Glenn Beck: Harmful to the Conservative Movement (Barf)

commentarymagazine.com ^ | Sept. 21, 2009 | Peter Wehner

[Tublecane]

“The only way Obama will lose is if a Republican wins.”

An election, yes. But not the battle for public opinion. And that’s what Beck is after.

If it was up to the Republicans alone, who knows, they might have signed off on Obamacare with a few meaningless concessions, like a nod to counteracting “defensive medicine” and empty promises about patient-doctor autonomy. As it is, with poll numbers and conservative Democrats against it, Obamacare is in real trouble, and real compromises will be made. Conservative pundits, not Republican leaders, are partly to thank for that.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

I didn’t know libertarianism and conservatism were mutually exclusive. I think they have a broad overlap.

Ronald Reagan
“If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals — if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.”
— Ronald Reagan

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

This is why I like Beck and Savage better than I like Limbaugh and Hannity. The latter 2 tend to be shameless apologist for the Republicans. Limbaugh and Hannity do point out enough criticisms of Republicans not to be thought of as Republican lap dogs, but certainly Beck and Savage are far more open and honest about the problems with the Republicans.

[SmokingJoe]

“Well, I think I’ve said as much as I’m going to.”

Said he, just before he went on to post another 50 lines of text.
Hey, if you wanna make some statement of intent claiming "Well, I think I’ve said as much as I’m going to", at least make some effort to follow through on what you just said will ya, instead of break your word in the very next 20 sentences after that.

“If I want to waste my time arguing with an idiot, there are plenty of idiots who are a lot closer to me.”

Yeah
The idiot closest to you being yourself of course.
Can't get any closer than that can you?

“If you want to go on deluding yourself that Bush was somehow just as bad as Obama, I can’t stop you.”

Again, no one has ever said Bush deficits were bigger than 0bama's in this thread, apart from you.
You keep creating your own bogyman then attacking the bogeyman you created.
This is about what caused the Republican Party to lose to the Democrats in the past 2 elections. Glen Beck had nothing to do with it.
John McCain, George Bush, and the Republican Party itself, had everything to do with the Democrats winning.

[wardaddy]

His argument that there is very little difference between the two parties is silly

this one I agree with...yes the GOP often sucks and ignores it's base but the Democrats are now Simply Red.

[wardaddy]

nice post for a bluebelly X.

[wardaddy]

while I don’t completely agree I do find your allegories remarkably astute

[SmokingJoe]

The point is, Beck, Limbaugh, the Tea Parties, conservatives blogs, FR etc are doing what the Republican Party should have been doing long ago, when 0bama started his insane spending spree, appointed his communist czars and started doing whatever he could to circumvent the American constitution. While 0bama was busy committing these crimes, Republican “leaders” like Michael Steele were asleep, and Republicans in the congress were not out there holding 0bama’s feet to the fire.
It was this grassroots Tea Party movement, stoked by conservative talk radio and conservative blogs and internet sites, that finally managed to lay a glove on the 0bamination.
Way I see it, whatever helps to bring down 0bama is fine with me, whether Beck is a conservative or not. He has been the most effective force against 0bama so far.
Equally, I'd be quite ok with it, if Beck attacked Republicans in the congress like John McCain and Olympia Snow, if Republicans after take over congress again in 2010, they resumed the wasteful ways that they had when Republicans were in control of congress in the first 6 years of the Bush administration. Congressmen need to be forcefully reminded constantly, that they are there to serve the people, not lord it over them, and that it's the people's money they are spending out there.

[Terpfen]

I didn’t know libertarianism and conservatism were mutually exclusive. I think they have a broad overlap.

Broad overlap is not equivalence. Conservatives and libertarians agree with the Jefferson phrase that the government that governs best governs least. Differences emerge in the details, and there are enough that libertarians have chosen to form their own political party rather than work to get conservatives elected under the Republican Party. There is a fundamental similarity and dissimilarity between conservatism and libertarianism.

And Beck still needs to make up his mind which one he is.

[Colorado Buckeye]

Looks like a member of the welfare (international especially) wing of the GOP is wetting the bed over Beck. They had their man to run the country into the ground for 8 years (before squeezing out of his rump the final turd consisting of our current administration). The Crist/Pawlenty/Giuliani/Bloomberg/McCain idealists have done enough, thanks.

Nicely put, but I thing that last sentence sould read:

The Crist/Pawlenty/Giuliani/Bloomberg/McCain globalists have done enough, thanks.

[Colorado Buckeye]

The only way Obama will lose is if a Republican wins. Third parties are trips down Liberal Lane: reference Ross Perot.

Not necessarily so: reference Abraham Lincoln.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

The only way Obama will lose is if a Republican wins. Third parties are trips down Liberal Lane: reference Ross Perot.

Exactly right, but some conservatives are looking for that 'perfect conservative candidate,' and if they can't find that person, they don't care if Obama wins again.

[Terpfen]

Not necessarily so: reference Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln? Who? Oh, you must mean the first Republican to win the presidency.