CNN's Rick Sanchez Goes Anti-Semitic (Update: Sanchez Fired)

Update: CNN has fired Rick Sanchez.

CNN released this statement today:

“Rick Sanchez is no longer with the company. We thank Rick for his years of service and we wish him well.“

They will broadcast CNN Newsroom from 3-5pm for the foreseeable future.

Well, as I mentioned at the end of the post below, CNN had evidently gone into a lockdown mode.  Now they’ve done the deed, and on a Friday evening.  No need to call me back, fellas.

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Well.  In the gallery of CNN hairdo Rick Sanchez’s greatest hits, hits which include killing a man while driving under the influence and saying on-air that Iceland is too cold to have volcanoes (seriously), this is the first one that may cost him his career.  During an interview with satellite radio host Pete Dominick, Sanchez called Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart a “bigot” and then upped that into a an anti-Semitic smear (and sounding a bit like a different Sanchez).

I’m telling you that everybody who runs CNN is a lot like Stewart, and a lot of people who run all the other networks are a lot like Stewart, and to imply that somehow they, the people in this country who are Jewish, are an oppressed minority? Yeah.

The appeal to “who’s the real oppressed minority” is touching.  You’re not oppressed, I’m oppressed! I’m being repressed right here in this chair from which I am paid huge money to read the news to millions thousands of people! Yet both Stewart and Sanchez still manage to eke out a living in this awful, oppressive country.

Sanchez’s real gripe about Stewart is probably Stewart’s calling out Sanchez for being the opposite of brilliant.  But the anti-Semitism lacing the remarks?

That’s rank bigotry, period.

CNN has been taking out the trash lately, even letting go of the man most responsible for Pajamas Media’s own name.  It looks like the CNN suits need to break out the broom for one more.

Update: I called up CNN and got their PR arm’s voicemail.  Putting my crisis communications hat on for a minute, I bet they’re in a little lockdown mode until they can review what Sanchez said, assess the damage, and formulate a game plan.  I left my phone number for them to call me back.  I’d say the odds of them actually calling me back are less than 1%.  They’ll come up with a plan and roll it out whenever and however is most opportune for the network.  Say, isn’t this Friday?

Update: Ed Driscoll has audio of Sanchez’s meltdown moment.