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 used to work for a living; now I don’t. I collect unemployment until I can find work. You have time to figure it all out; I’m just beginning too.
I’ve told my husband if and when I ever I need a lawyer, civil or criminal, hire Mark Levin. I don’t care what it costs.
Thanks for all the work you do on freerepublic.com.
levin's web site is free - no paid anything, including podcasts of his show
I disagree.
For example, in this story he credit’s the GOP with having slowed down the the Demoncrat’s agenda when, in fact, it was the American People who accomplished that.
True. But likewise it was the American People who FAILED to slow down the Rat and RINO agendas in the past.
Neither the GOP (TEA) nor the Rats have any power that we don't give them or acquiesce to them.
We The People raised hell and got the Miers' nomination pulled. This not only got rid of her, it gave Bush and the GOP cover to get Justice Roberts.
We the People raised hell and got amnesty off the fast track.
We the People got to this place because WE didn't raise enough hell up to this point. If we had, the GOP, President Bush, McCain, whoever might have changed course, as we saw in those couple of examples. It's semantics to try to split the accomplishments OR failures of our representatives from the represented unless We The People have done everything short of a shooting war and they still won't listen.
Before you are tempted to respond, please think about it: who in the past year has done more to engage and awaken the American people to the dangers of Progressivism? Who alerted them to the radicals in Obama's Administration? Who has encouraged Americans to learn the history their schools are failing to teach them, and to honor our Founders?
Not Mark Levin, who, for all his legal experience cannot maintain an audience, perhaps (just guessing here) due to his angry on-air persona. Not Bill Bennett, who for all his unquestionable intelligence and thoughtfulness cannot convey an idea in less than 300 words.
No one, not even Rush Limbaugh, has done more in the last year to rouse the American people from their stupor, and yes, Glenn is a funny guy, an entertainer, but he is also dead serious in his love of country. Beck has given voice to dozens of people on his show that Americans never would have heard of otherwise from either the mainstream media or from alternative voices on the Right.
I wouldn't care if he cried crocodile tears every night - not that he does - as long as he continues to waken people to the realization that their country is in deep, deep trouble. It is being stolen from them, and all those "sober, earnest people" in the Republican Party are either aiding the process or doing little or nothing to stop it.
Beck's greatest success, however, has been to engage people not only on the Right, but moderates, libertarians and even some people who fancied themselves "liberal" - until they realized that Obama and his henchmen are anything but "liberal" in the classical sense of the word, which, as Beck explained on his show about the French Revolution, is a term perverted from its original meaning of someone open-minded and freedom-loving to one who denies the value of individual rights in favor of those of the collective.
I'd venture to guess that millions of people in his audience had never before had an introduction to the philosophical antecedents of modern political thought and legal theory, and now, because of Glenn Beck, they crave a deeper understanding. For which, they may go to Bill Bennett, and Mark Levin, among others. And for which, the latter ought to be thanking Mr. Beck, not attacking him in a manner redolent of the kind of envy they both purport to reject as conservatives.
LOL!(Just getting back to the thread...sorry jenk)
My original comment (I thought I hit the post button but guess I didn’t...I just now see it was probably #64 removed by moderator for breaking profanity rules)...
#1. Bill Bennett has his head up his _ss. Their is no reason to put my head up there, too.
(Then, realizing I needed a correction I posted this at #69)...
#1a. Correction. Their = There. (Sheesh)
(Thanks for posting the article Sergeant Tim)
Is John McCain a progressive?
Is Nancy Graham a progressive?
This is what Beck is saying.
Mark has always been humble and had a good word for Freepers.
Glen Beck lacks real humility — as evidenced in his incessant repeating of how he was an alcoholic, and also how he never references Freepers, at least to my memory. I have the impression that he thinks of us as whack jobs.
And as a Birther — one who holds that Obama does not office legitimately — I am insulted that Beck calls us loons and does not honestly represent our main arguments.
I like many of of the educational projects Beck has done on his TV show. He has shown the real genocides that is Marxism , Socialism and Communism.
But in the end, I suspect Beck will fall away from the real fight for conservative values.
In his speech did he mention the booing of the one honest man who spoke against the homosexual lobbying groups at CPAC?
Mark has always been humble and had a good word for Freepers.
Glen Beck lacks real humility — as evidenced in his incessant repeating of how he was an alcoholic, and also how he never references Freepers, at least to my memory. I have the impression that he thinks of us as whack jobs.
And as a Birther — one who holds that Obama does not office legitimately — I am insulted that Beck calls us loons and does not honestly represent our main arguments.
I like many of of the educational projects Beck has done on his TV show. He has shown the real genocides that is Marxism , Socialism and Communism.
But in the end, I suspect Beck will fall away from the real fight for conservative values.
In his speech did he mention the booing of the one honest man who spoke against the homosexual lobbying groups at CPAC?
Makes me wonder if Levin knows what "populist" means.
When he talks the other issues he goes directly to the person with their photo on a magnet and all those people go squarely in the Obama side of the board. He is actually very clear on all that and I never hear him accuse the Republicans of deviant behavior... actually he is uses tape and names names and positions in the Obama WH when he discusses those issues on his show...
When he discusses Cap n Trade, and people like Holder then, yep Mccain gets thrown into that mix and I agree with it, my senator is a kook in that regard.
We understand all too well. Have you noticed the town hall meetings this past summer.
Have you noticed the tea parties all across the country.
Have you noticed the tea party in the nation’s capitol.
We are ready to move forward. BDS is a waste of time and dishonest too. President Bush did many good things for this country.
He may have overspent but he made sure our troops were treated with respect, as were our allies. We have outstanding new Supreme Court nominees, ........
Reagan allowed the congress to overspend too, in order to fight the cold war.
President Bush kept us all safe every day after 9/11.
You've got that right. It's a little disheartening when some spineless twit 2500 miles away decides that name-calling is the best way to assert his point. I guarantee you that this internet ninja wouldn't say it if he were sitting across the table from me.
I really don't know what Levin has against Beck - Beck is calling out the Republicans and telling them what the majority of the people are saying - that it is not just enough to not suck as much as the other side.
For the last 10 years, and perhaps more, I've been holding my nose and voting for the liberal-lite candidate with the R next to his name because he or she wasn't quite as bad as the other. Bush was certainly not as bad as Gore or Kerry would have been, but yet his domestic policy has been socialist.
I quit financially supporting the republican party when they tried to force shamnesty down the peoples' throats. I believe that many others did the same.
Beck's message is clear - if the republicans don't clean up their own mess, then a third party will be sought by many. "Reaching across the aisle" isn't helping, unless they're reaching across to grab and choke the life out of a couple of the commies on the other side of the aisle.
This country's on the verge of becoming the USSR II, and we have supposedly conservative twits from Utah insulting the very people that might save it.
So you think Beck should quit railing about spending that is taking us off the precipice? or the communist czar’s in the WH? Because from the show I watch that is 90% of his rhetoric.
Currently on Birch society website they blast conservative David Horowitz
and this is what they say about Dick Cheney
This attitude by neo-conservatives explains the warm welcome former Vice President Dick Cheney got at the CPAC conference Thursday. Cheney, who had just finished an ABC-TV interview last weekend endorsing torture (in violation of the Eighth Amendment)...
I have read their propaganda and talk to them first hand
This is why I can’t agree with them no more than I coud the Code Pinkos.
I think it was Soros behind it.
Beck is a benign demagogue for conservatism as Roehm and Trotsky were evil ones for socialism.All three were and are disliked by the elite.The comparison stands as long as the opposite ideologies are well put.
O’Reilly is indeed a jerk but he serves as a half-way house for the wicked Left to enter the righteous Right.
Once the newly minted conservatives hit the streets they dump half-lib O’Reilly for others who are ALL conservative.
Now that requires some evidence. What nonsense. Levin's work is not exactly highly original. His book, Liberty and Tyanny, deserves to be a best-seller, but was hardly landmark. He was saying what we all know.
Beck uses a lot more from David Horowitz than anyone--and he often gives him credit and has
Republicans have always avoided the hard truth and now we face the result:
Goldwater, the John Birch Society, and Me
William F. Buckley, Jr.
“I think you have clearly stated the problem which Mr. Welch’s continued leadership of the John Birch Society poses for sincere conservatives. . . . Mr. Welch is only one man, and I do not believe his views, far removed from reality and common sense as they are, represent the feelings of most members of the John Birch Society. . . . Because of this, I believe the best thing Mr. Welch could do to serve the cause of anti-Communism in the United States would be to resign. . . . We cannot allow the emblem of irresponsibility to attach to the conservative banner.”
- Barry Goldwater -
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/goldwater—the-john-birch-society—and-me-11248
Mark Levin writes books, freshmen cannot read.
My father was a self-taught man. (He'd celebrate his 100th birthday this year if he were still alive.) He didn't even finish high school but managed to live a good and decent life, be moderately successful in the working world, and help my mother raise nine children. He was loved by many.
Glenn Beck is also self-taught; he finished only one semester of college. So what if Mark Levin is supposedly "smarter" than Glenn Beck because he has a degree and writes a different sort of book? Glenn manages to capture the interest of people who wouldn't otherwise give a hoot about politics or who think they are "too dumb" to understand it and thus feel helpless.
A hard life of poor choices can be one's greatest teacher. If Levin wants to put himself up there on the same snob level as Barack 0bama and pretend that Glenn Beck doesn't have a clue, fine. If you want to do that too, go right ahead. It's not going to change my mind. I like both Levin and Beck and learn something from each of them.
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