Jan 30 2008
Initial Talk Radio Reactions To McCain’s FL Win
Chris Corr (sp?) seems to have figured it all out this morning. He noted that McCain is the probable GOP nominee after his win in FL and really questioned those who would sit out and let Hillary become president. He also took Rush and Hannity to task for their demeaning comments about independents and those who reach out to us in order to create a governing coalition. While talk radio – initially this morning – is heading the warning not to continue to alienate natural (if imperfect allies) the ‘base’ is upset and still screaming “RINO”.
Laura was also interesting this morning and trying to moderate her comments. Sometimes her anger and frustration broke through, but she did recognize there is a force out there that supports McCain on earmarks, Iraq and (this stunned me) comprehensive immigration reform. She understands the civil war between the moderates and the amnesty hypochondriacs was becoming a losing effort and was damaging the conservative movement. She did make the comment it was time to determine which way the party was going, and whether the Reagan revolution was dead. I hate to tell her this, but that determination has been made as we can see in McCain’s continued rise.
I and many others (like The Anchoress, Harriet Miers, etc) are products of the Reagan Revolution. He brought moderates into the conservative fold. It was the ugly and demeaning actions of the far right which broke Reagan’s 11th commandment and broke the coalition. Former dems were not trusted. The impure were badgered and heckled. “RINO Traitors” was the call that told moderates Reagan’s welcoming message was gone and a new, angrier GOP had risen from his optimistic and open views.
Those who who became ugly and told their allies they were un-American, frauds, traitors for following El Presidente Jorge Bush (and McCain, Kyle and a bunch of other life long Republicans) are now stunned they have no allies. OK, sometimes it takes a 2×4 to the head to wake some people up. The answer to rebuilding Reagan’s coalition is to bury the egos and dump the hate and treat allies with respect. Learning to lose with class would be a critical element to rebuilding the coalition. Is the conservative community capable of this? We will know soon enough.
Great post AJ. Right on the money. There’s also a great article at the American Thinker on the Liberal Mommy Fascism. Insightful, imho.
AJ, I do not know if you listen to morning show prior to Chris Corr. They have a moderate in Fred Grandy (Gopher) and a hard right Andy Parks. Parks like many on the hard right is totally trashing Reagan’s 11th commandment “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican”. Parks also like many on the hard right is refusing to vote for McCain no matter what. In the very next comment the hard right will also say how Republicans need to return to the Conservatism of Reagan. What a nonsensical circular arguement. Fred tries in vain to make Andy see the foolishness in his thoughts. It is hilarious to listen to.
So, If I understand the argument and I do struggle with it, we are better off with Hillary because she will cause the Right to recoalesce around a more hardline right platform? I do not think so. The Clinton’s and Obama will immediately move to the center after the primaries and with a little rephrasing of positions could well occupy the middle for a long, long time. Politics is all about getting what you can get today and hoping to live till tomorrow. It is a rough and dirty game and purity is about impossible to acheive.
Every now and then I have to haul myself up short and remember that Rush Limbaugh is one of the main reasons I developed any interest in politics at all. I clearly remember being up in Northern Wisconsin for a Fall weekend, 16, 17 years ago, shopping with friends. In one gift shop owned by an older couple, a radio was playing Rush’s show at a low volume. We caught a few words and started walking toward the radio to hear more. The couple practically whispered to us… have you heard about this guy Rush Limbaugh — like it was some sort of secret underground society… then we all listened for awhile and were amazed. He was speaking our language and giving voice to our thoughts. And he was funny!
I cannot say how much I have changed versus how much Rush has changed in the last 2-3 years. That is a study requiring more time and thought than I have at the moment. But I can say I no longer enjoy listening to Rush & Co. and I am sad about the bitterness, rigidity, and apparent refusal to countenance any person who thinks slightly outside a narrowly defined set of “conservative” commandments.
My wish would be for the Radio Talkers to follow the lead and tone of Medved, who long ago became my preference. He has interests and curiosity beyond the talking points. Among other things, his appreciation for classical music, American History and pop culture are a joy to have sprinkled into the mix. And those things also matter, greatly. And they provide human warmth and relief. Plus, Medved’s occasional “Conspiracy Day” shows are breathtaking, highly educational, and funny in ways you could never dream up. Sometimes very jarring and hateful too, but always fascinating.
AJ, perhaps you should ask yourself if the moderates can win with grace.
SallyVee,
Northern Wisconsin in the fall…absolutely beautiful. I know it well.
I guess it just shows that we all err at some point (pointing at self).
Some more than others. I point to one of the most disrespectful things I have ever seen on a so called ‘Conservative’ blog. Did anyone else notice what Malkin called her post on the SOTU? Can’t remember exactly but it was something like Grab Bag Address. The woman is shameless. And you wonder which bookwriter was driving the bus? Wasted talent. Frum (a disappointed speechwriter) lead Miers. Noonan (a disappointed speechwriter) acting like a woman scorned. Grab Bag Address. That is pure hatred.
Rush, please pull back and go back to humor. You are the very best with that venue.
Whippet: long ago halcyon days spent at Lake Catherine near Minocqua. Reminiscent of On Golden Pond.
Owl: it turns out to be useful that Malkin established the terms “unhinged” and “Moonbat.”
Did you read Rush’s opening transcript? Yikes! Can anyone tell who he supports? I’m afraid it’s Hillary.
Let’s not go overboard here.
Grab Bag Address, RINO, etc, while not becoming of a serious blogger are not hateful, unhinged or Moonbattish.
Those terms are reserved for those gone over the edge to Bushitlerisms. While there are those on the far right who cross the line, even Malkin doesn’t come close to the everyday hatred that comes from the left. She grates on me too but let’s be fair.
When Malkin, Rush or Levin disagree with a candidate it doesn’t mean they want only purists in the party or that they are expousing hatred. They disagree and have a right to say it as do we.
My only issue is that sometimes I really don’t like the way they say it…but unhinged? Come on…
I can’t really confirm or deny that Malkin “doesn’t come close” to the lefties in hatred or insanity. I don’t hang in lefty circles. Maybe there are people who by contrast make Malkin, Rush, Levin et al seem mellow and charming but I do hope to avoid meeting them. Anyway, it’s not much of a defense to say someone is not as hateful as persons XYZ on the left. It might be true from an impartial referee’s standpoint, but I only know about the bats in our own house.
It wasn’t immigration that turned me against McCain, it was his support of John Kerry and his Winter Soldier brigade against the Swifties that did it for me. That and his insane and petty temper and his stance on tax cuts. I do not trust him.
I agree that the Malkin wing is most responsible for destroying whatever Reagan legacy was left within the Republican party. They made it their mission to bring down GWB and they cost us the 2006 election, whether they admit it or not.
So now what? McCain is nothing but a liberal dem. masquerading as a Republican. Right now, he has the media on his side, but that will change as soon as the dem. nominee is set. Wake up folks, there is a reason dems are pushing so hard for a McCain nomination.
SallyVee,
The defense of them isn’t with a comparison to the left. My point is…Malkin, Rush, Levin and some of the others may be guilty of exaggerated “bloviating” but they do not promote hate speech and they do not practice it. Again, disagreement is NOT hateful.
I go read some of the lefty sites so I am aware of the ideology and tactics of the left and for that reason only. Try it sometime. You will be shocked. And at times-amused.
Whippet:
I disagree, Malkin obviously despises Bush. The woman accused the man of telling border guards to stand down just so more Mexicans could sneak in. She was just about nuts on Katrina as Spike Lee was. And the sad thing is, she is supposed to be on his side. At least with the lefties you know where they are coming from. But when this kind of nastiness comes from the Republican side and it directed at members of their own party….it is much worse.
McCain is not a liberal Dem masquerading as anything. The man has a life time conservative rating of 83%. Let’s compare that to the 86% of Fred Thompson.
People call him a liberal because they want to defeat him and think that is a good line of attack.
As a matter of fact I doubt very much if staunch conservatives like Senator Coburn of Oklahoma would even consider endorsing McCain if they actually believed he was a liberal.
Terrye,
You need to take a look at some of McCain’s record. Just because he has an 83% conservative rating does not make him a conservative.
See where he falls down the list…who’s above him and who’s below him…
And ask yourself, if McCain, as President knew of an imminent attack on say Chicago and some of the terrorists involved had been captured and waterboarding was the quickest way to get information about the time and place of that attack, would John McCain order it? No.
That’s just one of his history of many more liberal stances. They don’t accuse him of being liberal to defeat him, they accuse him of being liberal because he is. And it’s only one of his achilles heels. And once there is a Dem nominee to prop up the media will exploit it to their advantage. They’re doing it now by talking about the huge split in the Republican Party and you guys are buying into it. They want McCain because he’s their easiest target and they will use every bit of ammunition they have against him to bolster the Dem candidate and try and keep Republicans at home.
Republicans will vote for McCain if they have no other choice…unless of course you all buy into the media propoganda.
Whippet:
There are Romney supporters promising to vote for Hillary or Obama if McCain gets the nomination, what do you think they would do if someone was planning to attack Chicago? It seems there are an awful lot of self professed conservatives out there who do not care.
I think McCain would do what he thought he had to. The United States has not used waterboarding in years, and when we did it was on three people. I don’t think I would place a vote using that as my criteria.
I am not saying McCain is as conservative as Bush is, but these people had no problem stabbing Bush in the back, so what do they care? Listen to talk radio. They have been trashing a conservative for years.
SallyVee,
Disagreeing with President Bush is not hatred it’s disagreement. They are political pundits and politics is their game…they talk about what they agree and disagree about.
I can remember getting pretty angry at Malkin during the Katrina thing but she was only disagreeing, very childishly many times in my opinion, but that’s what it was. I have never thought she despises Bush, just some of his policies. There is a difference.
Whippet:
I disagree, Malkin obviously despises Bush. The woman accused the man of telling border guards to stand down just so more Mexicans could sneak in. She was just about nuts on Katrina as Spike Lee was. And the sad thing is, she is supposed to be on his side. At least with the lefties you know where they are coming from. But when this kind of nastiness comes from the Republican side and it directed at members of their own party….it is much worse.
Left by Terrye on January 30th, 2008
Excellent post Terrye. And let’s get it straight regarding Malkin: she called the President of the United States stupid on national TV and all but has called him a liar when she hosted the O’Reilly show last year. It was with disgust that she talked of him. She is a sniper who has never run for office, nor would she win. And I do believe she let the likes of david dukites have posts on her site, if I am not mistaken.
Not O.K. Many of her ilk are becoming extremely divisive and are spewing their hatred onto the soul of America. And she IS full of hate, imho.
Here is a good article on the demise of the GOP.
As to moderates, the point is this: ALL have to work together!!!
Since when did any sector of the party get to trash the other? I am fast losing my patience with the whiners and greedy ones who want “their way or the hiway”. …as is being displayed today with so many who are “not going to vote.” They think they own the republican. Where did they get that idea?? They bought the media hype in ’04.
And as to those who are going to sit home, I ask you this: Is that the message you want to send to our troops, that they will have to pledge allegiance to Hillary Rodham Clinton, a known military hater, as commander-in-chief? Is that what you wish for them after all the sacrifice they have made for us?