Only a Crunchy Con
Only a Crunchy Conservative can start out a knee-jerk blog post with "Look, I like Ben Stein," and end it with "If I were his wife, I'd be upstairs knocking back tequila too." Chalk up another knee-jerk for the already huge pile of involuntary crunchy muscle spasms.
Also, I don't know what is so "condescending" about Stein's piece. I certainly don't buy Dreher's insinuation that Stein's gratitude is cheap. Stein writes
There is simply not enough time and blood in this world to thank these people and their families adequately. It is not the President who keeps us free, not the Congress, not the press, not the courts. It is the men and women who offer up their lives for us.
which is his way of saying that gratitude isn't enough, but sometimes it's all we have to offer.
If you click on the full comments link, you can read Victor Morton's sane responses to the ranting boy. You should click on this link, too, since as we know, Rod likes lots of visits. "Y'all come back now!" -- and all that.
Anyway, A week ago I saw a woman whose husband and son are on their second tour in Iraq. She is a very religious person, saintly even, and I'm sure she prays for their safety continually. When she talks you can tell she's proud of what they're doing over there, not angry. But then again, she's not in the condescending journalist class.
CrunchyOne says: But that's it. He seems to believe that all that's required of him is gratitude, that it will somehow be a comfort to the soldiers, the wives, the fatherless children, to know that a wealthy man is lying back in his Beverly Hills pool thinking happy thoughts about them.
ReplyDeleteWow. Ben Stein writes and makes movies for a living. That's what he does. What does RodD want him to do to show proper gratitude?
Wait a minute. What does RodD hisownself do? He writes for a living.
So there is only one thing that RodD does (obviously showing proper gratitude) that Ben Stein doesn't --- Bush-Bash. That's what Ben Stein is obviously supposed to do to be properly grateful, I guess.
P.S. I also like the reference on how RodD is in on the classified scoop, which of course he can't disclose, even tho he is a member of the media. How patriotic.
P.P.S. I went a long time without reading any CrunchyCon blog entries. Now you made me read one. I had forgotten what that combination of nausea and anger felt like. thanks.
at least ben stein thanks the troops when he does frivolous things, as opposed to dreher's extended girly riff on "summer cocktails", which was sickmaking to both military and civilian alike. i guess it never occured to dreher that boys are dying in iraq so ben stein can swim in his pool, but also so dreher can drink his grey goose ("naturellement") vodka.
ReplyDeletealso, if i were dreher i'd be careful about asserting that the behavior of husbands can drive their wives to drink. sounds like that eventuality is much on his mind, i wonder why?
Pikkumatti, you're welcome. Only I hope you didn't vomit on my blog, that would be disrespectful
ReplyDeleteI think you and Kathleen both nail it. There's something about bringing up American soldiers fighting to preserve our freedoms that puts him straight into frowny Bush-bash mode.
Stein is self-deprecating, if nothing else. He's basically saying "Hey, these people (soldiers) are BETTER than me. They're kids with their whole life ahead of them willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. I'm just a guy who got lucky in the talent lottery, and these soldiers make it possible for me to have this life." That sort of thing. That's why I can't see how Dreher perceives it as condescension. The elite, Sean Penn-type actors of the world think they deserve success, so they come across as patronizing, especially when they prattle on about the troops.
Pikku: ...Bush-Bash. That's what Ben Stein is obviously supposed to do to be properly grateful, I guess.
ReplyDeleteAlso you have to "bishop-bash" to be properly horrified at the scandal, I guess.
And, as we all know, before the war, Dreher was initially against it, until reluctantly brought along to the idea by Bush's "lies." He was a peace-loving type sympathetic to those who opposed the invasion, but simply found the evidence produced by Bush too compelling to ignore. Thus, more out of sadness than anger, Dreher supported the invasion, with a very heavy heart.
ReplyDeleteWhat's more, Dreher never implied that there was any connection between invading Iraq and preserving the American way of life.
ReplyDeleteHere's an example of the peace-loving Dreher being hoodwinked into supporting the invasion by that liar Bush.
ReplyDeleteI know my role on these posts is to bash the Rodbashers, but there has to be a line somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI pass over the "gin and grapefruit juice" with the understanding discretion that should greet all such expressions of human madness.
But Grey Goose? In a dirty martini?
Two words: "Poseur alert."
Thanks for clarifying what your role is, Tom. I'd either forgotten that or I never got the memo.
ReplyDeletemy understanding is that "grey goose" vodka is the same as "kirkland" (i.e. price club/costco)vodka. as our working boy perpetually enquires, "how crunchy is that"?
ReplyDeleteoh yeah, and kirkland is about $20 cheaper per bottle. so now we can include "sucka" in the dictionary entry for "crunchy con".
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten what that combination of nausea and anger felt like
ReplyDeleteLOL. That's why I resisted. (Thank you, Gu=ardian Angel!)
Welcome back, though, Pikku... remember always loving your comments.
Diane
so now we can include "sucka" in the dictionary entry for "crunchy con"
ReplyDeleteLOL!
Aren't all snobs suckers, when you come right down to it?
We unwashed hoi polloi have it figured out: Never pay retail.
Here's a hilarious update. Someone told Rod and Dennis (who?) Dale that Ben Stein is against the Iraq war. So Rod basically complained that Dennis Dale misled him into the war with Ben Stein. Here's Dale's whiny apology, complete with the "laziness excuse", from his post:
ReplyDeleteCorrection: Via email I’ve been informed that Ben Stein is in fact opposed to the war in Iraq. My sincere apologies to him. I’m reminded again why I had resolved to forgo the blog method of calling out individual personalities by name (why I sometimes break that resolution is mere laziness–it’s just so easy to riff off of another’s work; sometimes I think blogging–for us civilians–is just a means for us all to publish letters to the editor that would otherwise never see the light of page).
D'oh! I can't help it, Mama. I just be a po' blogga who can't git published!!
Also, dude, Ben Stein is an individual person, not an "individual personality". You people are so smart yer dumb.
There seem to be two variants to the Grey Goose/Kirkland vodka story.
ReplyDeleteOne is that Kirkland is simply Grey Goose rebottled.
The other is that Kirkland is made in the same [plant/town/way] as Grey Goose, and so is very similar but not identical.
Either way, though. Either way.
insofar as dreher's ridiculous entry is concerned, what earthly difference does it make if ben stein is opposed to the war in iraq or not? Stein's still got a pool and he still has the service to thank for it. (and dreher still spends the livelong day netsurfing, gossipping and asking for drinks recipes)
ReplyDeleteand what does "being opposed" to the iraq war even mean now? it means ... we should pull all troops out immediately, consequences be damned? or it means ... the war should never have happened in the first place (love that 20/20 hindsight)? perhaps we should also add "monday morning quarterbacking" to the mystery CC definition.