Comments on: Stop the insanity: Key “liberal” says Gingrich a “great thinker”

By: Ann

Ann — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 23:13:36 +0000

See, here’s the thing – telling me that Ron Paul bases every decision on a strict interpretation of the Constitution is like telling this agnostic that I’m going to Hell based on a strict interpretation of the Bible.

In general, I don’t believe in the possibility of objective interpretation. I certainly don’t believe in the benefits of an immutable Constitution (for one thing, I wouldn’t be able to vote). And I sure as hell don’t believe that Ron is practicing a disciplined exegesis of the text of the Constitution as it stands.

By: Mike Sheehan

Mike Sheehan — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 22:11:45 +0000

Y'know Doc (honorary degree, I'm guessing?), you're right. It takes a pretty ingenious thinker to lambaste a sitting, popular president about infidelity while he was screwing around on his wife himself... get fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for ethics violations by the House... have a rock-bottom approval rating at the time he quit as Speaker... and somehow believe that Americans will still send him to the White House too if only they'd pony up $30 million for him. Feckin' brilliant thinking there by a true Renaissance man. Enough to bowl over James Dobson, at any rate.

By: Dr. Troy Camplin

Dr. Troy Camplin — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:24:58 +0000

Now, whether you agree with Dr. Gingrich or not, that has no bearing on whether he is a genius (which he no doubt is) or even a gerat thinker. For example, I think that Marx’s ideas are the source of the worst evils the world has ever seen — but he was a genius and a great thinker. Heidegger was a life-long Nazi — but he was a genius and a great thinker. I can manage to distinguish between ideological agreement and whether or not someone is a genius and a great thinker . . . why can’t you?

By: DomPierre

DomPierre — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 14:32:26 +0000

Russ, fyi, during the American Revolution, the British found hanging in public squares caused more residents to be sympathetic to the other side, so they started using Execution Rocks to do away with their prisoners.

Now about Ron Paul (aka Dr No), if he’s a strict Constitutionalist, I’m surprised he didn’t vote for Kucinich’s impeachment bill against Darth Cheney, since that is pretty much about crimes the Constitution at its core.

Me, since Pat Paulsen won’t be running this election cycle, maybe Mayor Bloomberg would change his mind about running. Otherwise, I’m looking for someone on the Heathen ticket. Maybe I’ll even have to run.

By: argyle

argyle — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 14:14:23 +0000

I lost all faith in Chuck Schumer this week when he let Mukasey out of committee.

By: Mike Sheehan

Mike Sheehan — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 07:10:48 +0000

I meant it facetiously, t quigly... but he ran for president as a Libertarian in '88, and is still often referred to as one.

By: t quigly

t quigly — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 06:37:32 +0000

Ron Paul “a Libertarian candidate raked in over $4 million in one day”
Dr. Paul is NOT “a Libertarian candidate” – he is the Republican candidate.
And to ‘Ann’ – Dr. Paul is NOT anit- anti-anti- – all of his policy positions are pro-Constitution – if a policy is based on the Constitution, he’s for it, if it is not, he’s against it.

By: Ann

Ann — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 04:51:09 +0000

For the record, I do not find Dubya acceptable in any way, shape or form. Nor do I consider Ron Paul an even remotely acceptable alternative (not surprising, just wanted to be clear).

What I don’t understand is why he is considered such a radical departure from the same old anti-immigrant, anti-choice, anti-education funding, anti-gun control crowd. I read every position statement on his website and found nothing new, as well as a few truly borderline ideas… If “let’s get the hell out of Iraq” makes him a Republican revolutionary, the revolution must have some low, low expectations.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 03:45:15 +0000

I am a former Democrat who is backing Ron Paul. Even though I disagree on several issues, he is the only one who seems sane. Get the hell out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Bring our troops home from all over the world. Use diplomacy and business to deal with other countries, and follow the US Constitution. What a concept. Isn’t is strange that a person who thinks that the government should follow the law of the US Constitution is looked upon as a radical, while a president who takes us into illegal wars,lies about pretty much everything, spies on Americans, destroys Habeas Corpus, and tortures people is acceptable.

By: Russ Wellen

Russ Wellen — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:25:48 +0000

Re Ron Paul: You’ve got to hand it to people who have that much faith in their candidate that they contribute their hard-earned (or .with some of his backers, -invested) cash to a candidate that’s not likely to win the nomination.

Their faith is based, I guess, on the possibility he could have a significant impact — even win — as a third-party candidate.

Thanks, Dom Pierre, for the Execution Rocks link. I’d never heard of it even though I live in that part of the country.

By: Brian Angliss

Brian Angliss — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:03:05 +0000

So, the question is, what do you do with a government that doesnâ€™t work anymore?

Fix it. Throw out the bums who busted it, and keep doing it until you’ve got people who will step up dressed in grubby clothes and steel-toed boots, grab toolboxes, and plunge their hands into the mess to fix it.

By: trippin

trippin — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 14:06:51 +0000

“STINKER. I said Gingrich was a great STINKER.” — Senator Upchuck

By: DomPierre

DomPierre — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 12:09:34 +0000

Poor Russ. Don't hear much outta the boy anymore. Feinstein's completely predictable since her husband's a war-profiteer getting the lucrative government contracts. She always the opportunist. Schumer's also kinda predictable. Maybe it's because of his Wall Street background and he's never been too principled. Democrats don't have much to offer in 08. And it's all been self-induced. They may as well strap themselves to the Execution Rocks Robert Parry has an excellent piece Democrats' Year of Living Fecklessly that pretty much nails it. So, the question is, what do you do with a government that doesn't work anymore?

By: JS O'Brien

JS O'Brien — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 04:17:14 +0000

When Brittany Spears calls someone a “great thinker,” I don’t pay much attention. It’s kinda the same thing with Congress these days.

By: Ann

Ann — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 03:31:03 +0000

I wonder if cognitive dissonance gives Chuck a headache.

By: Martin

Martin — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 01:47:16 +0000

That Feingold picture just says it all, doesn’t it? Imagine what he must be thinking….”Oh, man, this is a shit sandwich, only the shit’s on either side of me.”

By: Kyle

Kyle — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 01:33:02 +0000

Apparently Schumer gave up sanity for lent.

By: Mike Sheehan

Mike Sheehan — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:45:28 +0000

Nitpicker.

By: Dr. Slammy

Dr. Slammy — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:40:34 +0000

I think you have a punctuation error in here: liberal Sen. Chuck Schumer

Should be quotation marks around “liberal.”