security and a stable economy, not Big Bird. The tax breaks for the rich, that he spoke about for 18 months prior to Wednesday night.
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Register_For_Work
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 12:12pm@encin_retard
Do you think big bird would taste like chicken??
You could probably feed alot of those illegal aliens you are harboring with big bird
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stablepar
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 2:31pmso is the muslim brotherhood
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stablepar
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 2:37pmso are the muslim brotherhood and al qaeda
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FstEti
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 3:19pmENCINOM, you’re too intelligent to depend on talking points to back up your arguments. The continuing tired rhetoric regarding continuing the tax cuts for the wealthy only serves to further divide your fellow Americans by class. You know damn well that the revenues collected by excluding the upper income tax payers from the extension of THE EXISTING REDUCTION OF TAXES INITIATED DURING THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION is NOT a new “tax break for the wealthy” but more importantly the monies collected would be relatively insignificant when compared to the wasteful spending by BOTH sides of the political aisle. Reductions in spending is the only way our Country will begin to extract itself from the economic calamity that this President seems determined to drag us to. PBS is merely an example of the ridiculous expenditures approved by both Democrats AND Republicans and that INCLUDES wasteful spending by our Military.
According to the New York Times, the president’s plan to abolish the Bush tax cuts for those making more than $250,000 is expected to bring in merely $0.7 trillion over the next decade, or about 0.4 percent of Gross Domestic Product per year. As a comparison, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the deficit over the same period is going to be $13 trillion, more than 6 percent of GDP per year. So PUH-A-LEASE stop the nonsensical class/race/gender warfare talking points and instead offer solutions to our economic problems. If you have none, stop posting nons
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drrgb
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 4:47pmBig difference. Funding the military is constitutional, funding big bird is not.
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encinom
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 7:47pmdrrgb
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 4:47pm
Big difference. Funding the military is constitutional, funding big bird is not.
_______________________
Actually, no. If you are going to take the hyper-strict interpretation of the Constitution, than only funding for the Army and Navy is constitutional, not the Air Force, not NASA. Of course the Constitution allows the Congress to spend for the General Welfare, but that is a passage in the Constitution that the Tea Partiers ignore. Also Congress is empowered to “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts.”
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LimitedLiabilityUser
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 12:06am@encino
“If you are going to take the hyper-strict interpretation of the Constitution, than only funding for the Army and Navy is constitutional, not the Air Force, not NASA. Of course the Constitution allows the Congress to spend for the General Welfare, but that is a passage in the Constitution that the Tea Partiers ignore. Also Congress is empowered to “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts.”
__________________________
Okay so if it’s that big of a deal, we roll the Air Force back into the Army where it started. If through the laws of the constitution we can legally fund some set of programs A, then by basic set theory, we can fund the set of all programs B such that B is a subset of A, for every program that is in B is also in A, and therefore fundable. The Air Force (B) came from the Army (A).
The “General Welfare” clause doesn’t mean a welfare state or anything of the sort, and no founder ever thought it did (read the Federalist Papers et. al). Promoting the general welfare is what congress does through it’s enumerated powers, else the government have unlimited reign to support some vague notion like “general welfare”. Also, “useful Arts” does not refer to television shows. Go look up what the founders meant by useful Arts. Hence the word “useful”…
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tclove
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 12:24amI think Big Bird will do fine….there is close to 1 Billion dollars in Assets on the Sesame Workshop balance sheet. Look it up.
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13Lena
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 3:03amI saw that yesterday on Fox. Sesame street raked in 140 million dollars in merchandise alone last year. They’re not hurting. Romney is right about PBS.
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scottofwakeforest
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 12:49pmIf Big BIrd is worth so much money wouldn’t that make him part of the 1%……
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FreeUlysses
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 10:42pm“Big Bird, we respect your work, but you’re over 40 years old and never had to earn your keep. Why can’t you stand on your own two (or four) feet like the rest of us?”
Yours in Fairness —- Underdog, Winnie the Pooh, Spongebob, Dora, Tom & Jerry, Bugs, Kailan, Scooby, Daffty, Mickey, Charlie Brown, George Jetson
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termyt
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 11:24amAnother difference in conservatives and liberals.
Liberals – if something is worthwhile, the government must fund it.
Conservatives – if something is worthwhile, I will support it.
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Leveraction3030
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 10:25pmWhen does this show come on now? I remember years ago some guy name Chevy Chase and the kid from animal house were on it and it was pretty funny. I had no idea it was still around. Wow I guess it must be on after 9:00pm when I have to go to bed so I can get to work the next morning.
Maybe when I retire or go on the Obama – Freebies I can start watching again.
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14plumerias
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 10:24pmEmployment opportunity available in 2013. WANTED : Sesame Street Productions looking for someone to dress as Count Chocula. Must be able to count to 20 billion or so. Vun billion, two billion…..16 billion…..Teleprompter experience a plus.
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USALOVER2011
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 9:26pmBig Bird will make it without my tax dollar money….
VOTE
☆ 。☆。☆
★。＼｜／。★
Romney * Ryan
—— 2012 ——-
★。／｜＼。★
。☆。 。☆。”
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capitalismrocks
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 10:07pmBird Big hoped right back on his Gulf Stream and headed back to his Brown Stone in the upper east side…. He’s doing quite fine, and made $211 million last years, maybe it should be Sesame Street that subsidizes PBS since the channel is giving them free exposure and advertising so Sesame Street can hawk all of their character based products to kids so they will want books, videos, clothes, toys, tickle me elmo’s, and want to pay to get into Sesame Place… So it should be Sesame Street paying to be on PBS.
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Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 11:09pmC’mon, Carroll Spinney, even Jim Henson and Frank Oz moved on from Sesame Street, but I guess THEY had talent and could make it in the private sector. You are a has-been, your characters are old and worn out. It’s time to give some new kids a chance and you are just taking up space and money that two or three hungry, talented, younger kids could be using. Hang up The Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird costumes and retire.
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skippy6
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 9:24pmThat show hasn’t been good since the David Spade days…..
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OlefromMN
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 10:17pmThat show hasn’t been good since the John Belushi days.
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Richardoky
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 9:06pmAdd your comments
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ImMadAsHell
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 9:03pmSNL is MORE than Lame they suck anymore, bring back the old dayz
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thetruthseeker711
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 7:26pmmaybe you’ve just matured since then and what used to seem funny isn’t so much anymore. Unless you take bong hits and watch it…
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DianaGL
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:57pmFunding of anything should come from the people who actually use the service. If you have little kids that enjoy Sesame Street, then by all means you should contribute your $5 per month to support the channel. My children are teens now and I have not watch PBS in ages, so why should part of my tax dollars go to that. Worse, it is really not “tax dollars” but “borrowed dollars” that are being used, since the total tax dollars collected by the government do not cover the total current payouts of the government, the total deficit spending that we currently have.
So, Romney will take an ax to spending and that is what’s needed. And for those that consider this to be minor, it is the “minor” expenses that ad up to huge dollars. Think of those Starbucks latte’s every day, and that gym membership you never use, and those extra cable channels you never watch,. You can trim thousand of annual dollars from your own household budget if you needed to. Imagine the HUGE budget of the US, that has become BLOATED from YEARS of prosperity and a government run amok. We need to STOP and cut the excess off. Households have done it, the government needs to do it also. God bless Romney and Ryan and help them do what they plan.
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Atomic
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:48pmsnl is sooooo damn lame…
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Charleyhorse
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:06amSnl needs to be on PBS.
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Chromo200
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:33pmNow if it was Dr. Tooth I would be writing Romney to tread lightly. Big Bird .. ship him to Saudi Arabia they are having a shortage of chicken.
No funding for PBS. NEA, and the UN they can sink or swim like the rest of us.
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Ivehadenoughtofthisgovenmentcrap
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 9:44pmAmen
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PATTY HENRY
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 11:29pmThe libs get so hyterical. We’re talking 12% of the PBS budget from GOV. Surely they can make up that 12% with one fund raising. Let the people who use it, pay for it. No longer are people unable to get programming in America, in rural areas, as was the case when this began…and I don’t think good Children’s role models EVER go out of date – they do teach very LIBERAL lessons as I recall – but ANYTHING that is not essential to our SECURITY that we have to BORROW money for is not an option. ROMNEY was right. KEEP PRAYING on your KNEES. 30 days.
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patriotinoh
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:38amNPR also!!
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shagstar
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:27pmand some people can’t understand why others are idiot’s? why would anyone let their kid’s watch sesame street? or,,for that matter,,anything on lame stream media?
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Snaker
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:20pmGive Big Bird the “Big-Bird”.. Cut em off. Let them compete in the marketplace of America.
If they’re any good, they’ll survive, if not, then the “Bird is Cooked”… They already get
corporate sponsorship and advertising… time to cut em loose….. Competition…..
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soybomb315_II
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:19pmRomney thinks a 300 Million for PBS is too much but he is perfectly willing to give the banks trillions in bailout and spend another couple trillion in iran. Sounds a little hypocritical.
At the end of the day, i think Romney was just trying to get ‘street’ cred with the conservatives. I would be shocked if he cut funding as president
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RLTW
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:41pmI agree with the issue of bank criminals, but funding PBS is like the taxpayers funding Pravda.
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drs1969
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 10:11pmNot as long as the FED, not China, keeps buying 75% of the Treasury debt.
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SistaTriscuit
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:18pmWell, surely if Dora The Explorer can make it on her own a 40-something year old giant bird can too.
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ShyLow
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:14pmBig Bird is for legaling driving quads on the street. Like the new 2013 Polaris Scrambler 850 with 77 hp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYIMlvxUlKo&feature=related
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iowapapergirl
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:09pmI’m not surprised no outrage about PBS. Networks should be pissed PBS gets federal funding but networks do heavy lifting for govt without funding.
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65Mustang
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:06pmI don’t like having my tax dollar supporting any government sponsored television channel.
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jujubeebee
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:19pmAgreed. Big Bird will survive on his own. They have money from those toys and can stay on private funding as well. Romney cutting programs that are not worthy to borrow from China for was a smart thing to say.
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pissantno.10
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:00pmthese shows can all get money from the privet sector pbs is worrying about there big saliaries for news shows another democrat kick back fund
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Owl Works
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 7:59pmWith income of $50 million per year, is Big Bird paying his “fair share”?
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:43pmLOL, good one. I still have to point out that Sesame Street is doing fine in other nations on commercial TV. It can survive here as well in the same manner. No need to subsidize it.
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:51pmhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uOWG8tjW-8&feature=related
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Angel_light
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 8:01amthat’s a good question, but the left will never talk about that. no, they rather you just look at the cute puppets!!! feel bad for the cuteness!!!!!!!!!!! mho I think they (the puppets) are all ugly……except for elmo
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Exiled
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 7:58pmWhy isn’t all that Sesame Street merchandise at the store free? Or at least not 3x as expensive as the rest of the stuff? I have a hard time believing that they couldn’t be self-supporting, even without commercials.
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Exrepublisheep
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:04pmI agree.
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ValdostaMRA
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 7:56pmThis may cost Romney the election……never underestimate your childhood to influence on the sub-conscious…..dang BIRD!!!
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Tigress1
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 7:52pmI like Big Bird, but the price of bird feed has gone through the roof! Time to release him to the wild.
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U.N.hater
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 7:48pmI’m getting tired of see’ing SNL on the blaze.
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woodyee
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 7:52pmand G-mobile cameras, or whatever the heck they’re called…
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Exiled
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 7:57pmAgreed. I stopped watching SNL for a reason.
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Verceofreason
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 7:58pmGood for you.
But he for a new generation every 5 years.
Maybe it’s time you moved on from Sesame street?
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ModerationIsBest
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:04pmIt’s amazing how you people live your everyday lives.
You can’t just enjoy a show. If it does one thing you don’t like it’s “OMG BOYCOTT!”
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marine249
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:14pmWHAT IS snl
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U.N.hater
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 8:17pmI have not watched NBC or SNL in over 15 years. It was not one thing it was the whole damn network!
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drs1969
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 10:17pmIt seems SNL is facing the reality that their ‘pet’ prez. is becoming un-cool. That’s a serious ‘tell’.
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Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on October 7, 2012 at 10:50pm@MODERATIONISBEST
You people? Now, don’t be a racist on here. We know what “you people” is a code word for.
TheBlaze, you’d better keep an eye on this guy, before Tingles gets wind of his racist words.
We don’t want to be given a blac(OOPs) blue eye for inciting the NAACP.
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Malrick
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 12:39amModerationisbest, Wasnt Glenn Beck boycotted by “you people”?
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hawaiianninja
Posted on October 8, 2012 at 2:53amLOL! Unfortunately, during weekends, I guess the Blaze sees SNL as somewhat relevant. Personally, I’ve stopped watching TV (NBC, CBS, ABC, etc.) altogether.
@ModerationIsBest: At this point, I haven’t read anybody here recommending a boycott. For those who announce or recommend not watching what they don’t like, it’s their opinion. For those who follow through in not watching what they don’t like, it’s a personal choice–and that is something that has been under assault by Progressives for a long, long time.
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