After his Masters victory, pro golfer Bubba Watson celebrated with his family at a Waffle House. Pictures tweeted from there went viral. Waffle House appreciated the appreciation.
What's not to like about this great story? Apparently some self-appointed nanny state-loving guardians of nutrition like Katherine Tallmadge believe that Watson set a bad example for Americans by eating there. Oh, and with her powers of telepathy, she just knows that Watson's a complete phony about what he really eats. She went after Watson on one of Neil Cavuto's Fox programs yesterday, and in doing so caught talk show host Rush Limbaugh's attention.
Since Tallmadge's career success is, as Limbaugh accurately described it, "based on pestering people over what they eat," and because she apparently likes to play the Washington insider game (complete with a picture of Michelle Obama promoting the Obama administration's heavy-handed obesity fight at her home page), it seems fair to say that she is not alone in her elitist outlook. So let's hear what Rush had to say about all of this (HT Daily Rushbo), and why this really is a teachable media moment:
Partial Transcript (begins at 1:33 of the audio; link is in original; bolds are mine):
Leftists Outraged That Bubba Watson Hit Waffle House After Masters Win
RUSH: (Tallmadge) was on talking about Bubba and his decision to go to Waffle House after winning the Masters on Sunday. Apparently she'd been out talking about it enough that Cavuto wanted to have her on as a guest. He said, "Why are you sick about Bubba Watson eating at Waffle House after winning the Masters?"
TALLMADGE: Well, it would be great if celebrities and sports figures set a better example for our obese nation.
CAVUTO: Well, what's wrong with the Waffle House?
TALLMADGE: There's nothing wrong with the Waffle House if it's an occasional splurge, but these gazillionaires love to show Americans that they're one of you. And so, to win a popularity contest, they go to Waffle houses, diners, steak places, when in reality, to be a great athlete or a celebrity in good shape, they don't really eat like that.
RUSH: Man, oh, man, do you all understand everything that is wrapped up in this one 35-second bite? Let's start at the top of this. "There's nothing wrong with the Waffle House if it's an occasional splurge." Ms. Tallmadge, it really is none of your business. It really has nothing to do with you. Who goes to Waffle House, how often, and why, is none of your business. Nobody has elected or appointed you the overseer of their culinary behavior. So who are you? I mean, surely you can say what you want to say, but why do you think this way? I don't understand, why does it matter?
Now, I know why it matters. That's the point. I understand these people, folks, better than they understand themselves. "But these gazillionaires." Bubba Watson is not a gazillionaire. By the time Bubba Watson pays his taxes on that $1.6 million, he's gonna have less than a million dollars left. He's gotta pay his caddy. Then he had expenses to live there. He probably had to rent a house for the time he's there. He's not gonna walk away a millionaire.
Now, he's got his endorsement deals and so forth, he does okay, but he's not a gazillionaire. "They love to show Americans they're one of you." Oh, so he's a phony? So to win a popularity contest you go to Waffle House. Right. So only the poor and only the dregs and only the middle class go, and the only reason Bubba is going is to forge a bond with people. He's lying to them. He's faking them out. He doesn't really like it, and he doesn't really go there.
... They (people like Tallmadge who would criticize Watson — Ed.) are not a kooky, small minority. They're the base of the Democrat Party and they're out there actively stigmatizing. If you don't think the right thing about gay marriage, gone. If you don't think the right thing about Colbert, they're gonna try to humiliate you and insult you and tell people you have no business listening to this guy.
... And so Bubba Watson, who probably couldn't care less about any of this, he loves the place, but they're trying to stigmatize it and stigmatize him. Folks, it's not an insignificant thing. You might think a story like this is a throwaway, and 20 years ago we would have done a big, funny bit about it and laughed about it, and we still could. I mean, that hasn't changed. But what I didn't realize then was that a lot of people think this.
You've got Michelle Obama basically doing the same thing ... don't make the mistake I made 20 years ago and think it's fringe and never gonna amount to anything. Because now it has come to amount to things. ... You laugh about it and think kooks, and they are. They're dangerous junior little fascists. But the thing is, they have a political party that represents and advances that kind of thinking, and it's called the Democrat Party.
Watson reportedly left a $148 tip after his group's meal, which seemingly roughs out to about 200 percent of the tab. The establishment's manager was impressed, but the author's final incoherent sentence at the link seems to be tinged with a bit of class envy.
Sadly, Rush appears to be right. There's no shortage of critics in the Washington establishment, including its media elites, who wish to conjure up reasons not to appreciate and to marginalize heartwarming success stories which don't conform to their cultural outlook.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
