When pondering things Liberal, the mind inevitably pulls into the "What planet do these people live on?" parking space. One wonders, do they write of what they actually see and believe, or what they would like to see and have others believe?
A case in point; liberal outrage at Bill Bennett's' alleged gambling problem. The amount of press and commentary generated about a man most Americans have never heard of is astounding.
"The Man of Virtues Has a Vice," shouts the headline in a Newsweek article by Jonathan Alter and Joshua Green. "The popular author, lecturer and Republican Party activist speaks out, often indignantly, about almost every moral issue except one – gambling." In other words, they are shocked, shocked... you know the rest.
Not only does Mr. Bennett apparently enjoy casino gambling, he also does it on a rather large scale as befits a man of his financial stature. This offends liberals on two fronts; they hate conservatives who make money and they hate conservatives who have fun. Since they believe anyone on the right is innately mean-spirited, the image of men like Bennett yelling, "Papa needs a new pair of penny loafers!" confuses them. It upsets their whole concept of 'values'.
You see, there are two sets of values in America. One applies to rich liberals and the other to the rest of us. When rich liberals have fun, i.e.; abuse drugs, their spouses, young vulnerable women and society in general, they must be forgiven. After all, "Who are we to judge others?" they plaintively ask.
Each time a Hollywood biggie or the latest Kennedy scion is caught with their hand in the coke jar or on the posterior of some comely cutie, nary a word of remonstration passes the collective media lips, it is almost to be expected.
Nor are charges of bribery, treason, manslaughter, rape, perjury, fraud or running a homosexual brothel out of one's home cause for condemnation when alleged against a Democrat.
But let a Republican commit any transgression, from smooching senior-citizen senators to judges who might prefer a bawdy joke, to presidential candidates (and their daughters) who engaged in too much youthful drinking and the liberal morality police spring into action.
Also grist for the media mill are any political opinions they deem controversial, no matter where or in what context they were expressed. In contrast, phrases like "white niggers," "Hymietown," and "whiteboys" hardly seem to elicit much attention at all, let alone considered to be 'hate speech'.
Ah, but a gambling, gamboling, right-wing moralist! A veritable jackpot!
And so it would seem, except for a few minor points. Gambling in Las Vegas, apparently Mr. Bennett's bailiwick of choice, is legal as well as taxable. Gambling is also a favorite pastime of the majority of bingo-playing, office pool-entering, lottery ticket-buying Americans. Moreover, it is a tremendous source of capital, largely favored by a certain political group who favor wealthy, large government.
Can it lead to problems? As Mr. Bennett himself said, "I adhere to the law. I don't play the 'milk money.' I don't put my family at risk, and I don't owe anyone anything. I view it as drinking. If you can't handle it, don't do it"
Indeed, Empower America, Mr. Bennett's own organization has reported up to 5.5 million 'problem' gamblers in America. I would suspect that most of these could trace their addiction to the local corner convenience store.
For instance, the People's Republic of Connecticut, where I reside, currently offers seven different lottery-type games including day and evening daily numbers as well as 107(
different scratch-off games sporting names such as HOT HOT HOT TRIPLER.
You would think therefore, that any outrage over gambling in America should be directed not at Mr. Bennett, but at those who have found a truly perverse way of picking what little is left in the average Joe's pocket. Imagine tomorrow's New York Times headline:
"STATE GOVERNMENTS SPREAD GAMBLING ADDICTION Women and Minorities To Suffer Most"
Don't think so? Nor do I. So while the media celebrate fun, swinging Democrats who constantly perform acts both illegal and immoral with impunity, so too will Republicans who have committed no crime or breach of ethics be pilloried.
And while Mr. Bennett and other conservatives continue to use terms like morality and the rule of law, so too will liberals continue to be baffled by their meaning.
Liberal columnist, Michael Kinsley sums it up perfectly, as only he can, writing, "The news over the weekend – that Bennett's $50,000 sermons and bestselling moral instruction manuals have financed a multimillion-dollar gambling habit – has lit a lamp of happiness in even the darkest hearts."
One can only imagine what Bill Clinton's $200,000 lecture fees and book advances might be financing as we speak.
different scratch-off games sporting names such as HOT HOT HOT TRIPLER.
You would think therefore, that any outrage over gambling in America should be directed not at Mr. Bennett, but at those who have found a truly perverse way of picking what little is left in the average Joe's pocket. Imagine tomorrow's New York Times headline:
"STATE GOVERNMENTS SPREAD GAMBLING ADDICTION Women and Minorities To Suffer Most"
Don't think so? Nor do I. So while the media celebrate fun, swinging Democrats who constantly perform acts both illegal and immoral with impunity, so too will Republicans who have committed no crime or breach of ethics be pilloried.
And while Mr. Bennett and other conservatives continue to use terms like morality and the rule of law, so too will liberals continue to be baffled by their meaning.
Liberal columnist, Michael Kinsley sums it up perfectly, as only he can, writing, "The news over the weekend – that Bennett's $50,000 sermons and bestselling moral instruction manuals have financed a multimillion-dollar gambling habit – has lit a lamp of happiness in even the darkest hearts."
One can only imagine what Bill Clinton's $200,000 lecture fees and book advances might be financing as we speak.