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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| William Bennett is toast |
| 2005-09-30 |
| William Bennettâs âMourning in Americaâ Probably not a âracistâ but Brainlessness and Arrogance marks his instant demise Yesterday on his radio show, Mr. Bennett said: âI do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you cold abort every black baby in this country and your crime rate would go down...that would be an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible.â The key word here is ââŠâ as it shows the split second it took for Bennett to realize his career was over and he desperately attempted to redeem himself. It did not work - and he and his sidekick made it worse this morning. to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky. Special to the New York Times By Jeff Koopersmith (Jeff Koopersmith is the editor emeritus of American Politics Journal) Every morning I spend from 6 AM to 9 AM listening to Bill Bennett - Americaâs moralist gambleholic on his new radio show - produced by the neofacist Salem Radio Network. Bennett is one of the most dangerous overeducated men in America and more than most, has constructed the foundation for neonazism among âconservativeâ Americans. ABC summed up Bennettâs nitwit remarks truthfully: âOn the Wednesday edition of his radio show, "Bill Bennett's Morning in America," syndicated by Salem Radio Network, a caller raised the theory that Social Security is in danger of becoming insolvent because legalized abortion has reduced the number of tax-paying citizens. Bennett said economic arguments should never be employed in discussions of moral issues. âIf it were your sole purpose to reduce crime,â Bennett said, "You could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.â⊠"That would be an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down," he added.â The key word here is ââŠâ as is the absolute evidence of the split second it took for Bennett to realize his career was over and his too-late and very desperate attempt to recover and redeem himself by adding the âmorally reprehensibleâ portion of his remarks. I actually heard him stammer slightly as he added the excusing codicil most likely knowing it would not save his sorry ass. Of course, it did not work and every liberal in America began a non-stop attack on him, his producers, network, and stations that carry his drivel almost immediately. I donât believe Bill Bennett is a racist - however as I pointed out in my book about him - âCorrobillusion,â Bennett although Harvard educated, is just plain donkey stupid. To illustrate his idiocy, largely based in arrogance, he and his high-pitched radio sidekick made things worse for Bennett this morning - going on the offense rather than simply apologizing for being stupid - not for being a racist. He did neither - and instead his phone screeners produced a non-stop call-in from ridiculous sycophants who embarrassed even Bennett with their shallow defense of his unfortunate statements. Liberal leaders in the House and Senate have begun to lash out at Bennett and will soon be joined by Leno, The Daily Show and Americaâs favorite laugh makers. Bennett hasnât even begun to feel the sting which has driven so many careers into the garbage pail. Bennett revealed his fear obliquely this morning as he discussed âa walkâ he took with his wife and dog yesterday, parenthetically pathetic in that the walk was certainly a personal acknowledgment that Bennett has again threatened his familyâs wellbeing and has humiliated them with his arrogant stupidity demonstrated in Las Vegas with his purported millions in gaming losses and the women he reportedly frequented while pretending total loyalty to his âlovely wifeâ who he oddly refers to as Mrs. Bennett more often than not. During his nonstop pillory of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinskyâs unfortunate relationship from which Bennett grew wealthy pandering to the dumbest minds in America, most thinking people were not impressed by the his face which appeared - it seemed - 24 hours a day on cable news. I phoned Donna Wynner this morning and offered to speak to Bennett on the air and to defend him as a racist, but was honest enough to tell his people that I would attack him for being stupid enough to use âaborting Black babiesâ as one method to decrease the crime rate. She wrote to Bennett at 6:15 a.m. and, of course, received no reply. Then I followed with my own email to him warning him that he was digging his grave further and should apologize for being so stupid and naïve while continuing to try and save his neck as an accused racist. I also cautioned him not to bring on Ann Coulter who was scheduled to defend him - which I think he agreed with since Coulter did not raise her ugly crack head this morning on Bennettâs radio show - at least that I heard. Whether Coulter was smart enough to avoid this sandstorm could be an alternative explanation for her disappearing act, I must say. Bennett stupidly did appear last night on, of all shows, âHannity & Colmesâ where he attempted to counter Ted Kennedyâs remarks about him by pitifully bringing up the death of Mary Jo Kopechne decades ago at Cape Cod as a reason that Bennett would not listen to Kennedy re morals. [Let me tell you a hush-hush Mr. Bennett. Ted Kennedy, to my knowledge, was not driving the car that Ms. Kopechne drowned in that night - but thatâs another inside story - an aside Bennett might think about.] To appear on Hannity & Colmes was evidence of Bennettâs understandable and undeniable panic - a terrible mistake as he was playing - again - only to his base of ignorant Americans who worship the high-school drop out Hannity and not to the people who could do him the most harm - Liberals bent on labeling him a racist. Mr. Bennett pretends to defend himself on moral grounds and to pretend this morning that his (and his wifeâs) entire life has been devoted to helping the unfortunate and especially Black Americans. Nothing could be further from the truth. However, claiming his career has been spent attacking Black Americans is just as false. Bennett - most likely because he is such a poor second to his super-lawyer brother - has spent his career as a gold digging professional moralizer - writing books no one reads which bases are intellectually indefensible. He dislikes everyone - White, Black, Brown or red. He is simply a hater. In fact Bennett, to his buddies, is probably a purse of good laughs - not the intellectual in an ivory tower he would like you to believe. He loves music of all kinds. He loves betting tens of thousands in gaming halls across the world even though he knows he cannot, over the long term, win. He loves the ladies. He loves the booze. And he loves a good joke. Like all Jack-Catholics - Bennett is probably as much fun to spend a lost weekend with as is George W. Bush. However to suggest that Bennett is a leader - in any sense of the word is absurd. Heâs a man echoing the same future outlined in âDeath of a Salesman.â - Used up and over-ready to retire. Mr. Bennett - I have two suggestions for you should you be able to hang onto your radio show even by your fingernails: 1. Get rid of you staff. 2. Get some advice from professionals who know how to build your failing career - not destroy it. I sincerely doubt you will be able to keep your radio program. Perhaps you should simply retire - although I assume that you took a show - requiring you, at your age, to stumble out of bed at 4 AM, because you needed the money. This makes me sad. |
| Posted by:Threretch Angasing4860 |
| #22 This is going to be what we call a 'shitstorm'.... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2005-09-30 21:46 |
| #21 oops, four problems |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-09-30 21:42 |
| #20 Bennett IMO is not racist. I periodically catch and enjoy his radio program. But there are two problems: 1. Bennett espouses traditional values and thus is in the spotlight by those who are opposed to traditional values. 2. Bennett failed to realize how poisonous the MSM is in stripping out words (from context) in order to fit their own interests. The gambling hubbub should have been a lesson for him about the MSM's interest in damming traditional valued people, particularly Bennett. 3. Bennett and his persona will survive this onslaught by the MSM. He realizes he can't win with the MSM (and he can't), so he is playing to his listening audience and admirers. 4. The fact is, the MSM is at war with conservative, traditional valued people and public figures who espouse them. Bennett, Armstrong, et al, must select their words more carefully because anything they say publicly will and is amplified. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-09-30 21:41 |
| #19 All politics is a coalition - compared to the DemoLefies, however, the GOP-Right as a class are practically virgins, or at least young Ron Howard or the Beaver. As someone whom listens to Bennett many times, and whom was listening on the episode in question, this article is sheer Fifth Column/LeftMedia emotionalist anti-Conservative hype. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2005-09-30 21:35 |
| #18 WITCH!! WITCH! Stone him! Stone Him! |
| Posted by: hysterical leftie 2005-09-30 21:17 |
| #17 welllllll he made himself a target of opportunity back when he was preaching virtue and was found to be supping the vice of gambling to the tune of big $. Didn't matter to his attackers that it was his money and he obviously could afford it. Same thing here. He's a target of convenience. WSJ's Best Of The Web has a long take on this today. Good quotes and notes. Bill's right on the money, and no racist |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-09-30 19:56 |
| #16 PIMF. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2005-09-30 19:52 |
| #15 Intelligent? This is his second big strike. Intelligent + articular + conservative has always equalled three strikes in the eyes of the left. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2005-09-30 19:52 |
| #14 There's a ton of stuff on the Internet about Bennet's foot-in-mouth problem, at Townhall, NewsMax, NRO (and more on the Corner), and half a dozen other places. Several blogs have also entered the fray (too many to list). Basically, Bennett got in trouble for telling the truth, and the politically correct witch hunt is on. Many, many people should be toast, but most of them are the ones attacking Bennett. (Disclaimer: I'm not a friend of Bennett's, I never listen to his show, and I didn't think much of him any time he was in government. He's earned any trouble he's in.) |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2005-09-30 19:49 |
| #13 Intelligent? This is his second big strike. |
| Posted by: Speanter Shinegum3548 2005-09-30 19:49 |
| #12 The call is linked here, judge for yourself. Personally I don't agree with Bennett's social conservatism but he is one of our nation's most intelligent and articulate public spokespersons for the political right. It's no wonder the libs are on the warpath and will do absolutely anything to kill his show (which I recommend as the best political talk radio program bar none). |
| Posted by: AzCat 2005-09-30 19:46 |
| #11 Here's the real story: http://www.nationalreview.com/mccarthy/mccarthy200509301104.asp |
| Posted by: Darrell 2005-09-30 19:44 |
| #10 Of course it's a lynching ... they weren't making a dent on Tom DeLay so they pounce on Bennett. Bob's only sin was making it easy for them. |
| Posted by: TrentLott 2005-09-30 19:37 |
| #9 Ima think retch isa brillant poestr |
| Posted by: halfEmpty 2005-09-30 19:36 |
| #8 No link. I recommend deletion. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-09-30 19:35 |
| #7 If you read what Bennett said in full context, you will see that this is a smear campaign. But it's the NYT, so you knew that anyway. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2005-09-30 19:31 |
| #6 Ah, a lynching party. The left sure does love to string people up for thought crimes, don't they? Go read proteinwisdom.com; Jeff's been on a roll about the frightening tendency in modern times to let the lowest nincompoop decide what someone meant, regardless of what the original speaker actually meant. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-09-30 19:30 |
| #5 Yawn, Page 3 maybe. Bennet is not freedom frendly, screw him. I don't need the likes of him telling me what I can and can not do as an adult. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet O´ Doom 2005-09-30 19:30 |
| #4 btw - this pap isn't WOT by any means - page 3 at best |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-09-30 19:25 |
| #3 damn facts and statistics.... call him a racist and he's toast. Of course, the NY Times, and (retired) ace reporter Fox Butterfield have pondered for over a decade now why the crime rate keeps dropping but the prison population is going up.... Blacks overwhelmingly commit more crimes per capita, that's all he was saying. The facts back that up |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-09-30 19:25 |
| #2 Appearing with Roy Innis or Allan Keyes would have been a better choice for rehab ... Bennett is no racist, but he did suffer a brain fart not too dissimilar to the over-effusive praising of Strom Thurmond at his birthday party. |
| Posted by: TrentLott 2005-09-30 19:18 |
| #1 The poster provides no link. I searched the writer's name at the NYT site, and found nothing, going back to 1981. I Googled the writer's name, and discovered him described as, "JEFF KOOPERSMITH is a political consultant, opinion research authority, policy analyst, and self-described 'renegade lobbyist.' " who is fond of "lambasting of Ann Coulter and her ilk," and thinks Michael Jackson was lynched. I'm afraid I can't give much weight to his opinion, even though the New York Times made Bennett's remark a front page story -- mit picture, yet! |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-09-30 19:17 |