Bennett’s Loss in Utah a ‘Damn Outrage,’ ‘Non-Violent Coup,’ Part of Larger Intolerant GOP...

Newsbusters ^

[Sub-Driver]

Bennett’s Loss in Utah a ‘Damn Outrage,’ ‘Non-Violent Coup,’ Part of Larger Intolerant GOP Narrative By Brent Baker Created 05/09/2010 - 14:41

“This is a damn outrage,” a disgusted David Brooks, the faux conservative columnist for the New York Times, declared on Sunday’s Meet the Press reacting to Republican Senator Bob Bennett’s loss Saturday at Utah’s Republican convention which chose two others to compete in a June primary for the seat. Brooks fretted he was punished for being “a good conservative who was trying to get things done” by “bravely” working with Democrats on health care and supporting TARP. “Now,” he repeated, “he's losing his career over that. And it's just a damn outrage.”

Sitting beside Brooks on NBC’s roundtable, liberal Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne Jr,. a former New York Times correspondent, saw “almost a non-violent coup because they denied the sitting Senator even a chance of getting on the primary ballot.”

Over on Fox News Sunday, NPR’s Juan Williams expressed exasperation: “This is evidence of how the American political center is losing, on the right wing of the party a guy like Bob Bennett, who is a right-wing conservative, is being driven out because he’s not sufficiently conservative?”

ABC’s Jake Tapper brought Rudy Giuliani aboard This Week to address the handling of the Times Square botched bomber, but wouldn’t let him go before bringing up Bennett’s defeat as proof of an intolerant GOP: “Are you worried at all that the Republican Party is not only growing more hostile to more liberal to moderate Republicans such as yourself, but also conservative Republicans who are shown to, at least shown an ability to work with Democrats?”

Later, during the roundtable, George Will answered the presumption Bennett was the victim of an ideological purity test:

This is an anti-Washington year. How do you get more Washington than a three-term Senator who occupies the seat once held by his father, a four-term Senator, who before that worked on the Senate staff and then as a lobbyist in Washington? He’s a wonderful man and a terrific Senator. But the fact is, he’s going against terrific head-winds this year and he cast three votes: TARP, stimulus and an individual mandate for health care. Now, you might like one, two or all three of those, but being opposed to them is not outside the mainstream of American political argument.

Brooks admired those very votes from Bennett, hailing the Wyden-Bennett health plan as “a substantive, serious bill, a bipartisan bill, with strong conservative and some liberal support. So he did something sort of brave by working with Democrats which more Senators should do and now they've been sent a message to him don’t do that.”

As if this would convince conservatives, Dionne pointed to how “you just had an election in Britain where David Cameron, the conservative, almost got a majority by saying we need to de-toxicfy, take the rough edges off conservatism, appeal to a broader constituency.” But he didn’t get a majority with that approach!

From the May 9 Meet the Press:

DAVID BROOKS: This is a damn outrage, to be honest. This is a guy who was a good Senator and he was a good Senator and a good conservative, but a good conservative who was trying to get things done. The Wyden-Bennett bill, which he co-sponsored -- if you took the health care economists in the country, they would probably be for that bill, ideally. It was a substantive, serious bill, a bipartisan bill, with strong conservative and some liberal support. So he did something sort of brave by working with Democrats which more Senators should do and now they've been sent a message to him don’t do that.

The second thing is the TARP. Nobody liked the TARP. But we were in a complete economic meltdown and sometimes you have to do terrible things. And we're in a much better economic place because of the TARP. So he bravely cast a vote that nobody wanted to really cast and now he's losing his career over that. And it's just a damn outrage.

E.J. DIONNE: I agree with David on this. And I think that something’s happening inside the Republican Party that I think in the long run won't be good for the Republican Party. You just had an election in Britain where David Cameron, the conservative, almost got a majority by saying we need to de-toxicfy, take the rough edges off conservatism, appeal to a broader constituency. And here you have a state party convention, by the way, not a primary. It's almost a non-violent coup because they denied the sitting Senator even a chance of getting on the primary ballot. And I think the party in the long run risks a backlash among voters who may not be liberal at all, but don't like this kind of politics.

And before people on the right crow too much about this, it is a party convention in Utah. I would imagine the left would win a party convention on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. So let's not, sort of, make this into a bigger thing than it is. But it is a big deal to dump somebody like Bob Bennett.

From Fox News Sunday:

JUAN WILLIAMS: This is evidence of how the American political center is losing, on the right wing of the party a guy like Bob Bennett, who is a right-wing conservative, is being driven out because he’s not sufficiently conservative?...If I lived in Utah, I’m going to give up Bob Bennett and his seniority and connections?

BILL KRISTOL: Why do you need the seniority? To bring the pork home?

WILLIAMS: To bring the pork home?

KRISTOL: That’s worked well over the last several years.

WILLIAMS: Oh, so you’d sit here and say, “oh TARP was terrible, bailouts were terrible,” even though we saved ourselves from depression? That’s rational? That’s good, inspired caring about America?

[writetolife]

I am going to wildly speculate that Karl Rove is quietly orchestrating a shakeup within the GOP through the Tea Party movement. 2010 and 2012 are going to see candidates that conform to the views of Rove’s faction within the Republican Party(Ailes, Limbaugh, Cheney etc.). It might just work.

[I see my hands]

Did you get a stimulus check?

[Liz]

DAVID BROOKS ON MTP WRT CONSERVATIVES KICKING SEN BENNETT's ***: "This is a damn outrage, to be honest. This is a guy who was a good Senator and a good conservative; a good conservative who was trying to get things done. The Wyden-Bennett bill was a substantive, serious bill, a bipartisan bill, with strong conservative and some liberal support. So he did something sort of brave by working with Democrats which more Senators should do and now they've been sent a message to him don’t do that."

"The second thing is the TARP. Nobody liked the TARP. But we were in a complete economic meltdown and sometimes you have to do terrible things. And we're in a much better economic place because of the TARP. So he bravely cast a vote that nobody wanted to really cast and now he's losing his career over that. And it's just a damn outrage."

============================================

I guess Brooks agrees with the PTB: We're Republicans. We have no Plan, No Program, No Leader, No Clue about what we're doing.

Yoo hoo, Brooky baby----here's one thing conservatives know..........

[Gaffer]

Mr. Brooks. We are coming for you .....next.....

[vladimir998]

“Juanita Williams seems to get more stupid by the week.”

I just don’t see how that’s possible!

[behzinlea]

You can’t borrow/print money to prop up a failed system and say it’s good, inspired caring about America!

Exactly right. This notion that TARP "saved" us is beyond ludicrous.

The mega-banks/Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae bought and sold crap mortgages, making hundreds of billions in the process. Then the weight of these crap mortgages threatened to take all the banks/Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae down. Instead of letting them die for their greed and stupidity, Congress passed TARP and dumped nearly a trillion of future taxpayer debt-funded dollars onto these failed bastard lenders. The lenders essentially turned around and pushed some of the "free" money back at us and said, "There! We've paid off our debt with interest!"

And we're supposed to think that was a GOOD thing?

The next debt wave will hit us with Richter 10 force.

[skeeter]

RINOS squealing - music to my ears.

[The Bronze Titan]

-"The fact that liberal jackass talking heads are braying and weeping over Bennett’s loss tells you all you need to know about Bennett’s supposed 'conservatism.'" Bingo! - Like they would really be shedding a tear if Demint got booted out.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

All TARP did was create a precedent. Now bailouts are the norm.

[GOP_Lady]

Hopefully not, but we shall see.

[lonestar]

WILLIAMS: Oh, so you’d sit here and say, “oh TARP was terrible, bailouts were terrible,” even though we saved ourselves from depression? That’s rational?

No Juan, that's your narrow-minded opinion.

[SmokingJoe]

Brooks admired those very votes from Bennett, hailing the Wyden-Bennett health plan as “a substantive, serious bill, a bipartisan bill, with strong conservative and some liberal support. So he did something sort of brave by working with Democrats which more Senators should do and now they've been sent a message to him don’t do that.”

Normal crap from David Brook as usual.
Reality from NRO:

“Bennett’s bill was not superior to Obamacare. It was worse than it in some respects, but in the crucial respects it was simply identical. Obamacare’s three main elements are regulations that block insurance companies from accurately pricing risk, a requirement that all people buy this irrationally priced product, and subsidies to help some of them do that. Bennett’s legislation featured all three elements.
-snip-
Bennett’s legislation never received widespread public attention, but if it had it is safe to say that it would have been at least as unpopular as Obamacare proved — and probably less popular. The notion that it could have been a vehicle for heading off Obamacare is a fantasy”
http://article.nationalreview.com/433718/weep-not-for-bob-bennett/the-editors

[ThisLittleLightofMine]

Serving the public as a senator is NOT suppose to be a life time appointment. What is wrong with the people??

[2nd Bn, 11th Mar]

Ol’ Dave needs to come to grips that THROW THE BUMS OUT is not limited to DEM BUMS. RINO BUMS and even JOURNO BUMS are going to be tossed out on their sorry asses after all is said and done. (I thought about saying after the shootin’ stops, but that would have been taken the wrong way, I suppose)

[JDW11235]

I believe that everyone has a right to life, liberty and property/pursuit of happiness. I believe that NO ONE is ENTITLED to a job, ANY job. If you feel otherwise, then we’ll have to agree to disagree.

“Jobs” (in today’s economy) only exist as a way for someone willing to take a risk to leverage resources (and use others in the process who in turn are rewarded with wages), and I don’t believe anyone is entitled to one, but have the freedom to pursue one, that is a divine right.

Still, being a Utah resident, I’m glad Bennett will be taking a hike. I hope McCain and Reid are next. I super duper hope so, NV is my home state.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

The bailout wasn't a dem policy.

My ass. It was Dem policies that caused the economy to collapse. And how convenient it happens in September of 2008, weeks before a presidential election.

[Wild Irish Rogue]

” “Now,” he repeated, “he’s losing his career over that. “

Apparently, being a Senator is a life time appointment..
76 year old Robert Bennett is crying because he can’t be a Senator until he’s 83.
Not only are grass roots Republicans wisely dragging the Republican Party back to it’s core conservative values,
they are bringing in new blood.
New faces, new ideas , new energy .
And that’s a damn outrage ???

[kittymyrib]

Just wait until the GOP, with advisers such as the clueless Brooks, manages to screw up the November election. The stock market will plunge to lows that will unmask the past 18 months as a “sucker’s rally.” There were four such rallies during the Great Depression, one lasting four years. Only WWII pulled the country out of FDR’s disastrous mismanagement of the economy. Millions of men drafted into the military certainly increased the employment numbers for those left at home.

[NotSoModerate]

TARP didn’t cost us much because it didn’t do what the name says it was supposed to do. TARP was used to give big firms money to grow their business. And the troubled assets were covered by trillions in fake money.

[MozarkDawg]

Good grief ... there is a reason these things are called “races” — winners and losers and it has nothing to do with *ideological purity* or *no room for _______*. Sometimes the people themselves decide whom they wish to represent them — or not represent them, as it is in this case. Horrors.