PING
“....Where are the Bill Buckleys of today who dared join up with Whittaker Chambers? That was gutsy. Whittaker Chambers, a defector from the Communist Party. My theory is that all these new blogs, and all this new cable TV, and all this media, has actually not been helpful to our side.
“I don’t want to mention any names, but it is apparent to me that many on our side are far more interested in image, reputation, getting time on television just to get time on television, rather than being focused on a movement, the issues, if you will.
“People who used to be of substance have lost some of the substance and now are focused on being media stars, focused on being on television. I think it’s been detrimental.
“There is a fear that if they take on anything controversial, if they defend something that’s happening out there to somebody, that they will be associated with the smear and they’d rather not be associated with the smear, so they leave it alone, which is understandable if you understand motives and reasons....
“Where are the Republicans? Where are the conservatives? Why are they not responding? Well, they don’t want to defend President Bush because they’re afraid they’ll be tarred and feathered just like him if they do. This extends not just to elected Republicans, but also people in the media, who have their own little turf staked out, happy with what they’ve got, and they’ve got their TV appearances, and they want to hold onto those. They don’t want controversy swirling around them. So they hunker down and let these things play out as they might. It’s easier that way, and there’s less opposition.
“But what are we conservatives about? We’re about liberty. We are about country. We are about faith. We are about loyalty to our troops on the battlefield. We are about winning wars. We are about sending whatever reinforcements and resources our soldiers need to defeat the terrorists or our enemies anywhere they appear on the battlefield. We are about, as conservatives, limited government and individual liberty, free, genuinely free, political speech. The freedom to exercise your religion, your private property rights, the right to keep most of what you earn. This is who we are. This is what we believe. This used to be our movement.”
bttt