Posted on 03/23/2010 3:52:31 AM PDT by ICAB9USA
Looking at the state of both parties after President Obama’s health bill win in the House, ABC’s Terry Moran elevated the view of “prominent conservative” David Frum, author a year ago of Newsweek’s “Why Rush is Wrong” cover story, who blamed Rush Limbaugh and Fox News for what he’s dubbed the GOP’s “Waterloo.” On Nightline, Moran contended “anger, stoking it, expressing it, riding it...was the Republican strategy to defeat health care. And over the weekend all that anger got ugly, as some Democratic Members of Congress were called vial, racial and anti-gay slurs.”
But, he warned, “in the wake of the Democrats’ victory, some Republicans are not sure all that anger makes good politics,” as if Limbaugh and other conservative leaders advocated yelling the “slurs.” Moran relayed how “Frum says the real leadership of the Republican Party during the course of the health care battle was not to be found in the halls of Congress, but on the air waves” since “it was talk radio and Fox News, Frum argues, that drove the GOP strategy.” Moran paraphrased Frum’s take:
It sounds like you're saying that the Glenn Becks, Rush Limbaughs, hijacked the Republican Party and drove it to a defeat?
Frum rued: “Republicans originally thought that Fox worked for us and now we're discovering we work for Fox. The balance here has been completely reversed and the thing that sustains a strong Fox network is the thing that undermines a strong Republican Party.” On his FrumForum blog on Sunday, in a post titled “Waterloo,” Frum charged: “We followed the most radical voices in the party and the movement, and they led us to abject and irreversible defeat.”
An excerpt from his tirade against talk radio and Limbaugh for making it impossible for Republicans to make a deal with Democrats, as if that’s a bad thing, as Frum claimed Limbaugh really wants Republicans to fail so he has more listeners and can sell more ads: ....There were leaders who knew better, who would have liked to deal. But they were trapped. Conservative talkers on Fox and talk radio had whipped the Republican voting base into such a frenzy that deal-making was rendered impossible. How do you negotiate with somebody who wants to murder your grandmother? Or – more exactly – with somebody whom your voters have been persuaded to believe wants to murder their grandmother?
I’ve been on a soapbox for months now about the harm that our overheated talk is doing to us. Yes it mobilizes supporters – but by mobilizing them with hysterical accusations and pseudo-information, overheated talk has made it impossible for representatives to represent and elected leaders to lead. The real leaders are on TV and radio, and they have very different imperatives from people in government. Talk radio thrives on confrontation and recrimination.
When Rush Limbaugh said that he wanted President Obama to fail, he was intelligently explaining his own interests. What he omitted to say – but what is equally true – is that he also wants Republicans to fail. If Republicans succeed – if they govern successfully in office and negotiate attractive compromises out of office – Rush’s listeners get less angry. And if they are less angry, they listen to the radio less, and hear fewer ads for Sleepnumber beds.
So today’s defeat for free-market economics and Republican values is a huge win for the conservative entertainment industry. Their listeners and viewers will now be even more enraged, even more frustrated, even more disappointed in everybody except the responsibility-free talkers on television and radio. For them, it’s mission accomplished. For the cause they purport to represent, it’s Waterloo all right: ours.
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Right on.
Also bears repeating. :) bttt
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....... the latter.
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Beautiful.
What the hell happened with Frum??? He really “jumped the shark” after leaving the Bush II White House.
I'm glad I don't know anyone that ignorant.
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Krauthammer has been pretty disappointing lately. I used to appreciate him a lot more in the past. He's getting too comfortable around D.C. (jmo)
Frum, go to hell, and take your Moron with you.
Blame us istead of the folks that passed the bill. Can I have an email for this asshole?
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I'm sure you can.
Here is what he stands for:
Compromise w/ dhimmis.
Last time I checked Barney was still a fag! Who cares what assholes like Frum think! What matters is what WE think! Is FrumP glad Obama succeeded? I want Obama to fail, I want him impeached, I want him.........you finish it!
If the slurs and spitting incident never happened why are GOP House leaders like Cantor, for one, saying it did and apologizing for it? Why would they confirm rather than deny? Are they misinformed? Just curious.
And they listen to us Porch conservatives less. He likely voted for his messiah. Love how the PC police are pushing this racist,sexist, homophobe as hard as they can.
Pray for America
Politicians are always rushing to be the first to denounce an ill or to support something popular. The facts are unimportant to politicians...it's the image that will help them get reelected that is important to them. So instead of trying to find out the truth and then stand up in a press conference and say it doesn't appear to have happened is too slow and too risky when they can rush to a microphone and denounce hatred...even if the hatred doesn't exist.
There were tons of cameras around...if this had occurred we'd be seeing it every 5 minutes on TV.
He should take the first Bus back Home -- TO CANADA, where he came from.
“...as some Democratic Members of Congress were called vial, racial and anti-gay slurs.”
Another lie from John Lewis!
There is video and audio of their entrance and no racial slurs were made and none of the members flinched, recoiled, or reacted in any manner that would indicate they heard any such outburst.
Thank you... and I mean it.
LLS
Don’t give these people any info...let them make fools of themselves.
Yep... “strong in him the beltway disease is”.
LLS
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