While many continue to use the standard talking points about Michelle Wolf’s unfunny performance at the White House Correspondents Dinner political news outlet The Hill reports that they are pulling out of future White House Correspondents Dinners saying the events cast journalism in a “poor light” and that “major changes are needed.

The Hill drops out of future White House Correspondents Dinners: “In short, there's simply no reason for us to participate in something that casts our profession in a poor light. Major changes are needed to the annual event.”

— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) May 1, 2018

The Hill should be applauded for this. Criticism of Wolf’s crass and divisive monologue is not criticism of comedy in general or even offensive comedy. In the right context coarse humor is entirely acceptable and entertaining so long as the performer isn’t someone who thinks simply being coarse is funny.

It’s rather surprising that the event has gone so far left while many in the press corps still vehemently deny that they have any leftward bias. Celebrating a free press with an act like Wolf’s is like if the NRA celebrated the Second Amendment with a comedian mocking the victims of school shootings.

All the WHCD has become is another event serving up the toxic soup of politics, celebrity, and dangerously biased media. When those who would claim to be fair reporters of the news are entertained by angry left wing screeds masquerading as humor it shows how out of touch they are with America, and how much they enjoy being out of touch. One would think they would at least pretend to not be Democrat operatives for this one night where they get so much attention.

Here’s the full letter James Finkelstein, chairman of The Hill, sent to the WHCA pic.twitter.com/bCVrvAf5Fw

— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) May 1, 2018

This year’s debacle may have been a wake up call for the WHCA thought. They are looking at making changes to the dinner as they transition to new leadership.

Olivier Knox, who will take over as the WHCA president this summer, told CNN on Monday that discussions are underway to address members’ concerns about the annual gala.

“As somebody who has said for a very long time that the dinner should be ‘boring,’ that is to say focused on journalists and the work of good reporters, I am very open to suggestions about how to change it,” Knox told CNN’s Brian Stelter.

As I’ve written before though, there is no place for relativism in this discussion. Those who would support the WHCD hiring Wolf and condemn offensive speech by people on the right or vice versa have no credibility on the topic. Wolf isn’t even the real issue. Attacking Wolf for her performance is somewhat like the left blaming guns for gun violence. The WHCA used Wolf as a weapon. She is not the problem.

The WHCA thinking that she was appropriate entertainment is the problem. That the press organization has routinely chosen entertainers who celebrate leftism instead of journalism says a great deal about what they most value.