Mitt Romney publicist lapdog Jennifer Rubin is saying good riddance to Sen. Jim DeMint, who resigned to lead the Heritage Foundation, and says Heritage is making a big mistake by embracing such an extreme figure. She says it will undermine the think tank’s credibility:
Let me first explain why this is very bad indeed for Heritage. Even DeMint would not claim to be a serious scholar. He is a pol. He’s a pol whose entire style of conservatism – all or nothing, no compromise, no accounting for changes in public habits and opinions — is not true to the tradition of Edmund Burke, Russell Kirk and others. By embracing him, Heritage, to a greater extent than ever before, becomes a political instrument in service of extremism, not a well-respected think tank and source of scholarship. Every individual who works there should take pause and consider whether the reputation of that institution is elevated or diminished by this move…
Now for the U.S. Senate, I am sure many senators on both sides are clicking their heels. DeMint has been a destructive force, threatening to primary colleagues, resisting all deals and offering very little in the way of attainable legislation. He has contributed more than any current senator to the dysfunction of that body. He has worsened relations between the House and Senate, as he did in the budget fights in recent years, by meddling and pressuring his home state representative. His departure leaves other senators who seemed impressed with his brand of politics free to find their way to a more constructive position in the body.
Cue the outrage from right wing cheerleaders:
“Romney’s mouthpiece claims to be a conservative and writes ‘good riddance, Mr. DeMint,’” Erick Erickson, the founder of the conservative blog Red State, tweeted. “In the history of ignorant takes on conservative, @JRubinBlogger may have just written the most ignorant thing ever.”
A more vitriolic message comes from conservative radio host Mark Levin: “Go to hell, Jennifer Rubin,” he wrote.
A perfect example of tribalism. DeMint is a conservative; therefore anyone who criticizes him only claims to be a conservative. Compromise and moderation are the enemies, purity is all that matters. Never mind that DeMint didn’t pass a single piece of legislation in his 8 years in the Senate, that he caused major problems in the Republican caucuses in both houses of Congress, and that his views are so extreme that he thinks gay and pregnant teachers should be fired. Circle the wagons! Eject anyone who criticizes a fellow conservative!
Actually, I like this very much. Please continue fighting among yourselves.
22 comments
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Larry
December 12, 2012 at 9:07 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Heh! She said credibility.
Deen
December 12, 2012 at 9:08 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I wasn’t aware it still had enough credibility left to dig a tunnel under.
rturpin
December 12, 2012 at 9:08 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I’m sorry — that second sentence left me laughing so hard, I couldn’t take the rest of the post seriously.
jnorris
December 12, 2012 at 9:35 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Erickson and Levin demonstrate why the Republicans have to tell themselves that the Conservative Entertainment Media Complex is NOT the Republican Party.
Raging Bee
December 12, 2012 at 9:40 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
She says it will undermine the think tank’s credibility…
HAHAHAHAHAHA, wotta idjit, thinking they have any credibility to lose!
…the Conservative Entertainment Media Complex is NOT the Republican Party.
It’s not? Are you sure about that?
Raging Bee
December 12, 2012 at 9:45 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
He’s a pol whose entire style of conservatism – all or nothing, no compromise, no accounting for changes in public habits and opinions — is not true to the tradition of Edmund Burke, Russell Kirk and others.
Has this ridiculous hack ever read ONE WORD of Edmund Burke? I have, and I can tell you, with 100% confidence, that even socialists are truer to the tradition of Edmund Burke than any of today’s Republicans, “moderate” or otherwise. But yeah, it is kinda fun to watch all these morans screaming their heads off at each other every time reality rears its ugly head.
Zinc Avenger (Sarcasm Tags 3.0 Compliant)
December 12, 2012 at 9:54 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
jnorris, #4:
True. The Conservative Entertainment Media Complex could survive and thrive without the Republican Party. The reverse is not true.
tbp1
December 12, 2012 at 9:59 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I for one am very grateful to Mr. DeMint for everything he did to keep the US Senate in Democratic hands.
Of course it was completely inadvertent and due to his quest for ideological purity over every other objective, but still…
neonsequitur
December 12, 2012 at 10:02 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I couldn’t stop laughing when I got to this bit:
By embracing him, Heritage, to a greater extent than ever before, becomes a political instrument in service of extremism, not a well-respected think tank and source of scholarship.
You think the Heritage Foundation is a respected source of scholarship?
Excuse me, I have to make one of those stupid Gene Wilder internet memes now….
Matt G
December 12, 2012 at 10:18 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Isn’t “conservative think tank” an oxymoron? I’m pretty sure it’s SOME kind of moron….
tommykey
December 12, 2012 at 10:24 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Ed, Deminted specifically meant unmarried pregnant women shouldn’t be allowed to be teachers, as I pointed out in another thread.
TxSkeptic
December 12, 2012 at 12:15 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Or to paraphrase Obama “Conservatives, please continue.”
Ichthyic
December 12, 2012 at 1:30 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
tommy….your ignorance of the real issue is duly noted.
scienceavenger
December 12, 2012 at 4:26 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
DeMint: “I’d rather have 30 Marco Rubio’s in the senate than 60 Arlen Spectors”
More of that please.
Ichthyic
December 12, 2012 at 5:10 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I thought the conservatives were against human cloning?
tommykey
December 12, 2012 at 8:02 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Hey Icthyic, how I am ignorant of the real issue? I agree with Ed’s post, but this is the second post in a row in which he got DeMinted’s position on pregnant teachers wrong and I was pointing it out to him to correct it. But I guess accuracy is not important to you.
dan4
December 12, 2012 at 9:50 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Mark Levin is such a hilariously short-tempered dude. He’s the Allen West of talk radio.
Michael Heath
December 12, 2012 at 10:32 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Jennifer Rubin writes:
So the Heartland Institute is a consortium of climate scientists and the Discovery Institute the same with scientists studying evolution.
Ms. Rubin’s grip on reality is out there with Michele Bachmann’s.
Ichthyic
December 12, 2012 at 11:46 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Hey Icthyic, how I am ignorant of the real issue?
that Demint’s position is to remove teachers for irrational personal reasons maybe?
I can’t see how you running about trying to correct a minor detail reflects the real problem with Demint’s position.
tommykey
December 13, 2012 at 1:28 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Because it distorts Deminted’s position (yes, I refer to him as that on purpose!). Saying that he wants a ban on all women teaching while pregnant is far different than his actual position, which is that unmarried pregnant women should not be allowed to teach. While both positions would be outrageous, one clearly would affect way more people than the other. So, if someone reading Ed’s posts about Deminted didn’t know the Senator’s actual position, they would believe something that was not true. I don’t see anything wrong with me bringing it to Ed’s attention to correct an admittedly minor detail. If it was my blog post, I would welcome such a reader bringing it to my attention. Or do I need to personally clear it with you next time what I can or can’t bring to Ed’s attention regarding any mistakes he makes in a blog post?
Ichthyic
December 13, 2012 at 4:35 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
fail.
you’re the one distorting that the real problem with Demint’s position.
that is NOT the problem with demint’s position.
I indeed stand by my original point: you ARE ignorant of what the real problem with Demint’s position is.
hint: it’s actually WORSE that he focuses on “unmarried” rather than just “pregnant”.
Ichthyic
December 13, 2012 at 4:37 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Or do I need to personally clear it with you next time
frankly, given you appear pretty dense, you really should try bouncing your contentions on someone before posting them. I opt out, since it’s pretty clear it would be a waste of my time.