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.
exactly
if his third party would be the suicide party - his show leaves me with a feeling of hopelessness
>> he showed the increase under Bush as an elevating line then he showed Obama and the line goes straight up <<
Another dubious indication of Glen’s analytical powers? Seems to me he’s implying it’s not 0bama’s fault that the line turned straight up — it’s Bush’s fault.
ding ding ding. we have a winner. You nailed it
When CPAC promotes Myth Romney they’ve lost me. What is conservative about that?
I hope I haven't stepped out of line...sir! ;0)
If Beck is not advocating a third party, he is a very bad communicator, because he implies that every single time I turn his radio or TV show on (which is why I have been turning him off).
He is a bad spokesperson for conservatism because with 3rd parties we LOSE to leftists.
When he interviewed Sarah Palin, you could see the anger in his eyes when she refused to denounce the Republican party. He's on a rampage right now, and he really needs to stop it.
(And if he puts that magnet of Bush on the same side as communists and traitors again, I may just throw something at my TV).
“-———————————————is the most awesomist of awesome people in the world. I would SO vote for him for President.”
You said it FRiend! Embracing Myth Romney, The Paul Straw Poll laugher, and the gay rights agenda, CPAC has definitely jumped the shark.
Interesting analysis. I am not in complete agreement with Beck’s speech either, but for Bennett to imply that because a fine man like Paul Ryan says the Republicans have spent freely is enough to fully address the issue is simply false.
Conservatives aren’t upset at Paul Ryan or Jim DeMint. They are upset at Michael Steele and the machinery of the party, which keeps giving us the Charlie Crists of the world over the Marco Rubios and the Dede Scozzafavas of the world over the Doug Hoffmans.
It is the machinery of the party who gives us John McCain and Mitt Romney. It is not the conservative base. I feel it is this issue that Beck is addressing — and the Republican Party has not yet addressed this issue to my satisfaction or the satisfaction of many others.
The Republican Party has a significant problem in that not enough of the candidates we field believe in what the party of Ronald Reagan believed. I believe those candidates are coming, borne by the Tea Party movement, but the machinery of the party — that part of the party which helps select those who govern — is sadly lacking. In that manner, Beck is 100 percent correct.
Glenn Beck is a heck of an instructor. I hope the young people are listening so they don’t repeat past mistakes by voting in another socialist. Let’s all wise up. Beck enlightens.
Is there a thread on the JD turnout?
The guy is bias pay him no mind
Funny many what philosophy he is following
How about the Founding Father Constitution?
Principles of Liberty
The 28 Great Ideas That Are Changing the World
1. The only reliable basis for sound government and just human relations is Natural Law.
2. A free people cannot survive under a republican constitution unless they remain virtuous and morally strong.
3. The most promising method of securing a virtuous and morally stable people is to elect virtuous leaders.
4. Without religion the government of a free people cannot be maintained.
5. All things were created by God, therefore upon Him all mankind are equally dependent, and to Him they are equally responsible.
6. All men are created equal.
7. The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not provide equal things.
8. Men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.
9. To protect man’s rights, God has revealed certain principles of divine law.
10. The God-given right to govern is vested in the sovereign authority of the whole people.
11. The majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become tyrannical.
12. The United States of America shall be a republic.
13. A constitution should be structured to permanently protect the people from the human frailties of their rulers.
14. Life and liberty are secure only so long as the right of property is secure.
15. The highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free-market economy and a minimum of government regulations.
16. The government should be separated into three branches - legislative, executive, and judicial.
17. A system of checks and balances should be adopted to prevent the abuse of power.
18. The unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the principles of government are set forth in a written constitution.
19. Only limited and carefully defined powers should be delegated to government, all others being retained in the people.
20. Efficiency and dispatch require government to operate according to the will of the majority, but constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of the minority.
21. Strong local self-government is the keystone to preserving human freedom.
22. A free people should be governed by law and not by the whims of men.
23. A free society cannot survive as a republic without a broad program of general education.
24. A free people will not survive unless they stay strong.
25. “Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations - entangling alliances with none.”
26. The core unit which determines the strength of any society is the family; therefore, the government should foster and protect its integrity.
27. The burden of debt is as destructive to freedom as subjugation by conquest.
28. The United States has a manifest destiny to be an example and a blessing to the entire human race.
Beck was hitting some strange notes during that speech. I often enjoy Beck but all too often he morphs into the Howard Beal [Network] of the 21st century. Instead of consistency and logic, he plays to the public’s deep emotional frustration with the status quo, sometimes working himself up into a complete tizzy. The next step is for Beck to fall to the floor and convulse like Howard Beal.
Let's be practical. We require a vehicle to take back this nation from the socialists. The Republican Party is turning back to its conservative roots, and it's counterproductive to trash them at this point. In view of US history, it's very unlikely that a third party is going to triumph against the socialists. The most effective strategy is for conservatives to take back the GOP.
The biggest critics of the GOP are often those that have done nothing for the party, exerting zero effort to work within the party on behalf of conservative ideals. Easy to spout off, much more difficult to get in the ring, take the hits and give it your best.
Sure, I've been extremely unhappy with the GOP's failure to abide by conservative principles over the years. But they're the only game in town to defeat the Dems. That's why I thought Hannity was a real jerk to divorce himself from the Republican Party in a very public way [he joined Conservative Party here in NY]. It should have dawned on him and others that to change the GOP you have to be involved in Republican politics and vote in the primaries. At this point, if Hannity and others keep ranting that they are exclusively conservative, rather than conservative Republicans, they are not doing this nation any favors.
Somebody over at the caucus must be bored. Now appearing at #312.
In one word, I say 'media'. He cow towed to the media's ground rules in 2008 to keep their favor. He let his opponent and the media set the perimeters on what can and can't be said. He can blast away at JD and the media will love every second because he will be their useful tool for another term.
at one time, i might have said a statement like that was hyperbole - but evidently, joseph smith had a prophesy of a time of financial trouble when a mormon would arise to save us - on the beck thread, one poster said beck was fulfillment of that prophesy
spooked me
I like Levin. And I like Beck. I don’t require that they like each other. No one is perfect. In fact some disagreements around the edges looks like a good thing to me. Everybody’s got a different part to play. And those different parts require different personalities and perspectives. (Thank God we’re not all hammers). There’s a lot to agree on. And those larger issues are bigger than any one person.
“Since coming to Fox he is in an ego contest with O’Reilly”
And they are both idiots that are detrimental to the conservative movement.
I think that Levin’s point is obvious. This constant equating of Republicans and Democrats by Beck just has to stop. Ann Coulter has said this best and in fact did say this to Beck on his show to his face: there are many bad Republicans but there are NO good Democrats. Now how can this mean that the two parties are equal? Beck’s mis-calcuation (or perhaps this is his intention?) will lead the politically naive to support a third party. A third party that Levin, Rush, Hannity and countless other conservatives know will entrench the Democrat majority for the rest of our lives. All it takes is the creation of an omnipotent bureaucratic state. Then parties, the Constitution, and our inalienable rights will no longer matter.
True, Beck is right when he criticizes Progressives, the 0bama administration etc. But Beck does not offer a logical and coherent strategy to fight the enemy. Buy my book, sign up for the 9/12 project, attend a Tea Party. All well and good, but his advice is for both parties to clean up their act. Please, we are not stupid. We have do have a chance to clean up the Republican party, but the Democrats have been a lost cause for generations.
Lets’s face it. our enemies are constantly watching us. They may despise Beck, but they also see an opportunity. Beck may be the ideal conduit for trolls and infiltrators to subvert our cause by promoting a 3rd party. If I were George Soros, I would ....
This is more that just a little internecine rivalry. This is more than a game over anyone’s career, this is about the survival of a free republic.
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