Thursday, October 18, 2012

Ben Stein: 'I hate to say this on Fox, but'...

Hey, I hate to say this on my blog, but... Ben Stein's a shithead.  

Seriously though, droning, nasally-voiced Ben Stein, one of those guys you scratch your head and wonder why he's still on TV and then think, "Oh, yeah, it's because he's on FoxNews," went and said something that pissed off FoxNews, seriously biting the hand that feeds him.  

The utterly revealing and pathetic thing about Stein's statement was that he a) acknowledged Fox's clear right-wing bias that is apparent to anyone over the age of 12, and, at the same time, b) he apologized profusely to FoxNews's overlords for saying what anybody who knows basic arithmetic figured out a long time ago.

For those sins, he will probably be banished to Doocy's Dungeon for the next six months.  ... Hey, that gives me an idea for a great show, "Fox Purgatory and Friends."  

Ben Stein's fame just goes to show that even a Mr. Burns-type villain could appear sort-of likable if Jimmy Kimmel was given the green light to mercilessly take the piss out of him every day on TV.


By Neetzan Zimmerman
October 18, 2012 | Gawker

Former Republican speechwriter and game show host Ben Stein likely won't be invited back on Fox & Friends any time soon after the conservative economist dropped a megaton truth bomb in the studio earlier this morning.

Asked by Gretchen Carlson what needs to be done in order to fix the economy, Stein said unequivocally that taxes need to be increased for upper-echelon earners.

"I hate to say this on Fox, and I hope I'll be allowed to leave here alive, but I don't think there is anyway we can cut spending enough to make a meaningful difference," Stein said"We going to have to raise taxes on very rich people, people with incomes of like say, 2, 3 million a year and up, and then slowly move it down."

Thinking he may have misheard the Ferris Bueller star, Steve Doocy asked Stein if he doesn't think "Washington just has a spending problem."

"I do not think they just have a spending problem," Stein replied. "I think they also have a too-low taxes problem. And while all due respect to Fox, whom I love like brothers and sisters, the taxes are too low."

Huffington Post notes that Stein clearly had a change of heart at some point, as just two years ago he called raising taxes on the very rich a "punishment."

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