MSNBC Guest: “Nothing Says ‘Let’s Go Kill Some Muslims like Country Music”

As my children constantly lament, I have long been a fan of country music. Accordingly, I could not resist this tempest in a teapot over at MSNBC where the network has had to apologize for the comments of Ebony.com senior editor Jamilah Lemieux who was mocking the statement of Senator Ted Cruz that he switched from rock to country music after 9/11. Lemieux quipped “nothing says ‘let’s go kill some Muslims’ like country music.” Yikes. Lemieux’s comments came on the MSNBC program “Now with Alex Wagner” and she appeared with Michael Steele and Joan Walsh. Lemieux added, “Fresh from Lynchburg, Virginia, so he obviously doesn’t want to be a polarizing candidate, he wants to bring people together. That’s absurd.” This would be akin to saying “nothing says ‘let’s go kill some cops’ like rap music.” As a country music fan, I will only note that country music is far more likely to be singing about your typical Cheatin’ heart than your Chechen rebels. Visiting host Ari Melber did note at the time “Well, but I mean, there’s plenty of country music that doesn’t have that message.” Melber later ended “We have a programming note. A few minutes ago on this program, a guest made a comment about country music that was not appropriate, and we want to be clear this network does not condone it.” In the end, it was a joke, folks. Country music will survive. After all, we know how to say goodbye to those who do not appreciate us. . .