“He talks endlessly of moderation yet does not appear to live in the real world.”
In a comprehensive rebuttal to Weekly Standard book reviewer Peter Berkowitz, best-selling author, lawyer, and radio talk show host Mark Levin diagnoses a malady that seems to infect so many elitists and effete-ists on the Right who look down their noses at conservative rabble-rousers who speak and act too immmmmmmoderately in their attacks on tyranny and defenses of liberty.
Write Levin of Berkowitz:
“He talks endlessly of moderation yet does not appear to live in the real world.”
Read Levin’s entire takedown at The American Thinker.
It dovetails nicely with a passage in the speech I gave at the Dallas Tea Party on July 4:
Freedom is not for government to give.
But it IS for all of us to ensure that government does not take away.
On this first principle, we can afford no moderation. The business of protecting our home life from meddling intrusion, our homeland from foreign invasion, and our commerce from reckless restriction is not to be conducted in dulcet tones with bent spines and bowed heads.
The founding fathers did not intend for us to politely implore the masters of government for freedom like Oliver Twist begging Mr. Bumble to fill his meager bowl with more gruel:
“Please sir, I want some more.”
Only extreme vigilance – forceful, rabble-rousing, aggressive, unyielding vigilance, can safeguard our inalienable rights. And in practicing this extremism, we have nothing – NOTHING – to apologize for. Ever.
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Trackbacks
- This is no time to be wishy-washy « GOP Counter Culture
- Soft Tyranny: Mark Levin Interview on Sean Hannity’s Show (video) « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- Mark Levin: What Is Conservatism? « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- February Was a Picnic Compared to How Things Are Now: Mark Levin, ‘Liberty and Tyranny,’ & Obama’s Socialism « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- Exposing Left-Wing Lunacy: Mark Levin, Lou Dobbs Rip Apart Janeane Garofalo, Keith Olbermann, & MSNBC for Conservative Hate Talk « Frugal Café Blog Zone
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- Oh, Those Loony Voters… Minnesota’s Dem Rep. Peterson’s Offensive Statement: “I Don’t Talk to My Constituents Because They’re Nuts” « Frugal Café Blog Zone
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Everyone should read Levin’s book … Yes I bought a copy, but that’s it, no connection to Levin.
It should be your first read.
All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing”
Perhaps it’s time to learn from the left.
Get out into the streets.
Find a tea party this 9/12. Many of us will be in DC that weekend. If you can’t get there, join a group in your area. March on your state capital.
Let your elected offials know;
“I’M MADD AS HELL – AND I VOTE!”
I love Mark Levin, and I have his books including “Liberty & Tyranny”. He is the definitive voice of conservatism!
This “malady that seems to infect so many elitists and effete-ists on the Right who look down their noses at conservative rabble-rousers” is what I would call cowardliness. The elitists and effete-ists do NOT serve America or Freedom well and should be ignored and marginalized. These weaklings have compromised with the Leftist/Fascist time after time for generations stripping this country and our people of one freedom after another in the name of Moderation. We know from our own history some slave owners were kinder than others-but they were still slave owners.
So thank you Mark Levine, Michelle Malkin and so many other rabble-rousers on the Right for refusing to beg for the right to be a free people. Oliver Twist was a little boy–I am a grown man–they can keep their “reasonable restrictions” on my autonomy as a Free Citizen – I refuse to accept them. If a fire breaks out in our house WE hope WE do not get MODERATE fire fighters showing up–”well let’s talk about this–how economically/socially viable are the people in the house-shoule we get our equipment dirty just now?”
Weaklings and cowards serve no useful purpose and should be ignored and marginalized.
AZ is right on. It is the moderates, or neo-Statists as Levin rightly calls them, who have, along with the statists, gotten us into this fine mess. The “let’s get along” crowd.
I also read Levin’s book and concur with tarpon and Dagney that it is a must read. It is one of those books you will keep going back to to learn about liberty and the soft tyranny of today.
I love quotes. Sometimes they just are so appropriate:
Mark Levin is right on target. His book is a great one, too, and if more true patriots would read it and act accordingly, we might have a chance to get out of this mess, but it will be painful. Barry Goldwater’s words keep ringing in my ears when I think of this cheap shot by Berkowitz: “I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Well said, huh?
As luck would have it, jjmurphy remembered the same quote! And it goes back even further.
Regarding elitists, conservatives have as much to get over here as progressives. Looking up to someone because he or she has the right “credentials” is the problem, not the solution. Having the right degree from the right institution will not guarantee a wise or moral outlook on politics and society in general. Why do people hate Sarah Palin? Because she resonates with the heart of the public and she has no resume from all the “right” institutions, and she doesn’t do things “the way they’re supposed to be done,” especially in showing deference to her “betters” in the GOP and Washington, DC, punditocracy.
Good post. All of it.
The only problem is that Levin doesn’t go far enough. THE GOP WILL NOT LEAD US OUT OF THE STATIST MESS THEY HELPED CREATE!
It is time to support a new conservative party. The GOP is part of the problem! Just look at the decade where they controlled Congress. The GOP grew government and helped destroy our liberties. Expecting the same crowd to fix the mess they benefit from making is irrational to say the least!
Damn straight.
Well said. It’s pretty hard to know what (most of) the R’s stand for looking at their voting records and behaviors. (ok – I take that back – what they have stood for is additional power to themselves)
Even this weekend, M. Steele couldn’t articulate why the health care takeover was a bad idea. His ?only? argument was “it’ll cost too much”. People don’t care if they think “the other guy” is paying. The R’s keep playing the same game – arguing with the D’s about how much bigger to make the government and how much more control should be in DC.
Whatever new party rises up needs to focus on “What should the federal government be charged with doing?” (How about what’s in the constitution.)
I love Levin and listen to him on the radio here in the Metroplex. He gets down and dirty….and fights tough. Too many who claim they’re on the right, are big wimps. I include in that group Michael Medved. A caller to Medved’s show last week asked him why he was questioning Obama’s patriotism. Medved went on and on, that he wasn’t questioning Obama’s patriotism.
Well, I am. I question his patriotism every damn day. So does Levin.
Berkowitz’s view of conservatism would have us fighting…at best…a long slow retreat, a delaying action.
I have known many conservatives who really held that view. They essentially cede the notion that Collectivist ideas are too potent, and will triumph in the end.
I emphatically reject that.
There is absolutely no reason in the world why we cannot bring about a renaissance of Constitutional values in this nation, and every reason we should. There is nothing you or I could do that would be a greater humanitarian good than that. There is no legacy we could leave our children and posterity in general than that.
Levin and many, many others understand these things, and we must help others understand them, too.
I cannot for the life of me understand why so many folks piss and moan everyday about the current administration & congress and the nonsense that is going on. Everyone I talk to says the same things (’he’s not my president! Pelosi is an imbecile! They’re ruining this country!).
So. My question is “then who the hell voted for this mess?!” Are we really majority?
You need to stop telling it to me, and start shouting it from rooftops.
“Oh, and by the way–I think some of you voted for him; you’re just embarrassed to say so.”
I’m less and less convinced that legal votes cast gave a majority to Obama. What’s important is how the votes were counted.
Last week during the Sotomayor confirmation “hearings”, at least one Democrat senator, spoke of the current court creating rights “out of thin air”. I’d have to go to the record to get the exact wording, but it struck me as typical of the problems with political thinking today across most of the spectrum.
People really believe that rights need to be specified (or authorized by the government) or you don’t have them.
Disgusting.
The Ninth Amendment, more than any other, remains my most cherished, the one that proves the foresight and wisdom of the Founders:
Which I take to mean EVERYTHING else.
And I feel that way whether it is a Progressive trying to filch my wallet in the name of preserving “society” or a Conservative trying to control my personal choices in the name of preserving “society”.
Here is who voted for him:
Blacks – 95% of blacks voted for him. Of course, the overwhelming majority of blacks vote for liberals anyway. No surprise there.
Senior citizens – Liberal scare tactics have worked beautifully over the past few decades.
Single women – Obama is the “sugar daddy” they have dreamed of.
Collectivists in general – Always a good 25-30% of the electorate. Obama is their dream.
Welfare recipients & all others dependent on the federal government for their income. This is an ever-growing percentage and portends a not so glowing future for liberty lovers.
I am sure you all can add to the list.
Doug – Great point! The popular view of the Constitution has been turned on its head. People see it as granting rights to citizens instead of the limit on government power that it truly is!
From Berkowitz’s article -
“And Mark Levin’s bestseller, a fierce polemic on behalf of liberty and tradition against what he regards as the implacable menace emanating from the left, provides, if not a case for moderation, then a central argument that bolsters the case for it.”
Yes, overall Berkowitz does take Levin (among others) to task in the article, but the quote does not accurately summarize what is said in it.
Here is the link so that you might read what Berkowitz said, unfiltered.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/747thgnk.asp?pg=1
Moreover, I could not find the quote attributed to Berkowitz in the article. Yes, the article could have been redacted, and the quote removed.
Neil Cavuto Goldman Sachs just bucking trends it is what any company does to survive? Goldman Sachs is doing just fine in the present financial environment.
Add: Dead people, illegal aliens, those who vote more than once, and then add in the ACORN fraud factor.
There are few true Patriots today. Mark Levin is definitely one of them, in every sense of the word. I pray that more will stand up and be counted.
I repeat;
to All elected officials (and czars)
Obama, Pelosi, Reid, congress…
The Constitution was written to protect US, the PEOPLE, FROM YOU.
(not the other way around as you seem to act.)
The problem with too many “Rightists” who bi$%h about the rabble-rousers like Levin and Michelle Malkin is that they want the benefits of being associated with the right, but who have already decided that it is more important for them is to be loved by their friends and party-goers on the left.
Beware the cheese-dip and pate complex!
Who Voted for this?
Senile seniors did at the direction of AARP.
Young pups who were born to late to have suffered the consequences of the peanut farmer President.
History is bound to repeat itself because those who lived it don’t remember and the young who never learned history properly don’t see it as a repeat. We now have a new generation of entitled youth who want life’s prosperity handed to them and don’t realize the consequences of that thinking.
The only thing that will be “handed to the generation of entitled youth” is poverty, socialism and lost freedom. And the voices of those who really care, are being drowned out by the radical moonbats. We need to get a LOT more vocal! They are not hearing us.
From Victoria Jackson, my new favorite at Big Hollywood:
Sums it up very well.
Mark Levin is my favorite radio host. My son gave me his book on CD Liberty and Tyranny. My only complaint is that it is read by someone who’s voice is nowhere near Levin’s. So as I listen, there is a disconnect. I like that high pitched, nasally scream.
Please fellow Malkin readers, when Zero Angel tries to hijack this thread, just ignore him. Give the topic of Mark Levin his due respect.
I have Levin’s book, but haven’t had a chance to read it yet. I have been waiting for a large chunk of time so I can really get into it and not be interrupted for a few hours.
Speaking of ZeroAngel…he hasn’t posted on this thread…has he? In fact, I haven’t heard from him for a while. Have we scared him off? I think he means well, but seems very needy, and wants to discuss HIS topic ad nauseum, no matter what the topic actually is. For the most part, Zero is a good person…just very very “focused”, and not necessarily on the right thing at the right time.
shooter #24; that is exactly correct. any american who can read, and i know that eliminates numerous democrat voteing blocks, can see that our constitution and bill of RIGHTS, was written to protect the citizenry from the government. when the government becomes overbearing and unresponsive to the needs of the citizens, then the citizens have the right and duty to seek redress. that is why the 2nd amendment is there. 1st amendment, the right to free speech even when it is negative to the rulers. 2nd amendment, the right to bear arms so you can back up that free speech when the gestapo comes a knocking.
“WE HAVE NOTHING TO APOLOGIZE FOR… NEVER… Might I also ad TO ANYONE…
Finding time to read so many good books out there is getting harder every day. I tend to work 8 days a week and the books on CD (I’m self employed) are so convenient. I have Glenn Beck’s book Common Sense and Atlas Shrugged in queue. I tried to read Atlas Shrugged but my glasses didn’t magnify the text large enough.
Great idea…especially a huge book like Atlas Shrugged. I may just get that, as long as there is a fast-forward feature!
b-cat, do you have a link for that? I’d love to pass it on to a few folks.
TIA
I watched your speech live. Thomas Paine would be proud! Well said Michelle. Very well said.
Mark Levin has a way with words as well. Fellow readers, we are in good company. Let us keep the Tea Party movement growing, strengthening, pulsating with our love of Country and Liberty.
I keep it on BlogRovr:
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/
Levin is angry, confrontational, and no RINO. I am angry, confrontational, and no RINO. In fact, I am prepared to act strongly, in the spirit of the founders, against those who would enslave us.
But I can’t handle Levin on the radio. Too much ranting and not enough content; way, way too much rudeness on the least suspicion that a caller might be a lib. Basically, a loudmouth and a rabble-rouser. I got no patience with freakshows like Levin and Savage.
I would follow into battle a Washington or a Lincoln or a Lee or an Eisenhower. Strength is not about being loud and obnoxious. I wouldn’t follow Levin anywhere. In fact, if I saw him at the head of the march, I’d probably drop out.
Now our own Michelle, OTOH, knows how to be fierce and in-the-face of the enemy. But she does it with facts and a brain and a quick tongue, but not a loud mouth.
(Having heard Levin on the radio, I have never had the least interest to read his books. But a lot of people like them. Maybe what he writes is better than what he ab libs.)
Peter Berkowitz writes:
Is this what “moderate republicans” believe — that conservatism’s core mission is merely to slow government’s growth? In other words, the only difference between them and the Left is the speed we’re moving, but the destination is the same. They want statism just as much as the Left, they just want it to happen slower so they have more time to adjust and ease into it.
These fake conservatives truely are Republican in Name Only. The Republican Party may need a “big tent” to win elections, but even big tents are narrow at the top. We can invite all to vote with us, but we need to be very selective of who we vote for, as well as who we put into leadership at the top of the party.
Ignatius, many of the reasons you list for not listening to Mark Levin are in fact the very reasons I enjoy listening to him. He is strong on the constitution and he speaks in the same voice as myself (I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore). I also find him very funny in a sarcastic vein (my style of humor). That is what’s so great about having free speech on our airwaves instead of community organizers stifling our free speech. There is something for everyone and simply turning the dial will take you to a different perspective.
P.S. Confederacy of Dunces is my all time favorite book!
Thanks! Sorry I’m so late catching up with this; I really appreciate the link.