Ben Stein defends a ‘socialist’

Ben Stein recently took up the cause of Dominique Strauss-Khan. He defended the embattled politician by blaming the victim who made the allegations against Strauss-Kahn; by class baiting the New York Police Department, the New York District Attorney’s Office, the media that has covered the scandal and the have-nots who are reading about it; and by offering obscurantist arguments regarding Strauss-Kahn’s propensity to commit this crime. Stein also pleads for special treatment for Strauss-Kahn because the former IMF Chief is rich, famous, powerful and important enough that he need not spend time at Rikers Island and should not be subject to a perp walk. In Stein’s world, these indignities ought to be applied only to criminals.

Stein claims: “…this is a case about the hatred of the have-nots for the haves, and that’s what it’s all about.” Actually, the Strauss-Kahn case originated in the serious allegations made by a hotel employee against a specific man, Dominique Strauss-Khan, a man who already had gained a reputation as a serial harasser of women. His class is irrelevant just as her class is irrelevant.

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• Ben Stein Writes Bizarre Defense Of Dominique Strauss-Kahn (tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com)
• Strauss-Kahn Sent to Rikers Island (businessweek.com)
• IMF chief jailed on Rikers Island, charged with attempted rape (cnn.com)
• IMF Chief to Spend Night at Rikers Island Jail (abcnews.go.com)
• Report: IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn Place On Suicide Watch At Rikers Island (mediaite.com)
• Take A Tour Of Rikers Island, Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s Brand New Home (businessinsider.com)
• Inside Rikers, IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s New Jail Residence (newsfeed.time.com)
• Dominique Strauss-Kahn beds down at notorious Rikers Island jail (guardian.co.uk)
• Officials: Strauss-Kahn on suicide watch in jail (cbsnews.com)