Of rodeo clowns and political clowns
Seeking a more socially sensitive type of rodeo clown, the Missouri State Fair will begin requiring its clowns to undergo sensitivity training before running out into the dirt and acting like imbeciles for the amusement of spectators.
This is because on Saturday in Sedalia, Missouri, a clown went out into the rodeo dirt with a Barack Obama mask over his head and a broom attached to his butt while the announcer hollered over the public address system, “The bull’s gonna getcha, Obama!”
The crowd in attendance roared with what some considered an uncomfortable degree of approval, and the Internet came down hard against it. So here we are, sending rodeo clowns to sensitivity training so as to make them think twice before encouraging livestock to “get” U.S. presidents.
This is not the first time something like this has happened, although the Internet was barely a thing the last time it made the news. In 1994, a dummy in a George H.W. Bush getup actually did get “gotten” by a bull, which tore into the dummy and sent its rubber head flying across the arena to the delight of a cheering crowd.
Some in attendance in Sedalia, however, felt the Obama skit was racially charged, with one observer likening it to a Ku Klux Klan rally. Further complicating matters is that the rodeo is supported by tax dollars, meaning virtually every aspect of this episode was controversial in one way or another.
Although the clown in question was condemned by Missouri politicians from both major political parties and banned from ever practicing his craft in Missouri again, he did find support in Texas from Republican congressman Steve Stockman, who invited the clown to perform in his state.
Stockman sent out a press release that read, in part:
"Liberals want to bronco bust dissent. But Texans value speech, even if its speech they don’t agree with. From Molly Ivins to Louie Gohmert and every opinion between Texans value free and open political speech. I’m sure any rodeo in Texas would be proud to have performers.”
He also referred to the Bush incident from 1994.
"(Liberals) want to crush dissent by isolating and polarizing anyone who questions Obama, even if it’s a rodeo clown with a harmless gag,” said Stockman. “The idea to create a state of fear and make people afraid to trivialize Obama. No one tried to personally destroy the rodeo clown who wore a George H.W. Bush mask.”
White House spokesman Josh Earnest, a native Missourian, on Wednesday expressed disappointment in his home state.
"It was certainly not one of the finer moments for our state, and not the way I like to see our state depicted in the news," he told reporters at Martha's Vinyard, where Obama is vacationing.
He likely won't need to worry about all that anymore, though. In Missouri, the clowns are in class.