Posted on 01/20/2012 9:47:07 AM PST by Qbert
Two prominent conservative columnists, Charles Krauthammer and Peggy Noonan, warn this morning that Republican infighting may do the party grievous damage for the 2012 election, with Krauthammer declaring that President Obama "could not have chosen more self-destructive adversaries."
Here's Krauthammer on GOP candidates playing into Obama's message reboot:
For the first few weeks, the class-envy gambit had some effect, bumping Obamas numbers slightly. But the story was still lagging, suffering in part from its association with an Occupy rabble that had widely worn out its welcome.Then came the twist. Then came the most remarkable political surprise since the 2010 midterm: The struggling Democratic class-war narrative is suddenly given life and legitimacy by . . . Republicans! Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry make the case that private equity as practiced by Romneys Bain Capital is nothing more than vulture capitalism looting companies and sucking them dry while casually destroying the lives of workers .
How quickly has the zeitgeist changed? Wednesday, the Republican House reconvened to reject Obamas planned $1.2 trillion debt-ceiling increase. (Lacking Senate concurrence, the debt ceiling will be raised nonetheless.) Barely noticed. All eyes are on South Carolina and Romneys taxes.
This is no mainstream media conspiracy. This is the GOP maneuvering itself right onto Obama terrain.
And here's Noonan on the 2012 field racing into a "John Grisham novel"-like phase of the primary campaign:
Secret offshore bank accounts, broken love, the testimony of anguished ex-wives: "He wanted an open marriage." A battered old veteran emerges from the background and, in his electoral death throes, provides secret information"I'm for Newt"that he hopes will upend a dirty, rotten establishment. A vest-wearing choir boy turns out to have been the unknown winner of that case back in Iowa. And all this against the backdrop of a mysterious firm that moves in and destroys communities"When Mitt Romney came to town . . ."while its CEO pays nothing in taxes.If you are a Republican who hates a mess, or if you are a member of that real but elusive and hydra-headed thing, the GOP establishment, you are beside yourself with anxiety and unhappiness. You think: "They're losing this thing! They're going to limp out of South Carolina, they'll limp through Florida, they're killing each other and killing the party's chances. How will they look by the fall? What are independents going to think of the guy we finally put up? We all know politics ain't beanbag, but it's not supposed to be a clown-car Indy 500 with cars hitting the wall and guys in wigs littering the track!"
There's been a lot of damage. We lose sense of it in the day to day, but in the aggregate it's going to prove considerable.
Apparently you've already forgotten what the GOP Establishment did to Sarah Palin, or else you wouldn't even need to ask such a question. Until we can kick them out of the GOP, we'll always be fighting an uphill battle against our own alleged allies.
Egads, Peggy!
The rabble is refusing to vote for Mitt!
You can include the East & Left Coast Intelligentsia/Liberals in that crowd. I deal with it daily on my alumni blog, where conservatives are roundly thought of as idiots and knuckle draggers, even though we all graduated from the same university.
For example, I raised a stir this morning in responding to a poster who said, "the republican base is Rush Limbaugh". I upset many of them by saying that "the Democrat Party base is Peggy Joseph".
Here's what is really upsetting the Washingtonian elites, who are primed for four more years of Obama: Romney has been outed before he could be anointed. After he got the nomination sewed up, then Romney was going to be nailed on everything, and more, that has emerged over the past week.
They're so twitterpated, they're raising the spectre of a brokered convention.
I'm not the biggest fan of Newt, but I've concluded that what this country now needs is a real son of a beyotch as President, not a community organizer.
Methinks that Newt is the most genuine SOB currently running.
Stopped reading right there.
You can almost see noonan’s words slurring themselves.
As for the other guy, he knows conservatives know he isn’t...and he has taken to giving disclaimers prior to his ramblings on fox. It’s...um... amusing.
They’re both full of shyt. Both are Romney backers that can’s stand the though of real conservative winning the nomination. To hell with both of them.
I will not serve their Romney-thing, any more than I would serve the Obama-thing of the Democrats.
In other words: LEAVE MY ROMNEY ALONE AND ANNOINT HIM THE NOMINATION SO WE CAN RE-ELECT obama!
"Who is really losing this thing, the candidates or the idiot conservative talking heads who push the harmful theme? I dont like infighting and yes it makes us look bad, but I hate the idea of giving up and going with romney unchallenged, which is what they want."
Exactly.
And they do this every time they don't get what they want. For Noonan, it wasn't enough to have McCain in 2008- she also wanted another RINO VP- and when she didn't get it, she had to use her poison pen to bring the whole thing crashing down. She did more than almost anybody else to help elect Obama because she "validated" all of the leftist criticism of Palin. Sorry Peggy- you're credibility is shot...
The establishment RINO’s are just upset that Newt and Santorum are delaying Romney’s “coronation”...
Noonan a conservative? Who knew?!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2835373/posts
Tinseltown offensive: Studios strike back with $3M SOPA ad blitz
NYPost ^ | January 19, 2012 | CLAIRE ATKINSON
Hollywood strikes back!
The Motion Picture Association of America and its member studios are planning a $3 million print and online ad blitz to beat back opponents of controversial Internet anti-piracy legislation, The Post has learned.
(snip)
In addition to the MPAA, a group called the Creative Coalition, repping unions among others, is running a pro-SOPA ad campaign.
(snip)
http://thecreativecoalition.org/about/board-of-directors/
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
...
Peggy Noonan
...
Actually, IIRC, Noonan supported Obama.
Do you hear me? SUCK IT! Both of you have evolved significantly beyond a once, seeming-conservative view point, to Washington DC sychophants, token minority conservative DC media establishment 'mouths' (female and disabled, if you didn't grok the 'minority' thing, idiots)....
Both of you are so invested in your standing amongst DC pundits and powers-that-be, that you have sold your damned conservative souls, if you ever had any to start with.
You disgust me. I'd sooner pay attention to a fart that one of my family members or the dog toots out. Your words and thoughts are to me like boils on my ass. As much as I've blathered here about Newt in the past, I AM VOTING FOR HIM, and HIM ALONE. You two can Suck it! Just Suck it! And you can just shut the f@ck up. You're thoughts and concerns don't matter any more.
"Apparently you've already forgotten what the GOP Establishment did to Sarah Palin, or else you wouldn't even need to ask such a question. Until we can kick them out of the GOP, we'll always be fighting an uphill battle against our own alleged allies.
Rhetorical question.
The infighting will be long forgotten by the time the general elsection campaign starts. It didn’t hurt Obama in 2008 either. His race against Hillary was drawn out until June and more bitter than this one.
“If you are a Republican who hates a mess”
Is this why they hate Newt? Because he would make a mess of Washington? Then all i can say is GO NEWT!
How about that?
Noonan is on the BOD of a coalition of people that is for SOPA, and backs the actors union.
Not only can we NOT pick our candidates, conservatives can’t even pick our own commentators.
Why don’t you tell us how you really fell? LOL
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.