Flip-Flop Nation

This article about Mike Huckabee's blatant flip-flops on Cuba policy and illegal immigration, coming as it does in a season where the immigrant-embracing ex-mayor of New York is rebranding as a deport 'em all toughie while a northeastern RINO Republican Mormon performs daily feats of Moral Majority-pleasing contortionism, begs the question -- didn't Republicans think that flip-flopping was bad last time around?

And has there been a single broad area of pandering this cycle that one would describe as indicating a positive trend for the Republican Party*? It would be one thing if every candidate felt compelled to burnish his bonafides on limited government, but it seems the required notes this year are ever-shriller shrieks against immigration and ever-louder hosannas to God. Am I missing something?

* (I haven't actually paid any attention to the Democratic primary, but feel free to detail the horror in the comments.)

Comments

[Brian24]

Wouldn't exactly say you'd been missing it, Bob.

[Episiarch]

It would be one thing if every candidate felt compelled to burnish his bonafides on limited government, but it seems the required notes this year are ever-shriller shrieks against immigration and ever-louder hosannas to God. Am I missing something?

Nope, except for possibly who wants to kick Iran's ass more.

[Fluffy]

You also missed the pandering on:

Who wants to build the biggest Guantanamo

Who wants to call Jack Bauer the most

Who wants to torture the most people

Who wants to spy on the American public the most

[Fluffy]

Oh, I forgot the pandering on:

How the Iraq surge worked so well it also cured cancer

[FatDrunkAndStupid]

Is anyone else disgusted by Matt's incorrect, slang style usage of the phrase "begs the question". When I see this is my local paper it annoys me, but I can rationalize it on the theory that the writers and editors are just too stupid to understand what the phrase, properly used, means. Matt surely does know the difference, yet uses it anyway. Has Reason's editorial standards fallen this low? What's next? A blog post written entirely in jive?

[Reinmoose]

OOooh,
and
the pandering regarding the Sanctity of Life!

[joe]

Well, Matt, they have been talking about keeping spending down.

Pretty unconvincingly, especially with their Iraq Forever! policies, but it's something.

[x,y]

*raises the question, not begs the question

[Jozef]

didn't Republicans think that flip-flopping was bad last time around?

They did, and I assume they still do. Don't confuse this bunch of sleazeballs with Republicans.

[Seitz]

A blog post written entirely in jive?

Jes' hang loose, blood. He gonna catch up on the rebound on the grammar side.

[Barbera Billingsly]

A blog post written entirely in jive?

You knew I show up, didn't you?

[Warren]

..it seems the required notes this year are ever-shriller shrieks against immigration and ever-louder hosannas to God. Am I missing something?

Ever more saber rattling calls to drop bombs on people.

[fyodor]

How about: "begs for the question to be asked..."? 🙂 Actually, "begs the question" is kind of like "anti-semitic" in that the literal translation of the parts differs from the accepted meaning of the total phrase, with the difference being that the accepted meaning of "begs the question" (and here I define "accepted meaning" as that by which most people currently understand something, notwithstanding historically different meanings and the grumblings of those who insist definitions must not or cannot change and thus historical meanings are the only correct ones) appears to be reverting to the more literal meaning.

[fyodor]

As for flip-flopping, it's only bad when the other guy does it, whoever that other guy or you are. That said, the Repubs are sure putting on a display this year, and you didn't even mention McCain!! FWIW, I think it's a greater political liability for Democrats to get stuck with the charge because they already have the image of being indecisive. I still remember the ads Nixon ran about McGovern with an image of Georgie's head spinning around....

[Warren]

By ubiquitous usage:
begs the question = raises the question
Get use to it.

'Circular reasoning' should now be used for the archaic meaning of 'begs the question'

[Big Nanny]

"Don't confuse this bunch of sleazeballs with Republicans."

Do you mean the republicans that ran the whitehouse, or the ones that ran congress from 2000 to 2006?

[ClubMedSux]

Actually, "begs the question" is kind of like "anti-semitic" in that the literal translation of the parts differs from the accepted meaning of the total phrase...

What's so inaccurate about "anti-semitic"? Sure, the Amharics, Arabs, Aramaics, Akkadians, Ge'ezes, Phoenicians, Maltese, Tigres and Tigrinyas want you to think it's just the Jews who secretly control the world, but the truth is they're all in it together.

[bigbigslacker]

Warren, that's so ironic.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Hey, I'm a left leaning guy, but the Dems are doing this too aren't they? It's called pleasing the base, and since both sides base is unreasonable, any elected politician with any electoral success on a wide scale has to do this funny dance between pleasing the base and getting elected. At the Dem debate look at both of the candidates who actually have a chance (Obama and Hillary) when they were asked aboout the drivers lisence for illegal immigrants. They were like deer in headlights thinking, if I say no I will seem mean to the Dem base, if I say yes the American public will eat me for breakfast...

But by far the worst is Mitt. J sub D, are you out there? That side by side comparison had me of the two (or three?) Mitts had me in stiches...

[Mr. Nice Guy]

It strikes me that the more consistent ones running, Kucinich and Paul, are House members and so don't have to appeal to so wide a base. Easier to be intellectually consistent that way.

[Warren]

bigbigslacker,
Haven't you heard? Irony is dead. Now it's all about the meta.

[ChicagoTom]

didn't Republicans think that flip-flopping was bad last time around?

Flip-flopping is bad only when Democrats do it. Otherwise it's not flip-flopping, it's altering you position based on new information. (like polling information on what primary voters want to hear)

Furthermore, it's only a liability if you get accused of flip-flopping. and which GOP front-runner will cast the first stone (and violate Reagan's 11th commandment -- though shalt not speak ill of fellow republicans).
It remains to be seen if any Dem nominee will decide to use the "flip-flopper" line of attack with the GOP nominee (if it can apply).

[Bernard Woolley]

This is one of those irregular verbs.

I show initiative
you reevaluate your position
he/she/it flip-flops

[lunchstealer]

Haven't you heard? Irony is dead. Now it's all about the meta.

9/11 changed everything

[brotherben]

Panderbation nation

[Taktix?]

A blog post written entirely in jive?

Oh! Oh! Please? Please please please?

[Matt Welch]

Next thing I know you'll tell me "enervate" doesn't mean "energize".....

[TLB]

Uh, Huck hasn't flipped, even if he's able to fool a lot of people. So, don't worry: he'll keep the corporatism flowing.

On a slightly related note, Reason's favoritest far-left, MexicoIndirectlyLinked group has discovered another "HateGroup" (splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=846).

This quote from someone who's indirectly linked not just to the MexicanGovernment but works for "Hillary's ThinkTank" will set "libertarian" hearts a-flutter:

"Many AntiImmigrant leaders have backgrounds that should disqualify them from even participating in mainstream debate, yet the American press quotes them without ever noting their bizarre and often racist beliefs."

So, "libertarians", why is Reason working overtime to give people like him and groups like the SPLC even more power?

[lunchstealer]

WooHoo. I hadn't had my DailyDose of CrazyFlakes yet today.

[R C Dean]

By ubiquitous usage:
begs the question = raises the question

Its still wrong. Kind of like putting an apostrophe before every terminal "s" is wrong, even though it is also unbiquitous.

[crimethink]

Funny, RC, I know what you meant by "unbiquitous". But I'm sure someone will get all uptight about that.

[MikeP]

So, "libertarians", why is Reason working overtime to give people like him and groups like the SPLC even more power?

So, Lonewacko, why should people who take stands based on principle care whether someone else happens to agree with them somewhat on some particular stand?

[Regis Carnifex]

Of course Matt Welch can't write properly: he's illegitimate.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Hey, NRO just endorsed Romney. They say it has always been their policy to endorse the most conservative viable candidate, and you know, by golly, they're right: for the past few months Romney has been the most conservative viable candidate! And if there are votes in it, he's willing to be conservater (or something).

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Romney also has the uncanny ability to be the most liberal viable Republican when it suits him (how's that for BI-partisan!).

[Mike Huckabee]

So NRO endorsed Romney, huh?

I wonder how many of the NRO staff Lopez had to blow to get that to happen.

[Kaganspawn]

FD&S, pedants arise and unite. Beg the question means make a beggar of the question by answering it before it is asked. It doesn't mean invite the question to be asked. But you see it wrongly used all the time, and according to the accepted dogma of the university linguists it is therefore correct as long as people understand what the writer means, because language is dynamic and evolving. There is a point at which an error becomes a not-error by virtue of widespread repetition.

[Lamar]

Let's drop this stupid-on-purpose routine and use 'beg the question' correctly, mmmkay? Hell, I've seen enough people use "your" as a contraction of "you are" that perhaps that is acceptable as well? How about people who say "Expresso"?

[Lamar]

I voted for allowing grammatical errors into the lexicon before I voted against it.