The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

‘Herewith, a Brief Primer’

Posted on | November 10, 2010 | 6 Comments

Michael Gerson — he of that silly phrase — comes off like an arrogant chump in an interview with Laura Ingraham:

In this morning’s “Live at Five,” Wombat linked Ken Larrey’s “Big Journalism” piece on Gerson, which you should certainly read.

Gerson is one of many (including David Brooks and, let’s admit it, both President Bushes) whose hybrid “conservatism” is based on an internalization of liberal critiques of conservatism. And their beliefs are more a matter of politics than policy: They simply don’t believe that the Goldwater/Reagan limited-government message can produce GOP majorities.

So while the likes of Gerson are often accused of saying the stupid things they say out of self-interested motives — e.g., a desire to get invited to the “right” cocktail parties in Georgetown — it’s really much more useful to credit them with being sincerely stupid.

They are simply wrong, and too stupid (or vain) to admit how wrong they are, not even in the wake of a historic gain of at least 60 House seats in a year when GOP candidates were hammering home the limited-government message with gusto.

Of course, campaigning on a limited-government message is easier than governing according to that philosophy. But if the new House GOP majority will be smart about picking its fights with the Senate and the White House, voters will appreciate these efforts to check the limitless ambitions of big-government Democrats.

Category: Republicans

Comments

6 Responses to “‘Herewith, a Brief Primer’”

  1. Mangrovemama2002
    November 10th, 2010 @ 12:23 pm

    I can’t believe anyone would openly admit to being an apologist for the last several years of GWB’s second term and the fall of the GOP during that period.

    I always thought that failure was supposed to be an orphan.

    Kudos to Laura for clubbing Gerson with reality.

  2. thirteen28
    November 10th, 2010 @ 2:25 pm

    I probably can’t say the word I would use to describe Gerson here … but it starts with a “p” and ends with an “ussy”.