Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
The notoriously unbiased Christiane Amanpour of ABC lamented the demise of "a long and venerable tradition of conservatism in this country." You know, back in the good old days when liberals respected and appreciated the "sort of intellectual conservatism" typified by Ronald Reagan and William F. Buckley. (Hat Tip: Brent Baker with NewsBusters).
Buckley aside, I certainly remember that the left had visceral, palpable contempt for Reagan and certainly considered him anything but intellectual. "Amiable dunce" more accurately describes their opinion and description. My Nexis search of "Ronald Reagan and amiable dunce" produced 674 results. How many stories were written about Reagan's inability to be engaged or even to stay awake during cabinet meetings?
Thus sanitizing the historical record, Amanpour was free to paint Tea Partiers as extreme. She said, "People are looking at the Tea Party and saying this is not conservatism as we knew it but it's extreme."
George Will quickly pointed out that liberals painted Buckley and his candidate Barry Goldwater as extreme and "representing the paranoid style in American politics." They thought Reagan was quite extreme, and, I dare say more dangerous than mere Tea Party protestors. After all, they were apoplectic when Reagan dubbed the Soviet Union "the Evil Empire," and feared he was about to provoke that passive, nonaggressive regime into a nuclear war.
The only thing extreme about Tea Partiers is that liberals are going to extremes in their conspiratorial efforts to depict them as extreme. Unhappily for these libs, their efforts will just further marginalize them, the true extremists, because Tea Partiers just happen to be mainstream conservative Americans and mainstream conservative Americans just happen to possess political views far more widely shared than the myopic mainstream media.
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May '10
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
A great idea: we should all start talking about what a swell guy Ted Kennedy was.
"Democrats today, they lack the poise and wisdom of Ted Kennedy. Average Americans could respect the Democrats when wise moderates like Teddy were in charge. That Ted Kennedy, sure he committed the occasional negligent homicide - who hasn't? - but he was a statesman."
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
What's funny, Jason, is that you can't shock by cartoonish suggestions of lib absurdity because they always trump you with reality. They started lionizing the "Lion of the Senate" way before he died. He was widely depicted as an elderly statesman for a number of years before his death.
Oct '10
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
"representing the paranoid style in American politics."
The ghost of the execrable Richard Hofstadter lives on. The Paranoid Style in American Politics (1964) is the effective playbook of contemporary left-elitist snobbery. The rubric established therein is simple: those who disagree with liberalism are either crazy or stupid. Try as they might to sanitize the historical record, the source of left-elite hate and condescension is still available for all to see.
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
Mike LaRoche: "representing the paranoid style in American politics."
The ghost of the execrable Richard Hofstadter lives on. The Paranoid Style in American Politics (1964) is the effective playbook of contemporary left-elitist snobbery. The rubric established therein is simple: those who disagree with liberalism are either crazy or stupid.
or "scared." But don't blame us, "because we're hardwired not to always think clearly when we're scared." BHO
May '10
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
David Limbaugh: "They started lionizing the "Lion of the Senate" way before he died. He was widely depicted as an elderly statesman for a number of years before his death."
I know! As soon as I typed the word "statesman" it hit a little too close to home, and just got... depressing. The same people who scour every Tea Party crowd for a sign that can be used to paint a huge swath of America as extremists have no problem inviting Barney Frank to shows targeted at grown-ups.
Thank God for talk radio and the internet!
Edited on Oct 17, 2010 at 7:32pmMay '10
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
Ahh...."the notoriously unbiased Christiane Amanpour". I owe her a debt of gratitude. Her "reporting" was one of the things that helped me stop drinking the Democrats' Kool-aid.
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
Liberal revisionism extends to policy matters, too. It's interesting to note that while Democrats in trouble decry Tea Party "extremism" on tax cuts, they nevertheless dissemble when facing voters. Bush's across-the-board rate reductions are described as a threat to the Republic, but Barbara Boxer and other endangered libs are everywhere touting the wonderful, extensive, and wholly imaginary tax cuts they've enacted over the years. Out-of-control spending is likewise described as a bad thing and blamed on George W. Bush, but what liberal ever supported less spending?
May '10
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
David Limbaugh
Mike LaRoche: "representing the paranoid style in American politics."
The ghost of the execrable Richard Hofstadter lives on. The Paranoid Style in American Politics (1964) is the effective playbook of contemporary left-elitist snobbery. The rubric established therein is simple: those who disagree with liberalism are either crazy or stupid.
or "scared." But don't blame us, "because we're hardwired not to always think clearly when we're scared." BHO · Oct 17 at 7:28pm
Don't forget "selfish". That's what I always heard growing up.
Edited on Oct 17, 2010 at 7:43pmJul '10
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
George Savage:
but what liberal ever supported less spending?
All of them.
At least when it comes to Defense Spending.
Jul '10
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
We shouldn't have let the Left get away with re-branding themselves from liberals to progressives.
People knew what "liberal" meant; it meant "extreme". They're not sure what "progressive" means, other than that it means "Democrat-other-than-Blue Dog".
Now we have no effective, simple, media-friendly perjorative tag for the extreme left, whereas they have "far right", "extremist" and "teabaggers" in their quiver.
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
In support of my point about lib veneration for Kennedy well before he died, I give you this lede from a Chicago Sun-Times article of July 27, 2004, titled, "Democrats' Respected Elder Gets Off-air Speech Slot":
Edward M. Kennedy, probably the most universally respected figure inside the Democratic Party, will address the second session of the 2004 Democratic National Convention tonight.
It's simple, really. Liberals judge people based on the policies they advocate far more than on how they live their lives. You can even violate every principle you support, as long as you are an effective proponent. That's why feminist groups can support liberal sexists; that's why they can overlook Joe Biden's comment that Obama "is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," and on and on.
Jul '10
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
Jason Hart: Thank God for talk radio and the internet! · Oct 17 at 7:29pm
Edited on Oct 17 at 07:32 pm
Who ever imagined, 5 years ago, when YouTube was where you went to watch a couple of Chinese college kids lip-synch a girlie-pop song, that it would revolutionize American politics and quite possibly save the Republic?
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
This is a great point. One of the most audacious shams of the young twenty first century is Democrats holding themselves out as deficit hawks -- during the Bush years and even today. We saw what happened when they took control of Congress in 2006. Rep. Jeb Hensarling made the stinging point to Obama's face that his monthly deficits nearly exceeded the GOP's yearly deficits. Plus, when you look at their criticisms of any Bush policy, other than defense, their criticism was usually based on him not spending enough, e.g. No Child Left Behind.
Edited on Oct 17, 2010 at 7:53pmJul '10
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
David Limbaugh: In support of my point about lib veneration for Kennedy well before he died, I give you this lede from a Chicago Sun-Times article of July 27, 2004, titled, "Democrats' Respected Elder Gets Off-air Speech Slot":
Edward M. Kennedy, probably the most universally respected figure inside the Democratic Party, will address the second session of the 2004 Democratic National Convention tonight.
It's simple, really. Liberals judge people based on the policies they advocate far more than on how they live their lives. You can even violate every principle you support, as long as you are an effective proponent. That's why feminist groups can support liberal sexists; that's why they can overlook Joe Biden's comment that Obama "is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," and on and on. · Oct 17 at 7:45pm
Oh, it's much more than over-looking character issues. Remember the female reporter who remarked that she would happily give, um, oral service to Bill Clinton because he protected her right to an abortion?
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
Kenneth
Oh, it's much more than over-looking character issues. Remember the female reporter who remarked that she would happily give, um, oral service to Bill Clinton because he protected her right to an abortion? · Oct 17 at 7:53pm
Oh yes. That would be Nina Burleigh.
Jul '10
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
I beleive it was David Horowitz who said;
.
A Liberal is an American with a point of view regarding the government's role in society.
.
A Leftist is an Anti-American with an agenda to which they will subordinate anything and everything.
Edited on Oct 17, 2010 at 8:02pmRe: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
David, speaking as someone who served six years in the Reagan White House, may I add a word?
You're right.
Jul '10
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
David Limbaugh
Kenneth
Oh, it's much more than over-looking character issues. Remember the female reporter who remarked that she would happily give, um, oral service to Bill Clinton because he protected her right to an abortion? · Oct 17 at 7:53pm
Oh yes. That would be Nina Burleigh. · Oct 17 at 7:57pm
David, did you google her or had she just won a place in your heart?
Jul '10
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
Peter Robinson: David, speaking as someone who served six years in the Reagan White House, may I add a word?
You're right. · Oct 17 at 8:00pm
Peter, have you ever had dinner with Nina Burleigh?
Re: Don't You Just Love Liberal Revisionism About Their Respect for Reagan
Peter Robinson: David, speaking as someone who served six years in the Reagan White House, may I add a word?
You're right. · Oct 17 at 8:00pm
And, thank you very sincerely for that noble service.