Karl Marx made an appearance on Sunday night’s edition of CBS’s Madam Secretary, titled ‘Right of the Boom.’ And not just in the sense that Madam Secretary believes in the aggressive use of government force and power with little to no regard for human history, or the life lessons that it offers.
No, this time they actually quote him. At the hospital where her husband recovers from uranium exposure, due to a nasty dirty bomb explosion in last week’s episode, Madam Secretary (Tea Leoni) seeks to bond with her moody, deep, hostile-to-religion son by reminding him of some of his favorite Marxist lines:
Madam Secretary: Hey, kiddos. I'm so sorry I took so long. Sorry. I'm sorry.
Daughter: Did you see Dad?
Madam Secretary: He's sleeping. We're gonna go see him when he wakes up, okay?
Daughter: Is he gonna be okay?
Madam Secretary: Oh, baby, I don't know. I'm sorry. I thought religion was the opiate of the masses.
Son: It is. But sometimes you need a good hit.
So, there you go. Religion is completely fake and God is only useful as an imaginary friend when things aren’t going your way; a numbing agent to gird you against the harsh realities of life. Realities that exist, of course, outside of religion. Because all that kooky hocus pocus stuff is just a fantasyland for the economically and emotionally downtrodden.
But as we’ve talked about pretty much every time we discuss Madam Secretary, the entire point of this show is to help Hillary Clinton get elected President. Sometimes that takes the form of showing how she would handle major international conflicts. And sometimes that involves giving her a complete pass for causing international conflicts.
Like in this scene, where Madam Hillary pleads with the Italian Ambassador to share vital intelligence which might lead to the capture of wanted terrorists. Watch what happens when the subject of Libya comes up in their discussion. More importantly, watch what is never brought up in their discussion about Libya:
Madam Secretary: Signor Ambasciatore.
Italian Ambassador: Madam Secretary.
Madam Secretary: Thank you so much for meeting me here. I realize it's highly unusual.
Italian Ambassador: No, of course. Of course. Allow me to present Italy's condolences to the people of the United States.
Madam Secretary: Very kind of you. Thank you. Listen, let me ask, when I took this job, did you, by chance, read my bio? The blurb on State's Web site?
Italian Ambassador: Yes, of course. You worked at CIA with President Dalton and...
Madam Secretary: Right. And my-my uncle died on the beach at Anzio. William Adams. He was 18 years old. My brother is named after him.
Italian Ambassador: And my country is eternally grateful, for him and for every American who died to save us from fascism.
Madam Secretary: And yet when we were attacked, you held out on us.
Italian Ambassador: I don't know what you mean.
Madam Secretary: Your government has been paying for hostages in Libya. The CIA has identified two being held by Hizb al-shahid in Al Wahat. You have intelligence you're not sharing.
Italian Ambasssador: The official policy of my government...
Madam Secretary: I've had enough of official policy today. I mean, have you looked around? Do you see what's happened here?
Italian Ambassador: Well, Libya is already a failed state. Another intervention would send waves of refugees hurtling towards our shores and...
Madam Secretary: Refugees? That's your excuse?
Italian Ambassador: Well, I assure you it is a serious concern for the Italian people, not to mention our national security.
Madam Secretary: It's funny you should bring up security. Because maybe if we stop the people who attacked us, then your voters will stop being kidnapped.
Italian Ambassador: Well, it's never that simple.
Madam Secretary: Mmm, hardly. I agree. But sometimes it is. We have a recording that we think is Jibral Disah. All we need is confirmation...I trust that your government's gonna do the right thing.
Seriously? A discussion of Libya on a show that is dedicated to the advancement of Hillary Clinton, and no mention of the fact that the person who was one of the primary catalysts for the Libyan intervention that led to that country becoming a failed state, in addition to becoming a burgeoning ISIS stronghold, is also in fact Hillary Clinton?
Of course, that inconvenient truth is not necessarily helpful to establishing Hillary’s international problem solving bonafides. But I digress.
Also, how about that mocking reaction when the Ambassador brings up the fact that his country doesn’t want to get swarmed by refugees? Madam Secretary tells him that he’s using refugees as his “excuse.” If not wanting rape gangs and ISIS trained terrorists running your streets is an excuse, well then, excuse me for thinking that you’re insane.
I mean, there hasn’t been someone in public office showing this level of contempt and lack of understanding for rape victims since, well, Hillary Clinton.
