Quotes of the day
posted at 9:35 pm on November 9, 2008 by Allahpundit
“Some conservatives who are gluttons for punishment are getting a head start on ensuring a 2012 drubbing by prescribing peculiar medication for a misdiagnosed illness. They are monomaniacal about media bias, which is real but rarely decisive, and unhinged by their anger about the loathing of Sarah Palin by similarly deranged liberals. These conservatives, confusing pugnacity with a political philosophy, are hot to anoint Palin, an emblem of rural and small-town sensibilities, as the party’s presumptive 2012 nominee.
These conservatives preen as especially respectful of regular — or as Palin says, ‘real’ — Americans, whose tribune Palin purports to be. But note the argument that the manipulation of Americans by ‘the mainstream media’ explains the fact that the more Palin campaigned, the less Americans thought of her qualifications. This argument portrays Americans as a bovine herd — or as inert clay in the hands of wily media, which only Palin’s conservative celebrators can decipher and resist.
These conservatives, smitten by a vice presidential choice based on chromosomes, seem eager to compete on the Democrats’ terrain of identity politics, entering the ‘diversity’ sweepstakes they have hitherto rightly deplored. We have seen this movie before. Immediately after the 1972 election, some conservatives laid down the law — the 1976 Republican nominee must be Vice President Spiro Agnew.”
*
“Harris … said that the party is now divided into two wings: the ‘hell, no’ wing and a ‘yes, but’ wing. ‘The ‘hell, no’ is going to fight [Obama] every step of the way’ on ideological grounds.
‘The other will say, ‘Yes, we agree with a lot of his objectives; we want to do it in a somewhat different way.’ It really, I think, goes right to a tactical and philosophical fault line in the Republican Party.’
[David] Brooks was not convinced that Sarah Palin could be taken seriously as the GOP’s next Ronald Reagan.
‘Well, the ‘hell, no’ group is rallying around her,’ he said. ‘And this past week, I don’t think, has been particularly flattering to her, the McCain people – and the whole thing has been a complete disaster. They’ve attacked her for her lack of human capital and for being a diva.
‘I’m not sure it’s all fair, but one would not say she has spent her life preparing for an intellectual revolution to lead the party out of the wilderness. Let’s put it that way.’”
Blowback
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We, the Republican Party, need to offer a new contract with America to return to smaller government, better government, lower taxes, and more personal responsibility. We also need to keep the Democrats from tinkering at the edges of the economy. Energy prices and subprime mortgage market collapse caused the economy to stall, both were caused by direct action of the Dems and that did McCain in this time around. We did ourselves in, in 06. I’d like to say never again but stupidity is cyclical in political parties, ours just happens to be a shorter cycle. As far as taking advise from the Dems really what can they offer?
michigan republican on November 10, 2008 at 7:56 AM
The flat tax is a total waste of time. It will go no where.
KBird on November 10, 2008 at 7:56 AM
Since when did David Brooks determine conservative/Republican Party agendae? He is the reason, like his other RINO buddies and neocons, that we ended up with McCain in the first place. When is he going to accept responsibility for his actions? Governor Palin is the reason the Republican ticket won 48% of the popular vote.
trainwife1962 on November 10, 2008 at 7:58 AM
The fox intends to continue guarding the hen house because he feels he can “do the most good” there. Heckuva a job, Chris Dodd! The most good for whom?
onlineanalyst on November 10, 2008 at 8:11 AM
Palin 2012
Onager on November 10, 2008 at 8:15 AM
As they wean themselves off of Sarah, they are moving very rapidly towards the new media mantra for 2009 and beyond – “The republican party is broken”.
Obama could dismantle the military and the lead story on MSNBC will be “Is the Republican party dead?”
Obama could call for the release of all black drug dealers in prison and the CNN story will be “Will republicans ever recover?”.
sherry on November 10, 2008 at 8:19 AM
lodge on November 10, 2008 at 7:41 AM
Which Romney policies are too moderate for you? This isn’t a 1994 run for a Massachusetts senate seat anymore, he doesn’t have to play that game.
thecountofincognito on November 10, 2008 at 8:23 AM
Palin had a over 80% approval rating by the people she knew and served. You can’t name another politician with those numbers…you could barely find a Pastor of a church with those numbers.
She will now re-define herself how she wants, on her terms, and she will be the front runner in 2012.
The Dems know it, and they will continue to hammer away at her. The effect can be seen already on some of these posts.
Weak willed, and weak minded Republicans will fall, and have fallen for the democrats demagoguery of Palin.
The fact is, she will represent the majority of Americans, with all their faults, and all their values…and nothing that the “elites”, the liberals, the supposed intellectual conservatives, will do to stop her…
right2bright on November 10, 2008 at 8:28 AM
And I would say that Brooks has spent his whole life preparing to be a toady for whomever is in power from the very first time that someone at the playground knocked off his glasses and gave him a wedgie.
Really, when has this milktoast ever stood up forcefully for anything or anyone?
PackerBronco on November 10, 2008 at 8:28 AM
“Hell, no.”
Pugnaciousness may not be a “political philosophy,” but it is certainly a admirable and necessary quality which Gov. Sarah has in spades.
Sarah’cuda!
davidk on November 10, 2008 at 8:34 AM
All these pseudo-intellectuals pining for some kind of “intellectual re-definition” of the Republican Party haven’t seen what’s really going on. Conservative ideals haven’t died, and don’t NEED to be re-defined–they have been trampled on by people claiming to be conservatives but either over-spending or bringing discredit to the conservative cause by incompetence or corruption.
There are some Republicans who HAVE been advancing the conservative cause in government by practicing what they preach–Bobby Jindal, Haley Barbour, Jim DeMint, Jeb Bush, and Sarah Palin.
The perceived lack of “intellectual” heft with Sarah Palin was due to her inexperience with NATIONAL politics, which allowed her to get tripped up by the leftist “gotcha” media to which she was unaccustomed. In Alaska, where she had watched the workings of politics for twelve years as mayor of Wasilla and member of the Oil and Gas regulatory board before becoming Governor, she was both incorruptible and extremely well-informed, and won the Governorship by out-foxing the wonks and coming down on the side of the Alaskan people.
For those who love ivory-tower intellectuals, they’ve got their wish with Obama–the cerebral thinker who mesmerizes the crowds with his rhetoric who has never DONE anything constructive. The Chicago Annenberg Challenge–$160 million and 6 years for an educational FAILURE. Forcing Chicago banks to lend to insolvent borrowers, and now taxpayers are bailing out banks. His time in the State Senate was spent giving hundreds of millions of dollars of State money to his rich cronies to build tenements, which are now rat-infested slums. Four years in the U.S. Senate, and no Obama legislation.
Obama is a great “thinker” and orator, but as a DOER is a colossal failure. The media managed to hide this from the American people while he was a relative nobody in Chicago, but now that he is President, people will see the results, whether the media likes it or not. If Obama runs hard left and destroys the economy even worse and our enemies are approaching our borders, within two years voters will be clamoring for ANYTHING to stop him!
It’s time for true conservatives to stop pointing blame and start organizing. The Democrats will be in charge for the next two years–we can blame THEM for anything that goes wrong. It’s time for Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney and other former GOP leaders to stop pontificating and start recruiting solid conservative challengers in swing districts for 2010, to whom voters can flock after The Great Intellectual Obama has repeated the glorious failures of Jimmuh Carter. Meanwhile, let Gov. Sarah Palin exude quiet confidence and competence in Alaska, and let her gain experience on national issues on the interview circuit–with Obama feeding her lines of attack. A lot of things can happen in four years (who would have thought in late 2004 that a financial crisis, not Iraq, would derail the GOP now?), and Sarah Palin may or may not be our best hope in 2012, but she will be part of the solution–she is definitely NOT part of the problem.
We don’t need cerebral intellectuals in ivory towers–we need competent, incorruptible leaders who can get the job done. This is where the second Bush term and the 2005-06 Congress failed us–they were incompetent and/or corrupt. Sarah Palin is neither, but she can’t do it alone–we need to rally the others to the cause of taking back Congress and stopping the Obama-nation.
Steve Z on November 10, 2008 at 9:13 AM
Palin/Nugent 2012
Rusty Bill on November 10, 2008 at 9:19 AM
Me? I’m looking for a new party, one in which maybe Sarah Palin will pay apart. It has nothing to do with her chromosomes and everything to do with her actually being a breath of fresh air that actually means what she says and says what she means.
What’s most important to me is a party that is honest, doesn’t eat its own and actually believes in representative government. No RINOs allowed.
Romney is fine with me unless he or his minions have been involved in this Palin assassination. but unfortunately, Romeny appears to be more of the same and we not only need better, we deserve better.
katablog.com on November 10, 2008 at 9:26 AM
The hell no crowd is wrong if they feel they have to fight every step of the way. I’m taking that to mean they think Obama has absolutely no ideas they can agree with. This is foolish. Obama has been forced to the right, at least in rhetoric, because we have a lot of ideas the majority of Americans agree with.
Anyone who thinks Palin has anything more than potential at this point is in denial. She may have been mishandled and may have shown flashes, but she’s utterly unready at this point period. Deal with reality please so we can be sucessful.
On the other hand, to scoff that she “spent her life preparing for an intellectual revolution to lead the party out of the wilderness.” is pretty f*&%ing stupid too, the woman is 40 something. I mean s&^t, Reagan was running the Screen Actors Guild in his 40′s, she’s a state Governor.
Dash on November 10, 2008 at 9:29 AM
The hell no crowd is wrong if they feel they have to fight every step of the way. I’m taking that to mean they think Obama has absolutely no ideas they can agree with. This is foolish. Obama has been forced to the right, at least in rhetoric, because we have a lot of ideas the majority of Americans agree with.
Anyone who thinks Palin has anything more than potential at this point is in denial. She may have been mishandled and may have shown flashes, but she’s utterly unready at this point, period. Deal with reality please so we can be successful.
On the other hand, to scoff that she hasnt “spent her life preparing for an intellectual revolution to lead the party out of the wilderness.” is pretty stupid too, the woman is 40 something. I mean, Reagan was running the Screen Actors Guild in his 40′s, she’s a state Governor. That doesnt mean she’s Reagan but come on.
Dash on November 10, 2008 at 9:31 AM
Fix it for you since we’ve already had the announcement that Obama will spend, spend, spend.
Now, there may be a large number clamoring for anything to stop Obama, but I will not be one of them. No RINOs. I’m sick and tired of choose the lesser of two evils and see which one wins. I want a candidate that represents ME.
katablog.com on November 10, 2008 at 9:33 AM
Steve Z on November 10, 2008 at 9:13 AM
Damn straight, Steve. Having the highest IQ is not part of the job qualifications for POTUS. Strength of character IS.
Speaking of “Job Qualifications”, I would like to see a candidate address some of the silly-ass questions by clarifying what the job of POTUS does and does not entail. Their position on abortion is a character question, but has nothing to do with being POTUS (except tangentially to appointing SCOTUS). Same for hESC. Same for Gov’t Bailouts – that’s the job of the HOR & Senate.
True responsibilities: CinC of the military. Enforcement of national law. Appoint federal justices. Make treaties. Sign or veto bills that have been approved by Congress. Being above corruption is far and away more important than IQ in the performance of these duties.
Not to say that Sarah is lacking intellectually. It’s just not an issue, IMO. She is more qualified than Obama. EOM.
connertown on November 10, 2008 at 10:39 AM
This election proved that Hispandering will get a Republican nothing. 2010 better be an enforcement year or the GOP can start planning political races for Water Board or Waste Management Board seats.
Bulldogger on November 10, 2008 at 10:46 AM
Until Obama actually proves that he can actually do something other than talk, I’ll never believe that he is anything more than a puppet. The scary thing will be discovering who pulls the strings.
So until he proves an ability to plan and execute, it doesn’t really matter what he says. But all the ideas he’s expressed so far, no matter whose ideas they really are, deserve a resounding “Hell No”!!!
landlines on November 10, 2008 at 10:49 AM
Freakin’ nerds who were always picked last.
Losers.
I won’t read any of them anymore.
America is the elites vs. non-elites. No longer a “party” thing.
Let’s roll.
ex-Democrat on November 10, 2008 at 10:52 AM
I like Sarah and will back her in any endeavor but she is toast as far as having any shot at higher office outside of being Senator from Alaska someday.
Not only does she have to deal with the Left and the media — which fear her. But now she has to deal with moderates in her own party who also fear her. It is sickening what the McCain people did to her and I am beginning to feel as if Johnny Mac is part of this as he has remained silent on the matter.
Going forward, the Party needs to purge the pretenders and move on with leadership that is not going to buckle for Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and Al Qaeda’s Washington Spokesman, Harry Reid.
grdred944 on November 10, 2008 at 11:25 AM
its amazing to me that one bad interview could detroy one
person’s promising politcal career.
palin was polling quite well with independents and women
before the gibson and couric interviews
rwoodward6 on November 10, 2008 at 11:33 AM
Dump the Elephant and make it the Moose.
It didn’t. MSM, etc. is talking to her and about her now more than ever. I see a 4 year run for the Presidency right from her living room in Alaska.
gracie on November 10, 2008 at 11:45 AM
The Maverick lead the “yes, but…” wing. How did that work out?
el rey on November 10, 2008 at 11:58 AM
I’m very much in the Palin/Jindal 2016 camp. I think that gives them both the time that they need to prepare, and for the ‘Cuda it gives lots of time for her to rebuild her image and for people to forget all the crap from this year. If she runs in 2012 she’ll have to start running in two years. I don’t think that’s enough time to build the team that she needs (which is going to take longer because she’s geographically removed from most of the best national people), or enough time to prep for all the national/international issues.
And, I think that the MSM is obviously going to give Obama a long, long honeymoon so it’s possible that any Republican will be a sacrificial elephant in 2012. I want the ‘Cuda to have the best possible chance when she makes her run.
meltenn on November 10, 2008 at 12:17 PM
Brooks, Will, etc. love above all the sound of their own voices. If backing Palin will give them a platform for their “profound insights” then they’ll back her. What happened in 2008 is that they saw the writing on the wall and saw no reason to tie themselves to a losing ticket. If Palin gains popular momentum in 2012, they’ll hop aboard.
PackerBronco on November 10, 2008 at 12:49 PM
I’ll support any candidate who actually serves their people and who accomplishes what they were elected to do. If there are some extras like taking on dishonorable colleagues, I’m for that too. It’s time for everyone to take a close look at who is running this country. I’m NOT in favor of any more decisions being made by people in the MSM or any other self serving media. We have lost our country to a hologram.
SayWhat on November 10, 2008 at 12:52 PM
meltenn – The corrupt media may give Barack a “honeymoon” but the things coming out within days of his being elected are sending reverberations around the world. It will be more than even the MSM can do to keep some of BO’s errors quiet. Two examples:
Reneging on missiles in Europe (Poland and Czech Republic)
Blasting forward with tax increses on businesses and further destroying the world economy
SayWhat on November 10, 2008 at 12:56 PM
George Will has passed his sell-by date. He’s passed wilting…he’s smack in the middle of rotting…all in the name of keeping the conservatism of his fitful dreams “pure”.
Their lukewarm support of anyone not agreeing with them exactly, the so-called conservative puditocracy has determined to take a 4-year run at killing party and conservative chances in 2012. They’re getting older, so that explains their needing more lead-time.
What spites the chattering classes, though, about Gov. Palin is not the lady herself…but the fact that the “unwashed masses” like her more than they read them.
One wonders what, exactly, they’re trying to conserve.
Puritan1648 on November 10, 2008 at 3:23 PM
Heres a tip for the elitist on the right.
(1)peggy noonan.
(2)kathleen parker
(3)davey brooks
Your opinion means nothing.
You are merely lovers of your own written voice.
You are a part of what the problem is.
Well thought out prose with no common sense behind them is meaningless.
You are the little birds that travel on the backs of the mighty elephants (we the conservative voter).
When your opinion is wanted, We’ll slap it out of ya.
Now go back to your drunken sleep.(parasites)
you elitist, snobbish, rump sniffers..
Handel on November 10, 2008 at 4:02 PM
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