« Missle Defense Agency Changes Their Logo To Look Like Obama Logo! | Main | Charles Krauthammer Says Obamacare Proposal a " "travesty masquerading as an outreach to the Republicans" »
February 24, 2010
Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh and Bill Bennett Question Glenn Beck's Strategy
From Bill Bennet, to Rush, to Hannity and Mark Levin, conservative commentators are blasting Beck's CPAC speech.
From Mark Levin's Facebook page
Mark Levin: Mark's New Note: Feb 21, 2010
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.
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YzM5OTJkYWE1ZTA5OTI1NWJiMjYwNDI4ZDg0NmQ3MGQ=
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.
.
And this is just a small part of what Bill Bennett said on his radio show.
For him to continue to say that he does not hear the Republican party admit its failings or problems is to ignore some of the loudest and brightest lights in the party. From Jim DeMint to Tom Coburn to Mike Pence to Paul Ryan, any number of Republicans have admitted the excesses of the party and done constructive and serious work to correct them and find and promote solutions. Even John McCain has said again and again that “the Republican party lost its way.” These leaders, and many others, have been offering real proposals, not ill-informed muttering diatribes that can’t distinguish between conservative and liberal, free enterprise and controlled markets, or night and day. Does Glenn truly believe there is no difference between a Tom Coburn, for example, and a Harry Reid or a Charles Schumer or a Barbara Boxer? Between a Paul Ryan or Michele Bachmann and a Nancy Pelosi or Barney Frank?
To say the GOP and the Democrats are no different, to say the GOP needs to hit a recovery-program-type bottom and hang its head in remorse, is to delay our own country’s recovery from the problems the Democratic left is inflicting. The stakes are too important to go through that kind of exercise, which will ultimately go nowhere anyway — because it’s already happened.
.
This is from Rush Limbaugh on his show Monday.
I certainly would have mentioned Obama a lot. And I would have mentioned Harry Reid, and I would have mentioned Pelosi, and I would have mentioned the Kennedy seat being won, and I would mention the trouble that Barbara Boxer is in, and I would mention the trouble that the Democrat Party in general is in, and I would say that the Republicans have not joined the Democrats in any of this destruction. The Republican Party has — because of you, because you let them hear from you — not gone bipartisan. They have not joined this failure. In fact, there are people in the House (from John Boehner to Mike Pence, to Eric Cantor, to Paul Ryan) who are doing everything that they can. Jim DeMint over in the Senate, Tom Coburn over in the Senate, these people, especially now don’t deserve to be bashed or lumped in a generalized way with all the bad apples in Washington because all of them there are not bad apples.
These people really, I think, deserve some attaboys. I happen to think that. You know, these guys that I’ve just named, they’re really, really, really going against instinctive grain, operating the way they are. It’s so much easier for you if you just go along. Your life is so much more enjoyable there if you just go along. The media will like you, the Democrats will pretend they like you. Now, these guys are resisting all of that, and I’m going to call ‘em out. I would have identified, by name, those who are undermining this country, and I would have held them to account for the radical policies that they are seeking to impose upon us, and I would have identified the source of those radical policies: And that’s Barack Obama and Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and whoever else you want to name on the White House staff or in the Democrat Party, or any union head. Because that’s who we’re up against. It was just, I thought, great opportunity to keep the momentum going rather than put the brakes on.
I would have tried making people laugh. I’m pretty good at that sometimes because I would have been having fun. I know I’d have been having fun. I’d have fed off the audience energy. Who knows what else I would have come up? I mean, I didn’t know what I was gonna say last year ’til I got up there and started speaking. I never know what I’m gonna say. Sometimes I go out with five or six little outlines, but other than that, I don’t know. This is the Conservative Political Action Committee. It’s not some group of Libertarians. I would have defended conservatism and I would have promoted conservatism and I would have reminded people conservatism is the solution. Conservatism is the answer for this country’s problems and challenges that we face. Nobody’s out there defending bad Republican policies.
The point at this stage is to support the conservatives in and outside public office. I certainly would not have ignored the other team on the field, the Democrats. They’re the only reason we’re in this mess. The Democrat Party is the only reason we are threatened with the things we’re threatened with. The Democrat Party. Solely. They own it. There’s no evidence I see of anybody colluding with the Democrats on this health care business. There’s not one Republican vote in the Senate for it. In the House there was one, I think, from the guy in Louisiana and he said he’s not going to do it a second time. I woulda had a real tough time not talking about cap and trade, Card Check, Miranda rights for terrorists, tax increases, breaking the bank of the American private sector. It would have been very difficult for me to be critical of Dick Cheney.
But to each his own. There are motivations for people who do what they do — and I, as a highly trained broadcast specialist, I think I know what’s going on and why various people are doing what they’re doing and taking positions that they’re taking. But the best way to insure that Obama succeeds is to think that we need a third party. All the momentum that we’ve got going right now is just going to hit a brick wall if a third party starts, particularly on the basis that there’s “no difference between the two parties.” I guarantee you there’s not a Republican I know, elected or unelected, that would propose anything Obama has. They haven’t joined him. We are at this great crossroads in our history because of people who hold a particular ideological point of view. I don’t care what you want to call them. I call them liberals because that’s what they hate and that’s what they are and that’s what the American people reject.
…One year after the inauguration of Barack Obama there is a conservative ascendancy within the Republican Party, and it needs to be encouraged, not beaten down. It needs to be inspired. We need to thank them and join them.
.
Wild Thing's comment.....
I agree with what they are saying. These comments they have made came as the final straw happened with Glenn Beck's speech at CPAC. I heard his speech and was greatly disappointed. I thought at least at CPAC he would appreciate what the conservatives have been doing, the hard work, Tea Parties etc.
Beck has stated many times he is not a Republican and that is OK, but to lump both parties together over and over again as he does not only gets tiresome, it is distructive to our goal as conservatives IMO to take our country back. I agree too we have had several politicans that have stood tall and strong agsinst the left, against Pelosi, Obama, Reid etc. and spoken out. Many times I have posted my respect for these people and how they led the way for Drill here Drill now, fight against Obamacare, Cap and Trade, etc. Glenn it seems cannot see the difference.
Just one more thing it blew me away too when Beck said McCain would have been worse then Obama. I realize Beck likes the dramatic but to say such a thing........well it is over the top. As you know I am no McCain fan. I appreciate and respect his service, I feel horrible he was a POW. But what he and John Kerry did about the remaining POW's in Vietnam and many other things he has been a great disappointment. But to say he is worse then Obama, OMG, not even close.
I hope Glenn listens to what they are saying and thinks about it.
Posted by Wild Thing at February 24, 2010 02:40 AM
Comments
Party infighting is not going to get us anywhere, while I like all the parties involved i.e. Rush, Levin, Bennett, Beck et al the nitpicking between them at times is a distraction from the bigger issue of out of control government. Beck has some valid points and he has some crazy ones - I haven't heard the GOP have a "come to Jesus" moment. We didn't get a $12T deficit with the Dems alone. We are headed to a financial cliff and no one is putting on the breaks. Example my own Republican congressmen secured nearly $100 million in earmarks and then whines about Obama's spending - excuse me what was the $100M loose change found in the couch? So until the Republicans stop spending, then yeah there's not a dimes worth of difference between them. We need new blood, new ideas and term limits to keep it fresh and get rid of these career polticans.
The reality is we're not all going to agree on everything as long as we agree on the principles - if we agreed on everything we'd be zombies or lemmings.
BTW McCain would have been worse than Obama because the Republicans would have gotten the blame for the financial mess thus setting the Dem's up for bigger wins and quicker compliance to their agenda. See the forest and not the trees please.
Posted by: AWG at February 24, 2010 10:07 AM
I admit I don't listen to talk radio. I used to, but not now for about 5 years. I liked most of what was said, but I couldn't get past being turned off by the massive egos of most of the talk show guys. If they have a controversy among themselves, that doesn't surprise me. I still think they do a good job of informing their listeners. However, I get my info off the Internet while listening to classical music. Keeps my blood pressure down and my temper in check.
Posted by: TomR at February 24, 2010 12:02 PM
Glenn Beck, like Michael "Savage" Weiner, have unfortunately gone the political "shock jock" route. There is such a thing as throwing out the baby with the bath water.
I do enjoy the insights of both hosts, especially Savage, who like me has watched California, arguably once the best place to live on earth, slowly but surely turn into excrement over the last few decades. But both are disappointing.
Posted by: Curmudgeon at February 24, 2010 12:47 PM
Thank you everyone so much. I too hate to see any in fighting in our party. I hope the words to Beck help him to see that too. We need to be a united strong force.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 24, 2010 04:14 PM
GB is a ... maverick, but I'd rather have Maverick Beck on my conservative side than against me. The Teabaggers and Conservatives will take THEIR country back in 9 months, not the GOPhers nor the Donkeys! W had it all in 2001, the Oval Office, the House and Senate majorities, and his kinder and gentler 'PC' administration blew it!
Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at February 24, 2010 06:23 PM
Chrissie...I agree with you 100% !!!
Posted by: James M at February 24, 2010 09:17 PM
For those that revere Reagan, you'd think they'd listen to what he said: Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican. It's a rule I followed during that campaign and have ever since.
Posted by: Basil at February 24, 2010 11:35 PM
