Red Eye On Santorum Backer’s Bad Birth Control Joke: ‘Guerrilla Marketing By Bayer?’

by Frances Martel | 2:55 pm, February 18th, 2012

» 21 comments

Last Thursday, the top political story of the day somehow became a bad joke by Rick Santorum supporter Foster Friess about women putting aspirin between their legs as birth control, and the many headlines taking the joke both offensively and seriously. There are many reasons this story was bizarre, but not so many for why Friess would be going around television saying things like that. On this morning’s Red Eye, host-for-the-day Andy Levy proposed an alternate explanation for why this happened: “guerrilla marketing campaign by Bayer?”

Friess later apologized, Levy noted, saying somewhat humorously that his wife “understood the joke, but didn’t like it anyway.” Guest Anthony Cumia didn’t seem overwhelmingly surprised that the joke was horrible– “he’s an old guy, he’s got old jokes.” Cumia also had to explain the punchline of the joke to the rest of the panel that thought it may have been an actual suggestion: the aspirin between the knees keeps the legs shut.

As for whether Santorum should be held responsible for this sort of thing, the panel seemed not to think so. As guest Remi Spencer put it to Levy, “is Fox responsible for any one of your bad jokes?” She added that Friess wasn’t on the ballot, and that even if Santorum’s double-standard point was accurate, “I’m not sure how much people are blaming Santorum for this stupid joke?”

Levy also had a greater problem with the idea that birth control is even an issue. “How are we debating birth control in 2012?” he asked guest Dana Vachon, after making his guerrilla marketing joke. Vachon, on his end, was just “glad somebody is finally taking it to Charlie ‘Scorched Earth’ Rose.”

The segment via Fox News below:

Andy Levy, Anthony Cumia, aspirin, Bill Schulz, Birth Control, Dana Vachon, Foster Friess, fox news, red eye, Remi Spencer, Rick Santorum

Anonymous

GOP: The Economy is improving, we need to deflect all attention from President Obama! Lets talk about Rev Wright? No that didn’t work in 2008. Lets talk about Foreign Policy? Nope that’s not going to work either. Lets have a debate about birth control! YES! YES! Great Idea!
Anonymous

Can we have a pledge that this is the thread everon Aspiringate?
Anonymous

Red Eye Rules, and anyone who disagrees with me is Hitler.
Anonymous

Nope. Too much fun to be had by all.
Anonymous

Reincarnation? I don’t think so.
Anonymous

Don’t worry. Palin will tweet some idiotic nonsense and it will give us all good material for another couple of days.
Anonymous

Yes. There is no vacation from Palin.
Anonymous

Strength is in numbers. Over half the population is made up of women. If the women vote en mass to get these idiots out, out they will go.
Anonymous

I love it.

Even in a non-Palin thread, you make it about Palin. Seriously, you MUST BE Andrew Sullivan.

Keep up your non-Palin talk. Too funny.
Anonymous

Not when she’s brought up in non-Palin threads.

This is why libs are funny. You comment about people that you dislike, talking about how you dislike them, then you can’t avoid not mentioning them. It’s great.
Anonymous

Yes. It’s called confirmational bias
Anonymous

Is this a Andrew Sullivan thread? It is not. Don’t you realize by introducing him, you’re doing the same thing you just criticized?
Anonymous

Jesus, you’re like the Candyman.
Anonymous

You called me rude in another thread for doing exactly what you are doing now.

Grab your dictionary.

1. see irony

2. hypocrisy
Anonymous

Let me guess. Republicans never talk about people they dislike , talk about how they dislike them and never avoid mentioning them?
Anonymous

Eva, meine kleine liebchen, kunst du bringst mir eine ‘sammich. bitte?
Anonymous

Conservatives have dined out on their blind hatred of Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi for years, invoking their names at every opportunity. Have you been equally critical of efforts to use them as a punchline?

As you’re fond of saying, keep up.
Anonymous

Is this the new Red Eye set? What the hell happened to the leg chair?
12voltman1

You love the Asprin between the legs thing?
Funny?
You didn’t think so in the other thread.
Anonymous

FROTH LOVE HITLER!
Anonymous

FROTH KNOWS FOR FACT ASPIRIN BETWEEN LEGS IS BEST BIRTH CONTROL.