Saturday Night Beck (Bennett's Beefs with Beck's Bloviations)

National Review Online ^ | Sunday, February 21, 2010 | Bill Bennett

[TruthHound]

To say the GOP and the Democrats are no different, to say the GOP needs to hit a recovery-program-type bottom and hang its head in remorse, is to delay our own country’s recovery from the problems the Democratic left is inflicting. The stakes are too important to go through that kind of exercise, which will ultimately go nowhere anyway — because it’s already happened.

The first task of a serious political analyst is to see things as they are. There is a difference between morning and night. There is a difference between drunk and sober. And there is a difference between the Republican and Democratic parties. To ignore these differences, or propagate the myth that they don’t exist, is not only discouraging, it is dangerous.

[BARLF]

Your question was ignored. There is no Republican as bad as the dems you mentioned.

[Enough is ENOUGH]

Let’s face it, over the past ten years too many Democrats came over to the Republican party. Unfortunately, they brought their basic ideologies with them.

[A CA Guy]

I think there is a difference when the Republican party sticks to the principles of Reagan and the Contract with America.
The lines get blurred when Republicans go Democrat-lite.
The reason Republicans lost power was they went Democrat-lite and why would they get elected doing that when people could just put a real Demcorat in.

The Republicans need to step it up IMO.
Lately Beck has been asinine in his statements as well. He goes too far calling tea party people extremist and all that. I don't watch him anymore, used to.

[truthguy]

This is the most common thing I shout back at Glenn Beck on my TV. While Republicans have some penance due, this constant drumming of "there Republicans are JUST AS BAD as the Democrats is a steaming pile.

Yes, you are correct and Glen Beck isn't the only one pounding this drum. There are a number of others out there as well. Bill O'Reily is one and he' just as bad.

As you said there are some Republicans (RINOS) who are just as bad as the better Democrats but it isn't true in the general case and there are VERY SIGNIFICANT differences in the two parties.

Glen Beck does some good things but I'm not impressed with his intellectual abilities. I'm not sure he's a great spokesman for the Conservative Cause.

[streetpreacher]

Beck’s impact is larger than a political office. And I agree with Andrew Breitbart: the largest battlefield and place of impact is within the world of media, not simply winning an election or two.

[jacknhoo]

There are many Republicans who are just as bad as the atheistic socialist Democratic Party of America politicians. However, to group them “all” in with this totalitarian administration of authoritarians is wrongheaded, to say the least.

A quick look at these charts show the extremity of this particular administration, and this doesn't even include social issues of their atheism:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2451468/posts

[ohioWfan]

LOL! That was a very liberal comment.

"I'm sorry you misunderstood what I said."

If that works for you, sam....

What you SAID was that we needed to purge the Repubican party of people like George W. Bush.

That includes Roberts and Alito, and bringing that up is not a "curve ball"......it's a legitimate question based on your own words.

Now I didn't mean to get you into a tizzy, so I'll leave you alone now that you've clarified your overgeneralization.

And Beck doesn't just say that both parties are responsible. He says over and over and over again that there is NO difference between the parties, and that Bush is as bad as Obama.

Not true. Bad journalism.

[justsaynomore]

Okay - here is one - Tom Price (R-GA6) went face to face with Obama about healthcare. He even told him to answer the question after Obama tried to talk around it. It was on C-Span. He has been very outspoken against several issues, including the stimulus.

He was also outspoken against, and voted against TARP and other Bush agenda. He is a believer in smaller government.

There have been a few (a very few) who worked hard against the pork under Bush and Obama and I don’t believe we need to throw them all under the bus.

[fhayek]

Beck did not say that there was NO difference between the parties. Did you listen to the speech? It was a great speech, and everyone focuses on what he said about the Republicans. We need more people like Chris Christie who want to make the tough but needed decisions and less people like John McCain, who would only slow down spending (at best). I vote for republicans, and I will continue to do so, but what we need to do is do is elect conservatives, not RINO's.

[streetpreacher]

For Bennett to try to identify with the Tea Pary movement is laughable. He is the David Gergen of the Republican establishment and is more at home sipping lattes with Peggy Noonan.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

I thought Beck's speech at CPAC was excellent. He deliverd a rousing call-to-arms. His speech was substantive and rhetorically brilliant. His history lessons are extremely important and, above all, entertaining. The latter cannot be overemphasized. My generation was raised using what Dave Barry calls, "The Boring Method" of teaching history --dull textbook orthodoxy. As soon as most people hear the word history, they tune out. When Glenn starts talking history, I want to tune in.

My only complaint was that Glenn didn't mention the most important public policy issue of our day: abortion. It's hard to imagine that God will bless our country as long as we slaughter future generations.

[Russ]

Who are you going to purge and where are you going to purge them to? You CANNOT win the presidency without the votes from a majority of moderates and Independents. That’s a fact. Purge the GOP of everyone you happen to disagree with on one issue or another and you will hand over the executive branch of government, and the senate, to the Democrats permanently. That’ll show those RINOs, won’t it?

[streetpreacher]

Bush is not in office any longer. He didn’t walk on water either.

[q_an_a]

Delay, Hastert and Cunningham - there are three - one is in jail, one quit and one said, "Mr. President we have cut all we can."

I think Beck is all talk and somethimes a broken watch is correct, but Boehner thinks he can still pay off congress and be a good leader. His ideas are a real as his tanning bed tan. EGO not leadership.

Ron Paul may be for small government but he trows in plenty fo pork for his district. He would not need to if we did a little mroe drilling.

[philman_36]

And there is a difference between the Republican and Democratic parties.
Oh, he's good, I'll give him that.
But notice...
Does Glenn truly believe there is no difference between a Tom Coburn, for example, and a Harry Reid or a Charles Schumer or a Barbara Boxer? Between a Paul Ryan or Michele Bachmann and a Nancy Pelosi or Barney Frank?
Is he trying to compare, or contrast, individuals to a political party?
An individual within a political party isn't the same thing as the political party itself.

Perhaps in his next column he'll explain just what differences there are between the Republican and Democratic parties and not its members.

[DJ Frisat]

"...not exactly some constitutional historian/wonk."

Oh, you prefer a "Constitutional scholar" who teaches it? Like Barack Obama?

"...a low rated CNN show"

Got some numbers you can cite, or is your low opinion of Beck just making you talk out of your butt? BTW -- he was on CNN Headline News, which isn't carried in all the same places that CNN is. It's a miracle that he was even able to work there, considering the content of some of the shows.

[I see my hands]

He's just another BDSer hiding behind a hundred words.

[ohioWfan]

I didn't listen to his speech because I have heard him say there is NO difference in the parties, that they are the same, too many times on his TV and radio shows, and I wasn't interested in his CPAC speech.

I completely agree with electing conservatives. But if they're in a third party, the Dems win. That's just the way it is.

We need to reform and revitalize the Republicans in Congress. We need to have them stand on conservative principles and elect new conservative Republicans to office.

A third party will KILL the Conservative ascendency that's taking place. I don't think that's what Beck wants, but that's what he's advocating ALL THE TIME.

[ohioWfan]

Seems so. I remember how much he respected President Bush after 9/11.

Too bad Glenn has forgotten what he did to save this country from destruction during those days.

[plain talk]

Beck’s a pompous self-important boob

...and so sanctimonious. He's a broken record - founding fathers ... constitution ... But when he says there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats he exposes how much of an real idiot he is.