Brent Bozell believes I have fallen out of the realm of true conservatives and has written a scathing blog on his website detailing my transgressions against Republicanism. Judging by the brusqueness of his tone, you’d think I’d mixed in with the pack of pot-smoking Marxists in Greenwich Village, or at least reluctantly lent my support to the public option.
But no. My crimes against conservatism were much more grave. Brent Bozell accused me of committing the unforgivable sins of saying unflattering things about George W. Bush, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.
The truth is that although I campaigned for President Bush and supported him in both of his presidential bids, I became disillusioned with his presidency earlier than most. In 2004, I wrote the book “Rome Didn’t Burn in a Day” and predicted that if Bush and the GOP Congress didn’t stop spending so recklessly, they would lose their majority and destroy Congress.
While I was right on both counts, I faced a storm of criticism from Washington conservatives who blog on sites like Newsbusters. Their main complaint was that I was too harsh on Bush.
History has proven that, in any case, I was not tough enough on an administration that doubled the national debt and turned a $155 billion surplus into a $1 trillion debt. Most of the other Republicans who vilified me over the years – ironically calling me a RINO (Republican in Name Only) for criticizing my party for spending too much money – put party loyalty above conservative principles.
As I told statist Republicans at the time, my positions on taxes, spending, and restricted government have not changed one bit since the first day I entered Congress in 1994, when I was known as a right-wing zealot.
Unfortunately, it was Republican leaders who became more liberal, taking advantage of US tax dollars, and much of the conservative establishment in Washington sat silently because they liked being in power so much that they never bothered to let their principles get in the way of supporting reckless party bosses GOP. Speaking truth to power was not fashionable when Republicans were in power. This lack of spine is what led to Pelosi becoming speaker.
While I’m glad that most conservatives now agree with my views on George W. Bush, I wish they had shown a little courage while he was in the White House, instead of vilifying the few conservatives who dared to tell the truth.
As for my criticism of Glenn Beck, I will plead guilty again in the amended version of Brent’s indictment.
Call me crazy, but I don’t think conservatives will regain power by telling the world that President Barack Obama is a “racist who hates all white people.” I also doubt that the endless stream of Nazi imagery and conspiracy theories coming from the far right will aid Republicans attract the kind of swing voter they need to move to states like Ohio, Florida and Missouri in 2012.
To prevail, conservatives will instead have to follow the wise practice of Ronald Reagan, who won the hearts and minds of Central America by being conservative in ideology but moderate in temperament. Early last year, I wrote extensively about the need for conservatives to chart this path in “The Last Best Hope.” Bob McDonnell’s victory in Virginia proves that Ronald Reagan’s approach to winning the public debate is superior to Glenn Beck’s.
Conservatives will defeat Barack Obama in 2012 with this message: Barack Obama is a good father, a good husband and a good man. But then again, so was Jimmy Carter. Unfortunately for America, President Obama, like Mr. Carter, has blind faith in substantial government and our country cannot afford another four years of this decent but misguided man.
If voters who voted for Obama in 2008, Bush in 2000, Clinton in 1992, Bush Sr. in 1988, and Ronald Reagan in 1980 are to be believed, they will react more favorably to conservative leaders calling Obama an evil Nazi, who also finds time to be a Marxist and a racist who hates all white people, knock yourself out. But you’ll be insured against another four enraged years in the political wilderness.
Brent Bozell also accused me of attacking Rush Limbaugh. As with many Newsbusters v. me posts, Brent only tells part of the story.
He doesn’t bother to mention that I have long credited Limbaugh and the Wall Street Journal editorial page with helping elect freshmen like me in 1994. He also fails to note that no one in the MSM defended Limbaugh more aggressively during his impeachment at Palm Beach than I didn’t do it either. His website also makes no mention of the many times I have single-handedly defended conservative media figures such as Rush Limbaugh, Matt Drudge, Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly and Fox News.
Brent was very offended when I suggested that Rush shouldn’t tell America he was rooting for the president of the United States. Call me old-fashioned, but I believe you pray for the President and the United States of America constantly. As Jesus taught us, it is uncomplicated to pray for our friends. But more importantly, we pray for those with whom we deeply disagree.
If my grandmother could pray for Jimmy Carter, I can pray for Barack Obama. Moreover, I know that he can only succeed if he turns away from his devastating economic policies that will explode the deficit and destroy our economy.
As for Brent Bozell, I have been a great admirer of his since the early 1990s, when a friend began bringing reports from the Media Research Center to the Sunday School at First Baptist Church of Pensacola. Brent exposed media bias at the worst time, and for that I will always be grateful. Unfortunately, his website publishes articles that draw conclusions from my three-hour newscasts and paint me as an evil liberal in the MSM.
These posts ignore the realities of the show’s format, in which conservatives are more likely to debate a cast of liberals. I usually leave the set with thousands of enraged emails sent my way from far-left extremists. Coupled with all these slanderous emails calling me everything from a fascist to a white supremacist, I usually find one email from Newsbusters asking why I hate conservatives.
It’s all very predictable now, but there was one particularly misleading post last summer that suggested I had failed in the media because I was a “liberal.” The Newsbusters article said that my up-to-date radio show wasn’t gaining traction, that my book was falling into disrepair in the 1930s, and that my TV show wasn’t attracting viewers.
I called Brent to explain that my up-to-date radio show was outperforming Glenn Beck’s monthly direct-to-video shows in the largest US market (which also happens to be both of our domestic markets).
During the conversation, I also politely explained to Brent that my book was in the top ten lists of The New York Times, Barnes and Noble, and Borders.
I also informed him that Morning Joe had doubled the viewership Imus had received in his ten years at MSNBC, even though our show was relatively up-to-date. Brent stuck to the facts and let me know that I would do even better if I was still a conservative.
At this point, I asked Brent to name one thing I had changed on since the first day I joined Congress in 1994. He couldn’t. I then asked him how he could no longer think of me as a conservative when, in fact, I had been more consistent in my views than the entire Republican Party over the last 15 years.
Brent sputtered for a moment before finally spitting out my crime against humanity. “You attacked Rush!!!”
Hmm. Very intriguing.
As happened for 8 long years with George W. Bush, too many people on both extremes defend partisan personalities over principles. Just as too many on the left worship Barack Obama without asking questions, so many on the right now focus more on pledging allegiance to media or populist figures. The conservative movement has marched behind George W. Bush step by step for almost a decade, and he has taken us off a cliff.
Forgive me if I don’t do the same in the next decade.
My position remains unchanged. I have always fought for smaller government, less federal interference in our lives, more personal freedoms, and an end to Wilsonian foreign policy.
If you don’t think I’m a real conservative because I comment on radio personalities when I think their approach is detrimental to the cause of petite government conservatism, that’s your right. However, I will continue to focus on the issues that really matter. I hope my vintage friend Brent will make his website do the same.
