OPINION:
Stephen Colbert, late-night comedian, sat down with famed talker Oprah Winfrey and turned on the charm for God to make her run for the presidency in 2020.
It was a mocking bit, no biggie for atheists but at least somewhat insulting for Christians. But the deeper takeaway is the hypocrisy it reveals of the left.
Reel back the time to a few weeks ago when “The View” host Joy Behar said this about vice president Mike Pence: “It’s one thing to talk to Jesus. It’s another thing when Jesus talks to you. That’s called mental illness, if I’m not correct. Hearing voices.”
Behar made the remarks in response to a clip of fired White House staffer Omarosa Manigault-Newman’s similar slam of Pence, made on “Celebrity Big Brother” in context of discussing how little she thought of her former boss, President Donald Trump.
That one went like this: “As bad as you think Trump is, you would be worried about Pence. … Everyone that is wishing for impeachment might want to reconsider their life. I am Christian, I love Jesus, but he thinks Jesus tells him to say things.”
Pence, of course, fought back, telling the news site Axios that Behar’s comments only showed “how out of touch some in the mainstream media are with the faith and values of the American people.”
Quite right.
And hypocritical.
Why? Because when Winfrey, the left’s latest wish-list candidate for president in 2020, said just shortly after the “Pence Talks to Jesus” gasp died down that she’d only run for the high office if God told her — well then, the collective response from this same left was a big nothingburger.
“I went into prayer,” Winfrey said, after telling People Magazine that billionaires have offered to help pay for her campaign. “[I said], ’God, if you think I’m supposed to run, you gotta tell me and it has to be so clear that not even I can miss it.’ And I haven’t gotten that yet.”
Hmm. Sounds suspiciously like Winfrey talks to God — and, a la Pence, even waits for a response.
Apparently, it’s OK when one of the left’s own does it, though. And apparently, it’s OK when the left makes a mockery of talking to God on national television, too.
Colbert, on his most recent “Late Show” segment, raised the idea of signs from God during a sit-down with Winfrey — and then, lo and behold, “God himself decided to join the conversation from the roof of New York City’s Ed Sullivan Theater,” ET wrote.
“I’m sorry about this, Oprah, I apologize, God stops by every once in a while,” Colbert told Winfrey. “Can I help you, Lord? I’m kind of in the middle of talking to somebody important.”
The big joke is that “God” then responded, “I hear thou seeketh a sign? Well, is this clear enough?” And then a cardboard sign appeared, reading “Run!”
Just joking?
Yes. It’s just a joke — and Colbert’s just a comedian. But the hypocrisy exists, just the same. Fact is, God, to much of the liberal world, is not so much the sovereign creator of the universe and the savior of all of humankind, as He is an excuse to mock the true believers on the right — and use as a tool for political potshots and gain for the left.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.
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