Seth MacFarlane is no Rush Limbaugh, apparently.
Still seething from White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's utterance of the word "retard" during a meeting, the former governor of Alaska has lashed out at "another kick in the gut," this one from the folks over at Family Guy.
They really outdid themselves Sunday with the episode Extra-Large Medium, which features Chris Griffin dating a girl with Down syndrome, and Stewie performing an entire musical number called "Down Syndrome Girl." (Yeah, it's pretty viral.)
But that's not even the part that has Palin (whose youngest son, Trig, has Down syndrome) and her eldest daughter, Bristol, so furious.
"You haven't even asked me anything about myself," Chris' rather demanding date accuses him at dinner, thereby prompting him to ask what her parents do for a living.
"That's better," she asks, saying, "My dad's an accountant and my mom is the former governor of Alaska."
"That's cool," Chris responds, to which she replies, "It's real cool. Now get up, come over here and give me a shoulder massage."
But obviously the Palins are not impressed by the fact that this character is a very empowered, self-confident young lady.
Sarah Palin turned the floor (or in this case, her Facebook page) over to Bristol to express the family's outrage.
"When you're the son or daughter of a public figure, you have to develop thick skin," the 19-year-old wrote. "My siblings and I all have that, but insults directed at our youngest brother hurt too much for us to remain silent.
"People with special needs face challenges that many of us will never confront, and yet they are some of the kindest and most loving people you'll ever meet. Their lives are difficult enough as it is, so why would anyone want to make their lives more difficult by mocking them?
"As a culture, shouldn't we be more compassionate to innocent people— especially those who are less fortunate? Shouldn't we be willing to say that some things just are not funny? Are there any limits to what some people will do or say in regards to my little brother or others in the special needs community? If the writers of a particularly pathetic cartoon show thought they were being clever in mocking my brother and my family yesterday, they failed. All they proved is that they're heartless jerks."
Fox has been silent so far, but MacFarlane offered this to the L.A. Times: "From its inception, Family Guy has used biting satire as the foundation of its humor. The show is an 'equal-opportunity offender.' "
We weren't really expecting much in the way of an apology from the show that's slaughtered everybody.
Meanwhile, while discussing her latest beef on The O'Reilly Factor tonight, Palin reiterated her demand that Emanuel step down as White House chief of staff.
And yes, she still feels that Limbaugh was engaging in satire when he said "retard" on the air.
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Do you picture Seth MacFarlane giving a David Letterman-style mea culpa?