Posted on 02/22/2010 2:11:01 AM PST by Brugmansian
Ron Paul out-polled Sarah Palin almost 5 to 1 and keynoter Glenn Beck got huge ovations as he disavowed any conservative ascendency within the Republican Party.
So someone please tell me - just what the heck happened to a convention that was off to such a wonderful conservative start? Where is the momentum from the Marco Rubio speech and the Dick Cheney "Obama is a one term President" moment?
Perhaps David Keene of the American Conservative Union will be a bit more careful when picking keynote speakers from now on. What happened was predictable, given that the man he picked uses a daily TV show to make it clear that he blames Republicans, Democrats, the left and the right and politics in general all equally for America's woes.
While he has a huge audience, some of these thoughts are not exactly the consensus among American conservatives. They are not consistent with reality either. Besides, CPAC stands for Conservative Political Action Committee.
Oh I realize that in a ballroom jammed with a disproportionate share of Paul supporters and Beck groupie Keene is likely not aware of how conservatives across the country viewed this soiree. Not yet . . .
I just have to ask: what Republican Party has Beck been watching the past year?
The following lines from his CPAC address -- which are the lines the media have been spreading as his theme -- are simply baffling:
I have not heard people in the Republican Party admit yet that they have a problem. I haven't seen the Come-To-Jesus moment from Republicans yet.
Huh? Is he serious?
Has he not heard about Marco Rubio? Rubio is now up 12 points on Charlie Crist among GOP voters. That sounds to me like a lot of Florida Republicans admit there's a problem.
What about Governor Chris Christie in New Jersey? The lesson he is teaching the New Jersey legislature this week about government spending could have come straight off of Beck's blackboard. He should be proud of this. Why is he ignoring it?
Has he not heard about J.D. Hayworth challenging John McCain in the Arizona primary? Say what you will about J.D, but the idea that a 30-year incumbent is facing a serious primary challenge indicates that some Republicans are admitting they have a problem.
Beck said in his speech that Rush Limbaugh is one of his heroes. Rush is a Republican by the way. He has been onto Republican problems longer than Beck has. Rush is . . .
I hate it when I do that! Here is what you composed:
Sure it is. Its a backhanded, I know better than you. Cheney says this will be a good year, Beck follow it right up with its not good enough not to suck as much as the other party. That implies Cheney is willing to accept not sucking as much. Its crude and uncalled for.
It seems that the author cannot distinguish between Republicans and the Republican Party. Rubio has the support of the Republican base, while Crist has (maybe nowadays, had?) the support of the Republican Party.
So when Beck says that the Republican party hasn't had their wake-up call, he's right. But the Republican base, ie: Conservative, had their wake-up call in 2006. How much longer until the Republican party actually listens and says, "Mea Culpa"?
Amen bro.
Bashing republicans isn't meant to be a slight to those who are talking heads or just recently risen to power because of the previously states politics. It's meant to be a verbal check on those who have failed to live up to the standards conservatives expect them to hold.
I don't fall for Becks world is a goner pov but his bashing of both dens and republicans is, in my opinion, completely warranted.
What is the Republican party’s message? Does anyone have a clear concise plan? I’d like a hard copy please.
What do they propose doing? Eliminating unconstitutional departments? Cutting the budget by 10% a year if they regain power? Republicans as a party have mislead me before. The ever increasing revenues they had while in control were pissed away with the drug care plan and pork projects to buy votes instead of being returned to the people. I won’t be fooled again.
I don't see him lumping all of the Republicans into one group. I agree that persistent "gloom and doom" is a downer, so I don't make a habit of watching him. But I agree with his premise that it took both parties working together in a bipartisan fashion to get the country to the point it's at today. The GOP as a party (not as individuals) is responsible for at least "go along to get along," if not worse.
Based on your remark that you at first agreed with the author's take that Beck was impugning Cheney, I'm inclined to study the premise for the conclusion that Beck asserts the Republican party is the same as the Democratic party. Obviously, the parties are different. But if neither of them changes the general direction of governing, then it's just a crap shoot as to which party will be in charge when the great ship USA finally hits that approaching iceberg.
That is how the New Left took over the country. They pushed aside the revolutionary marxists and went on a Long March through the Democratic establishment until they owned it. The TP should work with the GOP establishment--to overthrow it. Grab what can be taken and flush out the rest. What it took the New Left almost 40 years to accomplish, the TP can do most of this year.
If the shoe fits, wear it. If not, then don’t take it personally.
Fine on here but Beck is the problem. I do voter registration. The biggest objection I get is "there is no difference between the parties". I have heard that for two decades. Supported Republicans with nearly perfect ACU scores and people would say in effect they were no different than a Democrat who scored 0. That is extremely frustrating. Beck reinforces it almost every day.
The Socialist Party got much of its platform passed by using the Democratic Party as a proxy. The Communist Party USA did the same. So did Greens. Only very rarely did any of them flat out criticize or run against Democrats. That format worked great for the far left, didn't it?You are right about the LP. I've detested them for years, despite their obvious good sense on small government. But good sense on a single issue isn't good enough, especially when your every action is contrary to good sense on how to advance your issue in the real world. Aiding and abetting democrats -- which is what the LP does, to the extent that it does anything at all -- is not good sense in politics. Not for supposed conservatives.But the Libertarian party has taken another tack. Rather than drag the GOP to its position, rather than launch get out the vote drives for good GOP candidates as the CPUSA was notoriously excellent at for the Democratic Party in NYC, the LP spends most of its time attacking the GOP and running candidates against the GOP. It has even been caught taking money from the DNC and openly allied itself with Greens in Ohio
In other words, I don't believe the LP is for real. Yes, I believe there are some, perhaps many in it who are sincere. But I don't think the movement as a whole is.
The day I come to the conclusion Beck is pushing the LP and pushing people to vote LP is the day I stop watching his broadcasts.
I do voter registration. The biggest objection I get is "there is no difference between the parties". I have heard that for two decades. Supported Republicans with nearly perfect ACU scores and people would say in effect they were no different than a Democrat who scored 0. That is extremely frustrating. Beck reinforces it almost every day.I wish you could get that message to Beck.
He is hurting the GOP's chances at victory because he is a lunkhead hell-bent on making sure everyone knows his name.
He keeps saying he is not a leader, but at the same time he leads people to the likes of Ron Paul. The Paulies have a major number of people vying for congress, and Beck's rhetoric is going to confuse a lot of people to vote those morons in.
I’ve been aware of Beck for a long time, probably a lot longer than you. It was Beck who made the comment about believing in global warming, so if you have a problem with it, take it up with your hero, dimwit.
Bump
Awesomeness.
Beck isn’t the ONE voice taking on the libs. He’s one of many out there. He is the ONE voice however, who constantly bashes the Republicans. Sure, they have made mistakes, and yes, some fail to see or own up to those mistakes. But, to lump them all into one category is wrong on Beck’s part
USA Today has been a very balanced paper for some time. They aren’t liberal as you suggest. They’ve printed some very informative articles recently on the current administration.
Some will never see that Beck is a showman and a profiteer. Does he love this country? I’m sure he does. He’s now rich after being in the gutter. Is that a bad thing? No, its the American way. I just have a hard time believing he isn’t in this for moolah and ego.
Squishy? no! this is the problem with beckies and paulies. If I disagree with the way to go about bringing change to the R party, I’m squishy. Tell you what, here’s an analogy even Beck can understand. When you confront a smoker to stop smoking, will they listen? Nope. They have to want to. Continually calling everyone in the GOP RINO’s will get the cold shoulder and maybe some guffaws.
Thank you for making the cross post to Levin...excellent.
What could Beck do to convince that you are wrong about his motives?
I too wonder if Republicans 'got the message'....
You're welcome!
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