Comments on: Enemies Of Reasoned Discussion

By: Grumpy Old Man

Grumpy Old Man — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:53:24 +0000

“Anyone interested in promoting reasoned, thoughtful discussion . . .”

Diogenes is still looking for that guy. There’s thee and me, and I’m not so certain about thee . . .

By: Reason60

Reason60 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:09:42 +0000

I see Palin as the heir to the white populism of George Wallace circa 1968, railing against the “pointy headed intellectuals” and Northeastern Elites, but really representing working class rural white ethnic resentment.

Larison’s comments about good governance puts the point on on what is ailing the conservative movement- having fought so long against the encroachment of government, they have argued themselves into a position of demanding no government anywhere.
The Palin right has no desire to make public schools run efficiently- they prefer to see them disappear. Their only plan for the public sphere is to eliminate it. Understandably, this is not the view of the mainstream of America.
How a tiny “limited” government, small enough to drown in a bathtub (although with a 1 Trillion dollar per year military), would actually function to lead a massive globalized economy is left unexamined.

By: Northern Observer

Northern Observer — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:09:00 +0000

I think the Palin experiment is based on a basic misindentification by GOP insiders. I think when Kristol and company got off the boat in Alaska and met the bombshell they believed they had an icon that would be as rugged and lovable from as rugged lovable a state as Arizona golden boy Goldwater was in his prime. They wanted to play to Palin as Buckley played to Goldwater as “the one true conservative on the American scene”

But the times are different and Palin is no Goldwater. I am currently reading Perlstein’s Before the Storm and the one thing that strikes me is how unserious almost clownish todays conservative elected officials and spokespeople sound when compared to the deadly serious generation of conservative leadership that arrived in the 60s. When Newt or Palin or Bohner denounce Democratic death pannels it just doesn’t bite the way say Goldwater’s speaches on the enemies of the Constitution and Freedom. It seems to me that todays conservatives when it comes to rhetoric, the quality is all gone.

By: Elvis Elvisberg

Elvis Elvisberg — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:17:48 +0000

Continetti’s article is extraordinarily unpersuasive. He blames “horrendous media coverage and her role as the McCain campaign’s pitbull” for her unpopularity. But Palin launched unreasoned attacks not only on opposing candidates, but on about 60% of Americans, with her references to “pro-America areas of this great nation.” She insisted that Alaska is a microcosm of America, which is false. America isn’t white and rural. Those two constituencies are shrinking, and she appeals solely to them, by design and temperament.

It is a shame that a writer as sharp as Reihan feels the need to praise this bit of unpersuasive propaganda. If being a movement conservative is going to mean making nice noises about Sarah Palin, that party’s time in the wilderness is just getting started.

By: Koz

Koz — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:11:39 +0000

“….she in some way represents a tradition of Democratic populism exemplified by Jackson and Bryan when she has no claim to such a tradition…”

Sarah Palin is unique AFAIK in that she is a populist (secular) icon of lower-case r republican sovereignty. In very important ways her interests represent the nation’s interests at the most fundamental level of its existence. I agree with you (and Reihan) in that I don’t think her future is being a candidate for office. But I have a feeling she will be major player in our cultural affairs in some way.

By: nomakesense

nomakesense — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:08:55 +0000

The current direction of the Republican party is, quite frankly, horrifying. Policy is being directed by people who are essentially entertainers. I don’t believe that Palin has any intention of ever running for public office again. She will join the ranks of Limbaugh, Beck and Hannity – individuals who use their position as “conservatives” for their own profit without ever having to subject their ideas to the harsh verdict of voters and the difficulty of translating ideas into legislation.