July 29, 2019

Bret Easton Ellis explains his feeling of being "anti-anti-Trump."



The anti-Trump people who bother him so much are the elitists who reacted when "this boorish clown... walked into the china shop and started knocking things all over the place with his orange skin and his weird hair." Their problem is, according to BEE, that they take Trump "literally" instead of getting the "overall message."

Now, that's mostly wrong, in my view, even though I too have the feeling of being "anti-anti-Trump." I'd say the anti-Trumpsters don't stick to the literal text of what Trump says. They move to the level of "overall message" and they get a very alarming message.

BEE is making his argument too easy. In the end of that video, he tells his fellow elitists that they've got to start "realigning" how they "feel" about Trump. Why? If it's all about feeling, why should they reject their initial feeling? Is BEE saying that because Trump looks funny — orange skin and weird hair — the initial feelings of elitists ought to be risen above while other people's feelings are better for some reason? Who is feeling this out the right way?

Speaking of judgment based on the way people look, here's a photo I took of Rob Reiner freaking out about Trump. This was on the Chris Matthews show on Friday. I took this photograph of my TV screen because I thought Reiner looked like a man drowning and paddling furiously to keep his head above water:

A2diIhaFTbmh0P2R2VbfIw

Here's the text of what Reiner was saying as he looked like that:
"There were five hard examples of obstruction of justice laid out in the Mueller report. What else do you need? The guy’s working with the Russians. He says he is going to continue working with the Russians. The Russians are already playing. We’ve seen the Senate Intelligence Committee tell us that they’re playing right now and they’re working hard to defeat us. Are we now saying that we’re just going to give ourselves over to the Russians? We beat them in the Cold War, and they’re beating us now in the cyber war. And if we don’t stand up to them, it could be the end of our democracy."
That's awful as a literal text and I was reacting to the way Reiner looked. Would BEE critique my anti-anti-Trump feeling because I'm seeing Reiner as a boorish clown and paying attention to his actual words? Would BEE say that I need to be more sophisticated, overcome that reaction, and understand Reiner's "overall message"?

FOOTNOTE: The expression is "bull in a china shop," not "clown in a china shop." For a lengthy discussion of the expression "bull in a china shop," read this post from 2017.

182 comments:

Mr. D said...

Ellis is making a similar argument to the one Salena Zito made during the campaign -- Trump's detractors take him literally, but not seriously, while his supporters take him seriously, not literally. Zito's formulation remains the best way to understand Trump.

Dave Begley said...

So, we take legal advice on the meaning of "high crimes and misdemeanors" and obstruction of justice from Meathead? Believe me, he's no Raoul Berger or Alexander Hamilton.

rhhardin said...

People with no appreciation of zingers. So the whole left and parts of the right.

MadisonMan said...

Why should *anyone* care what Rob Reiner thinks. (Well, maybe except Sally Struthers).
This is a serious question -- why is he being interviewed on this? He's just a bubble-dwelling Hollywood millionaire with nothing in common with 99+% of the American Public.

rehajm said...

BEE notices his fellow elites are completely deranged and tries, unsuccessfully, to diagnose the problem and prescribe treatment.

What a quack.

rehajm said...

Even with all the flailing and drowning Meathead looks pretty good for his age...

Gahrie said...

I bet Meathead laughed and laughed when Obama told Romney that the 80's called and wanted their politics back.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

I still don’t understand how Progressives got to this place where they Russophobia monomania after decades of playing footsie with the Kremlin and making a million anti-McCarthyism movies and plays and speeches. Now they’re the New John Birch seeing Russkies behind every tree. WTF!

gilbar said...

They move to the level of "overall message" and they get a very alarming message.

Let's Face THE FACTS!
TRUMP made a tweet, that tweet was RACIST!! I've never read the tweet (obviously Not! i don't read racist crap!), but i have it on Good Authority (a Life Long Liberal told me) that it was VERY RACIST!!
I'm all the time hearing about these terribly racist things Trump is doing. I don't know the details, because, like i said, i don't read racist crap; but the man needs to be removed!!!
He's a Racist; I KNOW IT, because i was TOLD IT
</sarc


rehajm said...

I still don’t understand how Progressives got to this place where they Russophobia monomania

Team Hillary! invented it.

Jim Gust said...

Your headline should be Brett Easton Ellis. Your tag is correct.

Howard said...

Of course Bull in a China Shop is a total sexist smear designed to inhibit high spirited activities in men and boys. There are more than enough things to despise about Trump. Case is closed, ignore the news cycle pumping and plow through 2020 like bull. The reaction to the purpose-driven faux gaffs and mixed company comments is a smokescreen the left keeps fueling.

PB said...

What would you expect a meathead to say and do?

gilbar said...

Gahrie said...
I bet Meathead laughed and laughed when Obama told Romney that the 80's called and wanted their politics back


We have Always been at war with Eastasia, we have NEVER been at war with Eurasia

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The left behaved in similar fashion when GWB was president. The left said GWB would never leave office. They called him Hitler. (worse than!) The left insisted Bush was going to usher in "theocracy!" and other delusional garbage.

JPS said...

Reiner:

"The guy’s working with the Russians. He says he is going to continue working with the Russians. The Russians are already playing. We’ve seen the Senate Intelligence Committee tell us that they’re playing right now and they’re working hard to defeat us."

It's a genuine systematized fantasy. And there is literally no disproving it. In supposed straight news articles I keep coming across phrases like, "Mr. Trump's close ties to Putin."

"We beat them in the Cold War,"

Say, Rob? I don't recall very many liberals of your stripe being much help during the second half of that one. Some, sure, but most of you basically declared a separate peace during Vietnam, and later decried the policies of, say, Ronald Reagan as stupid warmongering likely to destroy the world. I read quite a bit of scorn at the very idea of winning the Cold War, that such a thing could be achieved or should be tried.

Maybe that's unfair to Reiner, but when I'm thinking of honorable exceptions on the anticommunist left, my list isn't "...Scoop Jackson, Tom Lantos, and - Rob Reiner."

But sure, you go ahead and thump your chest that policies you opposed and detested helped carry the day.

Leland said...

I was anti-elite before I was anti-anti-Trump. You put Rob Reiner or Sally Struthers on my tv screen, and it is a sign you want me to change the channel.

AllenS said...

Whoever came up with the name "Meathead" for Rob Reiner, was way ahead of his/her time.

Howard said...

ps, I'm not actually looking at these news stories beyond the Head Lede Meme. I don't understand the psychology of you people who do. It's brain-wrecking dreck that creates nuttering nabobs of negativism (Spiro is my Hero).

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Rob Reiner(D-Hillarywoodland) - the ultimate Putin stooge.

gilbar said...

they’re beating us now in the cyber war. And if we don’t stand up to them, it could be the end of our democracy

We have Always been at war with Eurasia, we have NEVER been at war with Eastasia

Howard said...

Did you people have a good weekend? I loved the Live Free or Die Alps.

Leland said...

I still don’t understand how Progressives got to this place where they Russophobia monomania after decades of playing footsie with the Kremlin

Indeed. I'll say this is probably the root of my anti-anti-Trump that's not anti-elite. The moment someone starts trying to suggest Trump and/or Republicans are Putin/Russian stooges; I'm turned off. It is like listening to an argument that NASA is full of flat earthers. It's insanity, and I don't listen to insane people.

Temujin said...

What does someone like Rob Reiner do with this little bit of reality? Obama on hot mic

This has always been ignored by major media as if it never happened. The same guy who, when Romney stated (correctly at that time) that Russia was our #1 geopolitical problem, laughed at him and said "the 80's called and want their politics back". Hahahaha. Good one.

I have to wonder: Has Reiner just never seen Obama's hot mic moment? Of course he has. Just...not the right narrative.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

When leftwing elites bite down and swallow whole total delusion - they swallow hard.

Howard said...

Blogger Temujin said... What does someone like Rob Reiner do with this little bit of reality? Obama on hot mic This has always been ignored by major media as if it never happened.

True. Does that mean that Fox News is not successfully tilting the field back to square? Maybe the right needs to do a guerrilla invasion of the MSM to move the needle.

It's a free fucking country

deepelemblues said...

Is there a psychiatrist in the comments? Or someone who can procure valium? The professor is either playacting or surprisingly naive in her reaction to this bit of very conventional, nearly to the point of banality, politicking from BEE.

Sally327 said...

I remember what a lot of the same people had to say about George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan so I don't think this is specific to Trump necessarily. It's the anguished wail of people who consider power and privilege to be theirs to enjoy and bestow on chosen others and who would have no serious problem with Trump if he were officially a Democrat.

Like they'd be so much nicer if only Marco Rubio or Scott Walker were President.

Carol said...

Team Hillary! invented it.

Nah, it was after the suppression of Pussy Riot.

That was the last straw!

tim in vermont said...

What are the five “hard examples”? How about the single strongest one?

Meuller?.... Mueller?... Mueller?

Oh, that’s right, lights are on but nobody’s home.

Fernandinande said...

You put Rob Reiner or Sally Struthers on my tv screen, and it is a sign you want me to change the channel.

In Era of Trump's America, channel changes you.

PS: Why do you hate The Children? Sally must be spinning in her gravy.

Xmas said...

'Whoever came up with the name "Meathead" for Rob Reiner, was way ahead of his/her time.'

Is this intentional or unintentional ironic naivete?

gspencer said...

Meathead then, Meathead now

Fernandinande said...

Meuller?.... Mueller?... Mueller?

I hope you're using the Bueller? voice.

Kevin said...

Shorter Reiner: They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.

Darrell said...

There were five hard examples of obstruction of justice laid out in the Mueller report. What else do you need?

Something more than the initial allegation, for starters. And something that really might be a crime, rather than a fantasy crime like "Firing Comey was obstruction of justice." No, asshole, that's facilitation of justice. Comey was part of the coup attempt, not good for an "serves at the will" employee.

wendybar said...

They should start building more Mental Institutions now, because when President Trump wins reelection, there are going to be a whole bunch of people who are going to need to be put in one.

tim in vermont said...

John Podelsta, Hillary’s campaign manager loved the Russians to the tune of millions of dollars in stock, that has now become as worthless as the Russian Railway stock my Granddad owned. Oddly, it became worthless a couple of days after Hillary lost.... Hmmmm

Hillary’s husband took $500K from them for the pleasure of a nice meal at Vlad’s house.

All of a sudden “we have always been at war with East Asia”!

Shouting Thomas said...

I hope I live long enough (I'm 69) to see a return to the pre 60s era, back when artists and entertainers didn't feel obliged to have political causes.

I'm so tired of political controversy as the selling point of artists' work.

Sebastian said...

"That's awful as a literal text"

But it's perfect as illustration of what progs actually think.

As to taking Trump literally, it depends. Example: the "why don't they go back" Squad tweet. Progs typically don't cite the whole tweet, but do take the "go back" part literally. Cons take the why-don't-they part literally as a criticism and as a challenge, but not the actual going back.

MadTownGuy said...

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

"I still don’t understand how Progressives got to this place where they Russophobia monomania after decades of playing footsie with the Kremlin and making a million anti-McCarthyism movies and plays and speeches. Now they’re the New John Birch seeing Russkies behind every tree. WTF!"

Like all things Progressive, it's a power play. It's using your opponents' bogey man as a scare tactic.

gspencer said...

"Sally must be spinning in her gravy"

Back in the day, she really made those jeans sing,

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BODM0NGZiZGEtM2Q1ZS00MGEwLThjZmEtYjRiMmU0Y2UwNmViXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzY5MzM1ODU@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,1506,1000_AL_.jpg

JPS said...

Temujin, 8:49:

"What does someone like Rob Reiner do with this little bit of reality?"

I mean, what would he do if someone raised the issues of Trump admin natural gas policies, browbeating NATO countries to step up their defense budgets and military preparedness, or 200+ dead Russian mercenaries in Syria?

He might change the subject, tell the interlocutors to fuck off, or explain how Trump was pushed into these policies, which of course he was against, by more sensible underlings. What I'm guessing he would not do is to reevaluate his premises and rethink his conclusions.

Seeing Red said...

Since he’s so concerned about our democracy, he’d support cleaning up our voter rolls and a photo ID check, right?

tim in vermont said...

We will always have “The Princess Bride” though, one of the true classics. Just like Michael Moore made “Canadian Bacon."

wendybar said...

Read his book White....White is Bret Easton Ellis's first work of nonfiction. Already the bad boy of American literature, from Less Than Zero to American Psycho, Ellis has also earned the wrath of right-thinking people everywhere with his provocations on social media, and here he escalates his admonishment of received truths as expressed by today's version of "the left." Eschewing convention, he embraces views that will make many in literary and media communities cringe, as he takes aim at the relentless anti-Trump fixation, coastal elites, corporate censorship, Hollywood, identity politics, Generation Wuss, "woke" cultural watchdogs, the obfuscation of ideals once both cherished and clear, and the fugue state of American democracy. In a young century marked by hysterical correctness and obsessive fervency on both sides of an aisle that's taken on the scale of the Grand Canyon, White is a clarion call for freedom of speech and artistic freedom.

Wince said...

I put the "elite" in two camps. 1.) Those actually inside the Deep State pecking order (government, academia, media) whose status and power derive from that pecking order, and 2.) those elites whose status derives outside of that pecking order, usually due to wealth or fame.

The Deep State group view Trump as an existential threat to their status and its replication, and want to vanquish him. Even if Trump wins a second term, they want to do everything they can to make sure another potential Trump would be crazy to walk through that door.

The second group are basically followers. Although they are rich or famous and prefer the altruistic aesthetic for themselves, they also have a lot to loose from being on the wrong side of the Deep Staters and their social media shock troops. It's much easier and safer to follow the prevailing trend that makes them look magnanimous.

Deep State Group 1 has pulled-out all the stops to make Trump as toxic to Group 2 as possible, not just aesthetically but existentially to their continued elite status as well, thereby enlisting Group 2 in that effort as well to the point they must participate in the Two Minutes off Hate on a regular basis.

Michael K said...

The Hollywood left and the University left should watch "Ghostbusters" again for the message.

Trump is the Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man.

Wilbur said...

Trump is doing a Mr. Muckle on Washington.

Darrell said...

Rob Reiner was part of that Corey Haim/child actor buggery ring, wasn't he? At least that is what Al Franken thought--the reason for his Carl Reiner rape jokes where Rob gets it every night after Carl gets home and by Carl's buddies at parties.

JPS said...

MadTownGuy, 8:59:

"It's using your opponents' bogey man as a scare tactic."

I used to think it was as cynical as Candidate Obama castigating the Bush administration for piling up debt, the way he paused, grinned a little [this will really piss them off] and added, "It's unpatriotic!"

But on the Trump = Russian asset schtick, some of the more credulous on the left are absolutely sincere, and there will be no convincing them otherwise.

Kevin, 8:57: Nicely done!

Big Mike said...

“The guy’s working with the Russians. He says he is going to continue working with the Russians.”

Yup. Also the Germans, the French, the Brits, and every other country that is a significant player on the world stage. Rob can fuss all he wants; he isn’t getting the Cold War back.

Known Unknown said...

Never play a guy named Meathead and then be expected to be taken seriously any time after.

Fernandinande said...

"We beat them in the Cold War,

Just to be clear, he meant to add that that happened despite Reagan, but he didn't have time.

and they’re beating us now in the cyber war."

"Ransomware hits Louisiana schools; state of emergency declared"

It even has a picture of the outdoor loudspeaker announcing the emergency - "Emergency! Everybody to get from street!"

buwaya said...

I distrust the concept of disconnected "feelings".
There are reasons why people feel "feelings", and these rarely have anything directly to do with how they are justified.

Everyone is a liar about such things. "Russia" is a stupid lie, and these characters know it.

The mass phenomenon was deliberately created by the MSM and maintained that way, but this does not explain the mania of the movers and shakers, who are the directors of that MSM campaign.

The feelings are genuine, but what lies behind them is unexamined, or very rarely examined. It would be interesting to understand Reiners own private views. These would be instructive.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Yo Rob Reiner(D) - any thoughts on Hillary's private server? nah. no biggie, right? Just e-mail.

Ann Althouse said...

"Ellis is making a similar argument to the one Salena Zito made during the campaign -- Trump's detractors take him literally, but not seriously, while his supporters take him seriously, not literally. Zito's formulation remains the best way to understand Trump."

I thought about that when writing the post. But he only has the "literally" part. She said that before he got elected. I think everyone takes him seriously in that he got elected, and that's what's driving them insane.

What's lacking in the Zito formulation now is that Trump is President, and that's inherently very very serious. No one is leaning back and laughing in the old Trump-will-never-be-President style. And his opponents are NOT taking him literally. For example, just to name the latest thing, Trump said Baltimore was bad because it had rats and anti-Trumpers didn't stick to the literal statement but felt that it meant that black people are vermin. That's Trump opponents taking him seriously and not literally.

Zito had a good point, but it's completely outdated and not longer apt.

William said...

I would imagine that both Woodrow Wilson and Vladimir Lenin were considerably brighter than Warren Harding. Lenin could speak several languages and wrote sixty books, each of them over six hundred pages long. His intellect must have been at least equal to that of Buttigieg's. Wilson also wrote a lot of books. He was a college president so you know he was bright.....I can understand why Harding was a more successful chief executive than either of those two men. He had a better business model. What I don't understand is why none of the artists and intellectuals of that era grasped that simple fact....Gifted natural athletes think it's possible to take that turn at sixty miles an hour. Great intellects think that it's possible to bring just and lasting peace to the Balkans and the equitable distribution of wealth in Russia and its territories.

robother said...

JPS-- Lefties like Reiner and Maddow like to think they're playing three dimensional chess, like Trump. In their view, fear of Russia (or the USSR) was something the Right used to manipulate the USA lumpenproletariat in the 50s through the 80s to vote against their own (socialist) interests. Now, if the Left can cynically appeal to that same fear to separate that same lumpenproletariat from Trump, it will be perfect justice!

buwaya said...

It is not delusion, there is reason behind the show of this inexplicable mania.
Just not the reasons we know.

CWJ said...

"There were five hard examples of obstruction of justice laid out in the Mueller report."

Rob parrots the talking points. Are these the same 5 examples about which I___ A__ O__ was going on during the Mueller testimony? Still waiting for what these are, and how they actually obstructed anything. Should be easy. There's only 5 after all.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Leftists don't hate Trump; they hate that Americans are allowed to vote for Trump, support him, and openly say so, and they hate the Deplorables who dare to do these things.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

if the Russians are running our elections, it's time to invalidate the 2018 results.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The collective left are really good at mass-vilification.

See any R.

tim in vermont said...

I would prefer to hear just one, but the strongest one. When they give you a list, and you debunk one, they always claim the others are stronger.

Shouting Thomas said...

Trump said Baltimore was bad because it had rats and anti-Trumpers didn't stick to the literal statement but felt that it meant that black people are vermin.

Watched several episodes of The Wire, a cop show set in Baltimore. The screenwriter called Trump a racist for his remarks about Baltimore, but the show confirms Trump's observations about Baltimore. (In fact, the city as portrayed is much worse.) So, why isn't the screenwriter a racist?

The screenwriter, a white guy, employs the n-word prodigiously. How come he gets away with this without being branded as a flaming racist?

William said...

Reiner made better movies than Ronald Reagan. I think that he, Reiner, therefore, feels that he was smarter and more competent than Reagan. Well, in any event, he no longer makes good movies so the issue is moot.

Ann Althouse said...

"Why should *anyone* care what Rob Reiner thinks."

I know. But there he was on the show. We were fascinated by this segment. It was as if Rob Reiner was on the show as the comic character Meathead... Meathead grown old and still ranting in a way that would get that stinkface from Archie. And, actually, Chris Matthews was giving him some stinkface (I read the expression as: Uh-oh, this is showing too much, I might actually have to step in and correct something, is this working, is this embarrassing).

Now, I'd love to watch a "Colbert Report" show starring Rob Reiner as Meathead comically overdoing the liberal position. But liberals won't spoof their own kind and conservatives are terrible at doing comedy and couldn't hire RR to work for them anyway.

doctrev said...

Shine on, you crazy old Hollywood B-lister. Reiner, among many others, is why the Democrats can't just pivot away from their constant INSANE campaign to not just win 2020, but nullify 2016. Democrats now openly talk about the need to deplatform everyone they consider racist, which is anyone to the right of Joe Manchin, all while the progressive legal machine is perched to devour them as well. Unless you're a billionaire, national media figure, or federal politician, in which case you face zero consequences for committing actual rape.

America isn't just ready to reject these people at the ballot box. More and more Americans are correctly concluding that the country cannot function if most of our current "elite" are drawing breath.

Ann Althouse said...

"Your headline should be Brett Easton Ellis. Your tag is correct."

Thanks for the correction (albeit imperfect... it's one t in Bret). I would never have noticed that. Concentrating on not getting to many t's, I ended up with too many ells.

tim in vermont said...

So I google the five hard examples and here is the first one:

“The allegations that the Mueller report lays out are really quite devastating,” he explained. “That shows that Trump went and said to Jim Comey in the Oval Office, ‘Hey, you should really let Michael Flynn go.’ And Trump even denied to Mueller a lot about that and about why he said it. And Mueller’s report finds that Trump’s explanations were not as credible as Jim Comey’s who was consistent throughout his stories and had contemporaneous evidence about it. So, there would be an obstructive act there.”


“And Trump even denied to Mueller ... why he said it.”

“Trump’s explanations were not as credible as Jim Comey’s”

That’s first and foremost. I say this a lot, but if I had turned in a paper in college that sloppily reasoned, I cold expect a splattering of red ink looking like the shower scene in Psycho.

If I had written a white paper on my former job that poorly reasoned, I would have gotten a knock on the office door and the early retirement papers and a pen would be laid on my desk.

Rae said...

Trump makes anti-Trumpers come alive. They get so animated when talking about him. They're passionate about him, more than they are about raising inner city kids out of poverty, finding homes for the homeless, or lowering general unemployment.

doctrev said...

Oh yes, Althouse. Archie Bunker was portrayed humorously by a leftist, on a show which relentlessly pushed the leftist message, but his character nonetheless broke out to wide popularity with viewing audiences.

Reiner is the opposite. He's a screamy Hollywood Liberal (uber woke lunatics who are nonetheless the most mercenary and rape-friendly audience in the country) leading the Democrats into the jaws of extinction. His insane rambling would make homeless people look askance at him, and good ol' Archie would just laugh at the dumb Meathead. How a man like that has risen to any influence in Hollywood requires a truly messed up conspiracy at its core. By the way, saying that conservatives are terrible at comedy is silly: in the past five years, I've counted two major "lightly conservative" shows that were very popular with viewing audiences (Last Man Standing and Roseanne). If anything, the fact Hollywood Liberals desperately pulled the plug on those shows anyways shows how far they'll lose money just to maintain the agenda.

These people are a menace to the American nation.

Shouting Thomas said...

But liberals won't spoof their own kind and conservatives are terrible at doing comedy and couldn't hire RR to work for them anyway.

It's not that conservatives, or non-politicos, "are terrible at doing comedy."

Liberals enjoy a pipeline of taxpayer subsidized venues that pays kids to learn their craft and produce work. Conservatives and non-politicos have no such outlets.

In my area of New York, liberals artists and musicians are milking college funding and non-profit scams to derive government funding for their comedy, music and film productions.

If you're a kid starting out in the arts, you can get paid. A conservative or non-politico kid starting out in the arts cannot get paid.

tim in vermont said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Seeing Red said...

Trump’s explanations were not as credible as Jim Comey’s”

Oh man, they’re pinning hopes on Comey being credible?

tim in vermont said...

Rickey Gervais is pretty funny. He’s still liberal, but he knows ridiculous when he sees it.

Funny how spellcheck knows the name “Gervais” but still doesn’t know “Kavanaugh”.

Ray said...

"Woodrow Wilson and Vladimir Lenin were considerably brighter than Warren Harding... Harding was a more successful chief executive..."

I bet you will find that successful people, outside of academia, have mental discipline as their greatest trait. It leads to focus and efficiency. They get more things done, in less time with great detail, which leads to greater success in the systems they run.

Sebastian said...

"Meathead comically overdoing the liberal position"

Didn't he just do that?

Strictly speaking, don't they always?

Do we have any examples of a prog stating "the liberal position" on anything related to Trump seriously and in good faith, without "comically overdoing" it? Maybe Galston or Blinder in the WSJ, but do they even count as left for lefties?

Big Mike said...

"Firing Comey was obstruction of justice."

That’s right! Because you can’t fire a subordinate just because he’s been caught stabbing you in the back and lying to your face.

Freeman Hunt said...

If I had a china shop, I wouldn't want bulls or clowns in it

buwaya said...

Reiner is important because:

- He has a lot of money to spend on politics, directly or indirectly.
- He is the figurehead of an organized group other wealthy West Coast people, that organize political funding.

Consider him another Tom Steyer, a figurehead, a spokesman, for certain powerful interests.

BarrySanders20 said...

"If I had a china shop, I wouldn't want bulls or clowns in it"

Or Ghengis Khan. He was murder in China shops too.

chuck said...

>he tells his fellow elitists that they've got to start "realigning" how they "feel" about Trump. Why?

Being crazy is no fun, it's self destructive. Those poor souls are suffering from a psychological condition that could destroy their lives.

tim in vermont said...

“Archie Bunker was portrayed humorously by a leftist, on a show which relentlessly pushed the leftist message, but his character nonetheless broke out to wide popularity with viewing audiences.”

Same with Alex Keating in Family Ties. There was an article once about the show that explained that at the end of every episode there was an apology scene by Alex. All that showed was that he was the reasonable one who cared more about his family than politics.

In the reboot of Family Ties, “Modern Family” they made sure to make the “Alex” character unattractive physically.

traditionalguy said...

The Hollywood Ruling Clique is really desperate to stop Trump from exposing their activities.I'd hate Trump too if I was them.

tim in vermont said...

Plus then never give the kid any good lines. Alex Keating had a lot of good lines.

Swede said...

Reiner is unhinged. Like, not in his right mind.

He's like a balder, fatter version of Bette Midler.

Anonymous said...

It is not that the elites take Trump literally, its that they take him personally. I do not mean that they react like he is speaking to them but that they take what he says and filter it through their own algoithim. That algorithim assigns their own personal viewpoint onto Trumps message.

For example, Trump says, "we have to protect the border". The elite hears, "we have to keep the darkies". They conclude Trump said something racist. We all have our own algorithims, its just that Trump has so corrupted the algorithims of the elite that they are functionally inoperable.

Dave Begley said...

The Dems at MSNBC are so unhinged that they think it is a good idea to have the unhinged Meathead talk about impeachment. Normal people know this for what it is.

rehajm said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
doctrev said...

AAT said...

In the reboot of Family Ties, “Modern Family” they made sure to make the “Alex” character unattractive physically.

7/29/19, 9:28 AM

Well, yes. Hollywooders believe that unattractive people are lesser by definition. There's something truly pathetic about people who are actually that shallow, more so when you realize that Hollywood Liberals are incredibly intimidated by truly beautiful women. I can count at least four relatively plain chicks trying to sound sophisticated (Emma Watson as Hermione, Daisy Ridley as Rey, Emilia Clarke as Dany the Incesty Dragonrider, and Bree Larson as the Invincible Captain Marvel with a Hillary Clinton haircut) that nonetheless are trusted to hold up billion dollar franchises. Because of their acting ability? Ha, ha. I assume they can put out with a lot of regularity.

They're not unattractive people, it's just that I personally know more attractive women, and I'm not a millionaire. And I certainly don't hold celebrities or their phenomenally evil taskmasters in any esteem, either.

rehajm said...

Reiner is part celebrity endorsement, part man on the street political shill, part nostalgic political activist act. Apparently someone's discovered there's a market for that on MSNBC. Whoda Thunkit?

rehajm said...

In the reboot of Family Ties, “Modern Family” they made sure to make the “Alex” character unattractive physically

Wait. Which one's 'Alex'?

Maillard Reactionary said...

AA wrote: "...I thought Reiner looked like a man drowning and paddling furiously to keep his head above water."

He looks that way because that's what he is.

Leftists, both professional ones and rich Hollywood dilettante ones, are completely unused to any contradiction or pushback on their opinions, prejudices, and policies. Trump's boisterous, unapologetic rejection of their world-view has unhinged their delicate little minds. The fact that Trump has the support he does despite his frequent crudity and sloppiness just makes it that much worse for them.

I believe this is partly responsible for the unhinged fury of the Left that buwaya notes above.

doctrev said...

sTony said...
its just that Trump has so corrupted the algorithims of the elite that they are functionally inoperable.

7/29/19, 9:35 AM

It's more than that. Most of the high school gossip drama that suffuses the national media conversation is appalling nonsense. On every objective measure, Donald Trump is amazing for American workers and businesses. Yet journalists find their industry is dying, and Hollywood... they're a service industry that hates their American customers. What's got them so panicked they're willing to denounce more than half of their most prized audience with such vehement regularity?

What are these Hollywood Liberals afraid of?

CJinPA said...

Rob Reiner is waving a list of known Russian Collusionists.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Rob Reiner supports Hillary. Point and laugh.

Carol said...

I'm on my tenth Trump-mania book, this one by a Politico writer Tim Alberta. In between his TDS episodes there is some interesting stuff...Trump is a beast lol.

At our GOP fundraiser in 2016 we had all the candidates...not one mentioned Trump. It was eerie. He Who Shall Not Be Named. Alberta says they were all scared shitless and sure they were going to be wiped out. Instead, he swept a lot of worthless pols into office here.

Now, it's Trump this Trump that, because the voters are on their case and Trump is keeping score.

Trump seems more like LBJ every day.

Dagwood said...

Reiner longs for the old Russia, when Uncle Joe was in charge.

tim in vermont said...

The one they NAMED Alex is extremely hot, she is kind of a moron like the sister in Modern Family though. The one who plays that same part in the drama, Sophia Viagra’s kid in the show, not so much.

Darrell said...

Cookie wanted an example of Roger Ebert being a partisan asshole--well. . . Ebert loved The American President (1995), the first movie to label the villains "Republicans," rather than a made-up party name like "The America First Party," like Hollywood had previously done. The Bad Republicans openly call Annette Bening "the President's whore" when the widower President starts dating again. Mustaches are twirled and top hats and monocles abound. Aaron Sorkin and Rob Reiner were all-so-clever and subtle. Gene Siskel thought it was the start of an incredibly bad trend that could lead to the destruction of Hollywood. At least their credibility.

rcocean said...

He's just a bubble-dwelling Hollywood millionaire with nothing in common with 99+% of the American Public.

Exactly! Why are we CONSTANTLY subjected to these Hollywood freaks whose entire talent consists of making mediocre jokes, making bad movies, or singing and dancing? Not to mention they hate fly-over America and are constantly using their $$$ and shows to promote open borders and globalism.

Ralph L said...

That's Trump opponents taking him seriously and not literally.

More accurately, not accurately. It depends on if they honestly believe what they say about what he says. TDS is so much wider spread than BDS it's hard to tell who's being devious, who's delusional, and who's just following the pack.

rcocean said...

Reiner is a mindless left-wing hack. He doesn't have thoughts, he has feelings and opinions. And you know what they say about opinions.

Francisco D said...

The Dems at MSNBC are so unhinged that they think it is a good idea to have the unhinged Meathead talk about impeachment. Normal people know this for what it is.

It is virtue signaling because liberals are no longer able to muster ideological arguments for their unmoored positions.

Meathead is particularly obvious with his signaling.

tim in vermont said...

Most girls Sally Struther’s age in that photo,at that time, could have worn those shorts that size and looked good. She grew up before TV was what it bacame.

Fernandinande said...

What is the justice that is supposedly being obstructed?

Is it 'meta', namely the process crime of obstructing the investigation of obstruction (...of the investigation of apparently nothing)?

Francisco D said...

"Firing Comey was obstruction of justice."

How about if Hillary had done it?

I think we all know that was likely her first act if elected POTUS.

Seeing Red said...

I always love from the rich, “I’m willing to pay more taxes.”

Open your checkbook. You can do that 24/7/365.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Reiner would aid Hillary's corruption ring, if he could. Oh look- he does. He's a loyal corrutocrat.

mandrewa said...

It's very tempting to fall into the belief that your political opponents are evil. I mean I do that all the time. It's only when I stop and think, I mean really think, that I know that's probably not true.

And even though I've had that realization literally hundreds of times, it still doesn't stop me from thinking that my political opponents are evil, most of the time.

I have to make a conscious effort not to see opponents with certain viewpoints, and I'm not talking about everyone, it's more specific than that, as evil.

The truth, or what I suspect is the truth, is much more uncomfortable.

The truth is I am you and you are me. The truth is we are so much alike that we can understand others by looking inside ourselves.

The truth is this is being driven by instinct and not by thought. People are good at rationalizing their acts when in fact their acts don't originate in thinking thought.

We are just acting out our genetic program. And that program is a predisposition to hate and attack the neighboring tribe. Now I could digress and talk about why from an evolutionary perspective we would have this program built into us and why it makes genetic sense.

But unless someone wants to discuss why, I'll skip that, and just say this program is part of what made us human.

To me the left is that part of the population that is running most clearly on instinct. There is this big disconnect between what people think is the reason for their hatred and what it really is. And the right on the other hand is a step removed from that instinct.

Or maybe I've got it backwards.

Either way we are all of us very close to letting instinct drive our behavior. It takes a great effort to think without letting instinct determine the result.

stevew said...

Since the Mueller hearing fiasco the Dems have been trotting out one forgotten lefty loser after another. Joe Lockhart? Rob Reiner? Will we be hearing from John Dean again soon? The Dems have also re-energized what they think is their most valuable and effective line of attack: Trump is a Racist that says and does Racist things, all the time.

TDS, indeed.

bagoh20 said...

All people need to do is ask the anti-Trumpers for specifics, because they never have them. The ones they think they have are incredibly flimsy and only work for you if you already believe the narrative. I never hear specifics. If you watched Nader lately you get a good example. He says there are lots of crimes, but he can't do impeachment until they get the evidence he assures us it there. Just like pencil neck Adam Shiff told us he had for two years. Surely you can produce at least one specific crime with evidence.

And another thing I want specifics on: I constantly hear from people, including supporters, that Trump uses crude and rude ways of making his points, and that he could make them much better if he used different language, but again they never provide specific examples of how they would do that. Just try it and you'll see that 1) he does not use inappropriate language and 2) you probably cannot do it in a way that works as well or is as honest and straight forward.

The other thing you will notice if you are fair is that his enemies are the ones who use inappropriate charges against him, and they always attack him first. I can't think of anyone he has attacked who didn't draw blood first and worst. They have been calling him racist, a Nazi, a tyrant, a fascist, a traitor, and a spy. Look at the other expressions used by them: a decapitated head, naked sculptures, and extremely offensive photo-shopping. There is simply no comparison. The projection by his enemies is stunning.

Francisco D said...

What about Trump really triggers the Left?

It is not about Trump. It is about spoiled little children not getting what they want ... a Democrat in the White House.

They are not much more sophisticated in their tantrums compared to when Mommy didn't let them have ice cream for dinner.

The problem is that Mommy did let them have ice cream because the meltdowns worked.

doctrev said...

mandrewa said...
It's very tempting to fall into the belief that your political opponents are evil. I mean I do that all the time. It's only when I stop and think, I mean really think, that I know that's probably not true.

Either way we are all of us very close to letting instinct drive our behavior. It takes a great effort to think without letting instinct determine the result.

7/29/19, 10:24 AM

I'm a hard-right extremist, and even I don't think that. Put simply, most people have only the shallowest understanding of modern politics, for the good reason that most of them have more pressing concerns to deal with. 24/7 propaganda is hard for even the strongest minds to stand up to, in a society where mass media and public education are designed for misinformation and malinformation. I don't need to demonize the vast majority of Democrat supporters.

But the people at the top of the pyramid are, indeed, irredeemably evil. Minimum wage? Not only does it encourage illegal immigration, outsourcing, and automated labor, a $15 wage would destroy jobs in rural America while not being able to make rent in New York. This is a small example of a truly evil policy marketed as good. Epstein, Weinstein, etc. are considered standard play for elites. There have never been a pack of rape-happy degenerates at the top of our society, even in the supposed "Dark Ages" of patriarchy.

You don't have to hate your opponents to want them defeated. The media thinks it's made Americans hate each other, and diverted attention away from themselves and their true masters, but I think they're wrong. Dead wrong.

stevew said...

Quite right bagoh20. How many crimes do they need? Just one, a real one. They don't have it so they allude to many, many instead as a way, I guess, to argue for proceeding based on the overwhelming number of alleged, but not named, crimes.

Bruce Hayden said...

“I was anti-elite before I was anti-anti-Trump. You put Rob Reiner or Sally Struthers on my tv screen, and it is a sign you want me to change the channel.”

I agree with that. And that has been in my blood for most of my life. I was reminded of the early 1960s. My family were all Nixon voters in 1960. They appreciated that Pat Nixon wore an honest cloth coat, instead of furs, like Jackie did. And we avidly listened to the First Family record of that era that poked fun at the Kennedys’ elitism and heavy Boston accents. We put it away right after JFK was assassinated, and only refound it a couple years ago when we were cleaning up after my father died. Still funny today.

Since that time, we have been ruled by a succession of not overly bright elites. In my profession as a patent attorney, I have dealt with a lot of very bright people. Far brighter than almost all of the politicians in DC over the time since JFK was elected President, with his Harvard degree. Indeed, I found out recently that the easiest way to get into Harvard or Yale in recent years has been to have a powerful politician as a parent. After that, it is probably having a billionaire parent, then maybe a wealthy alum parent. Then we get into intersectionality points and athletes. Far down the list are the middle class who get into those schools with their brains and hard work.

So many of those upset about Trump seem to mostly be motivated by trying to be seen as acceptable by our country’s elites. My problem is that being a member of that elite seems usually to involve a lot of graft, corruption, or the nepotism of being descended from elites who engaged in graft and corruption. We are supposed to blindly follow these people, why? They aren’t the best and the brightest, but the most power driven and corrupt. Yet we are supposed to look up to them. Every time another one of Joe Kennedy’s offspring dies, I silently rejoice, then catch myself for my unChristian thoughts. Did JFK, Jr die because they blew up the plane freebasing cocaine, or was he just too stupid to try flying over the ocean and through clouds without an instrument rating? Most of them died stupidly. And yet, are supposed to be our superiors, better able to lead us, than we are able to do so ourselves.

bagoh20 said...

Comey was openly committing crimes. He was leaking protected info to the press, he was refusing to do his job with the Hillary investigation and he was openly hostile to the President HE WORKED FOR. Not to mention the President clearly has Constitutional authority to fire an FBI director for any reason or no reason. Try again.

Michael K said...

What are these Hollywood Liberals afraid of?

This whole "Trump is a racist" theme is a serious sign that Democrats are panicked that he will get 20% of the black vote or more,.

bagoh20 said...

Did Rob Reiner ever win any kind of award for his acting as the Meathead character, because that was clearly not acting.

buwaya said...

Reiner is a very smart man who turned his modest showbiz talent into a great deal of money.

Not a billionaire, but certainly a regular political spokesman for several billionaires including David Geffen.

Ann Althouse said...

"In my area of New York, liberals artists and musicians are milking college funding and non-profit scams to derive government funding for their comedy, music and film productions. If you're a kid starting out in the arts, you can get paid. A conservative or non-politico kid starting out in the arts cannot get paid."

Yeah, I think if you're a careerist and you go into the arts, it's obvious you should go with the liberal ideology. If you really have talent writing comedy, you'd have to be a pretty strong conservative ideologue to choose to apply your talent in that direction. And if you did, how would you get your voice heard?

Ralph L said...

the President clearly has Constitutional authority to fire an FBI director

Has anyone in the media pointed that out on TV? They need to make the case that firing him was a political Bozo no-no, but after the abuse they gave Comey over the October Weiner Email announcement, that won't fly.

mandrewa said...

doctrev said, "Not only does it encourage illegal immigration, outsourcing, and automated labor, a $15 wage would destroy jobs in rural America while not being able to make rent in New York. This is a small example of a truly evil policy marketed as good.

I agree with you. It really is an evil idea. And it's subtle thing, it would be easy to not understand the disproportionate harm that something that naively sounds good, like the minimum wage, actually does. Whether it's the intent of the people advocating it or not, the actual effect of the minimum wage is to make economic war on those that are not so well off.

And this is particularly true for areas that are economically depressed, which is always a considerable part of the country. If you're living in an economically depressed area that means that unless you are a government employee, you're almost certainly getting by on much less income than other places where people live. Now many people respond to that by moving to those higher income areas. But others stay behind, and make do for whatever reason. But part of what makes it a life to be lived is that they do have jobs, even if they don't pay well.

But what happens if those jobs are effectively outlawed? It isn't like there is some store of money that is going to magically appear to pay everybody that higher wage. No, what actually happens is that the jobs just disappear.

doctrev said...

Ann Althouse said...
And if you did, how would you get your voice heard?

7/29/19, 10:51 AM

I'd say YouTube has enormous capacity to create breakout stars, even without an algorithm. Pewdiepie, Razorfist, Mauler, and similar content creators can do rather well for themselves out there. I would say that there are even stronger personalities, bordering on white nationalist if not actually there, who are equally competitive. And a number of these are pretty young. No, they don't have mass media appeal and there are people SCREAMING at Youtube to crack down, but there's only so far YouTube can go before they risk serious repercussions.

tim in vermont said...

"It is not about Trump. It is about spoiled little children not getting what they want ... a Democrat in the White House.”

It’s not abut the spoiled, it’s about the spoils. It’s also about the new class of ultra rich who want a government that can be bought. They wan’t a phone number they can call to get things done that only they can afford to call. They want Democrats in control.

effinayright said...

But liberals won't spoof their own kind and conservatives are terrible at doing comedy and couldn't hire RR to work for them anyway.
****************
You must be a kid.

Watch some Don Rickles celebrity roasts on YouTube and come back to tell us that conservatives are terrible at doing comedy.

Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Jimmy Stewart, Steve Allen, Dean Martin.....

It's the zeitgeist, with its infestation by SJWs, political correctness and the era of "that's not funny", that has pushed conservatives off stage, not their inherent humorlessness.

hombre said...

Russians aiming to “end our Democracy” will support Democrats, not Trump.

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/07/do_you_understand_that_democrats_will_destroy_america_.html

tim in vermont said...

“"Not only does it encourage illegal immigration, outsourcing, and automated labor, a $15 wage would destroy jobs in rural America while not being able to make rent in New York.”

It’s like the high taxes that can be paid in NYC due to the huge volumes of business to be done there that end up eviscerating small towns in Upstate New York.

Mark Jones said...

I've long thought that Trump's *real* crime in the minds of the unhinged leftists isn't that he's not a Democrat, that he won the election, or even that he fights back. It's that he refuses to cede the moral high ground to them. GOPe Republicans, even on the rare occasions that they actually pushed back against the left, did so in a cringing, half-apologetic "But I *don't* beat my wife!" defensive fashion.

Trump refuses to apologize or backpedal when they call him nasty names or try to smear him. He gives as good as he gets, and is perfectly willing to get down in the mud with them, and throw elbows, instead of recoiling and being "gentlemanly" (i.e., refusing to fight because he doesn't want to be called bad names). After decades of Good Losers (tm) Republicans, the left has no idea how to combat that. And it drives them into a frothing fury.

doctrev said...

wholelottasplainin' said...

It's the zeitgeist, with its infestation by SJWs, political correctness and the era of "that's not funny", that has pushed conservatives off stage, not their inherent humorlessness.

7/29/19, 11:03 AM

Take Jon Leibowitz's cheering section and writers away. He will suddenly become a tiresome, witless scold with -severe- daddy issues. He knows this, which is why he wouldn't dare throw down with Trump in a public forum. President Trump would DESTROY him emotionally. There are comedians who could give as good as they get with our President. Leibowitz is not one of them.

If anything, Aziz Ansari starting to mine that untapped wealth after being MeToo'ed is a sign that people are starting to notice that they too can be excellent.

doctrev said...

AAT said...
It’s like the high taxes that can be paid in NYC due to the huge volumes of business to be done there that end up eviscerating small towns in Upstate New York.

7/29/19, 11:06 AM

This too is by design. It's a colonialist mentality. The problem is, it breeds a native population who -hate- their overlords and would happily siege New York City. Then what larks!

tim in vermont said...

Trump’s real crime is that he left scorned a powerful woman who had at her disposal a wide organization of operatives who take names and never forget a wrong.

doctrev said...

AAT said...
Trump’s real crime is that he left scorned a powerful woman who had at her disposal a wide organization of operatives who take names and never forget a wrong.

7/29/19, 11:15 AM

You'd think so, but Hillary's empire is in full-scale collapse. Would the left burn literally every shred of capital to save Hillary? I doubt it, especially when people like Epstein could take a -lot- of others down with him. If anything the true masters behind the left would sacrifice the Clintons: only Donald Trump is clearly not satisfied with that.

gerry said...

Even with all the flailing and drowning Meathead looks pretty good for his age...

The first image that popped into my head after seeing the Meathead eruption was Bart Simpson's grandpa yelling at the sky...

Fernandinande said...

yelling at the sky

Cloud. He was yelling at a cloud.

Rick said...

I still don’t understand how Progressives got to this place where they Russophobia monomania after decades of playing footsie with the Kremlin

To understand the answer maybe we should focus on what's different between Putin now and the Kremlin then.

gerry said...

That's Trump opponents taking him seriously and not literally.

Zito had a good point, but it's completely outdated and not longer apt.


President Trump's opponents' "reality" conforms to what they want to hear, not what President Trump really says. That makes their behavior even worse than before, since it makes them seem even more absurd.

As Glenn Reynolds likes to say, "All they have to do is not look crazy, and they can't even do that."

etbass said...

So comforting to think that Trump will be president for a second term. Speculate on how the left will act when he does things that would not help him get re-elected. Maybe Trad Guy's dream about thousands of indictments? Even Clinton (which or both?)

Rory said...

"Would the left burn literally every shred of capital to save Hillary?"

The Clinton's were never the power - they're the political face. At bottom, what you have is a bunch of people roughly corresponding to "the new economy" - bureaucracy, education, media, finance, tech, entertainment, professions - who are trying to cement themselves in place as a ruling class for the foreseeable future.

Quaestor said...

I still don’t understand how Progressives got to this place where they Russophobia monomania after decades of playing footsie with the Kremlin and making a million anti-McCarthyism movies and plays and speeches.

Meathead's Russophobia dates precisely to moment the Russians stopped being Marxists.

Yancey Ward said...

Trumps greatest sin is that he proved his opponents and detractors aren't very smart. And if he is reelected in 2020.....well, all I can say is, load up on the popcorn- you ain't seen nothing yet.

Rory said...

"the Kremlin then"

Well, the original enemies of the Kremlin we're Russian nationalism and American capitalism. Who has those enemies nowadays?

Rick said...

So many of those upset about Trump seem to mostly be motivated by trying to be seen as acceptable by our country’s elites. My problem is that being a member of that elite seems usually to involve a lot of graft, corruption, or the nepotism of being descended from elites who engaged in graft and corruption.

This is so true. One negative outcome from the civil rights era (along with the many great positives) is how many Americans came to fetishize government power. This isn't the natural outcome since government power was necessary to sustain those civil rights abuses in the first place but the outcome demonstrates the power of propaganda. As a result politicians who were once looked at skeptically are now presumed to be heroes by a material part of the country. As such they escape the scrutiny they deserve.

Sam L. said...

What about Trump triggers the Left? EVERY DAMNED THING. They also make up their other triggers.

daskol said...

His critics took his jokes literally, for example asking Russia for Hillary's emails, and they pretend ignorance to Trump's use of literary devices especially his use of exaggeration. Through not crediting his humorous intent, and because this is eternally the message of conservatives, they've ascribed a certain "bigger picture" view to Trump: afraid of and angry about the rise of women and minorities, racist and sexist core beliefs and an authoritarian tendency. Everything he's said since his critics have been forced by events to take him seriously is interpreted through the prism of this imagined worldview, which is not particular to Trump but rather takes on Trumpian characteristics in its manifestation through him. They still take his jokes and exaggerations and other humorous ejaculations literally, so Zito's point still holds. His supporters have always taken him seriously, which in this case means crediting his use of humor.

n.n said...

The anti-Trump sects rely on mischaracterization through labels, summary judgments, and liberal license to infer motive and intent. The witch hunts and warlock trials were pursued and prosecuted in a twilight haze.

n.n said...

"bull in a china shop,"

It seems an apt characterization.

The china in the shop is adulterated or fake. The shopkeeper has deceived this customers, and placed her special and peculiar interests first.

eddie willers said...

Ellis is making a similar argument to the one Salena Zito made during the campaign

So true that Zito nailed it. But guess what? There's no Wikipedia page on her! I hear her often on the John Batchelor show and, as you said, she made the most astute observation of the 2016 election and she's ignored.

Bias can be omission, can it not?

Quaestor said...

Althouse and many commenters here have put forward theories regarding the dominance of a minority outlook among comedians and performing artists in this country and the difficulties and obstacles a conservative writer or performer must face to succeed. I think I blundered into the truth of the matter last night while researching an unrelated topic.

I was curious about the background of the Hal Roach "Our Gang" series of shorts. Reading up showed that Little Rascals/Our Gang series spanned a very sizable chunk of Hollywood history from silent one-reelers in 1922 to sound films in 1944. In those 22 years, literally thousands of children auditioned for roles and hundreds were cast, mostly as extras for a few dollars per day. By far the most successful Hal Roach actor was Jackie Cooper, who performed in only a handful of two-reelers before being cast in as the star of a feature film which launched him into stardom and an Oscar. George "Spanky" McFarland worked for Roach longer than any other child actor, and yet as an actor, he was washed up before he turned thirteen. Cooper, on the other hand, had a long career in Hollywood as an actor and as a director and producer. How did Jackie Cooper get the opportunity to become a major star and Spanky did not? The answer is nepotism. Cooper's breakout role was in the 1931 feature film Skippy. The director was Cooper's uncle. Surprised? Don't be. A cursory glance at the history of entertainment in this country reveals a deeply entrenched tradition of favoritism. Talent is abundant. It's relationships that are rare. Rob Reiner would be a retired used car salesman if his father had not been Carl Reiner.

DKWalser said...

At the very end of the video, BEE suggests if Trump came in a Mitt Romney-like package, the Left wouldn't be reacting the way it has. That's demonstrably false. During Romney's campaign v. Obama, the Left and the media consistently said that Romney was a racist and sexist elitist who didn't care about the poor or the middle class. Many called him a fascist and, if elected, Romney would use his power to "put you back in chains".

This isn't (just) about appearances or Trump's failure to follow the rules of political etiquette. It's about power. The Left would and does use all its tools against anyone who stands in the way of their power. That would have been true of Romney (or anyone else) elected who wasn't part of the Left.

daskol said...

I'll stand by that. I'm not Rob Reiner's number one fan, either, and there's no true love lost here, but no need to turn it up to 11. Some really charming movies, makes it hard if not impossible to hate him. We can handle the truth: a comedic talent, even if he's a boor and a political dimwit.

Leland said...

Pewdiepie, Razorfist, Mauler, and similar content creators can do rather well for themselves out there.

I like Bearing myself. He's clearly laughing, while Mauler often gets to serious about others opinions. While I can see Mauler's humor; I wouldn't call him a comedian. Now E;R, but he's pretty much a reviewer of movies only. The reviews have political content and are hilarious without fear of taking punches at leftist shrines; but they are still about a movie or television show.

bagoh20 said...

Does any sane person believe that Russia, China, Iran, and most of our other enemies would prefer Trump to win in 2020. They would prefer anybody else but him. They are deeply desirous that he gets impeached, lose in 2020, or something else happens that gets him out of their way. Pretty much the same agenda as the Democrats. Russia and Iran know that any Dem would reduce our oil and gas production below that under Trump and provide them with enormous financial and strategic advantages. Iran knows any Dem would ease sanctions and give them another chance to fool us on their nuclear ambitions. China is absolutely praying for something to stop Trump and his tariffs so they can steal from us, which is how they built their entire nation from squalor. I expect that all these countries will collude in some fashion with the Democrats to effect the election. Even if they don't work together directly, they have the same goals and will in effect collude.

J. Farmer said...

Mythbusters - Bull in a China Shop

Bulls actually move quite gracefully.

Howard said...

My Family Motto is : Strong Like Bull, Smart Like Tractor

Jim at said...

I still don’t understand how Progressives got to this place where they Russophobia monomania after decades of playing footsie with the Kremlin and making a million anti-McCarthyism movies and plays and speeches.

Me, neither. I mean, these assholes openly cheered for the Soviet Union during the entire Cold War and now they're getting the vapors over some non-existent Russia thing?

It's insane.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

how about a panda in a china shop? Odd.
Do you shoot the panda?
Vanity Fair: Hillary Clinton Cannot Be Stopped --T A. Frank
"She'd prefer to shoot the panda"
"Panda" = Seth Rich nickname

stevew said...

It's really simple: they think all this talk about Russia and Interference and Collusion will help them politically. And with some folks it is. They don't really believe any of it. Fen's Law, sort of, (yes, our guy Fen). And the they I'm referring to are the Democrat office holders and party leaders. The Democrat voter in the office next to me, who doesn't particularly like Trump (crass, bombast, all of that stuff) thinks the Russia thing (and the Racist thing) are made up.

Bilwick said...

Once more, kids: check my (patent pending) Statist Scale, aka "the Coercion Meter"? Who scores higher in State-shtuppery, Trump or Hillary? Trump or Meathead? Trump or any garden-variety "liberal" you could pull out of Big Brother's butt?

Jack Klompus said...

Sally Struthers had a nice topless scene in Five Easy Pieces before she started hawking mail order lessons on gun repair and caring about starving Africans.

RobinGoodfellow said...

“Meathead: dead from the neck up!”—A Bunker

Rick said...

At the very end of the video, BEE suggests if Trump came in a Mitt Romney-like package, the Left wouldn't be reacting the way it has. That's demonstrably false. During Romney's campaign v. Obama, the Left and the media consistently said that Romney was a racist and sexist elitist who didn't care about the poor or the middle class. Many called him a fascist and, if elected, Romney would use his power to "put you back in chains".

You omitted claims (including on this blog) that Romney must be opposed to prevent The Handmaid's Tale from becoming true.

RobinGoodfellow said...

Blogger Unknown said...
Reiner longs for the old Russia, when Uncle Joe was in charge.


Of course he does. It is so easy to get things done under that type of system—none of those pesky checks and balances or informed electorate to get in the way if progress.

That’s why they call themselves progressives.

JMW Turner said...

Shouting Thomas, me 69 as well, for the most part, entertainers in the past kept their personal beliefs on the down low, if for no other reason, not to alienate a sizable segment of their paying audience. To this day I have no idea what Mitch Ryder's politics were.

Gunner said...

Reiner and the rest of the Hollywood Left were fine with Russia when they were funding African Communists and denouncing America. Now that they promote white birthrates and do not celebrate The Gay Tranny Industrial Complex, Russia must be destroyed!

alanc709 said...

J. Farmer said...
"Mythbusters - Bull in a China Shop

Bulls actually move quite gracefully."

Yes, I've been thinking about that episode also, and that the whole idea of a bull in a china shop being destructive is probably counterfactual.

Big Mike said...

Will we be hearing from John Dean again soon?

We already did. Just last month. Did you forget so soon?

Narr said...

Legal Genius John effing Dean! How will Trump survive now?

Narr
He's not the bottom of the barrel, he's the brick the barrel stands on

William said...

Last week a sympathetic article about Al Franken. This week a not so sympathetic piece on Dershowitz. The New Yorker doesn't go to a lot of trouble to hide its biases....I'd like to see an extended piece on those two alleged rape victims of Fairfax. The New Yorker could do an in depth profile. Tell us how these women feel about Fairfax being still in office and not apologetic about past crimes. How have their lives been affected since they came forward or does anyone even know that they came forward?

Matt Sablan said...

"Sally Struthers had a nice topless scene in Five Easy Pieces before she started hawking mail order lessons on gun repair and caring about starving Africans."

-- Man. First they cut down Feynman to fit in a 2-hour movie, then they have to sex it up. Hollywood: Is there anything you won't ruin?

Nichevo said...

Did anyone try making the bull mad?

narciso said...

the horror, yes dean who organized a private intelligence cadre and directed them on a self interested surrepticious entry, reiner's last project, was a glorification of those McClatchy reporters, played by james marsden and woody harrelson, that crashed like a lead balloon, even in rolling stone's estimation,

stevew said...

Oh, I know he did Big Mike, was speculating that they might drag him out again for some juicy (to them) talking points. Perhaps his expiration date has - finally - passed?

As for Sally Struthers, South Park destroyed her many years ago.

wildswan said...

On Chicago Progressive radio this weekend one of the hosts did a crazy meltdown just like Reiner. Maybe Meltdown is this week's flavor-of-the-progressive. Afterall, I can understand. How would any of us feel if we actually believed that Mueller was going show us the way? and then comes a complete debacle. And if we who watched our hopes die, were "progressives" but we worked in an industry which is slowly regressing, losing jobs? (Because just as the Midwest slowly lost manufacturing jobs, so Hollywood/ print/ TV are slowly bleeding to death.) Two bad things. So, raw emotion. But what lies beyond that? Civil war? Hollywood marching "as to war/ With a shining spotlight/Going on before?"

You know what? There were 14 deaths from drug overdoses this weekend in Milwaukee. 166 so far this year. There were better weekends and better years in the Iraq war. If you want to scream "DO SOMETHING," scream about that.

Achilles said...

BEE is making his argument too easy. In the end of that video, he tells his fellow elitists that they've got to start "realigning" how they "feel" about Trump. Why? If it's all about feeling, why should they reject their initial feeling? Is BEE saying that because Trump looks funny — orange skin and weird hair — the initial feelings of elitists ought to be risen above while other people's feelings are better for some reason? Who is feeling this out the right way?

BEE is wrong. He is talking to Ben Shapiro who suffers from the same problem. Ann has the same problem as well.

Everyone of them thinks they are smarter than Trump. And they are wrong.

They have advanced degrees. They use big words. They are proud of their big words.

But they haven't accomplished shit.

Shapiro got his degree and he talks. Ann was a professor. BEE has at least faced the market and had some success, but his books are largely bought by those same elite.

Trump has accomplished infinitely more than all of them combined.

This is why Trump really drives the elites insane. He demonstrates by his very success in the role of president as well as during his entire life that he is smarter and more accomplished than they are.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

narciso@6:11PM Cadre!

PluralThumb said...

New York City is a business. If you are just visiting New York, that is what New York is scheduled for; any one, literally. Any urban born or raised human experiment is overclocked, underpaid, overcharged, overinformed while misinformed. The hardest challenge is that New York City to date has heart. No school shootings as one example. Architecture is like the Wizard of OZ book has come to life. The taxi and delivery app business is The Jetson's put into reality. Outside the negative or positive feedback on a case by case basis of$15 per hour minimum wage. New York City does need regulation enforced. There have been deadly accidents since the onset of smart phones. Automation alone is agitating those that are trying to remain in New York and are aging. Not everyone wants to move out of retire in Florida. Even at my age Liberals are quite conservative and hippies and punks are blunt to a point yet not rude, generally more strict than WW2 or Korean Veterans. Real Estate is the leading market & not limited to U.S. but the Auto industry has some professionals loosing interest or rather seek nostalgia of older vehicles as I find similar from my upbringing. The Russia point is of least relevance to majority of what goes on or rather been going on. But it's either business first or the show must go on and we are all living that, quite alive an hopefully healthy. I agree though, Republicans need not to worry about so called bad comedy and step up to play with others. Raigean is very funny. Bush Jr. seemed a bit shy but I'm terrified of any spotlight. You earned it, play in it & remember to enjoy.

Ken B said...

People react to what Trump DOES NOT say. The “fine people” hoax is the best example but they abound. The recent “go back” tweets were about Omar, but people decided they were about the other three and then pointed out how the tweets don’t apply to the other three! Of course they don’t, that’s why they were only about Omar!

So AA is closer to the truth than BEE here. See Scott Adams on hallucination.

Known Unknown said...

"In the reboot of Family Ties, “Modern Family” they made sure to make the “Alex” character unattractive physically."

Do we mean Ed O'Neill? Is he the Alex character? I mean, it's on par to cast your bigot with Carroll O'Connor with the equally beloved Al Bundy.

Kirk Parker said...

mandrewa

"economic war on those that are not so well off."

Indeed.

Sure wish I could remember who it was who said, "Of course, the true minimum wage is zero, and the government is powerless to raise that, though they can increase the number of people who get it."

doctrev,

"The problem is, it breeds a native population who -hate- their overlords and would happily siege New York City. Then what larks!"

Indeed. I got busted here recently (by a commenter, not our hostess) for pointing out how easy that would be to accomplish, for those who thought they had nothing to lose.