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[National Review] The Dan Crenshaw Moment

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by Os Trigonum, Nov 13, 2018.

  1. Os Trigonum

    Os Trigonum Contributing Member
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    One of the better things I've seen on this incident

    https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/11/dan-crenshaw-forgives-pete-davidson-saturday-night-live/

    The Dan Crenshaw Moment
    By DAVID FRENCH
    November 12, 2018 12:01 PM

    There’s a market for grace in American politics.

    Given the spirit of our times, things could have gone so differently. On November 3, when Saturday Night Live comic Pete Davidson mocked Texas Republican Dan Crenshaw’s eye patch, saying he looked like a “hit man in a porno movie” — then adding, “I know he lost his eye in war or whatever” — it was a gift from the partisan gods.

    A liberal comic had gone too far. He had mocked a man who was maimed in a horrific IED attack, an attack that had taken the life of his interpreter and nearly blinded him for life. He mocked a courageous man’s pain. And thus Crenshaw had attained the rarest position for a Republican politician: aggrieved-victim status. He was free to swing away.

    Instead, he refused to be offended. He noted that the joke was bad, but his handling of the whole affair was — as the Washington Post described him — “cool as a cucumber.” Then Saturday Night Live called. The show wanted to apologize, and they wanted Crenshaw on-air. He said yes, and this happened:

    [SNL video clip]

    It was the act of grace heard ’round the nation. Davidson came on the “Weekend Update” set and offered his apology, and then Crenshaw joined. He took some good-natured shots at Davidson — Crenshaw’s phone had an Ariana Grande ringtone (Grande recently broke her engagement with Davidson), and he mocked Davidson’s appearance — but then things took a more serious turn.

    Crenshaw briefly spoke of the meaning of the words “never forget” to a veteran, saying that “when you say ‘never forget’ to a veteran, you are implying that, as an American, you are in it with them.” Then he addressed his next words to Davidson: “And never forget those we lost on 9/11 — heroes like Pete’s father. So I’ll just say, Pete, never forget.”

    Davidson’s father was a firefighter. He died trying to save others when Davidson was a young boy. In one moment, Crenshaw not only honored a true hero, but also softened American hearts towards Davidson, casting him in a new light. He’s a man who carries his own pain.

    It turns out that there’s a market for grace in American politics. Within minutes, clips of the apology and Crenshaw’s tribute to Davidson’s dad rocketed across Twitter. As of this morning, the YouTube clip of the moment — not even 48 hours old — already had more than 5 million views. And it seems as if this is no act. This act of grace was an expression of who Crenshaw is.

    In a long Washington Post profile, Crenshaw spoke of the distinct trail he wants to blaze in the age of Trump. Speaking of the president, he said, “His style is not my style. I’ll just say that. It’s never how I would conduct myself. But what readers of the Washington Post need to understand is that conservatives can hold multiple ideas in their head at the same time. We can be like, ‘Wow, he shouldn’t have tweeted that,’ and still support him. . . . You can disapprove of what the president says every day, or that day, and still support his broader agenda.”

    Crenshaw’s young. He’s 34. And that means that he stands a good chance of being in Washington long after Donald Trump is gone. If he’s a voice of the post-Trump GOP, then perhaps the future isn’t as bleak as critics may fear.

    There are those who argued before the election that, to punish the GOP for Trump, even conservatives should vote against Crenshaw. Vote against a good man for the sake of beating a bad man not on the ballot. That would “send a message,” they said.

    But it turns out that one of the messages we needed to hear came from Crenshaw himself. Even in the age of Trump, a Republican politician can be his own man. He can show that grace isn’t weakness and that reconciliation can sometimes be more compelling than division.

    As the Post noted in its profile, Crenshaw is at the very start of his “next mission.” He’ll face the bitter cynicism of Washington, the drudgery of daily politics, and the festering divisions in a polarized capital. His future is not yet known. But when faced with a clear political temptation — to indulge in a period of partisan pugilism — he chose a different path. He (and Davidson) gave Americans a moment they needed. It turns out it was also a moment they wanted.

    Crenshaw’s next mission, then, is off to a very good start.

    DAVID FRENCH — David French is a senior writer for National Review, a senior fellow at the National Review Institute, and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. @davidafrench

     
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  2. REEKO_HTOWN

    REEKO_HTOWN I'm Rich Biiiiaaatch!

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    I like Crenshaw. He's a good guy. Wish more of the GOP were like him.
     
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  3. Os Trigonum

    Os Trigonum Contributing Member
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  4. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Contributing Member
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    Great story, but did anyone see the original clip? It really wasn't that offensive to begin with at all. he just said he looked like a hit man in a porno - and the right complains about the left being the snowflake???

    Trump says openly racist things and lies blatantly, and many on the right follow his lead. You will never see anyone of them apologize.
     
  5. pgabriel

    pgabriel Educated Negro

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    You dont joke about a guy's injury from war. Period. There is no equivalency
     
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  6. Jugdish

    Jugdish Member

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    But you can say you prefer veterans that didn't get captured in war.
     
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  7. jo mama

    jo mama Contributing Member

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    i saw the original clip and i thought it was over the line and not funny. i hate trump and what he and his supporters stand for, but i was offended by what davidson said. he is a stupid, classless, thoughtless, smug little b****. ive also never seen him do anything remotely funny on SNL. why is he even on?

    making fun of someones war injury? you just dont go there. it shouldnt even be debatable.

    so?
     
  8. jo mama

    jo mama Contributing Member

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    thats wrong too. look, its worse for the president to attack the troops than it is for a 22 year old "comedian" to do so...but why cant we acknowledge that both are wrong?

    i agree that any trump supporter who is critical of davidson has no leg to stand on, but anti-trumpers have to be better than they are.

    i dont know anything about crenshaw or his politics, but i thought he showed a lot of class in his initial response and a good sense of humor by going on SNL.
     
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  9. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    Good for him.

    The joke was in poor taste, butt wasn't as bad as Trump mocking McCain as a POW.

    Crenshaw and Beto, 2 guys to watch in the future. Class needs to come back.

    DD
     
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  10. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Contributing Member
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    I don't think he was making fun of his war injury as much as his eye patch. But whatever people are allowed to be offended. Comics step over the line all the time. He actually apologized which is more than 99.99% people do. And Crenshaw didn't even seem offended.

    I just find the sensitivity over an eye patch ridiculous compared to the amount of racism expressed with people saying snowflake if anyone complains.
     
  11. B-ball freak

    B-ball freak Contributing Member

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    The joke in reference to the “look” was funny, IMO, in a Jeselnek kind of way - funny because it is intentionally offensive. The comment after was where he stepped over the line, dismissing how the injury was received. It colored the whole joke so that any misgivings you may have had at the initial joke’s mean-spiritedness were intensified by the second part.
     
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  12. fchowd0311

    fchowd0311 Contributing Member

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    It's PC culture until it hurts a veteran. Then it's bad taste.
     
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  13. jo mama

    jo mama Contributing Member

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    the eye patch is a direct result of his war injury so yes, he was making fun of his war injury.

    if you see a vet whose leg was blown off by an IED would you say "whats up stumpy"?

    its not about "sensitivity" - its simply about not mocking people who were injured while serving their country. you just shouldnt go there.

    non-trumpers need to be better than trumpers. dont stoop to their level with all this "what about-ism" and dont stoop to trumps level by mocking those who served this country...be it POWs or those who were injured in combat.

    ive never served in the military, but both my grandpas fought in WWII and i have uncles and cousins who have fought in every war since. i have family in the military now. maybe thats why i find mocking people who were injured in combat to be so distasteful.
     
    #13 jo mama, Nov 14, 2018
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2018
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  14. B-Bob

    B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"

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    I really liked the moment, with the exception that Pete Davidson has zero redeeming qualities as a comic. Seriously, WTF?
    Thanks to Crenshaw, Davidson became momentarily sympathetic as a human when we learned about his father. That was a great part of the segment.

    But here's what I fundamentally don't understand. I've heard a lot of "you can support the agenda but not the tweets/behavior/bluster/rudeness/whatever." I get if you support tax cuts and conservative SCOTUS appointments. I get if you support deregulation at some level.

    But "support the President's agenda" implicitly includes supporting a very divisive strategy that doesn't even pretend to reach out to all Americans. It means you support building a braindead wall instead of rebuilding infrastructure. It means you support demonizing the media and stoking hatred of fellow citizens. It means implicitly supporting an agenda that demonizes some of the least fortunate among us, or people who aren't white. It means shaking up long-standing relationships with key allies. This is what I don't get with "support the agenda." I mean, really? David Duke and AM radio supports that agenda. But hopefully not a sincere vet like Crenshaw.

    If someone like Crenshaw doesn't support those central parts of the 45 agenda, I think he should say so. Maybe that comes next. But the SNL moment was nice, and his basic message about outrage culture is spot on.
     
  15. Commodore

    Commodore Contributing Member

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  16. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Contributing Member

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    Classy move. But, I cannot agree with this:

    This is the Vichy argument again, like the mysterious White House guy who wrote he was in the 'Resistance.' With Trump's cult of personality, there is not much separation between style and substance. There isn't any real way to say 'I don't support what he says but I support what he does.' They're much the same. He calls refugees criminals and then treats them like criminals. He calls our allies enemies then treats them like enemies. So what's the distinction you can make? "I don't support his racist words but I support his racist policies." "I don't like the way he praises tyrants, but I like the way he partners with tyrants." This 'keeping two complex ideas in your head' looks to me like a rationalization.
     
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  17. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Contributing Member
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    I give you that. The "or whatever" was pretty distasteful.

    Yeah. that's what bothers me. There's a different set of rules for vets than for minorities, except for Trump who's hard work is equal to the sacrifice of a gold star family???? I can't stand it when people say this is "offensive" but then if you ask about other situations, it's "whatboutism" as if that has any point

    You know, if I was comfortable with that person and I had that kind of rapport I might say, "what's up stumpy" to a vet - not all jokes are said with maliciousness and intent to hurt.

    No one is free from mockery. Their service should always be honored. No doubt. But to say that being injured while serving makes you permanently unable to be mocked? So what, if Crenshaw becomes president no one should be able to make political cartoons because he was injured? There's a difference between mocking the person and mocking their service.
     
  18. Astrodome

    Astrodome Member
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    Classy response by Crenshaw. Kudos to SNL for the urgency of the apology.
     
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  19. durvasa

    durvasa Contributing Member

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    I think recognizing how he got the injury needed to be part of the joke if you’re going to try out that joke, if nothing else for mere honesty. It would be an even more douchebag thing to do to make fun of someone’s appearance while purposely omitting the background of how he received it. This way, he at least gives the audience the option of laughing along without being duped over what they are laughing at.
     
  20. jcf

    jcf Member

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    I think making fun of someone with a disability or an injury is offensive irrespective of whether it was the result of military service. The fact he lost an eye while serving our country only makes it worse -- it was already bad without it.
     

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