Chapter 2: GOP intellectuals abandon GOP. Judge Posner: GOP "goofy" "lunatics"

[TheCouga]

Federal Judge Richard Posner: The GOP Has Made Me Less Conservative : It's All Politics : NPR

Judge Richard Posner, a conservative on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, has long been one of the nation's most respected and admired legal thinkers on the right. But in an interview with NPR, he expressed exasperation at the modern Republican Party, and confessed that he has become "less conservative" as a result.

Posner expressed admiration for President Ronald Reagan and the economist Milton Friedman, two pillars of conservatism. But over the past 10 years, Posner said, "there's been a real deterioration in conservative thinking. And that has to lead people to re-examine and modify their thinking."

"I've become less conservative since the Republican Party started becoming goofy," he said.

Posner, who was appointed to the appeals court by Reagan, speculated that the leaks about the deliberations over the national health care law — which are apparently designed to discredit Chief Justice John Roberts' opinion upholding the law — would backfire. "I think these right-wingers who are blasting Roberts are making a very serious mistake," he said.

"Because if you put [yourself] in his position ... what's he supposed to think? That he finds his allies to be a bunch of crackpots? Does that help the conservative movement? I mean, what would you do if you were Roberts? All the sudden you find out that the people you thought were your friends have turned against you, they despise you, they mistreat you, they leak to the press. What do you do? Do you become more conservative? Or do you say, 'What am I doing with this crowd of lunatics?' Right? Maybe you have to re-examine your position."

In addition to his work as an appeals court judge, Posner is the author of more than three dozen books on subjects ranging from law and economics to aging and literature.

Posner has been possibly the most well-respected conservative legal thinker over the last two decades, but as anyone with common sense can see, the modern-day GOP has gone off the deep end. Instead of basing their policy positions on smart, intellectual ideas, they've morphed into a party of reactionaries, conspiracy theorists, hyper-partisans, and zealots. Their party platform is based on fearmongering and anger, and they care more about defeating Democrats than they do about fixing this country.

It's high time people like Posner speak up and try to take their party back.

[Mr. DNA]

Yeah, when Judge friggin' Posner is bailing, you know the rubes and boobs have truly taken over. But the Stalinists in today's GOP will probably somehow find a way to write him out of conservatism, whatever that even means these days.

You know, now that I think of it, back when I was a clerk at the U of C D'Angelo Law Library, I once walked by Judge Posner's office and noticed a cloud of smoke from some marijuana cigarettes wafting through a carelessly placed bath towel at the foot of the door. Thinking some young street toughs from the Woodlawn neighborhood had broken in, I opened the door and, much to my surprise, there was Judge Posner sharing a big ol' spliff with some young African American gentleman with kinda big ears. They were thumbing through a copy of 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte as they exhaled massive clouds of the funny stuff. I think the guy toking down with the Judge was Kenyan. Maybe he never was a conservative after all!

[Mr. DNA]

And don't even get me started about the time I saw a bunch of hookers sauntering out of Cass Sunstein's office.

[pyrotigers]

Taking your party back is one thing and I can certainly support that, but when he's basically saying 'people have to consider changing their personal beliefs because people who agree with them are mean/stupid' it's pretty hard to take that seriously.

I would hope John Roberts would rule on any case based on his view of the constitution and the law, not start voting liberal because the conservative judges hurt his feelings.

That said, I'm sure reasonable Republicans will take their party back about the same day that reasonable Democrats do the same....so never. Infinite more years of Michael Moore, Keith Olbermann, and whoever is on MSNBC taking on Hannity, and Limbaugh while we get awesome political debates like: Joe Biden vs Sarah Palin. (Really if watching this debate didn't make you wish you were dead I don't know what would) Wooo. Go America

[screwball]

Taking your party back is one thing and I can certainly support that, but when he's basically saying 'people have to consider changing their personal beliefs because people who agree with them are mean/stupid' it's pretty hard to take that seriously.

I would hope John Roberts would rule on any case based on his view of the constitution and the law, not start voting liberal because the conservative judges hurt his feelings.

That said, I'm sure reasonable Republicans will take their party back about the same day that reasonable Democrats do the same....so never. Infinite more years of Michael Moore, Keith Olbermann, and whoever is on MSNBC taking on Hannity, and Limbaugh while we get awesome political debates like: Joe Biden vs Sarah Palin. (Really if watching this debate didn't make you wish you were dead I don't know what would) Wooo. Go America

This is what really saddens me. Couldn't agree more.

[TheCouga]

That said, I'm sure reasonable Republicans will take their party back about the same day that reasonable Democrats do the same....so never. Infinite more years of Michael Moore, Keith Olbermann, and whoever is on MSNBC taking on Hannity, and Limbaugh while we get awesome political debates like: Joe Biden vs Sarah Palin. (Really if watching this debate didn't make you wish you were dead I don't know what would) Wooo. Go America

Except Moore doesn't have any say in the policy of the Democratic party. Half of the party, including John Kerry, was complicit in allowing the Iraq war to move ahead. And Keith Olbermann has been marginalized and doesn't even have a show anymore.

These guys have no say in our party's policy. Meanwhile, many actual elected Republicans are still passing bills to try and "expose" Obama's real birthplace, to strip away healthcare from their own constituents just to smite Obama for "Obamacare," etc.

This ain't your father's Republican party. It's a bunch of crazy nutballs in it for the kickbacks and the book deals. Meanwhile, as the Republican party has moved to the right, the Democrats have moved to the center and have been attempting to politically triangulate them.

[chasfh]

That said, I'm sure reasonable Republicans will take their party back about the same day that reasonable Democrats do the same....so never. Infinite more years of Michael Moore, Keith Olbermann, and whoever is on MSNBC taking on Hannity, and Limbaugh while we get awesome political debates like: Joe Biden vs Sarah Palin. (Really if watching this debate didn't make you wish you were dead I don't know what would) Wooo. Go America

Just who are the wackjobs that have hijacked the Democratic Party in the same way the Koch-backed Teabagger wackjobs have turned the Republican Party upside down? And if you say Obama, then I'll know you're not serious.

[chasfh]

Maybe we're going to start to see what I alluded to in the last paragraph of my post here.

[ballmich]

Just who are the wackjobs that have hijacked the Democratic Party in the same way the Koch-backed Teabagger wackjobs have turned the Republican Party upside down? And if you say Obama, then I'll know you're not serious.

George Soros. Now we know you are not being serious because of these softball questions.