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Mark Steyn: Pundit Extraordinaire
Vocal Minority, O.C. Register ^ | 2/8/09 | EricTheRed_VocalMinority

Posted on 02/08/2009 1:57:32 PM PST by EricTheRed_VocalMinority

Mark Steyn is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated political pundits in this country. Seriously, he should be a household name. First of all, last week El Rushbo was away from his golden microphone. This usually elicits feelings of disappointment in his regular listeners, myself included.

Don’t get me wrong; Rush’s substitutes are good too. But there’s something about the author of America Alone that sets him apart from all the rest—who subbed three days last week. 2:59 on Wednesday, I was actually sad that it was the end of Steyn’s radio stint. He was that good. Just an amazing combination of intelligence, insight, personality, wit that very few people have.

So you can imagine my delight upon seeing a new article from Steyn, which appeared Friday in the O.C. Register. It is, as expected, brilliant and thought-provoking. [Hghlights mine.]

In The Washington Post, E.J. Dionne tried to break it gently to us:

“No occupant of the White House has ever been able to walk on water.”

Yeah, sure, no previous occupant of the White House has been able to walk on water – your Eisenhowers and Roosevelts, your Chester Arthurs and Grover Clevelands and whatnot. But Barack didn’t run as just another of those squaresville losers. He was gonna heal the planet and lower the oceans. So, even if he couldn’t walk on water, he should at least be able to paddle in it. “He is a community organizer like Jesus was,” said Susan Sarandon, “and now we’re a community, and he can organize us.”

So how’s that going? Jesus took a handful of loaves and two fish and fed 5,000 people. Barack wants to take a trillion pieces of pork and feed it to a handful of Democratic Party interest groups. [...]

(Excerpt) Read more at vocalminority.typepad.com ...


TOPICS: Government; Politics
KEYWORDS: barackobama; marksteyn; obama; porkbill; porkulus

1 posted on 02/08/2009 1:57:32 PM PST by EricTheRed_VocalMinority
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To: EricTheRed_VocalMinority

Mark Steyn is an intellectual “Mike Royko”- but a bit more conservative and funnier.


2 posted on 02/08/2009 2:00:25 PM PST by Krankor (Vitajex, whatcha doin' to me.)
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To: Krankor

He was on Hannity’s TV show last week also; was surprised to see he didn’t appear as old as he sounded on the show. He has red hair and looked like he could fit in nicely with one of the Scottish clansmen!!


3 posted on 02/08/2009 2:03:39 PM PST by spiderfern
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To: EricTheRed_VocalMinority

“Seriously, he should be a household name”

He is around my house


4 posted on 02/08/2009 2:05:48 PM PST by nuconvert ( Khomeini promised change too // Hail, Chairman O)
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To: EricTheRed_VocalMinority
More brilliance from the article:

"As longtime readers will know, I’m all in favor of flipping the bird to the global community. But at least, when Rummy was doing his shtick about “Old Europe,” he did it intentionally. To cheese off the foreigners entirely accidentally before you’ve even had your first black-tie banquet is quite an accomplishment. Protectionism is serious business to the Continentals. Oh, to be sure, if the swaggering unilateralist Yank cowboy invades some Third World basket-case they’ll seize on it as an opportunity for some cheap moral posturing. But in the end they don’t much care one way or the other. Plunging the planet into global depression, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter...."

[snip]

"...the gulf between the rhetoric and the reality, between the audacity of hope and the reality of pork, yawns ever wider...."

5 posted on 02/08/2009 2:46:25 PM PST by Albion Wilde ("Praise and worship" is my alternate lifestyle.)
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To: EricTheRed_VocalMinority

Steyn should have his own radio show. Maybe in the evening.

In my neck of the woods it’s—

Dennis Miller—morning

Dennis Prager—late morning, early afternoon

Rush—early-mid afternoon

Hannity—early-mid afternoon

Hugh Hewitt-—late afternoon

Michael Savage—evening


6 posted on 02/08/2009 3:26:26 PM PST by SaxxonWoods (Charter Member, 58 Million Club)
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To: spiderfern
I don't think Steyn is even 50 years old.

He did benefit from having an early start given his failure to attend college.

He's done time as an arts and theater critic, columnist in U.K., Canada and the States.

He paid my state a great compliment when he deigned to reside here in New Hampster.

7 posted on 02/08/2009 3:52:35 PM PST by billorites (freepo ergo sum)
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To: EricTheRed_VocalMinority

Steyn is what PJ O’Rourke used to be.


8 posted on 02/08/2009 4:11:21 PM PST by yazoo
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To: EricTheRed_VocalMinority
Steyn is part Alexander Pope, G.K. Chesterton, H.L. Mencken, Mike Royko (as has been said), Rush, and Dave Barry.

He is indeed our newly acquired national treasure.
9 posted on 02/08/2009 5:31:00 PM PST by jobim
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To: jobim

boy, Steyn gets eviscerated on wkipedia


10 posted on 02/08/2009 5:34:20 PM PST by wardaddy (I'm for Sarah. Nuff said, you either get it or you don't. Enjoy Steele, he's no Palin.)
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To: knews_hound

Ping


11 posted on 02/08/2009 11:35:42 PM PST by beaversmom
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To: EricTheRed_VocalMinority
Just an amazing combination of intelligence, insight, personality, wit that very few people have.

He IS so amazing. The guy can not only write, but he can talk and do it in the same style as his writing. He's smart. He's got commonsense. He's funny. He's decent. He's mannered. He's sarcastic. He's fresh. You could have a drink with him and it would be fun. He could talk with a common man and not make him feel inferior yet he could hold his own with intellectuals. I want the man cloned. I want a hive of his clones being groomed to take over the Earth. I will volunteer to be a worker in the hive taking care of the little Steyns.

12 posted on 02/08/2009 11:45:05 PM PST by beaversmom
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To: beaversmom
The guy can not only write, but he can talk and do it in the same style as his writing.

It's because he doesn't always write, he usually dictates.

;O)

13 posted on 02/08/2009 11:57:39 PM PST by metesky (My retirement fund is holding steady @ $.05 a can.)
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