Bill Bennett: Asshole of the month

**TJ Cline** · 09-30-2005, 03:57 PM

Bill Bennett: "abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down
by Media Matters for America Wednesday, Sep. 28, 2005 at 6:00 PM

Bennett conceded that aborting all African-American babies "would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do," then added again, "but the crime rate would go down."

Addressing a caller's suggestion that the "lost revenue from the people who have been aborted in the last 30 years" would be enough to preserve Social Security's solvency, radio host and former Reagan administration Secretary of Education Bill Bennett dismissed such "far-reaching, extensive extrapolations" by declaring that if "you wanted to reduce crime ... if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down." Bennett conceded that aborting all African-American babies "would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do," then added again, "but the crime rate would go down."

Bennett's remark was apparently inspired by the claim that legalized abortion has reduced crime rates, which was posited in the book Freakonomics (William Morrow, May 2005) by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. But Levitt and Dubner argued that aborted fetuses would have been more likely to grow up poor and in single-parent or teenage-parent households and therefore more likely to commit crimes; they did not put forth Bennett's race-based argument.

From the September 28 broadcast of Salem Radio Network's Bill Bennett's Morning in America:

CALLER: I noticed the national media, you know, they talk a lot about the loss of revenue, or the inability of the government to fund Social Security, and I was curious, and I've read articles in recent months here, that the abortions that have happened since Roe v. Wade, the lost revenue from the people who have been aborted in the last 30-something years, could fund Social Security as we know it today. And the media just doesn't -- never touches this at all.

BENNETT: Assuming they're all productive citizens?

CALLER: Assuming that they are. Even if only a portion of them were, it would be an enormous amount of revenue.

BENNETT: Maybe, maybe, but we don't know what the costs would be, too. I think as -- abortion disproportionately occur among single women? No.

CALLER: I don't know the exact statistics, but quite a bit are, yeah.

BENNETT: All right, well, I mean, I just don't know. I would not argue for the pro-life position based on this, because you don't know. I mean, it cuts both -- you know, one of the arguments in this book Freakonomics that they make is that the declining crime rate, you know, they deal with this hypothesis, that one of the reasons crime is down is that abortion is up. Well --

CALLER: Well, I don't think that statistic is accurate.

BENNETT: Well, I don't think it is either, I don't think it is either, because first of all, there is just too much that you don't know. But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky.

Bill Bennett's Morning in America airs on approximately 115 radio stations with an estimated weekly audience of 1.25 million listeners.

**DOMS** · 09-30-2005, 04:04 PM

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

Bill Bennett: "abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down

I thinks hes onto something.

Just think, if we aborted every pregnancy crime would go away!

**TJ Cline** · 09-30-2005, 04:09 PM

Originally Posted by cfs3

I thinks hes onto something.

Just think, if we aborted every pregnancy crime would go away!

I thought you would get a kick out of this thread.....I wonder if his quote will even make the "fake" news???

**THEUNIT(XXL)** · 09-30-2005, 04:25 PM

Bennett's remark was apparently inspired by the claim that legalized abortion has reduced crime rates, which was posited in the book Freakonomics (William Morrow, May 2005) by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. But Levitt and Dubner argued that aborted fetuses would have been more likely to grow up poor and in single-parent or teenage-parent households and therefore more likely to commit crimes; they did not put forth Bennett's race-based argument.

**DOMS** · 09-30-2005, 04:26 PM

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

I thought you would get a kick out of this thread.....I wonder if his quote will even make the "fake" news???

I know I'm not the most racially open minded person, but that guys is just a fucktard.

**Rich46yo** · 09-30-2005, 04:26 PM

Actually the data does show the reduction in crime is paralleled by an increase in abortions and increases in prison populations.

**TJ Cline** · 09-30-2005, 05:00 PM

Originally Posted by Rich46yo

Actually the data does show the reduction in crime is paralleled by an increase in abortions and increases in prison populations.

So what your saying is that the more crime goes down the more the prision population goes up???? Get off the pipe Uncle bitch

**DOMS** · 09-30-2005, 05:22 PM

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

So what your saying is that the more crime goes down the more the prision population goes up????

You don't see a correlation?

**TJ Cline** · 09-30-2005, 05:26 PM

Originally Posted by cfs3

You don't see a correlation?

That would mean that the prison system was actually working

**Mudge** · 09-30-2005, 06:07 PM

Originally Posted by cfs3

Just think, if we aborted every pregnancy crime would go away!

It would, but what a stupid thing to say. No humans, no human crime.

**DOMS** · 09-30-2005, 06:10 PM

Originally Posted by Mudge

It would, but what a stupid thing to say. No humans, no human crime.

I was being sarcastic Mudge.

**DOMS** · 09-30-2005, 06:10 PM

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

That would mean that the prison system was actually working

The Chinese do it better. They kill more of their prisoners. We could learn something from them.

**myCATpowerlifts** · 09-30-2005, 06:21 PM

Originally Posted by cfs3

The Chinese do it better. They kill more of their prisoners. We could learn something from them.

Maybe a mass killing. All of those who have been on death row for at least one year could be killed as an example to the rest of America to behave!
That would scare any felon shitless

(

)

**Pepper** · 09-30-2005, 06:43 PM

My understanding is that he did say that but the quote is being taken WAY out of context.

I am old enough to remember a time when context meant something. :sigh:

**DOMS** · 09-30-2005, 06:50 PM

Originally Posted by myCATpowerlifts

Maybe a mass killing. All of those who have been on death row for at least one year could be killed as an example to the rest of America to behave!
That would scare any felon shitless

(

)

Either that, or they should rename it to "the death from old age penalty."

**jasone** · 09-30-2005, 06:54 PM

People who live in poverty are more prone to crime. Percentage wise blacks live in more poverty than whites. Therefore more blacks are prone to crime than whites. That's the nature of poverty. And by aborting impoverished children which happen to be black we reduce crime. It's just a statistic that sheds light on a problem in the United States. I think this is the context of Mr. Bennett's arguement who is against abortion by the way.
There are people out there that want to divide this country for their own political gain and they will take anything a popular figure has to say out of context to promote their interest.
As for me, I'm not racist because I give everyone equal opportunity to be hated.

**TJ Cline** · 09-30-2005, 06:58 PM

Originally Posted by Pepper

My understanding is that he did say that but the quote is being taken WAY out of context.

I am old enough to remember a time when context meant something. :sigh:

Now only a Die hard Republican could try to spin a "stupid quote " like this.

this one tops them all Pepper,

**Mudge** · 09-30-2005, 08:20 PM

Originally Posted by cfs3

I was being sarcastic Mudge.

The smiley didn't give that away at all, with the screwball animation and everything. Not even remotely in fact.

**DOMS** · 09-30-2005, 08:26 PM

Originally Posted by Mudge

The smiley didn't give that away at all, with the screwball animation and everything. Not even remotely in fact.

Your sarcasm is like an onion...

**Mudge** · 09-30-2005, 09:46 PM

It looks like a butt and you cry when you see it?

**DOMS** · 09-30-2005, 09:53 PM

No man, it has layers...like a cake...

**Mudge** · 10-01-2005, 12:25 AM

Fat kids like cake.

**Big Smoothy** · 10-01-2005, 12:52 AM

He should not have said it, but his statement statistically is very true.

People know this, but it's necesarry to say it publicly.

another example:

A high percentage of child molesters are white males.

The same could be said here, with regard to abortion.

**TJ Cline** · 10-01-2005, 12:59 AM

Originally Posted by Mr_Snafu

He should not have said it, but his statement statistically is very true.

People know this, but it's necesarry to say it publicly.

another example:

A high percentage of child molesters are white males.

The same could be said here, with regard to abortion.

Both your comments are beyond asinine......

If everybody was aborted then crime/war/love/technology...ect would stop.......just a brainless way to justify a comment that is so bad that it makes George Bush or All Gore look like Einstein

**Big Smoothy** · 10-01-2005, 01:13 AM

It's just pontificating, based upon statistics.

It's not real world anyway.

**Rich46yo** · 10-01-2005, 07:32 AM

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

So what your saying is that the more crime goes down the more the prision population goes up???? Get off the pipe Uncle bitch

I used a word "twat" doesnt understand so now hes befuddled as to what I meant. From now on foreskin is officially known as "twat".

People in America dont know what "poverty" is. The majority of crime is commited by young, healthy males who chose a life of crime because it pays so good and is glamorized in music and the media.

Course, what would I know about it?.....

.......Uncle Rich...............

**TJ Cline** · 10-01-2005, 07:35 AM

Originally Posted by Rich46yo

I used a word "twat" doesnt understand so now hes befuddled as to what I meant. From now on foreskin is officially known as "twat".

People in America dont know what "poverty" is. The majority of crime is commited by young, healthy males who chose a life of crime because it pays so good and is glamorized in music and the media.

Course, what would I know about it?.....

.......Uncle Rich...............

Obviously nothing.....what else is new

**MyK** · 10-01-2005, 07:50 AM

does anyone know what a confounding variable is?

**DOMS** · 10-01-2005, 09:20 AM

Originally Posted by Mudge

Fat kids like cake.

So, that means that fat kids would like you sarcasm.

**TJ Cline** · 10-01-2005, 09:22 AM

Originally Posted by MyK

does anyone know what a confounding variable is?

yes

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