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Michael Medved smacks down birfers

SmartyPants said:
Not that I would consider Liddy or Liz Cheney major conservative figures or intellectual heavyweights, but, for some reason, cable news shows continue to book them. Of course, that's probably more an indictment against 24 hour cable news. The fact that there are a few congressmen who can't give a straight "yes" or "no" answer to an easy question (Is Obama a natural-born citizen qualified to serve a President of the United States?) is a lot more troubling, though. However, my guess is that this will die a quiet death within a few months, and any otherwise reasonable conservative who has remained mum on the issue will eventually give the obvious "yes" answer when they realize that it is no longer something that's politically advantageous.
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I really hope you're right, but I don't think it'll be like that. In fact, I can see it going the opposite way - if enough of the hardcore Republican base buys into this birther nonsense, it could become a kind of litmus test for conservative Republican politicians in their primaries. Remember that in such primaries it is the conservative base of the GOP that wields the real power; that's why there are so few moderates in the GOP these days.

It's almost as if these birther nuts are taking a page from the religious right in that they're trying to infiltrate the Republican party. And if they get their hooks into the GOP establishment... :boggled:
 
This is what the GOP is left with.

They got in bed with these people, and everybody else has now left the party to go sober up. Sadly, the leadership feels they have to wallow around with them.

What's truly shameful here is how the folks who are supposed to be directing this event allow it to be hijacked. My God, this crackpot lady actually noserings the entire crowd into a grammarschool exsercise of reciting the pledge of allegiance!

And sensible Democrats understand that it's not in their interest either for the GOP to descend into a regional party beholden to the dead-enders -- the bigots, conspiracy theorists, free-market anarchists, and other rabble.

This is frightening, folks. Nobody should be happy about this situation.

ETA: The recent Republican turnabout on Sotomayor is scary as all hell. Obama threw them a sop with her nomination, a strong advocate of judicial restraint who will not move the court one inch to the left. And yet, rather than tout that as a victory, they feel compelled to call her an activist anyway and vote against her in order to appeal to their aptly-named "base". No one is willing to fall on his sword. They all feel compelled to kowtow to the torch and pitchfork crowd in order to keep their seat. This is genuinely scary.
 
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Brainster said:
I hate to say that I'm thrilled that no Republican voted against the bill, but I really am. I think perhaps we have to accept that Crazy Eileen video was sort of the equivalent of planting several truthers in an audience to applaud when one of their fellow nutbars makes his speech.
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I sure hope that you're right, Brainster. Because if you're not, then the reasonable conservatives & Republicans, like you, are going to have a helluva time clearing the kooks out of the GOP. Good luck.
 
Piggy said:
This is what the GOP is left with.

They got in bed with these people, and everybody else has now left the party to go sober up. Sadly, the leadership feels they have to wallow around with them.

What's truly shameful here is how the folks who are supposed to be directing this event allow it to be hijacked. My God, this crackpot lady actually noserings the entire crowd into a grammarschool exsercise of reciting the pledge of allegiance!
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That's what upset me about it. Mike Castle, a very level headed & reasonable Republican (imo), corrected the woman and he was booed and yelled down! He didn't toe the birther true-believer line and those folks yelled at him for it. Heresy!!! :jaw-dropp

How much do you want to bet that in the 2010 GOP primaries some nut is going to go up against Castle and make this birther incident a reason why he's not a "real Republican"?

And sensible Democrats understand that it's not in their interest either for the GOP to descend into a regional party beholden to the dead-enders -- the bigots, conspiracy theorists, free-market anarchists, and other rabble.
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True. How true.

This is frightening, folks. Nobody should be happy about this situation.
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No kidding. I'd be laughing my ass off if the implications weren't so scary.
 
Piggy said:
ETA: The recent Republican turnabout on Sotomayor is scary as all hell. Obama threw them a sop with her nomination, a strong advocate of judicial restraint who will not move the court one inch to the left. And yet, rather than tout that as a victory, they feel compelled to call her an activist anyway and vote against her in order to appeal to their aptly-named "base". No one is willing to fall on his sword. They all feel compelled to kowtow to the torch and pitchfork crowd in order to keep their seat. This is genuinely scary.
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Not entirely true. Senator Lindsay Graham, who is on the Judiciary Committee, voted for her, and some other GOP senators have stated they will do likewise - link.

Bully for them. I love it when moderate Republicans stand up to the wingnuts, it's just a shame there are so few moderates left in the GOP these days.

[/end derail]
 
MattusMaximus said:
Not entirely true. Senator Lindsay Graham, who is on the Judiciary Committee, voted for her, and some other GOP senators have stated they will do likewise - link.

Bully for them. I love it when moderate Republicans stand up to the wingnuts, it's just a shame there are so few moderates left in the GOP these days.

[/end derail]
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I'm sorry, but I can't agree. I don't believe Graham is vulnerable. SC is not Georgia, Alabama, or Mississippi. There's enough Reagan-Republican gentry up there to keep him afloat, especially on the high-rent coast where the real money is. I believe it's a calculated decision.
 
You guys don't even want to know how much traction this is getting in Oklahoma.

:mad:
 
MattusMaximus said:
I really hope you're right, but I don't think it'll be like that. In fact, I can see it going the opposite way - if enough of the hardcore Republican base buys into this birther nonsense, it could become a kind of litmus test for conservative Republican politicians in their primaries. Remember that in such primaries it is the conservative base of the GOP that wields the real power; that's why there are so few moderates in the GOP these days.

It's almost as if these birther nuts are taking a page from the religious right in that they're trying to infiltrate the Republican party. And if they get their hooks into the GOP establishment... :boggled:
Click to expand...

I'm only making a guess. From what I can see, it seems as if these people are quickly becoming the targets of ridicule for just about every side. Unless they can get some mainstream conservative critics ("mainstream" being kind of vague), I don't think the birther stuff will catch on. At some point I think the ones who are less than explicit in their beliefs will admit that there's enough evidence to put the issue to bed. Frankly, I don't really think the politicians are worrying much about placating their constituents, because I don't think that the birthers make up that much of their base. And if they do, it seems likely that they're in safe Republican districts anyway...however, as I wrote before, some of them are giving far too much credence in order to score as many political points as possible.

But like I said, this is only a guess and opinion. I think it speaks volumes, though, that Ann Coulter is calling the birthers a bunch of cranks. My eyeballs almost exploded out of my head in disbelief when I read that. Credit where credit is do, I suppose.

Nevertheless, I don't think birthers will completely disappear, just like the black helicopter crowd never did. Of course, those two groups are pretty much the same.
 
SmartyPants said:
Pray tell. Not that I doubt it, mind you, but it's been awhile since I've been down that way.
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A lot of callers to the local AM radio shows have been going off about it, and the hosts haven't done a very good job of smacking it down. On the contrary, they've been giving it a lot of air. Alternative viewpoints (in this case the voices of reason) never seem to get on the air.

I may have to rectify that, although I probably won't last more than 20 seconds.
 
JoeyDonuts said:
You guys don't even want to know how much traction this is getting in Oklahoma.

:mad:
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Really? Please, do share. Personally, I'm curious to know if anyone's done any polling on this whole birther issue. Anyone know?

ETA: Has the birther billboard campaign been big in OK? I'm going on vacation to Utah later this week, and we're driving. I'll be looking for any of these stupid billboards.
 
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SmartyPants said:
I'm only making a guess. From what I can see, it seems as if these people are quickly becoming the targets of ridicule for just about every side. Unless they can get some mainstream conservative critics ("mainstream" being kind of vague), I don't think the birther stuff will catch on. At some point I think the ones who are less than explicit in their beliefs will admit that there's enough evidence to put the issue to bed. Frankly, I don't really think the politicians are worrying much about placating their constituents, because I don't think that the birthers make up that much of their base. And if they do, it seems likely that they're in safe Republican districts anyway...however, as I wrote before, some of them are giving far too much credence in order to score as many political points as possible.
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I would agree with you, were it not for the fact that Rush Limbaugh, who sways a huge number in the Republican base and is considered by many in the GOP to be the unofficial mouthpiece for the party, has clearly jumped aboard the birther bandwagon.

I know of no other conservative talking-head that commands an audience as large as Limbaugh's. So there you go.
 
MattusMaximus said:
ETA: Has the birther billboard campaign been big in OK? I'm going on vacation to Utah later this week, and we're driving. I'll be looking for any of these stupid billboards.
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There's a birther billboard on I-5 north of Maxwell here in California proclaiming "Show us the birth certificate". If I was still under 18 I'd go out there one night and add "HE DID".
 
Piggy said:
This is what the GOP is left with.

They got in bed with these people, and everybody else has now left the party to go sober up. Sadly, the leadership feels they have to wallow around with them.

What's truly shameful here is how the folks who are supposed to be directing this event allow it to be hijacked. My God, this crackpot lady actually noserings the entire crowd into a grammarschool exsercise of reciting the pledge of allegiance!

And sensible Democrats understand that it's not in their interest either for the GOP to descend into a regional party beholden to the dead-enders -- the bigots, conspiracy theorists, free-market anarchists, and other rabble.

This is frightening, folks. Nobody should be happy about this situation.

ETA: The recent Republican turnabout on Sotomayor is scary as all hell. Obama threw them a sop with her nomination, a strong advocate of judicial restraint who will not move the court one inch to the left. And yet, rather than tout that as a victory, they feel compelled to call her an activist anyway and vote against her in order to appeal to their aptly-named "base". No one is willing to fall on his sword. They all feel compelled to kowtow to the torch and pitchfork crowd in order to keep their seat. This is genuinely scary.
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I agree no one should be happy about the demise of the GOP. I guarantee, if it happens, the Democrats will soon become unbearable in their arrogance,and just as corrupt as the GOP at their worst. Lord Acton's satement about what power does remains as accurate now as when he first said it.
Some of the people in The Politics Section at JREF who are basically doing a Snoopy Happy Dance over the end of the GOP are being very,very,short sighted.
 
Piggy said:
ETA: The recent Republican turnabout on Sotomayor is scary as all hell. Obama threw them a sop with her nomination, a strong advocate of judicial restraint who will not move the court one inch to the left. And yet, rather than tout that as a victory, they feel compelled to call her an activist anyway and vote against her in order to appeal to their aptly-named "base". No one is willing to fall on his sword. They all feel compelled to kowtow to the torch and pitchfork crowd in order to keep their seat. This is genuinely scary.
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This is silly and belongs in the politics section anyway. Remember Chief Justice John Roberts? A total of 22 Democrats voted against him. Remember Associate Justice Samuel Alito? A total of 40 Democrats voted against him.

I'm going to predict here and now that Sotomayor gets about the same number of Republican votes as Roberts got from the torch and pitchfork Democrats.
 
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