Fox's deaf ear extended to Beck accusation of Landrieu's “hookin' ”

Earlier, I pointed out Fox & Friends' hypocrisy in expressing outrage at a member of California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown's campaign team calling Republican opponent Meg Whitman a “whore” for protecting police pensions in exchange for an endorsement. But it's also worth noting that the morning crew seemed to have had no problem with regular guest Glenn Beck's use of similarly loaded terms against Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA).

Last year, Beck was incensed that Senator Landrieu successfully got a provision in the Senate version health care reform bill that fixed the Medicaid gap caused by Louisiana's recent natural disasters, calling the provision a “bribe” for Landrieu's support for the bill. Not content to just accuse the Senator of taking a bribe, Beck added: “We're with a high-class prostitute, that's what we're with,” going into great detail about how, “this one [Landrieu] goes into your Four Season's hotel room,” and that “there's nobody who's going to look at her and say, ” 'oh my gosh, you're with a whore!' "

And what did you hear from Fox & Friends -- or the rest of Fox News for that matter? Crickets.

Later that day, far from apologizing for the remark -- as Brown did -- Beck doubled down, saying to Landrieu: “So we know you're hookin', but you're just not cheap”:

Did Beck's comments prompt a rebuke from the morning crew? Doesn't seem like it. In fact, Bill Press and Howard Kurtz noted the deafening silence coming from Fox on Beck's remarks even though, weeks earlier Fox News contributor Michelle Malkin told Sean Hannity that if he had called a “Democratic public figure” a whore, then he would have been “strung up by [his] toes.” They were discussing the outrage they expressed over a similar remark made by Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL).

Fox didn't feel the need to condemn Beck's slur, but now that they have a Democrat to attack, they're back passionately committed to stamping out sexist slurs -- as long as they can use the excuse to prop up Republicans.