# Ben Affleck a Political Sage? Give Me an Effin' Break! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 26, 2004, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005 "2004-07-26T23:24:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/1 "2004-07-26T23:24:08Z")
All of the hollywood liberals arein Boston for the DNC…and I just saw Ben holding forth on his politicalphilosophy! What a dope! Ben has admitted that he never voted …now he is holding forth and telling us lowlives howwe should think?? Somebody should remind this second-rate actor who pays his salary. What a good one…I hope the DNC has a lot more knuckleheads like this one! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/2 "2004-07-26T23:41:54Z")
People who take the political views of celebrities seriously are idiots. It’s worth noting that “taking [them] seriously” does not imply agreeing with or supporting those opinions. The OP, for example, is included in that group. Yeah, Ben Affleck has political opinions, and likes to talk about them. Which is exactly what you’re doing here, **ralph**. Why is it okay when you do it, but pit-worthy when a celebrity does it? ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/3 "2004-07-26T23:58:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Somebody should remind this second-rate actor who pays his salary. WTF? I’ve heard this argument with cops, government officials, etc., but … actors? Actors are public servants now? So who pays Affleck’s salary? Miramax, to my recollection, along with other movie studios. Well, since I believe Miramax’s Harvey Weinstein is a Democrat, he’s probably happy with what Ben’s saying. Does that make you feel better? Jerusalem Crickets. Surely one of the most pathetic arguments that some righties trot out is “Them Hollywood Libruls Shouldn’t Tell Us Normal Folk What Ta Think!” If actors aren’t allowed to talk about political issues (you know, like any other citizen of our democracy has a right to do), how come it’s so often the right-wing actors who end up running for office – and the Republicans who happily vote for 'em? ---
**Author:** ![cmason32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@cmason32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmason32)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/4 "2004-07-27T00:14:41Z")
Pretty lame rant. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/5 "2004-07-27T00:25:20Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > All of the hollywood liberals arein Boston for the DNC…and I just saw Ben holding forth on his politicalphilosophy! What a dope! Ben has admitted that he never voted …now he is holding forth and telling us lowlives howwe should think?? > Somebody should remind this second-rate actor who pays his salary. What a good one…I hope the DNC has a lot more knuckleheads like this one! :smack: **Ralph124c** , just go back to smearing peanut butter on that pine cone. Just like that. That’s right. Very good! Soon you’ll have a homemade bird feeder! Don’t let the scary picture box upset you. Everything is going to be just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Daisy\_Mae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@Daisy\_Mae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daisy_Mae)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/6 "2004-07-27T00:29:27Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Somebody should remind this second-rate actor who pays his salary. Exactly! Before you know it, he’ll think he’s qualified to be governor of California or even President some day. The nerve! ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/7 "2004-07-27T00:45:27Z")
Wow, somebody pitting a celebrity for stating their political views, and they happen to be Democratic views. That’s pretty original. Has anybody ever pitted a Republican/conservative actor for their views? I can’t recall ever seeing a pit thread against Ron Silver or Bruce Willis, both vocal Bush supporters, saying how stupid actors should shut their stupid mouths. Always the leftys. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/8 "2004-07-27T01:02:47Z")
How about people like Bill O’Reily, or indeed any pundit? It’s one thing to be a journalist, but why does that make your views any more important than anyone elses? Ben AFLAK and Sean Hannity are basically in the same business: entertainment. To think one has more reason to be heard than the other is just downright silly. Like it or not, celebrity in our culture means you get heard, almost by definition. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/9 "2004-07-27T01:10:31Z")
There are vacuous celebrities on both side who express uninformed opinions that no one cares about. The difference is we liberals like to let our idiots have their say, then we take their money and give it to the grown ups. The conservatives actually _elect_ their celebrity idiots. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/10 "2004-07-27T01:39:18Z")
Nitpick: Wasn’t it [Matt Damon](http://www.online.ie/entertainment/viewer.adp?article=3139195) who said he never voted? I dunno, maybe Mr Affleck said it as well but I’ve never heard it (doesn’t mean it isn’t true though) ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/11 "2004-07-27T07:26:57Z")
I’m reminded of the time when it was discovered that Rush Limbaugh, carrier of the Torch of Shining Brilliance That Is Ronald Reagan, never voted for the guy. (Come to think of it, I don’t think Rush was even registered to vote until after he had been a successful talk-radio blowhard and someone went digging into his past…) ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/12 "2004-07-27T11:04:24Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > There are vacuous celebrities on both side who express uninformed opinions that no one cares about. The difference is we liberals like to let our idiots have their say, then we take their money and give it to the grown ups. The conservatives actually _elect_ their celebrity idiots. That’s pretty funny! And not without an element of truth. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/13 "2004-07-27T12:21:27Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > How about people like Bill O’Reily, or indeed any pundit? It’s one thing to be a journalist, but why does that make your views any more important than anyone elses? O’Reily, Matthews, Hannity et.al. are most assuredly not journalists. They are blowhard talking heads with a nearly uniform lack of experience as objective journalists. They’ve not worked in newsrooms. They’ve not studied to be journalists. They are chosen by the Richard Mellon Scaifes and Rupert Murdocks of the world to unabashedly spout right-wing non-sense. By being elevated by viture of having a TV show or being published in right-wing rags such as the _Washington Time_, they’ve gained an undeserved equality with journalists in the public’s eye; most of whom don’t understand the lack of training the blowhards have. ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/14 "2004-07-27T12:56:21Z")
Remember when Ben and Matt won an Oscar for the screenplay to Good Will Hunting? Here’s a scene from that movie: > [@Will Hunting](#): > > Why shouldn’t I work for the N.S.A.? That’s a tough one, but I’ll give it a shot. Say I’m working at N.S.A. Somebody puts a code on my desk, something nobody else can break. So I take a shot at it and maybe I break it. And I’m real happy with myself, ‘cause I did my job well. But maybe that code was the location of some rebel army in North Africa or the Middle East. Once they have that location, they bomb the village where the rebels were hiding and fifteen hundred people I never had a problem with get killed. Now the politicians are sayin’, “Send in the marines to secure the area” ‘cause they don’t give a shit. It won’t be their kid over there, gettin’ shot. Just like it wasn’t them when their number was called, ‘cause they were pullin’ a tour in the National Guard. It’ll be some guy from Southie takin’ shrapnel in the ass. And he comes home to find that the plant he used to work at got exported to the country he just got back from. And the guy who put the shrapnel in his ass got his old job, ‘cause he’ll work for fifteen cents a day and no bathroom breaks. Meanwhile my buddy from Southie realizes the only reason he was over there was so we could install a government that would sell us oil at a good price. And of course the oil companies used the skirmish to scare up oil prices so they could turn a quick buck. A cute little ancillary benefit for them but it ain’t helping my buddy at two-fifty a gallon. And naturally they’re takin’ their sweet time bringin’ the oil back, and maybe even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink martinis and play slalom with the icebergs, and it ain’t too long ‘til he hits one, spills the oil and kills all the sea life in the North Atlantic. So my buddy’s out of work and he can’t afford to drive, so he’s got to walk to the job interviews, which sucks ‘cause the shrapnel in his ass is givin’ him chronic hemorrhoids. And meanwhile he’s starvin’ ‘cause every time he tries to get a bite to eat the only blue plate special they’re servin’ is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State. So what do I think? I’m holdin’ out for somethin’ better. Why not just shoot my buddy, take his job and give it to his sworn enemy, hike up gas prices, bomb a village, club a baby seal, hit the hash pipe and join the National Guard? I could be elected president. Based on this, the guys don’t sound that clueless to me. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/15 "2004-07-27T13:05:02Z")
My point is that the DNC is such a disaster,that they need to haul in some people (like Affleck) to give some glitz to the affair. I watched a bit of the coverage last night…including the speech by the cadaverous Jimmy Carter (“malaise forever”), and the rantings of Al Gore. The real “treat” was listening to Bill Clinton, who seems to be displacing Ted Kennedy as the most crapulent democrat…his speech was boring. I think most people are there to secure the jobs that would be handed out in the new administration (and to chow down at the free buffets). Can’t they shrink this thing down to two days? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/16 "2004-07-27T13:10:31Z")
Clinton’s speech was boring? My, my. You must have had your Cognitive Dissonancer set on “high”. ---
**Author:** ![stately\_plump\_buck\_mulligan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@stately\_plump\_buck\_mulligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stately_plump_buck_mulligan)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/17 "2004-07-27T13:58:40Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > My point is that the DNC is such a disaster,that they need to haul in some people (like Affleck) to give some glitz to the affair. I watched a bit of the coverage last night…including the speech by the cadaverous Jimmy Carter (“malaise forever”), and the rantings of Al Gore. > The real “treat” was listening to Bill Clinton, who seems to be displacing Ted Kennedy as the most crapulent democrat…his speech was boring. I think most people are there to secure the jobs that would be handed out in the new administration (and to chow down at the free buffets). > Can’t they shrink this thing down to two days? :smack: Dude, take off them PartisanGoggles[sup]TM[/sup]. Even Bob freakin Dole had to give the Dem speakers some credit. And he did it _on television!!_ Affleck was less than sagelike, but he was reasonably well-spoken about his views, much more than I would have expected. He was certainly no Britney Spears “I think we should support our President… no matter WHAT! Hee. _hair twirl_” ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/18 "2004-07-27T14:14:39Z")
Hey, here’s a novel idea. If you think someone’s opinions are stupid, why not ignore them entirely? Wait a minute, if anyone takes my advice, I will most likely be completely ignored in GD. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/19 "2004-07-27T14:23:25Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > My point is that the DNC is such a disaster,that they need to haul in some people (like Affleck) to give some glitz to the affair. I watched a bit of the coverage last night…including the speech by the cadaverous Jimmy Carter (“malaise forever”), and the rantings of Al Gore. > The real “treat” was listening to Bill Clinton, who seems to be displacing Ted Kennedy as the most crapulent democrat…his speech was boring. I think most people are there to secure the jobs that would be handed out in the new administration (and to chow down at the free buffets). > Can’t they shrink this thing down to two days? :smack: Considering the clusterfuck that is the Bush administration, you ought to be doing the happy dance, my friend. Learn to love it…you’re looking at your future! ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005/20 "2004-07-27T14:26:34Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > O’Reily, Matthews, Hannity et.al. are most assuredly not journalists. They are blowhard talking heads with a nearly uniform lack of experience as objective journalists. They’ve not worked in newsrooms. They’ve not studied to be journalists. In the case of Chris Matthews, he was the chief of the Washington bureau of the San Francisco Examiner for thirteen years. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-affleck-a-political-sage-give-me-an-effin-break/257005.md?page=2)