Posted on 02/21/2010 1:14:06 PM PST by Sergeant Tim
I was invited to be the opening speaker at Saturday's CPAC session. I had accepted but then, to my amazement, I learned that the John Birch Society would be one of many co-sponsors. This takes the big-tent idea many steps too far for me. So, I withdrew. Apparently, others were not so moved. That's fine. But it wasn't for me. Bill Buckley and Barry Goldwater, among others, chased the Birchers from the movement decades ago. And they're not a part of the movement. So, to give them a booth at CPAC was boneheaded.
I want to commend Bill Bennett for his wise piece this morning on the Corner. I agree with him.
I have no idea what philosophy Glenn Beck is promoting. And neither does he. It's incoherent. One day it's populist, the next it's libertarian bordering on anarchy, next it's conservative but not really, etc. And to what end? I believe he has announced that he is no longer going to endorse candidates because our problems are bigger than politics. Well, of course, our problems are not easily dissected into categories, but to reject politics is to reject the manner in which we try to organize ourselves. This is as old as Plato and Aristotle. Why would conservatives choose to surrender the political battlefield to our adversaries -- who are trashing this society -- when we must retake it in order to preserve our society? Philosophy, politics, culture, family, etc., are all of one. Edmund Burke, among others, wrote about it extensively, and far better that I possibly can. But all elements of the civil society require our defense. Besides, why preach such a strategy when conservatism is on the rise and the GOP is acting more responsibly?
Moreover, when he does discuss politics, which, ironically, is often, how can he claim today that there is no difference between the two parties when, but for the Republicans in Congress, government-run health care, cap-and-trade, card check, and a long list of other disastrous policies would already be law? The GOP is becoming more conservative thanks to the grass-roots movement and a political uprising across the country, which has even reached into New Jersey and Massachusetts. Why keep pretending otherwise? My only conclusion is that he is promoting a third party or some third way, which is counter-productive to defeating Obama and the Democrat Congress. These are perilous times and this kind of an approach will keep the statists in power for decades.
And what of his flirtations with Ron Paul's lunacy respecting America's supposed provocations with her enemies, including al-Qaeda? Why should such a fatal defect in thinking be ignored? Do we conservatives agree with this?
Finally, Beck is fond of congratulating himself for being the only or the first host to criticize George Bush's spending. This is demonstrably false. I not only attacked his spending, but the creation of the Homeland Security Department, the prescription drug add-on for Medicare, his "moderate" tax cuts, as well as his nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, "comprehensive immigration reform," and so forth. And I was not alone -- Rush and Sean did the same, for example. And as someone who fought liberal Republicans in the trenches when campaigning for Reagan in 1976 and 1980, I don't need lectures from Beck, who was nowhere to be found, about big-spending Republicans. But this is not about me, or Beck, or Beck's past drunkenness (which he endlessly wears as some kind of badge of honor). It is about preserving our society for our children and grandchildren. Beck spent precious little time aiming fire at Obama-Pelosi-Reid in his speech, and it is they who are destroying our country.
On as a positive note, I am personally happy to see that Beck has cleaned up his public act -- as best I can tell, no more boiling fake frogs on TV or pretending to pour gasoline on someone -- and the rest of it. But I do think his speech, which contained nuggets of truth heard before and read elsewhere, including on Rush's show and in my book and many other books, may have distracted from some of the more compelling and coherent speeches at the event, including Marco Rubio's superb speech. I fear the media will see to this. I hope not.
i agree that change has to be within the republican party, i am not a third party advocate. beck may not be fighting your fight or doing it your way but he is educating people about the situation we are facing in this country, people that Levin is not reaching and isn’t likely to. why expend energy denigrating Beck, go about what you think needs to be done or listen to Levin and agree with him and laud his particular methods while leaving others to go about it THEIR way. i do not see what Beck is doing as interfering with the Republicans getting the party to change for the better.
Mitt has done NOTHING that could be considered admirable.
STOP MY NOT GOING THERE!
WHAT!!??
Why... he SINGLEhandedly put ScottBrown into the Senate!!
You are correct.
because beck says i am just as bad as democratz - i will ask again - do you agree with that?
When someone as unstable as Beck hungers for power, it worries me greatly.
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I posted this on another thread, but it applies here as well.
What scares me about this “pied piper” thing Beck has going is where does it stop? How soon before he is trying to influence people’s lives/thoughts outside of politics? How many are still going to follow him if he starts throwing in other ideas?
Cults of personality can be very dangerous.
orig posted on:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2456447/posts?page=68#68
How many are still going to follow him if he starts throwing in other ideas?
STOP POSTING TO ME TO STOP YOUR NOT GOING THERE!
JUST STOP!!!
he SINGLEhandedly put ScottBrown into the Senate!!
________________________________________
No he didnt...
He had one hand tied behind his back and the other sweeping through his loverly mane err hair...
i’m concerned about how many will join the LDS once he starts mixing his theology into his political statements.
Riiiigggghtttt
You do realize that by not voting with the Democrats on any of the programs quoted in your post (originally from Mark Levin’s) that the Republicans DID keep those programs from getting passed?
Not voting is an active way to keep programs from passing - and therefore, success can be attributed to the Pubbies.
They might not have voted with them, but it had nothing to do with it passing or not.
The tone of the BeckBots seems more like
Don’t confuse me with the facts.
Thanks Mark for all you do.
SoCalPol
No, I don’t have time for “belonging” to things.
Freedom of religion works both ways.
Not apparently if you are lds.
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As evidenced by Brigham Young.
LOL.
Or prescription drugs. The WoW allows for that but not alcohol.
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