Stephen Baldwin has decided that it's OK to call the president of the United States "homey."
Apparently jealous at all the tabloid attention bro Alec seems to get all the time, the younger, far less talented Baldwin brother (now a right-wing radio host) used a pretty dated 1990s slang term Thursday to describe President Obama.
The probably calculated "slam" came during an interview with ABC News' Jonathan Karl, who was covering the CPAC convention of conservative wingnuts, er, activists.
“I am not happy about the way things are. I pray for President Obama every single day," Baldwin said. "But tell you what. Homey made this bed, now he has got to lay in it."
Karl asked if Baldwin was referring to Obama. He said he was.
ABC News, knowing a non-troversy when it sees one, wasted little time distributing video of Baldwin's little ploy for attention. The Twitterverse and blogosphere are already reacting, and we here at MoJoe are doing our part… in being part of the problem.
It'll be interesting to see if the left gets worked up and starts accusing Baldwin of racism, since "homey" is an abbreviation of the urban-originated "homeboys." Per Webster, one definition of "homeboy" is a "fellow member of a youth gang" or "an inner city youth."
Plus, let's not forget the classic UPN series "Homeboys in Outer Space," which revolved around an African-American cast. Or Homey the Clown from "In Living Color."
Whatever its origins, "homey" long ago ceased being a purely African-American slang term. Baldwin defenders will likely cite that fact if and when they mount a defense of his comment.
But what's inarguable is that "homey" is a pretty darn disrespectful way to refer to POTUS. And that, given Baldwin's past comments about the president, he didn't mean "homey" as a term of endearment.
He wanted to make an "edgy" quip about the president in order to appeal to his base of right-wing listeners, who never miss a chance to mock the commander in chief. And so he did.
Hopefully, the left won't waste their time getting outraged about all this because the bottom line is: Stephen Baldwin made a dumb-ass remark. Stephen Baldwin! Former star of… "Celebrity Mole"!
Do we really want to be a culture that cares what Stephen Baldwin says about… anything?
