Sorry, not sorry: Dan Crenshaw’s non-apology for telling struggling Americans to quit whining

by DBS Wire

Rep. Dan Crenshaw has found a novel solution to America’s affordability problem: Stop complaining, get another roommate and learn to love ramen.

The outgoing Texas Republican ignited a conservative firestorm after Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet relayed a college student’s simple observation about the cost of everyday life:

“A burrito shouldn’t cost $20.”

Kolvet acknowledged that some of the pressure was a “hangover from Covid and Biden-era inflation,” but argued that the political reality remains unchanged: “It just feels like basic things cost too much.”

That was apparently too much economic populism for Crenshaw, who jumped into the debate Wednesday night with all the bedside manner of a collections agent.

“Stop whining, get a job, eat Ramen like the rest of us did in college, on a budget with 4 roommates.”

Crenshaw continued:

“The market doesn’t care what you think something ‘should’ cost. Only communists care.”

Then came the closer:

“Are you a communist? Or are you an American adult male capable of handling his own sh*t?”

Nothing says “we understand working people” quite like a congressman responding to food-price anxiety by asking whether voters are communists.

After his post detonated across social media, Crenshaw returned Thursday to offer what initially looked like an apology.

It lasted approximately five words.

“Okay, I am SORRY for triggering the comment section.”

He then sarcastically agreed that the world was “objectively harder than EVER” and joked that the existence of an expensive burrito proved capitalism had failed.

“lol no just kidding.”

Crenshaw accused conservatives concerned about affordability of embracing the Left’s culture of victimhood.

“Remember when the right had principles and made fun of leftists for elevating victimhood as a virtue?”

He ended by asking whether Republicans should “tell people the truth” or “just bribe them for their vote in the next election.”

So, no, Crenshaw did not apologize for dismissing voters’ concerns. Crenshaw was hardly alone in reaching for the ramen lecture.

Washington Post columnist and Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen told the complaining student to “cry me a river,” arguing that college cafeteria burritos were already included in meal plans.

Thiessen later declared that a burrito reaches $20 only when someone orders through DoorDash rather than walking to Chipotle or Taco Bell. He recalled living with roommates and working two jobs after graduation, adding, “I didn’t whine about affordability.”

Vice President JD Vance responded with considerably less economic theory.

“I’m surprised to hear Mark say this. If you’ve ever met him in person, it’s quite obvious the man has never missed a burrito.”

Asked later about the personal jab, Vance expressed no regret, saying, “You’re allowed to be a little bit humorous.”

Beneath the jokes, however, the exchange exposed a serious Republican divide. Traditional free-market conservatives argued that consumers should adjust their expectations, cook at home and accept prices determined by the market. Populist conservatives warned that scolding people over their spending habits is both politically foolish and disconnected from what families are experiencing.

RealClearInvestigations writer Mark Hemingway sided with Kolvet.

“Eating a burrito once in a while should not be an aspirational lifestyle, for crying out loud.”

Angela Morabito of the Defense of Freedom Institute was even more direct:

“If the Right’s ‘solution’ to the affordability crisis is telling people to eat worse food, we will lose, and we will deserve it.”

A $20 burrito may not represent the average restaurant price, but the larger affordability concern cannot be waved away as social-media whining.

The latest federal figures show that food away from home cost 3.4% more in June than one year earlier. Grocery prices increased 2.7%, while overall food prices climbed 3%. Gasoline was up 26.7% over the same period, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That does not mean government should impose price controls. It does mean voters can read a receipt.

Inflation also compounds. A lower annual inflation rate does not restore the purchasing power lost during earlier price surges; it merely means prices are rising more slowly. Consumers still encounter the accumulated increases whenever they buy groceries, pay rent, insure a vehicle or grab dinner.

Republicans used that frustration successfully against Democrats. Telling the same voters that they are lazy, entitled or flirting with communism because they still notice the bill is a peculiar way to keep their support.

There is another awkward detail. Crenshaw is already on his way out of Congress after Texas state Rep. Steve Toth defeated him 56% to 41% in the March Republican primary. Toth’s supporters argued that Crenshaw had become disconnected from the conservative voters he represented—a criticism Crenshaw’s burrito blast is unlikely to bury. The Texas Tribune reported that Toth won despite Crenshaw’s substantial fundraising advantage.

MY QUICK TAKE:

Dan Crenshaw is correct about one thing, Capitalism does not guarantee anybody a cheap burrito.

It also does not require elected Republicans to insult voters who notice that dinner now needs a financing plan.

There is a difference between demanding socialist price controls and asking Republican leaders whether they have any ideas beyond “eat ramen, peasant.” The Left’s answer to every economic problem is more government, more spending and another army of clipboard carriers. Republicans ought to offer something better than that—not a lecture delivered from inside the congressional dining room.

And please spare me the heroic tales of surviving college on noodles and roommates. Every generation has its hardship stories. That does not make every new financial burden imaginary. My generation walked uphill both ways, too—although apparently, we stopped for a reasonably priced burrito.

The political lesson is simple: Never confuse personal responsibility with personal contempt. You can defend free markets while recognizing that working Americans are being squeezed. You can oppose socialism without treating a grocery receipt like communist propaganda.

Crenshaw lost his primary by 15 points and is now explaining how Republicans should talk to voters. That is like the captain of the Titanic offering iceberg-navigation seminars.

DBS WIRE SOURCES: