Oh look, Glenn Beck said something outlandish to gain attention for himself.
“If you have a big government progressive, or a big government progressive in Obama… ask yourself this, Tea Party: is it about Obama’s race? Because that’s what it appears to be to me. If you’re against him but you’re for this guy [Gingrich], it must be about race. I mean, what else is it? It’s the policies that matter.”
Glenn Beck is like a lot of not very smart people who dabble in philosophy and history. He’s read a couple of Ronald Pestritto books and now he reduces everything to the same paradigm. Everyone who deviates slightly from Beck’s brand of conservatism is just a re-incarnation of Teddy Roosevelt.
Now is Beck completely off about Newt? No, as I’ve said before, Newt is a conservative technocrat, which is really no kind of conservative at all. But to state categorically that there is NO difference whatsoever between Obama and Newt, and to indicate that any conservative who supports the latter over the former is a racist, means that you should not be taken seriously.
And that leads me to a couple of general comments about conservative critics of Newt Gingrich. First, stop acting like the man is a closet Bolshevik. Many of you have made fine points about Gingrich’s less than conservative instincts. But not to content to make subtle points, you choose the headline grabbing THIS GOES TO 11 hyperbole that only weakens your argument. Second, if Newt is so terrible please indicate which of the other candidates you prefer. I can understand the establishment pundits looking to engage in intellectual jujitsu in order to weaken Gingrich in favor of Mittens, but what is the aim of conservative pundits? If you actively support Perry or Santorum or even Bachmann, fine. All of the above are certainly more conservative than Newt, and in the case of the guys named Rick are also much better candidates. But then you have to make the case for those candidates and not simply the case against Newt. Because if you’re not crazy about those candidates either, then you simply come off as a purist crank who won’t be content until the re-animated corpse of Ronald Reagan emerges as the front-runner.
I’m not so sure about Reagan.
If we’re going to resurrect, I would prefer we resurrect Goldwater.
Sadly, c matt, for some conservatives today Reagan would fail their test of purity.
And are we resurrecting the pro-choice libertarian Goldwater?
“Glenn Beck is like a lot of not very smart people who dabble in philosophy and history.”
I am definitely going to repeat that and pretend I thought of it. That’s just beautiful.
And that leads me to a couple of general comments about conservative critics of Newt Gingrich.
He’s a politician, and he’s got issues in his past. Not as bad of a politician as some others, and his issues aren’t as big as some others. *shrug* It’s always a matter of who will screw up the least and screw us over the least.
Beck’s comment is idiotic, but it seems to be a new stupid Newt comment coming to the surface every day. The effusive praise of Andy Stern in 2008 is the latest recent Anewteurysm to come back to haunt the front runner.
A choice between Svelte Romney and Chubby Romney pretty much the definition of a Hobson’s Choice.
Third look at Perry.
Glen Beck is a loosely wired ignorant man and this comment demonstrates that fact. In regard to Gingrich, I will say one thing for him: the debates show that he is unafraid to fight and to get bad press from the media. Romney strikes me as a Tom Dewey redo of the 1948 election, a man who believes he can coast to victory. I have little love for Gingrich Lord knows, but if it comes down to the Weathervane and Gingrich, I reluctantly go for Gingrich. It is still quite early however, and I could see some other member of the pack coming to the fore and getting the Anyone-but-Romney-vote which I think will be the decisive factor in this primary contest.
“And are we resurrecting the pro-choice libertarian Goldwater?”
To say the least. He arranged an abortion for one of his daughters in the fifties. His wife was a big time supporter of Planned Parenthood in Arizona. When it looked like he was going to lose in 1980 he came out in favor of a constitutional amendment to ban abortion and right to lifers went door to door for him making the difference. He then did an immediate about face after he got re-elected and spent his last term making caustic comments about the right-to-lifers who saved his political hide. In retirement he was a reliable talking head when the networks wanted some Republican who would give them a pro-abort comment, be pro-gay rights or criticize the religious right.
I am an independent and won’t vote in a GOP primary.
In 1952, Eisenhower basically could have been a Dem or a Rep.
Romney is no Supreme Allied Commander, and he has some seriously bad “baggage.”
One wonders, with the money Romney has and the professional GOP party support he seems to enjoy, why no one has thought to “package” him as a self-made, successful man who alone can solve America’s problems.
Too bad he has such horrid baggage (which he refuses to disavow) and, like Beck, is a light weight.
I thought his father was okay. What happened with Mitt? Why would anyone name his kid Mitt?
For me, it is anybody but Romney. Rich, sleezy $cumb@gs offer $10,000 bets to tell the rest of us to shut up the eff up.
Only thing I want to say about Goldwater: maybe he would have fought the so-called war in Vietnam.
For me, it is anybody but Romney. Rich, sleezy $cumb@gs offer $10,000 bets to tell the rest of us to shut up the eff up.
To be fair, I do somewhat the same thing when I tell my husband or other family member “betcha a thousand bucks” or “betcha twenty bucks” or “fill in the blank large amount of money” on a topic. I wouldn’t phrase it as “shut the eff up” but that’s because I actually say “shut the Eff up” if I mean it. It means “look, you do NOT know what the heck you’re talking about, so stop blowing smoke.”
I can’t believe I’m actually somewhat defending Mitt in some shape, but there’s that. The phrase doesn’t automatically mean “I am a rich moron.” If anything, I’m a lower middle class baka.
I considered going to find a clip of the exchange to see if I could detect the annoyance that accompanies my use of that phrase, then I realized that I doubt I’d be able to tell if he was annoyed.
A choice between Svelte Romney and Chubby Romney pretty much the definition of a Hobson’s Choice.
This exchange between the two affirms that.
‘ “… If you’re against him but you’re for this guy [Gingrich], it must be about race. I mean, what else is it? It’s the policies that matter.” ‘
Oh brother.
Beck is a Mormon convert. His old FNC shows were chocked full of Mormon theology.
http://youtu.be/NgnRN-GOLLI
The DVD he mentions is also Mormon in origin and has been denounced by the Ohio Historical Society.
http://ohio-archaeology.blogspot.com/2010/12/commentary-on-lost-civilizations-of.html
Foxfier – Have I been watching too much anime lately, or did you just slip into Japanese? (“Both” is an acceptable answer.)
T. Shaw – What makes you think of Romney as a lightweight?
Pinky-
C, all of the above and having a love of gratuitous Japanese. ^.^ It’s got to be possible to watch too much anime, but I haven’t hit that line yet myself….