Jun 11 2009
Huckabee Insults The Center Of America To Gain Its Support?
The ‘True Conservative” silliness continues. Conservatives think they can insult that segment of the electorate that decides which side wins elections, and THAT will help them win elections! That’s some really twisted logic there.
Mike Huckabee today went completely moron using this same self destructive tactic:
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee warned Republicans Wednesday against moving to the “mushy middle,” arguing that only clearly stated conservative policies can bring the party back to power.
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“It’s when they move to the mushy middle and get squishy that they get beat,” he said.
What a buffoon. Yeah, those of us who live outside the conservative fringes are so mushy we refuse to cave to the ranting ‘true conservatives’! Face it, that’s what Huckabee is moaning about – we don’t go mushy HIS way. If we were so squishy and mushy how is it the ‘true conservatives’ aren’t smart enough to move us their way? Ever think about that Huckaboo?
Let’s be clear here. Centrists have valid views on which path to take for this country (and most importantly – how far to go down any given path) when it comes to policies and platforms. Just because we can see some gems on both sides doesn’t make us mushy or squishy, it makes us CENTRISTS! And because we don’t live by simple minded slogans used to brain wash the leftward and rightward fever swamps (but instead recognize the true complexity and challenges of issues that those on the fringe conveniently ignore so they can tout their superiority) it doesn’t make us squishy.
We attempt to solve complex nagging problems, not dumb them down to irrelevant slogans.
Sean Hannity and his ilk spout 3rd grade, mindless platitudes and declare all things simple to solve. It is an amazing display of ego without much to back it up. As far as I am concern, the 3rd graders can stay ‘in exile’ while the professional adults will work together as Americans to solve problems and stop mistakes from happening or continuing (whether they are created from the left and right).
Let’s see… A writer uses words like…
.
‘True Conservative†silliness…
completely moron…
What a buffoon….
Huckaboo…
his ilk spout 3rd grade, mindless platitudes…
the 3rd graders can stay ‘in exile’…
not dumb them down to irrelevant slogans…
This is from THIS column… he has used probably hundreds of these kinds of insults in past columns…
… and …
I guess [?] expects to influence the people he has insulted to change their positions…
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I think that person misses the correct position…
The “centrist” Republicans need the “far right” [if those are even the correct terms] and visa-versa…
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This much should be obvious… IF President Obama is successful in his policies… and legislative agenda… and in defeating terrorism… and etc etc… it won’t matter… Dems will rule for a looong time…
.
Anyway, I think you may just write this stuff to get traffic for you blog and lots of comments… because… you are too smart to really mean it… it is sooo counter – productive…
Toes,
The big difference is I name names, not some large group of pivotal voters.
And you can’t think whining Cons complaining about insults is going to impress me – do you?
Where to begin….where to begin… With regard to your latest, and maybe greatest anti- Conservative polemic……
You state that Conservatives do not understand that insulting a segment of the population that decides which side wins is counter productive. Couple of things…
What makes you think “True Conservatives” are that interested in electing Centrists? That my friend is a huge leap of faith.
Do you think it makes sense for Centrist Republicans like yourself to insult so called “True Conservatives” I don’t. Republicans cannot win without Conservative votes and you know it! So I have to believe you dont understand the concept either.
As you condemn “True Conservative” politicians and like minded folks for bad mouthing other views you end up doing a pretty good job yourself. Simple minded boffoons, irrelevant sloganeers, brainwashers,
3rd graders, etc. That’s pretty tough stuff there AJ.
Why is it Centrists have a valid point of view but not Conservatives? Why is your view so “special?” Are we Conservatives not allowed to state are views in public without being “set upon?” Sorry AJ. Whether its out of moranic stupidity or other factors so called ” True Conservatives” believe what they believe and their sticking with it. In this climate whats so bad about being in your so called “exile?” Why bother with us if we’re in exile? Does that not contradict the definition?
I think I know why AJ. It is because Centrist Republicans and True Conservatives, like it or not, are joined at the hip by the Democrats and the media. Believe me AJ, Conservatives don’t like it either!!
Mike,
What makes you think centrsists will ever elect rude conservatives ever again?
LOL!
I give up… You just don’t get it, Aj…
AJ, to my ears you are sounding a lot like the guys you put down.
Awww- I am all torn up that us squishy, mushy, traitorous, quisling centrists hurt the poor whittle ‘true conservatives’ fweelings….
Oh boy. More drama ….
Folks, get a clue. As long as the ‘true conservatives’ rant there is no united front possible to stop Obama and the dems. THAT is the point.
No AJ. I don’t expect Centrist Republicans to vote for a Conservative of any sort, “true” or “untrue.” Quite the opposite. I expect they will do as they did in 08. A great many of them voted for Obama. I guess they felt McCain was too a “true” Conservative. The LOL my friend, is on you!!! It doesn’t matter to the dems or the media if your a Centrist Republican or a True Conservative. They loved McCain when he opposed Bush for 8 years then did there damndest to paint him as a “True Conservative” for the general election. They succeeded in fooling a many segments of the political landscape, they voted for Obama. Unfortunately for McCain, the media were unable to fool enough Conservatives to get them to believe he was a “True Conservative.” Many Conservatives were unable to hold their nose and vote for him. Lets face it AJ, for better or worse, it takes a Conservative to know a Conservative!
The Republican party has NO LEADER at the moment. It has plenty of commentators on what it should be, could be, won’t be, shouldn’t be, might be, do I need to go on? COMMENTATORS. I have no idea who will emerge from the thousands of possibilities. My hunch is that people will come to the fore that we haven’t even thought of yet. They will put out a platform and then we can debate who is the best person to represent most of our views knowing from the get go that not all views will be represented in one person.
I find it counter productive to slam commentators, who, unlike the President, have no effect on my life because I can turn them off.
I’ll stop after this, promise. I’m sure anyone that is reading me must be getting tired of it. I’m getting tired of me!
Yesterday Mr. James Carville, the snake-like Democratic strategist referred to Bob McDonnell, the candidate for Va. Gov you call a “Centrist Republican” as a “Rush Limbaugh/Pat Robertson”
Republican. Of course that went unchallenged by the adoring talking head. This will be pounded day after day into the heads of the Virginia electorate. He will have a difficult time finessing it. If he renounces Conservativism as extreme he will lose the True vote, if he defends it he will lose some Centrist votes. He will need to run a super campaign to win. The media will report anyone with a “R” after their name as a right wing nut. Case closed.
Aj what I think you missing about Huckabee comments is what is missed when this generally happens
What quishy midgle is he talking about? For Some people and in fact the Club for Types Huckabee Conservatives views are the quishy middle.
He was a called a RINO, a Christian Socialist, a Republican Liberal in social conservative clothing.
We see this over and over and over again. The Paelos, The Social Cons, THe Movement Folks, THe Crunchy Cons, The Club for Growth folks , the Conservative Libertarians, the Frum faction etc etc are all saying they are conservative and have different views what the quishy middle is at times.
I think I know what Huckabee is talking about and I don’t take it exactly like you are perhaps
I think the Quishy middle is not taking a stand on some conservative principles. That does no tmean compromnise is all out of the question
AJ:
Most conservatives really do not consider Huckabee a conservative. He is too much into big government etc.
AJ:
You said you used names. So why didn’t the DHS report? It claimed that large groups of people such as veterans and abortion opponents were rife for extremism and yet you did not seem to have a problem with that insult to tens of millions of Americans.
“Went” completely moron? He has been completely moron since the start.
As I see it, these so called Centerists are nothing more than Democrats who still believe in the core values of of the Democrat Party but are upset that the radical, hate America, far out looney left has gained control of their party and have decided their only recourse is to claim to be Republicans and remake the Republican Party over into a mirror image of their old Democrat Party. Those of us who have steadfastly fought the Socialization of this country from FDR’s New Deal, to JFK’s and Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, to Obama’s Czar in Charge take over of everything, are not ready to give up control to these Johnny come lately disillusioned Democrats who have no place else to go. It appears these “New” Republicans are using the old Dem tried and true method of demonizing anyone who disagrees with them, make fun of them, call them morons and stupid, etc. The only thing I have not heard Conservatives called on this blog is a Racist, but since that is a Dem Biggie, I am expecting it any day now.
momdear1, I do not share your conclusion that “Centerists” are Democrats. I frankly can’t stand Democrats and do not believe that Government is the answer to anything. BUT, I also do not share the far right’s doctrine of dictating social values out of Washington DC, either.
The center decides elections. Neither party has enough votes to win without it. At the current time, “the center” is larger than either registered Republicans or Democrats. As the Republicans and Democrats get more extreme in their social agenda, they lose members.
I believe that things like Federal Government provided health care is unconstitutional. Can you show me the clause in the constitution that gives the federal government the authority to mandate and control health insurance? If any government has that power, it is the state governments, not the federal government. In general, government screws up whatever it involves itself in so it is better off involving itself in as little as possible.
I favor getting the federal government OUT of the abortion discussion, OUT of the gay rights discussion, OUT of the stem cell discussion, OUT of the “affirmative action” discussion and OUT of the health care discussion. Those are conversations that should be happening (or not) at the state level.
It is not the role of the federal government to mandate salaries of private businesses. Can you show me the article that gives that power to the federal government? It is not the role of the federal government to take ownership of private businesses and reorganize their board of directors, oversee the closing of their dealerships and sales outlets, manipulate their executive staff, etc.
If the people of California, for example, want government health care, fine, California is allowed to do that, and Californians can be taxed to pay for it. Where is it written that only the federal government can mandate universal health insurance? Mitt Romney did it in Massachusetts when he was governor in such a way as to preserve the private industry, while maintaining competition and individual choice. I favor that kind of approach.
The fact is that most of the people of this country are morons when it comes to things like economics. We are being set up for one heck of a horrible situation that should “hit” within 6 months time. I am currently reconfiguring my investments to be able to profit from a plunging dollar, skyrocketing interest rates, falling stock market and rising commodity prices. When that happens I will make money. I predict that inflation will be back with a vengeance within a year. We will have, again, the double-digit inflation and unemployment of the Jimmy Carter years. That is what we got the last time we had both houses of Congress controlled by Democrats and a Democrat in the White House, and it is what we will get this time. Pelosi is Tip O’Neil on steroids.
I am tired of warning people about what is coming.
momdear,
Hate to be blunt, but it doesn’t matter what anyone is ‘ready for’ – its who has the greater numbers.
And as CP pointed out, the independents are the largest political force, and in some surveys they are nearly twice as large as the GOP.
That’s how it works, who attracts (or repels) the greatest numbers.
AJ, I’m going to try one more time because your words really distress me sometimes. I consider myself a conservative and what I mean when I say that is someone who believes in the rule of law, staying true to the constitution, not rewriting it according to some court in Denmark or the UK.
I believe that everyone should enjoy freedom and the right to do what they want as long as it isn’t hurting someone else. That means the right to drive a car of preference, not a tin can that will kill me or my family in an accident. If I want to drive an Expedition and can afford the gas for it, why is that a problem? I should have that choice. I agree with pretty much everything crosspatch wrote.
I don’t particularly care for Huckabee but I do understand what he is saying. The people in the mushy middle are those who really have no firm beliefs and can be swayed by BS dished out to sound good. That’s how we got Obama.
If we wanted a slightly left-leaning liberal candidate, then McCain was perfect. But he wasn’t the real deal for the electorate so they voted for Obama. Perhaps if he had run as he really is, a liberal republican, he might have had a better chance but I doubt it. However I did vote for him because he was better than the other choice given to us.
There has to be room in the Republican Party for more than just the middle otherwise we will never win another election. With that said, I fear that you mean there is no room for me either in the party you envision. I honestly don’t think that is what you mean to say but that is how I’m reading it.
One more comment. I think the reason so many people call themselves Independents now especially to pollsters is because Conservative and Republican have become toxic words because of the constant denigration of them in the media. It seems far safer to be seen as an independent rather than one of the reviled. That doesn’t mean they don’t still have their values and beliefs, they just fear retaliation.
Jen
JDavis,
What makes you think I disagree with a word you wrote? Huckabee committed the usual sin of saying there was no place in the GOP for centrist conservatives. That’s what the post is all about – and how dumb that kind of talk is.
The truth is many of us ex-cons (like the Anchoress) moved to independent status because of the toxic rhetoric from the right.
We don’t believe the liberal media one bit.
You can think what you want, but the result is clear as I posted the trend in party Identification. The fringes left and right are simply decimating the parties and growing the independent middle.
The data is to clear to argue against.