To paraphrase one of my favorite sayings, it would appear that blowhard right-wing pundit Sean Hannity allowed his mouth to write a check his butt can’t cash.
Or, to put it another way, he let his alligator-sized mouth override his canary-sized cojones.
What I’m talking about is Hannity’s refusal to allow himself to be waterboarded.
Not that I blame him for not wanting to subject himself to that treatment. Whether or not you believe that waterboarding is torture (and I happen to think it is), it would seem to me we could all agree it would be anything but the equivalent of a picnic in the park.
Here’s the thing, though — Hannity offered to do it. For charity, no less.
Last month, Hannity was interviewing actor-turned-talk-show-host Charles Grodin on his FOX “News” program. The two were discussing the Bush Administration’s sanctioning of the use of “enhanced interrogation” techniques, including waterboarding, for terrorism suspects.
To no one’s surprise, Hannity said he supported such tactics. That prompted Grodin to ask Hannity whether he’d let himself be waterboarded.
Yes, I would, Hannity asserted, not once but an incredible five times. (Watch the video on YouTube if you don’t believe me).
At one point, he said he’d do it “for charity” or “for the troops.” He even offered to let Grodin do it.
When MSNBC left-wing gasbag Keith Olbermann, an avowed adversary of the man he calls “Hannity the Manatee,” got wind of this, he declared on his program that he’d donate $1,000 to a charity that assists military families for every second that Hannity could stand being waterboarded.
Olbermann went on to say he’d double his donation if Hannity would admit after being waterboarded that he feared for his life.
In addition to Olbermann’s pledge, Web sites have since sprung up soliciting donations for military charities conditioned upon Hannity being waterboarded. As of this writing, visitors to one such site, waterboardseanhannity.com, had pledged $1,035 for every second Hannity endures waterboarding.
(From what I’ve read, by the way, the average time a “waterboard-ee” is able to hold out is about 15 seconds. I would imagine it would be considerably less in the case of a pampered, privileged non-warrior like Hannity.)
The response to all this from the Hannity camp?
Cue the chirping crickets.
What’s the matter, Sean? You’re not afraid, are you?
I mean, if waterboarding is no big deal and doesn’t constitute torture, as you and other proponents of its use contend, what do you have to be afraid of?
What reason, other than being a chicken-hawk, would you pass up such a great opportunity to show the world you’re a stand-up guy, to generate a sizable chunk of change for families of the troops — troops you claim to support, by the by — and to silence one of your harshest critics?
Why, I’ll bet showing your waterboarding on pay-per-view TV would raise even more money to help the families of those who are in harm’s way.
I know I’d sign up.
I’m sure someone qualified could be found who’d be willing to do the waterboarding, too, seeing as how it’d be for a good cause and all.
I’m also quite sure many of you reading this will accuse of me of picking on Hannity because he’s a conservative.
Fact of the matter is, though, a coward is a coward, regardless of political persuasion, and anyone who fails to walk the walk after so cavalierly talking the talk, as Hannity did, meets that definition, far as I’m concerned.
Time for you to man up, Sean. Man up or shut up.
Personally, I’d prefer the latter.
KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.
Columns
KENNETH HART: Time for Hannity to man up 051709
- Columns
-
-
Katie Brandenburg: Finding the explorer spirit: 2/10/11
I say I like to explore, but really I’ve never done anything of the sort.
-
Mark Maynard: Charles will be in charge: 2/9/12
It was at least mildly interesting a couple of weeks ago when the deadline for filing for local elected offices came and went without much fanfare.
-
John Cannon: After passion, love still grows: 2/8/12
While a naive student at Morehead State University more than 40 years ago, my then girlfriend made me an offer I could not refuse. It was only later that I learned I should have refused it.
-
Cathie Shaffer: All that’s old is new again: 02/07/12
Every night before I go to bed, I click on my electric blanket. There’s nothing I like better on a cold — OK, lately, it’s been coolish — night than a nice, warm bed.
-
Tim Preston: Art downtown, ‘hippie’ soap, Valentine’s and living-dead machines: 02/05/12
I’m not certain this is anything that could be classified as a trend, although I have noticed something in downtown Ashland I am compelled to encourage.
-
Freeways to freedom
Last week, while driving to South Shore, I glanced at the dealer placard on the car ahead of me on the Jesse Stuart Bridge.
-
Lee Ward: 02/05/2012 — Dieting is a man's world
A male coworker is dieting, apparently for the first time.
-
Katie Brandenburg: Finding a time machine: 2/3/12
My grandmother once told me a story about a boy she grew up with who built a time machine in his family’s shed.
-
John Cannon: Not a chore but a true labor of love: 2/1/12
It was a slow and tedious task, but it was anything but work.
-
Cathie Shaffer: A whiff of the past: 1/31/12
It occurred to me, as I listened to a conversation about today’s home medical treatments versus yesterday’s, that one big factor is the smell.
- More Columns Headlines
-
Katie Brandenburg: Finding the explorer spirit: 2/10/11








