I’m having a hard time believing that a Fox News talking heads actually floated this theory, but I suppose nothing should surprise me at this point. It simply goes like this: the popularity of Downton Abbey in the U.S. proves that Americans LOVE wealthy aristocrats, contrary to the popular myth — the one spun onto the ground by the dastardly liberal media — that Americans HATE wealthy aristocrats. I would love to have been in the production meeting where this was proposed and accepted as a thing that Fox News hosts would actually discuss on the air.
“Along comes this show, Downton Abbey; rich people prominently featured. And they’re generous. They’re nice people. They create jobs for heaven’s sake. They’re classy. They’ve got style. And we love them…that show poses a threat to the left, doesn’t it?” proposed Stuart Varney.
To which Colbert responded, perfectly: “Yes…the popularity of Downton Abbey proves that America loves rich guys, the same way that the popularity of Breaking Bad proves that America loves meth dealers.”
Enjoy…
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I’m not sure why this is such a surprise. Fox news believes in hidden messages behind programming, and they’ve finally found one that isn’t against them. there’s always ONE protagonist voice in your head…
The sad part is…..the “Wealthy Aristocrats” are liberals in Academia and “Tech” ….and certain Warren Buffet style “I’ve got mine” guys…..
I don’t know what’s the dumbest part of this comment.
The idea that college professors (with an average annual salary of $56,000) are “wealthy aristocrats”?
Or the suggestion that Warren Buffet, who has made a name for himself advocating that people like him be taxed at a higher rate and who has a proven record as a philanthropist and has pledged $30 BILLION in his personal fortune to the Bill Gates Foundation, is an “I’ve Got Mine” guy.
Man, that’s really tough. Congratulations on being too stupid even for the internet.
Oh, get the fuck out of here. I don’t even need to look that $56,000 up to know it’s bullshit, unless you’re factoring in part-timers. Of course college professors are part of the aristocracy, and Warren Buffett’s ability to buy street cred with liberals is the kind of swindle I can only marvel at. Liberals like you (not all liberals) are fine with guns, fine with obscene wealth, and fine with whatever else you’re supposed to abhor, just so long as the things you say and think wouldn’t draw the ire of mindless partisans like Cajun Boy
Also Otto, you’re the fucking bully of Uproxx, and all you sycophants who admire him so much for clearing out those awful, knuckle-dragging Fox News watchers can do what he does, if you like it so much. Just Google “Talking Points Memo” and the subject you’d like to berate someone about, summarize the first search result, and close your comment with name-calling.
u mad
Otto, as one of your sycophants, I humbly request that you do a better job cleaning out the Fox News watchers, as one of the really really dumb ones got through. Thanks in advance, comrade – see you at the next secret meeting!
First of all, I admire your willingness to say you refuse to do any actual legwork yourself, but you know I’m full of shit.
Second of all, go fuck yourself.
[www.ehow.com]
Three, thanks for reminding all of us just how know-nothing, knuckle-dragging, and downright stupid conservatives like you can be.
Seriously, absolutely nothing I could ever say or do on this blog could do more to discredit conservatism than the self-indictment from a dipshit mouthbreather like you.
Sorry if that hurts your feelings, princess.
Rant-fight! Rant-fight!
I’ve been to the OOH site. I graduated high school, never went to college, make a decent amount of money and was trained on the job. When I did a search the only jobs that came up with those qualifications included some sort of Nuclear Reactor operator. Heh. Not sure I can move laterally into that job.
High school, no college degree, suitable for nuclear reactor operations?
Dude, I think you might have the wrong avatar.
Secretary….Otto is not a bully….he just laughably ignorant or drowning in Liberal Kool-Aid……
The insecure can’t help themselves…
…and FYI….ALL citizens pay the SAME tax RATES……it is the classification of “income” that is taxed t different rates…..that is why Warren Buffet passes as an Aristocatic liar…
why do conservatives insist on coming into the the Daily Show/Colbert posts?
“…and FYI….ALL citizens pay the SAME tax RATES……it is the classification of “income” that is taxed t different rates…”
Is this a serious post or am I missing something?
Stupid Puppy what he’s talking about is the taxes you pay when you buy shit. See the rich buy a lot of shit, so they pay tax on that crap like jet skis and houses. The poor pay taxes on the food they buy, because they have to live, it just makes sense that rich people buy more crap, and more expensive crap.
Some people think the income tax is unfair, they don’t really do any research they just go “Logic!” We basically have a flat tax right now, it’s pretty ridiculous.
I was watching the giant douche/turd sandwich episode of South Park last night. I couldn’t help but think of the “My side’s always right, you disagree with something I said, so therefore you are an idiot or Nazi” attitude I see some people take here when it comes to politics.
Stupid Puppy…..
…refer to Publication 17 from the IRS….or potentially “google” IRS tax rates and complete a pro-forma form 1040 from the IRS………also refer to schedule C, Schedule D, Schedule K………then please show me my error….
Thanks..
That makes more sense then, Yogi. Just wasn’t sure if he was talking about the capital gains tax rates, tiered income tax brackets, social security and medicare payroll taxes (of which ss gets capped after $106K or so) or what.
So sales tax, got it.
Who wants to wager……….that……..Observerwwtdd…….and……..SuchCreativity…….and……Stupid Puppy……are the same……..person.
I am a college professor. My starting salary is 39,000 per year. My wife, in the private sector, earns nearly 35k more than me. So…Observer…sorry?
Jethro….
….1/2 the teachers in the next town from me AVERAGE 90K…..
I am NOT Stupid Puppy……so please…finish your Kool-Aid
ALL taxpayers pay the SAME rates for income based on the income earned classified by the TYPE of income
My point is NOT income nor rates….it is that the “Aristocracy” are those who favor the “same” positions in society and therefore HATE “the rich” (anyone making one dollar more than them) …..this Aristocracy does NOT want the “lesser” folk…..salesmen, tradesmen etc from earning more than the “educated” (i.e. I read a lot of the same novels as you did)…..so as Obama said in 2008…..they want the “Joe The Plumbers” to “share the wealth”….in other words to forfeit the fruits of their labors so those with an easy lifestyle of Academia, Media, or some other sinecure can maintain their self-exalted positions in society…..
I don’t have any money.
Holy shit, I thought I’d seen some stupid threads in my time, but this thread is the stupidest.
Also fuck you, Otto, where the flying fuck is my “Otto’s Sycophants Club” t-shirt?
@dissident: Because they always come in groups and it’s the only time they can get anyone to agree with their warped world view.
Tenured and tenure-track professors (which I think is the image conjured when most people think of a “college professor”) are definitely part of the SES elite in the US. That college prof salary stat probably includes professors at every college in the US, and there are a BUTTLOAD of “colleges” in the US. Also, your pay gets jacked up once you make tenure, and then when you get tenure, you’re employed for life. Profs are in a respected/intellectual profession, and if you adjust their earnings to reflect the fact that their job security is effectively 100%, they fit the bill.
Also, Warren Buffet’s odd income tax jeremiad is significantly more nuanced than you suggest, Otto. You’re a smart and funny guy around Uproxx parts, but TBH I have always wondered why you feel so obligated to yell at un-liberal comments.
@Otto, there you go! A little Googling to reduce something as complex as “what it means to be the aristocracy in modern America” to “a mean salary”. But the original poster was so DUMB, wasn’t he? Excellent name-calling to cap things off, I really know you well.
@dissident, a good question. I’m a fan of Stephen Colbert. He was the best part of one of my all-time favorite shows, he and Carell were the best part of the Daily Show back when, and The Colbert Report is a great show. I just can’t understand why these lame-ass posts exist. Why not highlight a single joke from Archer, or It’s Always Sunny, and make an entire post out of that? They’re better shows and probably have more fans. But those posts would suck, just like these do. They’re like something my 55 year old aunt would contribute.
@SuchCreativity–sorry, but I don’t want your help. You seem like a Kool Aid drinker yourself. Do you watch Fox News? Read Ann Coulter to be informed? Do you believe that if Republicans were in charge, they’d “right the ship”? Are you a birther? Do you think you’re always right, and that liberals are always wrong, in everything?
If I’m not giving you the credit you deserve, then sorry. But calling someone as intelligent as Otto Man “laughably ignorant” is ridiculous. He’s an arrogant bully and a self-righteous asshole, but he obviously knows his shit. Plus he can embed images. In fact, he’s a member of the Uproxx aristocracy!
So I guess our favorite people are naval criminal investigators.
Aaaand, here’s an equally stupid theory about Downton Abbey’s appeal.
[www.cnn.com]
It’s because Lord Grantham was a liberal! I wonder a) if this was discussed on CNN, and b) if Stephen Colbert would have given a shit.
The article you linked to was an opinion piece. It was not written by or discussed by the on-air talent.
You’ll notice how, in my comment, I wondered aloud if the subject of the opinion piece was discussed on-air. You seem to know for certain it wasn’t.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around Downton Abbey being appealing for any reason to anyone.
this guy gets it…and +1 for the “u mad” comment…shouldve posted the gif bruh
penis
My thoughts, exactly.
Otto Man for the win.
The delicious irony I enjoy is that Fox is defending a show, about rich British people, on PBS, which receives government funding to help stay on the air. Funding they defended Mitt Romney’s taking away during the election that he just lost.
The stupid…IT BURNS!!!
I don’t think it’s that middle / lower class hates the wealthy elite, it’s just that the sample size is skewed as the ones that are constantly reported on (ex. Sheldon Adelson) have been proven time and time again to be cotton headed ninny muggins (please pardon my language).
I don’t know man, my meth dealer is a pretty swell guy.
We’re talking about something on PBS, right? I mean aside from Romney vs. Big Bird you’d have to go back to the late 70s to find the last time someone talked about PBS.
Sure Americans love rich people, when they’re not the ones owning the country and ignoring it’s people. The rich buy the elections and choose who is acceptable, our democracy is broken. On the right and the left everyone knows that.
Naturally, the complexity is lost in the sound bites. And it’s not really all that complex. There is a big difference between the way Fox New’s rich people want to live and the way the fictional Lord Grantham treats people. In the show, Lord Grantham actually keeps on people he doesn’t need in order to provide them with jobs. He grants them time off for illness or personal troubles and he promises to pay for and take care of the head maid lady (pays for the blind cook’s surgery as well and even sends her to his personal doctor).
Contrast this with the way some corporations do business in America. They outsource anything they can and cut people like wheat (some of this is necessary, it is business after all). Meanwhile, the costs of health care go up and people who get very ill are in danger of losing their jobs. As far as I know Americans work the longest hours of any of the top Western countries.
So there’s a pretty big difference between the radical ideology that Fox espouses and Downton Abbey.
Kudos to JTRO for posting the single most insightful comment on this subject! ( I guess that makes me your sycophant)
My favorite person in a 1920s county treasurer with a goofy name. MORE PLEASE.
Average income is indirectly proportionate to involvement in online comment wars.
I guess you meant “inversely”. You’re in good company.
Sorry, fuck. Nothing worse than a prickly correction monkey.
Indirectly and inversely are interchangable in this context. But I’m sure you knew that.
I didn’t, actually
/commits seppuku
That’s why she’s the Sec. of “Not sure”
Love him.
All you corny liberals making fun of conservatives on Fox are worse than 10,000 John Galts frothing over the corpse of Ayn Rand! Capitalism has run its course! No new society has ever come about without first incubating and tearing asunder the social relations of the old one! Onward comrades! Obama, show your true colors and proclaim socialism!!!
Yo, you are hella fucking stupid.