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.
You're just throwing empty words to the wind.
There is no such thing as a "conservative progressive," and there is nothing 'progressive' about libertarians (small L).
The only difference between libertarians and full conservatives is the libertarians largely do not trust in the Lord, and are thus easily led astray. Otherwise there is little philosophical difference.
Beck understands neither.
.
Your thoughts?
what do you mean embrace the homosexuals? What, now I can’t like gay people?
Well, you say that, and I would certainly think that but the fact is, Beck was given the coveted Saturday Night Lecture and Levin was offered something else and grumbled "not if the Birchers are there" and, I'm sorry, could it be...
j - e - a - l - o - u - s - y ?
If all the young kids show up to vote for him, just as they did at CPAC then he will be a danger to the GOP if he runs as independent.. only 25% of the attendees at CPAC voted,which is pretty indicative of how uninvolved much of the country remains... that everyone who went out of their way to attend CPAC didn’t vote is a shock to me.
Good point. But compared to Romney is what I was pointing out. McCain has never once added pork to a bill by inserting a set aside. He has continually attempted to eliminate the set asides as part of the budget process and establish mechanisms to implement accountability. He has supported conservative national security initiatives (except stopping illegal immigration) and the military. Meanwhile every aspect of Romney’s record is liberal.
Don’t get me wrong, McCain is a RINO and I hope J.D. defeats him. I am just saying that Romney is far to the left of McCain.
I highly doubt it.
Great thread Tim.
Mark Levin was a Grad. of Law school in his early 20s and
in his 20s was Chief of Staff to Attorney General Ed Meese in the Reagan Adm.
Mark Levin is President of Landmark Legal Foundation, aConservative Pulic Interest Law Firm.
He has written best sellers “Men In Black” about the Supreme court
and “Liberty and Tyranny” on the Constitution, issues of the day and a Conservative Manifesto
and Mark is also a FReeper
Mark's achilles heel.
I agree, and therefore Mark never should have given an endorsement saying Romney shares most of our conservative values.
bttt
Yea,You’ll be on some of the first boxcars to the marxist healthcare farm.Really small minded of you doncha think?
There seemed to be a lot more idiots than real conservatives there. The John Birch Society and that Pink Code witch got through.
What kind of idiots were running CPAC this year and why is the great Mark Levin the only one talking?
Wrong. Levin, Hannity and Rush pour their lives into the movement. Beck has yet to man up and do so.
that is a childish statement
Beck,like O’Reilly,is not perfect but I believe necessary to the conservative reconquest of the US—and I find it somewhat unwholesome that so many want him to end up like Trotsky and Roehm (figuratively speaking,of course).
BFD!
I’ve watched Beck enough to know he doesn’t fully represent me.
If he does you, your problem hon, not mine.
I disagree... as long as people like Lindsay Graham is out there pushing Cap n Trade, McCain is suspending his presidential campaign to go vote for TARP and $150 billion in pork spending, and people like Cornyn is pushing Crist for Senate vs a real conservative like Rubio...and sends in McCain to try and get someone like Tom Ridge to run against Toomey in PA, they are not any better.. they spent as good as the democrats the last 20 years and our country is all but bankrupt because of it and more and more people are happy to live off the public trough thanks to both parties. When they vote to confirm someone like Eric Holder for AG (like Hatch, McCain, etc., did) they are not any better than what Holder is currently pulling over all of us with the terrorists.
My kids are 27, 26 and 23. They all LOVE Beck, and are turning their friends on to him. Beck isn’t my cup-a-tea, and honestly, I think he’s riding the bandwagon, but the more young folks he can convert the better. He’s flashy, and that’s what the kids like. I’ll pass on him, his style and his shows. Mark Levin is much more intellectual, and that fits my style better. But, then, I’m an old fart of 51.
It’s not that I don’t care, but the conservs have to stop looking for the perfect man. The opponents of consevatism will use all of the ammo they give them to destroy them. The way I see it is, the dem/lib/progressives rarely condemn one of their own, no matter how outrageous the behavior. Conservs beat up their own for the slightest breach of “purity”. Conservs face enough obstacles without piling on their supportersjust because their not perfect.
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