# Pat Robertson Criticizes GOP Extremenism **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 26, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802 "2011-10-26T01:06:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/1 "2011-10-26T01:06:39Z")
[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/25/pat-robertson-comments-gop\_n\_1030534.html](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/25/pat-robertson-comments-gop_n_1030534.html) A bit surprising ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/2 "2011-10-26T01:09:19Z")
No kidding. “Those people in the Republican primary have got to lay off of this stuff,” he exclaimed. “If they want to lose, this is the game for losers.” True, that. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/3 "2011-10-26T01:24:27Z")
But will they listen? Yeah, when Pat Robinson calls you an extremist on his own side of the fence, you’re a fucking extremist. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/4 "2011-10-26T02:23:01Z")
It’s pretty damning testimony. Robertson is the king of right-wing Christian crazy-- he knows 'em when he sees 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/5 "2011-10-26T02:54:48Z")
Surprising indeed! If it were, say, Pat Buchanan saying this, it would be more believable. Buchanan is at least serious enough to make some sense now and then, right-wing and conservative though his version of “sense” may be. Hell, I even saw a column by Ann Coulter a while back, during the Great Health Care Legislation Debate, in which she wrote a (partially at least) serious column, lower on snark that usual, attacking “ObamaCare”, focusing semi-rationally on some of the more problematic issues therewith. You could tell that Coulter really saw an important enough debate there, that she was willing to write seriously for once. Even Bill O’Reilly occasionally did a reasonably serious column, likewise. But Robertson? Me am gafferblasted. ETA: > [@appleciders](#): > > It’s pretty damning testimony. Robertson is the king of right-wing Christian crazy-- he knows 'em when he sees 'em. Yes, and that too. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/6 "2011-10-26T03:17:35Z")
Meh, call me when he blames a natural disaster on the GOP. ---
**Author:** ![medicated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@medicated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medicated)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/7 "2011-10-26T03:31:57Z")
Yawn. Yeah, Robertson has realised that the Republicans are utterly screwed if they don’t start distancing themselves from the crazy. So has every other Republican with a brain. This isn’t news. The problem isn’t that Republican thinkers have noticed this. It’s that thoughtful Republicans don’t have much of a say these days. How strange: when a party plays to the extremists for a couple of decades, the party gets taken over by extremists. Who’d have thunk it? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/8 "2011-10-26T03:58:19Z")
I don’t think Robertson thinks the GOP is too extreme. I think Robertson thinks the GOP is being too open about it’s extreme nature. The difference is significant. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/9 "2011-10-26T04:00:20Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I don’t think Robertson thinks the GOP is too extreme. > > I think Robertson thinks the GOP is being too open about it’s extreme nature. > > The difference is significant. The first rule of Right Club, as Jon Stewart noted tonight, is you never talk about Right Club. ---
**Author:** ![medicated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@medicated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medicated)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/10 "2011-10-26T04:00:35Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I don’t think Robertson thinks the GOP is too extreme. > > I think Robertson thinks the GOP is being too open about it’s extreme nature. > > The difference is significant. Agreed. Robertson doesn’t think the party is too extreme. He merely thinks that it’s too extreme to win. ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/11 "2011-10-26T04:22:36Z")
> [@medicated](#): > > Agreed. Robertson doesn’t think the party is too extreme. He merely thinks that it’s too extreme to win. Exactly. If you read the article he doesn’t criticize extreme views, he just points out that being explicit about them will cause them to lose elections. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/12 "2011-10-26T05:20:33Z")
OP, how do you feel about the _content_ of what Robertson said as opposed to the fact that he said it? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/13 "2011-10-27T01:30:46Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > OP, how do you feel about the _content_ of what Robertson said as opposed to the fact that he said it? Agree. Bachmann, and Cain is not the way to win. Perry is about as conservative you can get while being electable. ---
**Author:** ![medicated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@medicated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medicated)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/14 "2011-10-27T03:26:47Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Agree. Bachmann, and Cain is not the way to win. Perry is about as conservative you can get while being electable. Perry is not electable. He can do well (yet he hasn’t) with the Republican base, though his positions are all but guaranteed to destroy him in a general election. It’s really quite striking, lately, how the Republican party seems to be going out of its way to drive cantidates toward positions that can only harm them in the general election. I can only imagine that the elderly, pragmatic wing of the party is…er…rather upset with current trends. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/15 "2011-10-27T04:24:39Z")
> [@medicated](#): > > I can only imagine that the elderly, pragmatic wing of the party is…er…rather upset with current trends. Or horrified that Romney will get the nod. Or horrified that he won’t! ---
**Author:** ![Da\_Mikster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Da\_Mikster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Da_Mikster)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/16 "2011-10-27T07:26:33Z")
My first thought on hearing it was, “Even a blind monkey sometimes finds a banana!”… then I realised he was just telling them to stop TALKING like they’re from Nutjobistan, NOT stop GOING there… So basically, he’s urging them to lie until after the election… and yet he claims to be a man of God?.. just more proof that he sold his soul to Mammon a looooooong time ago. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/17 "2011-10-27T16:37:05Z")
Robertson talks about the candidates being “forced into” positions that will cost them in the general election. But it’s like they’re nymphomaniacs being “forced into” sex. They’re being egged on to say things that, deep down, they really want to say anyway. And it comes off as uncaring and brutal because they are uncaring and and will be brutal toward the vast majority of people who they want to govern. This primary process is getting them to take off their masks, and I don’t see how that’s anything but good for us. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/18 "2011-10-27T16:49:26Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Robertson talks about the candidates being “forced into” positions that will cost them in the general election. But it’s like they’re nymphomaniacs being “forced into” sex. They’re being egged on to say things that, deep down, they really want to say anyway. And it comes off as uncaring and brutal because they are uncaring and and will be brutal toward the vast majority of people who they want to govern. > > This primary process is getting them to take off their masks, and I don’t see how that’s anything but good for us. Do you think that _all_ of the GOP candidates really share the most extreme right views? I think it’s pretty clear from the last election that John McCain took a lot of positions calculated to win him the right, when they were at odds with things he’d said previously. I’m guessing that there are some candidates who actually believe this stuff (Bachmann), and others who are doing what they have to do to win the nomination (Romney). I don’t see any reason to believe that those candidates whose positions have been more moderate in the past were just hiding their true feelings. I see the primaries as forcing candidates to _put on_ masks, not take them off. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/19 "2011-10-27T17:22:36Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Do you think that _all_ of the GOP candidates really share the most extreme right views? I think it’s pretty clear from the last election that John McCain took a lot of positions calculated to win him the right, when they were at odds with things he’d said previously. I’m guessing that there are some candidates who actually believe this stuff (Bachmann), and others who are doing what they have to do to win the nomination (Romney). I don’t see any reason to believe that those candidates whose positions have been more moderate in the past were just hiding their true feelings. I see the primaries as forcing candidates to _put on_ masks, not take them off. I think Perry and Bachmann and Cain believe what they say – perhaps Cain a bit less than the other. I don’t think Romney believes in much of anything. As a general rule about primaries, I agree with you. But this elections seems different to me – it seems to have drawn out the craziest of the Republican base and the craziest of the Republican candidates. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/20 "2011-10-27T20:11:48Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I think Perry and Bachmann and Cain believe what they say – perhaps Cain a bit less than the other. I don’t think Romney believes in much of anything. I think Romney actually believes in some rational things, but realizes that in the current environment saying anything rational will get you into trouble - such as Perry’s rational policy on state college funding for the children of illegals. But for the rest, they were crazy before they started running. I think you can summarize the Republican candidates in three words: Mormons and Morons. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802.md?page=2)