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Lawmaker Demands Ben Stein's Apology For Strauss-Kahn Comments

Christopher Robbins

Published May 25, 2011

Modified May 25, 2011

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Christopher Robbins

Published May 25, 2011

Modified May 25, 2011

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We liked Ben Stein a lot more when he was in those Clear Eyes commercials and made money being an adorable nerd in movies and TV shows, but we should have known better of a former Nixon staffer. After a few merely idiotic missteps recently, Stein shat the bed with his ignorant, sexist comments about the Dominique Strauss-Kahn affair in American Spectator. And New York state assemblywoman Deborah Glick thinks Stein should publicly apologize.

Citing the firing of CBS sportscaster Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder in 1988, who made racist comments about blacks, Glick says in a letter to CBS CEO Les Moonves "I am appalled that CBS has been silent about Stein's offensive and insensitive remarks and I am curious if this silence represents approval? I call on you to stop accepting contributions from Ben Stein on CBS until he publicly apologizes for his ignorant and offensive statement." While he's at it, he can also explain how President George W. Bush will be considered as "one of the great peacemakers."

Stein's apologist screed can be read here, but the gist is: economists don't commit rape, hotel maids are really swell but also "lunatics," and you need a weapon to commit rape. Glick refutes those nicely in her letter:

Leslie Moonves

CBS Headquarters
51 W. 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019-6188

Dear Moonves,

I was extremely offended by the comments offered by CBS Sunday Morning
Commentary contributor Ben Stein regarding the alleged sexual assault by
Dominique Strauss Kahn. Regardless of Kahn's guilt or innocence, it is
horrifying that in this day and age Stein can calmly question whether or not
anyone could be forced to have sex against their will without the presence
of a weapon. As he stated in the American Spectator on May 17,

"The prosecutors say that Mr. Strauss-Kahn "forced" the complainant to have
oral and other sex with him. How? Did he have a gun? Did he have a knife?
He's a short fat old man. They were in a hotel with people passing by the
room constantly, if it's anything like the many hotels I am in. How did he
intimidate her in that situation? And if he was so intimidating, why did she
immediately feel un-intimidated enough to alert the authorities as to her
story?"

As someone who has been a fan of your program for many years, I am appalled
that CBS has been silent about Stein's offensive and insensitive remarks and
I am curious if this silence represents approval? I assume that it does or
otherwise CBS would have made statements to the contrary as it did when
Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder was fired over remarks he made that were deemed
racist. And yet Ben Stein's remarks, so clearly sexist in their nature, are
allowed to stand and Ben Stein goes unpunished.

I call on you to stop accepting contributions from Ben Stein on CBS until he
publicly apologizes for his ignorant and offensive statement. The law
recognizes that rape can and does occur even without the use of a weapon.
Last year more than 200,000 women were raped by their intimate partners
without the presence of a weapon. If Mr. Stein is interested in learning
more about this subject I would be happy to introduce him to one of the many.

Deborah J. Glick

New York State Assemblymember

66th District

Tagged

Assemblywoman Glick

Ben Stein

cbs

crime

Deborah Glick

dominique strauss-kahn

Nixon

rape

sexism

Christopher Robbins

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Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.

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