Posted on 11/25/2008 7:12:54 AM PST by lowbridge
Hey — Mort! You wish. But it ain’t gonna happen. If anything, Rush and talk radio will get stronger because
we will make them stronger, and-————— you just helped our effort!
Stupid - Limbaugh, Ingraham, Colter etc. are the only ones with ideas
I have 9 "old, white, less-educated, highly religious Southerners." under 18, rolling on my little old Kentucky cabin's floor.
I wouldn't go that far -- Mort is a smart guy. But I think he's probably drawn the wrong lessons from the current dismal state of conservatism. He sees a dynamism to our left that is quite obviously lacking here on the right. It's sorta like how decadent Athens looked up to vital Sparta: their ideas weren't too great, but they weren't standing still. Similarly, Mort's probably thinking that conservatives need to borrow some of those ideas in order to move the party ahead.
As I said above, I think one of our biggest problems is that we have ceased to think about conservatism, and we often no longer even know how to think about conservatism.
Instead, we tend to recite a liturgy of "conservative ideas," often without reference to how they fit with current reality; and we also don't stop to see how those ideas are playing with the voters -- a serious failure for any political movement.
Talk radio (in its present form) doesn't cause that; if anything it's a symptom of the problem. But it most certainly plays to our complacent view of conservatism.
Let's take Rush, just as an example. He's a fine showman, and he's pretty smart. But he isn't nearly smart enough to provide an intellectual foundation for conservatism; and he certainly doesn't have the time to spend on the kind of sustained thought that would be required.
And so when you listen to Rush, you get a couple of hours of monologue from a guy who has scanned the headlines, watched some talking heads, formed an opinion, and then figured out how to make it entertaining. There's no room for thought in that. In fact, I'd say that Rush's format tends to discourage thoughtful engagement.
Now ... what do you think would happen if Rush began inviting guests to his show, and actually engaged them in conversation? (Not that he would: Rush is a narcissist...) It wouldn't have to be all serious, but a lot of it could be, and it could be interesting. You'd get a breadth of opinion -- different ways of looking at what's going on, not just Rush's viewpoint. It could be an effective way to invigorate conservatives, and encourage them to get into the debat.
Rush is just an example, but his format is pervasive in talk radio. When you look at what talk radio is, and think about what it could be, you begin to realize that Kondracke's got a legitimate point.
I was going to say I have seen this fool for years and never once did I ever detect any conservative trait on his behalf. Was there a time that he was considered a conservative? Same goes with Fred Barnes. They both seem like fools that are our of touch with the base if they indeed call themselves conservative. They would be what one would call log cabin Republicans. Throw Lou Dobbs in there as well. Clueless idiots.
Nope. Rush has a two-hour daily monologue. The only "conservative ideas" you'll get from Rush's show, are Rush's conservative ideas. There's no room for debate or fresh viewpoints in that format.
Is that Larry David? Looks like him.
We’ll have to agree to disagree. Rush is not the problem or a symptom of the problem. The problem is with the politicians, and the symptom is their inability/unwillingness to operate under conservative principle or even the most basic common sense.
Oh, I see. Here we go again with the bipartisan, go-along get-along pile of intellectual mush. According to Mort’s logic everyone should just jump on The Marxist Onada’s bandwagon and offer no alternative to what will be a determined effort to push this country further to the left. Honestly, Mort and the other Belt Way Boy sound dopier everytime they open their mouths.
Oh, and where was Mort demanding the same kind of cooperation from demrats during the two Bush administrations?
Goodbye Mort, you’re no longer relevant, if you ever were.
Nice post!
The moderates are finally tying their own nooses. Uh-oh, is that a racist statement?
While the Democrats are off shooting prinoners, we get lectured from the left that we don't play well with others.
Screw 'em.
“Ever since Mort’s wife became ill (and passed away), he has taken a liberal turn from which there has been no turning back. “
- -
I did not realize that. She died in 2004 and that could explain certainly changes in his behavior or outlook.
He really has not contributed much in the way of intellectual discourse on Brit Hume’s show recently.
When he says stuff I know, I know he’s not that sharp.
;)
Mort should change his name to Moderate because that is what he is. Nobody expects him to breathe fire. He is correct in the sense that we need to think creatively about how we present our alternatives to Euro-Socialism. The gay marriage issue is a loser with young people. Ironically, the only prayer for preserving traditional definitions of marriage is the flood of immigrants, so those two conservative are diametrically opposed. The way we can win moderates back to our side will become clear as the liberals started to press their advantage and display their fasicist tendencies (card check, anti-school choice, etc). That’s where we can win hearts and minds. But trying to conince 15 year-olds that gay marriage is evil when they know two or three nice and sane gay folks (plus Ellen on tv) isn’t going to win back Virginia.
No kidding..!!
Republicans have lots of good ideas that will solve many of the problems but they don't include tons of Freebees like Obama promised. He should not be allowed to walk away from his promises. GHW Bush promised no new taxes and when he compromised the Dems shoved it down his throat in ‘92. I believe that Obama deserves the same treatment... It's been 21 days since the election and I still haven't seen a economic plan to cut taxes for 95% of the taxpayers... Obama lied and his followers cried.
You're hiding your head in the sand, then.
Agreed.
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