Ben Stein On Election '08
By Nicole Belle Saturday Mar 01, 2008 9:02pm
There's been a lot of grumbling behind the scenes here about how tiring we find the primary season (by me mostly, if truth be told). I'm so tired of endless debates with little substance and pundit prognostications that I just can't wait until the election is over and done with and we can start focusing on what really matters: Iraq, the economy, health care, etc.
But leave it to the universe to send the most unlikely person to give an attitude adjustment. Conservative, former Nixon speechwriter, Ferris Bueller attendance taker, game show trivia expert and most recently, evolution denier Ben Stein reminds us just how historic this election is.
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Download | play (h/t BillW)
If you look at it up close, this presidential campaign looks like a swirl of bragging and rallies and shouts and money. But if you step back and look at this election through the prism of history, it look pretty darn impressive. Breathtaking, even. [..]
Now let’s be clear. They’re politicians and human beings, and not saints. None of them. They wear pants, not halos. But if you can see the forest for the trees, this is an election about some fine things in humanity: courage, determination, idealism, forged in the still red-hot crucible of the human spirit, the U.S.A. It’s a great sight.
Full transcripts below the fold
If you look at it up close, this presidential campaign looks like a swirl of bragging and rallies and shouts and money. But if you step back and look at this election through the prism of history, it look pretty darn impressive. Breathtaking, even.
Just for example, when I was a child in Maryland in the mid-1950s, if you had started a story about a black man who was running for president, it would have been a set up for a racist joke. Believe me, I heard plenty like that and I hated those not funny “jokes.” But in Barack Obama, we have a self-confident, capable, eloquent man who grew up with terrible burdens: little money, an absent father, and mostly his own extraordinary abilities. From this, he became a U.S. Senator and now a juggernaut heading for the White House. What is this if not a stunning triumph of the human spirit? What is it if not an amazing story of how this magnificent country still offers unlimited opportunity to those bold enough to seize the moment?
And what about John McCain? When I was a law student, blithely playing bridge, he was a prisoner of the North Vietnamese, tortured and tormented for six years of horrifying captivity. His life was in danger every moment. Now he is a U.S. Senator from Arizona, a world symbol of courage and the candidate of the GOP for president. This is an even more astounding story of human strength and heroism, and of the country, which he says inspired his survival in chains.
What about Hillary Clinton? She went through a terribly difficult childhood, with a drill instructor of a father, a harrowing, endless public torment by her famous husband, and still has a shot—to be sure, a long shot—at being the nation’s first distaff president. This too is a personal triumph.
Now let’s be clear. They’re politicians and human beings, and not saints. None of them. They wear pants, not halos. But if you can see the forest for the trees, this is an election about some fine things in humanity: courage, determination, idealism, forged in the still red-hot crucible of the human spirit, the U.S.A. It’s a great sight.
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Honestly, given his involvement in Expelled which has revealed his supreme ignorance and dishonesty, I don't give a damn what he says.
Ben Stein is an idiot.
Psycho America
60 Minutes' report on the upcoming Ohio primary had some interesting moments on the campaign process. It got me thinking about dogwhistles and I wrote about that at my homeblog this eve.
They're politicians and human beings, as you note. And it's already been a grueling process for all of them far beyond anything we're receiving. And each has a drive to win. But there are lessons to be learned in watching their campaigns in the process.
Sometimes the deniability is plausible, and sometimes...not.
Abbie @ 1:
Nor do I. It's like Glenn Greenwald interviewing Bill Donohue: I don't give a shit what that ass thinks!
L.A. Confidential @ 3:
And we're the Good Guys!
Sheesh
With so many Republicans praising Obama, I have a sinking feeling that they are going to weasel their way into quite a few positions. Without a Democratic House and Senate, Obama will be blocked at every turn by the GOP. Maybe that is why they seem so self-satisfied now.
Ben Stein is a fool, but here's some late breaking news that could really make a difference:
Celestial Choirs Going ‘Heavenly’ for Obama
Black and female presidents all over the globe. Don't be myopic and proud of it. Sheesh.
To my mind however, the election is the only fun part. Watching them jump through hoops, the intellectual exercise of going over and over all the delicious details of who said and did what, and how it might impact the race. All that is enjoyable. Once they get into office and the downward slide of this country's reality comes back into focus, that is the depressing part. Cause I do believe it would take a president with a halo to fix the mess Bush leaves behind.
Dave @ 7:
He can imitate Bush and say hey Fu*k you I make the rules around here.
L.A. Confidential @ 10:
I'm the Decider now not Bush
Fuck Ben Stein. Sorry for the language but Ben Stein is a facist idiot.
If you want an example of a conservative dipshit you don't a have to look father that Ben Stein.
He's the poster child for Republican stupidity.
L.A. Confidential @ 11:
Sad fact is unless bush becomes the Convict, (a dismally low chance of that happening) then the damage of his presidency will be permanent.
Old Ben is just trying to set himself up as a "reasonable voice" when the Republican ship sinks due to the burning Bush collapse. Sorry to be negative about him but his body of work through the years shows his true colors...mostly unreasoned, and unbalanced red. Ok points today, but he has no credibility left.
I hate to ignore a person because of one issue, but after watching the trailer for Expelled I cannot take him seriously and it has been revealed to me that he was a former speech writer for Nixon. I thought he was just a guy who did Clear Eye commercials!
"endless public torment by her famous husband"
Come on, seriously? You went from being a speechwriter to a guy who does Clear Eye commercials.
yadda, yadda, yadda
here is what i want
i want a country where what we are seeing during this primary season is not a "great" sight....it is commonplace
we are in the 21st century and we are excited that a black, a woman and an old man can be president?
40 years ago, a man said, "i have a dream"
40 years later, we are close to that dream coming true....but not quite
it comes true when we stop seeing colors and only see human beings
Chris H. @ 15:
ben stein gotta eat
he was able to market his dead pan voice
he also sees himself as some type of economist......hahahahahahahahahaha
"Bueller.....Buelller......Bueller...."
but i did like him as the boring teacher in wonder years
Dave @ 7:
I'm kind of confused here. The Democratic party DOES have a majority and there are 29 republican incumbents that aren't running for re-election as well as more GOP seats up for grabs this fall.
If anything, I would say that the GOP has painted themselves into a wonderful corner of loserdom. It suits them too.
I noticed that old Ben managed to get a dig in at Bill Clinton. They can't help themselves, can they.
Ben Stein is insignificant.
Also, Ferris Bueller's Day Off was a really shitty movie.
Filthy Harry @ 9:
Really. The U.S. kind of missed the boat some time ago when it comes to giving women power in the government. We're WAY behind.
It's harder to gauge minority participation in other countries. Nevertheless, I feel that it's a sad fact that it's taken us almost half a century after the takeoff flight of the Civil Rights movement to where we as a nation are seriously facing a credible minority contender for President. What took us so embarrassingly long? We're the seedbed of modern Democracy. We're the leaders of the free world. We're the Great Social Experiment, the Giant Fucking Melting Pot.
Well, I'm glad I've lived to see these days. I will be proud to cast my vote for Obama.
Ben puts me to sleep. What a bore.
lj @ 14:
---
Don't be sorry, at all. And you are hardly being negative!
I have to agree with your take that Ben Stein is trying to be seen as a "reasonable voice." And now, please allow me to be negative:
I have had the terrible misfortune of hearing this serpent lecture, and in addition to his lizardly record of vain, egotistic, darwinian, selfish failure passing as "resume", I have a good deal of reasons to despise this Gollum-like beast.
Progressives everywhere: be careful of this snake and do not give him any of the press his vampire heart so loves.
Sorry Nicole, you may see this as a "shining moment" for the Stein, but he is way beyond any reconciliation...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What he's saying is the United States’ influence on the planet is clearly diminishing, and will continue to diminish because that influence in the future rests only on one pillar -- that the United States could continue to project sufficient military power to intimidate nations it borrows money from. The U.S.’s ability to do that is diminishing and will continue to diminish.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Could someone please give Ben Stein an enema? It might clear his mind, and put a little more life in his being. When I hear him, I think of a whining piece of barely animated phlegm.
I also think of the character from Rainman.
Stein is better off sticking to voicing monotone cartoon characters on Cartoon Network and being a Fox News contributor (in both cases, catering to an 8 year old level of mentality). booyah!
lj @ 14:
Exactly so.
After the 2006 elections there was a flurry of publiciized pseudo self-reflection in conservative circles ( an article called "Neo Culpa" poss. from the NYT or some 'serious' magazine serves as an example, search on that name, can't be bothered with the link right now). Perle, Rumsfeld, those that have gone from the administration have simply retired to the holes of the AEI and other neocon/GOP welfare clubs to regroup.
Note Kristol, Brooks and others have lately offered "advice" to Dems in the media because they take the Dems seriously (as a threat) instead of calling them traitors and america -haters and whatnot. These Cons are trying to sound reasonable now to try and stay in the game, to not be completely wiped out. They are trying to write today;s hiostroy now so they can point to their words in 2010 and pose how even-handed and reasonable they were in 2008, hoiping everyone will forget the crap and bile they spewed for 8-years.
Stein is doing the same.
He's over...done...finished.
And what about John McCain? ...blah blah blah..tortured...blah blah blah...Now he is a U.S. Senator from Arizona, a world symbol of courage ...blah blah blah...an even more astounding story of human strength and heroism...blah blah blah...
Nice build up. Left out liar, cheater, grafter, thief etc. A blowhard blowjob - yummy...
What about Hillary Clinton? ...drill instructor of a father...public torment by her famous husband...a long shot...distaff president...
Code for 'that's why she's so shrill...Bill will be a national embarrassment as First Husband...she's gonna lose...she'd be a dickless president anyway. He really knows how to turn on the flattery, a regular RepMacattack. HRC must be swooning...
...They’re politicians and human beings, and not saints. None of them. They wear pants, not halos...some fine things in humanity: courage, determination, idealism...blah blah blah...
Translation: McCain has had his problems, but they're just as bad, and he's more of a hero... Nice false equivalency, you-think-your-so-smart 'n' slick-asswipe.
Note to droll fascist hasBen Slime: You may fool some low-info undecideds out there with your snide nuancing, but you ain't fooling us with with your pseudo-intellectual superiority complex shtick, motherfucker.
Oh yeah...to borrow from Ben Stein:
What about the inspiration, and personal triumph's of the man Obama, Clinton and McCain seek to replace? The one that Ben and Ben Stein and his cronies championed? What about the spirit of Ben Stein's "intellectual" and dogmatic friends and associates who called liberals traitors, Bill Clinton a murderer and reprobate, Hillary a cat-murderer (!), lesbian, slut and bitch? Who called Edwards a fag? Who defended Abramoff and Duke Cunnigham and Mark Foley and Robert Novak and Scooter Libby and Karl Rove and praised Powell and Petraeus and cheered rendition and torture and spying? Who called Cindy Sheehan a puppet and the New Jersey Girls self indulgent attention-whores? These are Ben Stein's people, his friends and colleagues.
How dare this suited, bow-tied turd lecture us on the human spirit and the transcendent magnificence of US society and its institutions, the very things that he has helped try to destroy from his pulpit of privilege? I prefer not to swear in my comments on any site, but fuck him and his unctuous verbal and mental diarrhea!
Ben Stein is creepy and untrustworthy because he plays 'both sides of the fence'. Let us all keep our eye on the ball and listen carefully to what men like Ben Stein, Carl "why did you quit if things are sooo wonderful' Rove (oh yeah, using the middle name is bad strategy, shame shame, say that middle name again), and Liar-in-Thief spout (he has pissed on The Constitution of the United States, you realize that, right?).
Always bring a bucket of water to put out the 'ignorance fire' ignited at Faux/CNN.
I'm waiting for someone to ask Obama's campaign manager why he wont appear on Faux, just so that they can state in a press release what we all know is true:
"Because Faux is not a journalistic news channel with the public interest at the heart of their reporting." ... and their hosts have said as much! They live for salacious ratings! They are not interested in fact, just provocative, divisive, exacerbating WORDS and SOCIETAL HOT BUTTONS to increase viewers, advertising, and profits.
This is an extremely important presidential race and I could care less if FAUX gets an interview or not. I think they are highly over-rating themselves and if at all possible, i would like to send out some positive vibes into the universe that 'FOX News Network are not professional journalists and do not care about the American People, no matter how much 'red, white, and blue' they have in their backgrounds.
Yeah, we regular people notice all the propaganda too! :-)
phew, cripes, what a rant ... you dont have to post this if it's over the top, but GAWD, what a world we are obliged to change, eh?
# 31--proud to be humble....
YEAH! All that too---thank you.
curiousme @ 2:
Abbie @ 1:
#1 plus #2 = my post.
I could not have put it better!
Britisher @ 34:
Thanks...If hasBen Drollbitcher was half as smart as he thinks he is, he'd be a progressive. But like most contards, his entire world-view is rooted directly in his ego, generating concentric circles of isms - egotism, tribalism, fasci-nationalism, et al outward from his center-of-the-universe unconsious. Just a douchebag sittin' on a hairless monkey torso, really...
;-}
L.A. Confidential @ 3:
Speaking of which:
Ohio Voter On 60 Minutes: I Hear Obama Is Muslim, Doesn't Know National Anthem
Proud2bHumble @ 31:
Now THAT is EXACTLY what I was thinking!
You got Vulcan Blood?
How else could you have known?
Britisher @ 32:
That's TWO of you who read my mind?
The force is strong with you tonight.
lj @ 14:
Benny was here in the Antelope Valley, CA, on Friday morning to give a keynote address to our local "Business Outlook Conference," aka Republican circle jerk. In defiance of actual direct observation of what is happening not just at the state level, but in our own community, they said on the front page of our local fishwrap yesterday that we are not following the rest of the state into a recession. Horse shit. Tell that to the former employees of companies large and small closing their doors. Tell that to the ~300 educators in this valley being given pink slips a week from this Friday, just before they go on spring break. Meanwhile, the only workers with any sort of confidence right now, are the ones still working defense jobs. They're getting overtime to design the latest version of flyswatting sledgehammers 17 years after the only adversary remotely in competition threw in the towel, siphoning away money that could be used to equip and maintain our troops and their families at home with the items and services they actually need. Where am I going with this? Oh, yeah. Ben Stein did make rather grown-up sounding comments, but the truth remains that the Republicans in charge of energy and military-industrial spending are still laughing all the way to the bank.
CoIntelPro @ 38:
As a matter of fact, I have some I just got in the door of the fridge right now. Thanks for reminding me. Hold on, I'll be right back.........................................................................................................................................
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..................................................Ahhhh, that's better! Hey coitus! I'm back, get off the porn window and talk to me....................................................................................................................................
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...................hope everything came out allright...lol... things seem to be slowing down here; I'm moving up to the OT and would love the company... ;-}
I can't believe that crooksandliars.com would consider Ben Stein's opinion in such high regard! The last timed I listened to Ben Stein is when he said "GEORGE BUSH IS THE GREATEST PRESIDENT OF ALL TIME". Ben Stein is just another DIRTY REPUBLICAN!!! Shame on you crooksandliars.com!
I'm proud to be a humble cointlepro britisher right now :D
Bleah.
I'm not buying the idea that Ben Stein is doing anything here other than pushing his right-wing memes. Ben Stein is a creep. He's like all of the right-wing propagandists on your teevee: He is always, relentlessly pushing his side's propaganda and narratives. They never let up, they are never objective. Look at what Ben really was saying in his ostensibly objective little segment.
Let's see, he just "hated" those not-funny jokes about African Americans as a kid. Yeah. Proves how tolerant those right-wingers really are, they just HATE the racism. Republicans have hearts of gold when it comes to racial matters. What a self-serving, revisionist clown.
Then Ben's on to his words Barack Obama, very inspiring, except -- Ben just has to point out that Barack is "eloquent" (learned not to say "articulate", have we Ben?) and had an "absent" father (typical African American, right Ben? What an asshole)
McCain is an "even more" astounding story -- even more than whom? Why Barack Obama, of course -- isn't that what Ben is saying? Ben pushes the narrative that McCain's a worldwide hero, he's an incredible dude, stalwart leader, blah blah blah -- a president we could all be proud of, don't forget the sacrifices St. McCain made, he's a military guy, etc. Notice: Ben gets no digs in on McCain, he just has praise.
Then he gets his digs in on Hillary Clinton, Ben just has to comment on her "harrowing" marriage to the Clenis, etc. Ben pushes the idea that Hillary Clinton is a battered, abused woman, first by her father and then by her husband.
Then he brings all of them down to earth, says none of them are "saints" (i.e., they are all equally sinful -- right, Ben, sure, I guess, whatever -- were Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton part of the Keating Five? Well, even if they weren't, McCain, Obama, and Clinton are all about the same, corruption-wise, that's Ben's real message here -- nice rhetorical jiu-jitsu, Ben).
Ben also says all of the candidates are just humans, they are just mundane people. I wonder what Ben means by that, in the context of the phenomenal excitement being generated by both Democratic candidates, but especially Barack Obama? You don't think Ben's trying to knock a little of the luster off of the Barack Obama buzz, do you?
At first glance it might appear that Ben Stein is just a regular American guy, proud of what our country has done: put an African-American, a woman, and a (what? an opportunistic war hero? Gee, who would have thunk it possible, what a country!) in contention for the Presidency. Listen to his segment once and it sounds kind of inspiring.
But listen to it several times and you can hear what Ben is REALLY doing -- getting his digs in on the Democrats, and trying to elevate McCain to the same stature as Clinton and Obama, while at the same time trying to bring Clinton and Obama down to McCain's level in terms of ethics.
Right-wing propagandists never rest, and they never relent -- they ALWAYS have a political purpose in mind.
Ben Stain , in typical GOP backing imbecilic fashion , wants to claim that McInsane coming back to the US after being captured and tortured after he killed untold numbers of women and children in bombing runs he made in Vietnam (an unnecessary war) , is a "more astounding story" than a self-made black man who has done nothing wrong other than being born the 'wrong color' , and who will be elected the next president of the US even though racism still exists here ?
What a douchebag ...........
Doug Schofield @ 42:
Whereas I can believe that the disgust and animosity hasBen Aswine evokes could confuse an earnest anti-fan like yourself into misreading Nicole's post as validating the egomanishithead. The fact that Steinwayoff included anything at all positive, even as a lubricant for his tiny penile probings, is a shift. A shifty shift by a shitty shit, but a shift, relative to the usual blatant lies and denigration we're used to. Read it again, carefully. I don't see anywhere Nicole says what a great guy this sneaky turdbrain has become... Shame on you, Doug Schofield!!!!
P.S. And take it easy on the '!' key (it's the orangest one up and to the right), lol ;-}
I watched that thinking, why is Ben Stein wearing earrings?
Than I realized it was his earlobes sticking out sideways.
That was the most interesting thing about the clip.
"And what about John McCain? When I was a law student, blithely playing bridge, he was a prisoner of the North Vietnamese, tortured and tormented for six years of horrifying captivity. His life was in danger every moment."
Not really. After he (unnecessarily) told the Vietnamese he was the son of an admiral, they gave him the mediccare the North Vietnam had to offer..
Our "hero" is still counting his 28 medals for his 23 missions...
# 42 Doug...
Quite. I'm not at all impressed with some of the posts I;ve seen lately, not just here biut at Think Progress and other blogs where it seems some libs, Dems, progressives are suddenly giving credit to the usual right-wankers for suddenly sounding reasonable, as though the message of rationality based on facts and intellecutla diligence is getting through and sweeping away the old crazy dogma. Hope springs eternal I guess, but after all these years this kind of thing strikes me as is uopinaism... the audicity of hope, as it were.
This is a remarkable election, but we don;t need Ben Stein to tell us som and certainly not in the terms he describes. There's nothing substantive in what he said, just the same old "never mind the past transgressions, America is still a beacon of democracy, now more than ever" bullshit. High on the Dem surge thus far and after 8-12 years of being bitchslapped otherwise rational people/blog-owners seem to be exhibiting a battered-wife syndrome of late, just because their long time abusers suddenly sound like they care!
The right wing declared war on the commonweald ( look it up if you need to) back in Reagans time and have been waging it ever since. Though it is in the political left's nature to to be inclusive and forgiving and non-vindictive, it is a nature that the Right has exploited egregiously and those on the left should grow the balls they so often charge their politcal pary of not having , stand firm and view this kind of crap for whsat it is--utter crap--and not some signal of moral or politcal victory cresting the horizon. Look how easily the CLinton administration's policies were reversed (Carter's too). Stein isn't changing his views , even in the face of overwhelming opposition to him and his ilk, he's conducting a snow-job and no-one should be taken in by it, like they were with Reagan and Bush2000. The Right doesn't do "nice" and "reasonable" because they;ve seen the errors of their ways. they do it as a diversionary tactic.
If Ben Stein ever speaks the truth it's only to set up a lie.
Annoyed Canuck @ 47:
lol, You bring up an interesting point, actually. He seems to be overly blessed with cartilaginous protrusions on the exterior of his cranium. Perhaps this hypertrophy is also an intrusive one, which would explain why an apparently intelligent prick is a prick, and a conservative, which may be redundant on my part. As humans age, their cartilage continues to grow, so we can expect Stienrich Himmler here to continue being even more of a rational sounding irrational prick as he gets older. We may even be able to correlate his increasing external growth to the degree of prickness he displays as time goes on.
Filthy Harry @ 9:
As Bill Maher recently said (paraphrased from memory): This isn't a revolution; it's 200 years late!
#46 Doug...
Lately I've noticed a lot of " I can't believe X at Y posted Z, how is this news, who gives an F--" etc on various blogs I frequent. Passions are running high and everyone has an investment they want to see deliver. For myself I'm trying to stay cool and "third person" lately. I think many feel things are going the Dems way so clearly and they are all riled-up--I;m trying to avoid getting swept up in that myself. I just want the nomination to get sorted so the dems and the left can get on with the task of winning in November.
Britisher @ 53:
Hear hear! I, too have a passion for dispassionate discourse.
What pleasant and classy comments these all are.
Stein expressed a lovely and true sentiment and deserves credit for it, regardless of how strongly I disagree with his politics. Whenever he next says or does something idiotic, as he surely will, than I'll be on the front lines with all of you shining a light on his ignorance, but I think that that was the intended spirit of this particular post.
Maldoror @ 20:
yes and no. feriss rocked
Jon @ 55:
Yes, his "lovely and true sentiment" just happened to include hackneyed right-wing digs at the Democrats and nothing but praise for McCain. I'm sure his "intended sentiment" was nothing but honorable, even as he tried to put Obama and Clinton into the same ethical shitpile as McCain. Disagree with his politics? Ben Stein is nothing BUT politics, 24/7.
Wow... and I thought I was cyncial.
Yeah, it's Ben Stein, who is a certified ass-hat. But even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Ben's description of Hillary's "heroism" is definitely a left-handed compliment... but the general tenor of his comments is right. This year, it at least feels like a slate of candidates who have fought for and earned their moment in the spotlight. Yes, all of them... for all the talk about a "Clinton/Bush" dynasty from certain quarters, it's pretty hard to deny that Hillary has fought harder and worked harder than many former White House residents, notably a certain silver-spooned son who got handed the keys to the kingdom like it was Daddy's Beamer. And McCain's ambitions have led him down a sad, sorry path of craven pandering and war-mongering in recent years... but it wasn't that long ago that his moderate/maverick street cred didn't seem wholly imaginary. He openly bristled over the foolish wrong-headedness of his own party to the point where even Kerry was talking about the possibility of a Kerry / McCain ticket in '04. Remember that? (Part of this election will be about making moderates realize how far he turned to the Dark Side in his final, desperate bid to win the nomination.)
Steve D @ 58:
The idea that John McCain was EVER a moderate/maverick is one of the most laughable of the mainstream media's big lies. What a crock. McCain has always been and apparently always will be a gruesome right winger. Since joining Congress in 1986 he has been a loyal, reliable, Republican, voting with the majority of his Republican colleagues 89% of the time. Check out his voting record at http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=S0061103 and especially at http://www.issues2000.org/John_McCain.htm .
McCain lowlights, past and present:
1993: McCain votes to prohibit the permanent immigration of persons infected with the AIDS virus.
1998: McCain votes NO on creation of a reserve fund for children's health care.
1993-2000: McCain's legislative rating from Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action Leage: 0, (that's right, Zero, zip, nada, zilch, zed, nothing, squat)
McCain's legislative rating by the NAACP: 7% (anti-affirmative-action)
Voted to confirm Supreme Court justices Alito and Roberts and praises right-wing jurists
Strongly favors privatization of Social Security
Opposes repealing the Bush Tax cuts
Voted in favor of invading Iraq, supports maintaining US troops in Iraq indefinitely
Voted against the Brady Bill and Assault Weapons bans, Voted NO on background checks on gun buyers at gun shows
And on, and on, and on .... check out the links above. The idea of McCain as "maverick" is just nonsense. It's a joke.
And Ben Stein's little piece on CBS wasn't about praising all three of the main remaining Presidential candidates or even marveling at our country's progressive tendencies -- it was about promoting himself and John McCain, and doing it in such a sneaky, backhanded way that a reasonable person might even not notice he'd even done so. Apparently it worked on some people. This is Ben Stein we're talking about here, not an objective journalist, a fair-minded commentator, or even a reasonable human being. I saw Ben Stein on Larry King Live Friday evening, talking up John McCain and snarking on Clinton and Obama. Am I supposed to believe he had some kind of a Saturday night conversion, and then went into the CBS studio on Sunday all progressive and misty-eyed about America? Please. I'll believe that the day I believe John McCain ever was a "maverick."
I can't believe it. Ben Stein arch conservative telling the truth?
" " " "
" " " "
Britisher @ 32:
Nicely put. Thank you.
Bottom line is the Cons want Hillary, so Stein is attempting to make her look more likable.
Yup...evolution denier is all you need to know. Ben Stein and reality have a problem. They've apparently never been introduced.
Anyone...
Bueller…..
Buelller……
Dick's Cheney @ 12:
I agree 100%.
Did anyone see Wolf Blitzer yesterday? He had Howard Dean on, and Dean didn't mince words about what he thought about the incompetence of the Bush administration.
You could practically see Wolf Blitzer sh***ing bricks (to use the British expression).
I normally do read Stein's business column in the Sunday NYT. Without his realizing it, his columns often make the most articulate argument why there should not even be a Republican Party.
Ben Stein list of best friends: Bloody Bill and Larry Kudlow.
Poor Ben. He never really recovered from being the class nerd who couldn't get a date. He's still trying to show those snobs who didn't appreciate his superior intellect and other positive qualities. Times haven't changed. He still can't understand that his personal biases leads his intellect to accept dumb conclusions.
Ummmmm, don't anybody tell Ben but some of our politicians wear skirts. (And I'm not talking about the ones who like to play in boys bathrooms)
Give me a break!
If the US were any more full of themselves, they'd explode!
The only thing 'historic' about this election, is that everything will remain more or less exactly the same afterward as it has always been, historically.
citing ben Stein on any subject is foolish................stopped clocks are right twice a day but Ben Stein ???????????????
Maybe he and Li'l Mac will support the ray gun they featured on 60 Minutes last night. Oh, no, that thing doesn't kill people. No wonder the military [and more importantly weapons makers] greatly underfund a "weapon" that will stun the enemy a 1/2 mile away. If Li'l Mac and Steinman supported this then the next hundred years in Iraq wouldn't be profitable....damn!
Tim in Japan @ 18:
They are trying to save their Repugnant party. They had to destroy it to save it.
Canuknotusa @ 71:
Isn't it great how the masses always "hope" or "know for sure" that "THIS" election will be different? It's always the same old tired cliches about how one party will change everything for the better, and day will turn to night. Only thing historical about this election is that a black man or a white woman will be Prez. Will that make a difference? No, but people sure think it will.
He's kissing ass because he's pretty sure the repugs will be out of power in '08. Screw him,
...and the horse he rode in on.
Britisher @ 49:
---
agreed!
It's amazing to me how quickly liberals forget long records of destructive and unpatriotic politics if one word of reconciliatory bullshit is uttered.
This
stupiditykindness is why republicans still occupy the much much larger sphere of influence in politics than a comparative look at their policies would suggest...Why do we have a problem nailing the coffin when they mercilessly drink our blood?
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I have to admit, I had to look up the word distaff. I didn't know what it meant. I had no idea what it meant.
The word comes from a component used attached to spinning wheels. These were typically used by women to make thread. So, the secondary meaning of the word became a "female grouping". Wikipedia points out that the one common use of the word today is for horse races that are limited to all female horses.
Stein could have easily said that Hilary Clinton had a chance to be the nation’s first woman president, or the first female president. I find the choice of the word distaff odd. Is this a dog-whistle term to remind readers of the traditional women’s role of doing domestic work? Or is he trying to make a play on the horse-race terminology?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distaff
The term distaff is also used as an adjective and is used as a descriptor for a female grouping (e.g., the "distaff side" of a person's family refers to the person's mother and her blood relatives). This term developed in the English speaking communities where a distaff spinning tool was used often to symbolize domestic life. The term distaff has fallen largely into disuse in recent times, although its antonyms of sword and spear to describe a male grouping are even more obscure.
One still-recognized use of the term is in horse racing, in which races limited to female horses are referred to as distaff races.
"Conservative, former Nixon speechwriter, Ferris Bueller attendance taker, game show trivia expert and most recently, evolution denier" - you forgot "wide-open homophobe".
Nicole:
"I’m so tired of endless debates with little substance and pundit prognostications that I just can’t wait until the election is over and done with and we can start focusing on what really matters: Iraq, the economy, health care, etc."
How DID you think politics IN ACTION works???
Only the market PRODUCES.
Healthcare? Governments can only take from some people and give to others, they cannot help the whole nation equally, meaning whatever they do is UNFAIR.
The Iraq (not war) Occupation? Remaining democrat candidates and McCain plan on keeping us there a LOOOOOONNNNG time.
The economy? FOCUS ON THE FED....economies never go into recessions unless the Fed PRINTS TOO MUCH MONEY CREATING FALSE BOOMS.
There are few opinions that are worth less to me than Ben Stein's.
HOW OBVIOUS IS THIS!?!
After false-flag terror attacks, illegal war, torture, New Orleans, 2 stolen elections and everything else this Republicrat administration has done wrong, how difficult would it be to defeat the party in the next election? Not difficult at all--unless you pick a black man or a woman. The Demopublicans picked both. How obvious is it that they don't *want* to win?
Any white male should be able to beat *any* Republicrat and that's abundantly clear...to everyone except Obama and Clinton.
The number of statements about a woman and a black running for the highest office in the country, are a good indicator about how patriarchal power politics in the US have been.
CrazedLeper @ 82:
Racist shite...
I concur with most negative assessments of Ben Stein. He's a creationist and if that doesn't exclude him from rational debate I don't know what will. PZ Myers has done an excellent job of covering the Stein's malfeasance and stupidity.
peacepipe @ 56:
I'll second that. I still enjoy watching that flick.
Drew @ 84:
No shit...and McBain doesn't stand a chance in November...no matter who the Dem nominee is...I have decided, that while I prefer Obama, if Hillary get's nominated, she's gettin my vote. There's no way in Hades town I'll vote GOP this go round.
It's gonna be Obama though. The GOP is finished.
Ben Stein is a dick.
liberalNmoderation @ 87:
No, I mean the poster Crazedleper wrote racist shite.
You are yet another unfortunate example of someone who thinks the parties are fundamentally and philosophically different when it comes to how you can live your life. It is puzzling how so many of the country's citizens have come to believe such a thing. My guess is that it has to do with numerous logical fallacies like the fallacy of appealing to the status quo, and the fallacy of appealing to authority. In both cases truth is supposedly being searched for, but in both cases people fall prey to focusing on people rather than ideas. Instead of having the courage in taking a strong position and making a clear argument why that position is moral and right, the messenger is treated like an animal in the hopes of deflecting most of the attention away from the ideas the attacker holds, and simply conclude "that person is an idiot". Then they go to bed. They did not find the truth, they did not learn anything. They did not make themselves a better person. All they did is think to themselves, IDIOTS, and then they stop there. People are nothing without their ideas. This is why it is imperitive that everyone educate themselves on IDEAS such as exactly how the Fed messes up the economy, how the government messes up healthcare, and how governments start wars.
Doug Schofield @ 42:
Ben Stein is another zealous neocon who wants the US to bomb Iraqis, Iranians, Palestinians, Lebaneze, Syrians and who ever else has oil or land Israel desires. I say let the the Steins and Kristols suit up and lead the charge into any future wars.
Rusty Shackleford @ 88:
Besides that, he might just follow William F Buckeley to conservative hebbin. the one with that is gated.
I'm convinced. Using the word distaff was an intentional snub against Hilary as a woman.
http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/distaff.html
distaff
noun
Definition:
1. women's concerns: work or other matters regarded as the concern of women ( literary ) ( sometimes considered offensive )
2. rod for unspun thread: a rod on which wool or flax is wound for somebody to use when spinning by hand, or the corresponding rod on a spinning wheel
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/distaff
Main Entry: 1 dis·taff
Pronunciation: \'dis-?taf\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural distaffs \-?tafs, -?tavz\
Etymology: Middle English distaf, from Old English distæf, from dis- (akin to Middle Low German dise bunch of flax) + stæf staff
Date: before 12th century
1 a: a staff for holding the flax, tow, or wool in spinning b: woman's work or domain
2: the female branch or side of a family
Main Entry: 2 distaff
Function: adjective
Date: circa 1633
1 : maternal 2 — compare spear
2 : female 1
http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=distaff
Noun
S: (n) distaff (the sphere of work by women)
S: (n) distaff (the staff on which wool or flax is wound before spinning)
Adjective
S: (adj) female, distaff (characteristic of or peculiar to a woman) "female sensitiveness"; "female suffrage"
Chichimec @ 59:
*Sigh.*
Yeah, I know that, and you know that, and most of the people here know that. But do mainstream voters know that? Especially right-leaning moderates, who were probably the deciding factor in swaying the momentum from the anointed torchbearer Romney to McCain, who seemed as doomed as Giuliani just a few months ago?
Yeah, it's true: McCain's deviations from the right wing line have been pretty insignificant. (Like Colbert said, "Which fork is he going to use?") But his public image is largely constituted of the moments when he did "reach across the aisle" or took stands against his own party. And look it up... John Kerry joined the public chorus of punditocracy throwing around the possibility of a McCain / Kerry ticket back in the Spring of '04, claiming that his people and McCain's people had batted the idea around. It's pointless to blame only the press when the Democratic candidate himself was aiding and abetting McCain's moderate/maverick rep. McCain's feuds with Bush were widely publicized. McCain's good-natured sparring with Jon Stewart made him seem human, accessible and reasonable, in stark contrast to humorless doctrinaire Bushies. In the public arena, this narrative -- and the narrative of McCain's heroism and survivor's mettle in Vietnam -- are always going to outweigh the facts of his voting history. The antidote to this is to find an equally compelling way of showing moderates that McCain isn't the guy they think... that maybe he's not the guy he used to be. Maybe he's not the guy Kerry thought he was. And the best way to do that is to show how McCain turned his back on his own reputation for moderation, a reputation that mainstream Dems including Kerry bolstered back in '04. Shrilly shouting that McCain was always a right-wing hack and that his maverick rep is all a big lie? Might be true, but it's an uphill battle. Showing the ways that McCain has knuckled under to the religious right and has become even more of a warmonger than Bush himself -- that way lies traction.
Ok my take on this election is... completely opposite of Ben Stein.
Steve D @ 93:
Don't forget Clear Eyes commercial guy
After all we have been through in the last 26 years, and the media has failed us in every way during this period, now this clown has the courage to stand in front of the camera and pander to us about how it is all going to be all right…..
Ben…. GO FUCK YOURSELF
Gimme some of that Ben Stein man meat.
Wow... Thanks so much for the link to the blog post about his film "Expelled". I knew that Stein was sort of a right-wing crackpot, but I had no idea that he had totally sold his soul to the moonbat base of the evangelical wing of the GOP.
It's always funny to see conservatives try to copy liberals' ideas. You had the Faux News folks try to copy the political humour of "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" - and failed miserably. Now you've got guys who want to be the right-wing Michael Moore - and they actually think they can get people to come out to the theatre and watch them all whine about how the mean scientists won't let the so-called "intelligent design" folks join in their reindeer games.
If the people who spend so much time trying to push flawed science on us would put 1/4 of their energy towards actually studying science and understanding the well-established role that evolution has in the scientific world perhaps their eyes would be open to the truth. But instead, they push for "intelligent design" (creationism in a white coat, actually) because they don't want to "believe" in evolution. As if there is a choice.
In the personal realm, one can "believe" anything. I can chose to believe that I am Genghis Khan, but that doesn't make it so and insisting that I am will only lead to a nice straight jacket and time in a room with padded walls. Belief does not make it real.
We don't have the luxury of choosing what to believe when it comes to science. Science deals with facts, not beliefs, and not faith. Proof is what counts, not what you or I or anything thinks. If one believes that the Earth is flat, even though science has established that it is not, then one is wrong. No matter how intently or seriously one believes that the world is flat will change that, and running around screaming at scientists that one's belief in the flat Earth is "expelled" from scientific discussion and consideration isn't going to change anything.
Creationists, intelligent desigers and flat-Earthers - lend me your ears. The battle is over, the war has been won. And you lost. Get over it. Accept it. Deal with it. Move on. Science carries the day. And no amount of pouting, whining, shouting and screaming is going to change that reality.
Chris H. @ 15:
Well, Reagan went from Chesterfields to a guy in the Oval Office!
http://badattitudes.com/MT/reagan-chesterfield-2.jpg
charles osgood is the biggest corporate whore ever and ben stein licks the crust out of his asshole every night
It's obvious there's no sense in posting anything but red meat to partisans.
Sean-B @ 102:
No. All anyone really expects from Ben Stein is an honest slab of beef. Instead we get from him conspiracy theories about science (Expelled) or childish little attempts to pretend to be "non-partisan" like this little rant. And almost worse, delivering his rants in a whining dweebish Woody Allen-type angst droned out phlegm-like and inducing a sleepfest. From a pseudo-intellectual Trivial Pursuit Idiot Savant.
But he's good for ridiculing. I'll grant him that.
Yeah, I kind of liked Ben Stein, until he started producing that pro-creationist bullshit. What a whore! He's looking pretty ugly now too. I thought he was classic in Ferris.
Maybe they could do a sequel about Ferris and Cameron's sons. Ben could still be teaching at the same school, and that stupid principal. . .
Dave @ 7:
Repugs love to be close to power, because that's where the money is. They will pucker up and kiss any part of Obama that will reward them with money.
Ben Stein is an awesome example of this. This is a man who had a quiz show were he, by himself, would intellectually beat the shit out of people. When he needs some money, he becomes a moron overnight so he can make an intellectually dishonest hit job movie on evolution (which he believes in). People like this will say anything and do anything for money.
Please don't forget what these shit eaters have done to our country for the last 8 years. Never forget, never forgive.
Drew @ 89:
Wow...ya sure did "get" me...um...not so much really.
I know you were referring to the crazedleper...
I will vote Dem, even though I know there isn't a whole lot of difference between the two parties...But I KNOW there is a HELL of alot of difference between Obama and McBain...I will not vote independent or 3rd party, because I want a bloody DEM in the WH!!! 8 years of rethuglican fascist hell is 8 years too many! I am ready for new blood in the WH...I'm sure a few other people might be as well.
Last time I checked Ron Paul was still in the race, even though more and more the "news" willing forgets this tidbit. Not everyone is a 100 year war McCain lover, or a Billary corporate socialist lover. The only tings that worries me about Obama is his CFR ties. Every time I see Obama I picture Dick Cheney at the CFR podium giggle with the crowd because he willing left out the fact he was a CFR chairman during the 2004 elections.
All 3 smell like bull droppings to me. I just want to see everyone get a fair shake, and that's definitely not happening for Paul - whether you like him or not.
It cracks me up when people say he is a little "too free", is their such a thing?
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