You learn something new every day:
“What the White House is trying to do is racialize all politics and their especially trying to tell the Africa-American voter that the GOP is against letting them have a chance at a good life in this economy, and that’s just a complete lie,” he said. “I watch with fascination — with incredible fascination — all the stories about how the Democratic politicians, especially Hillary, are trying to whip up the African-American vote and say, ‘Oh the Republicans have policies against black people in terms of the economy.’ But there are no such policies.”
“It’s all a way to racialize voting in this country,” Stein continued. “This president is the most racist president there has ever been in America. He is purposely trying to use race to divide Americans.”
I’m used to wingnuts saying stupid and crazy shit. It happens every day, but it’s more irksome when done by someone who isn’t stupid. Remember the quiz show he used to have on Comedy Central, Win Ben Stein’s Money? I was only an irregular viewer (no cheap constipation jokes, please) but it was a pretty good show. I suspect Stein knows that, given the slave owners, drunkards, and duellists who were Oval Ones in the 19th Century, it’s impossible for *any* contemporary Presidents to be the most bigoted ever. It’s a cynical ploy to earn his Fox pundit money by giving their audience what they want.
Stein used to work for a President who would be on my list for the most bigoted 20th Century Oval One: Tricky Dick. The White House tapes revealed that Nixon was a raging anti-semite, which doesn’t matter to Stein who recently wrote yet another apologia for Tricky Dick in rebuttal of the CNN documentary series The Sixties. According to Stein, poor pitiful Trickster was bullied by the media and the “beautiful people” whoever they hell they are.
Hyperbole and overstatement have always been a part of our political culture. I usually ignore it and shrug it off when a right wing geyser explodes, but specious accusations of racism need to be dealt with and mocked relentlessly. Unlike Andrew Jackson, I can’t challenge Ben Stein to a duel, all I can do is call him on his malakatude, and move on.