# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/21 "2011-10-27T20:26:16Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > They’re being egged on to say things that, deep down, they really want to say anyway. In some cases, sure. Michele Bachmann isn’t any crazier now than she was in 2008, and she probably didn’t run in 2008 because she saw there weren’t a lot of voters looking for a candidate like her. Santorum hasn’t held elected office in years and he’s running because he thinks someone might listen to him, and Gingrich thought people might see him as the one guy who knew what the fuck he was talking about. But it’s definitely true that the Tea Party factions have been pushing the rest of the party right for two-plus years. Most of the politicians are just trying to keep up and keep them happy. It was very obvious during the debt crisis that even Boehner wanted to strike a deal because a default would have been a disaster, and he had a lot of trouble doing it because he couldn’t get the Tea Party freshmen to sign off on any kind of compromise. The Senate Republicans and older politicians who, in some cases at least, were elected to do stuff, had a big problem reining them in. Romney might not have any deeply held convictions, but it’s also true that he ran in 2008 as a guy who could get things done and was very proud of the health plan he helped craft in Massachusetts - one that was built on some conservative ideas. Now he’s trying to appeal to people who hate that plan and think the whole thing is a liberal monstrosity. That’s what it looks like when a politician figures out the winds have shifted. ---
**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, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/22 "2011-10-27T20:32:37Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I think Romney actually believes in some rational things, but realizes that in the current environment saying anything rational will get you into trouble -… He believes he wants to be president, and I suppose that’s rational, and since everything else he says and does in in pursuit of that goal, it’s all rational too. I should have said that Romney is the exceptional candidate _because_ he has no stronger principle than winning. I think his strategy is the right one – just don’t go out as far on a limb as the others, and watch them fall off as they end up freaking people out. [I just read a story that Perry might skip future debates](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/rick-perry-skipping-debates-bad-idea-jeans/2011/10/27/gIQASGJQMM_blog.html%20?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics), which I think is a good strategy for him. Those interviewed for the story think it’s a bad idea – “like skipping the 3rd quarter of a football game.” I think it’s good because Perry has been _terrible_ in the debates, so it’s like avoiding drinking poison. ---
**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, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/23 "2011-10-27T21:46:47Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > He believes he wants to be president, and I suppose that’s rational, and since everything else he says and does in in pursuit of that goal, it’s all rational too. > > I should have said that Romney is the exceptional candidate _because_ he has no stronger principle than winning. I think his strategy is the right one – just don’t go out as far on a limb as the others, and watch them fall off as they end up freaking people out. I think you are right about Romney - but just about any candidate does this kind of thing except whackjobs like Ron Paul. All of them think these extreme positions are the way to win. Romney would move back to the center if he wins the nomination. I wonder if Perry and Bachmann even know how to move to the center - in any case they’ve left too much of a paper trail. They’re kind of like Mirror-Kirk in this way. > [@](#): > > [I just read a story that Perry might skip future debates](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/rick-perry-skipping-debates-bad-idea-jeans/2011/10/27/gIQASGJQMM_blog.html%20?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics), which I think is a good strategy for him. Those interviewed for the story think it’s a bad idea – “like skipping the 3rd quarter of a football game.” I think it’s good because Perry has been _terrible_ in the debates, so it’s like avoiding drinking poison. Bad move. He’d lose the headlines, and everyone will assume he would have lost. His only chance is a Hail Mary debate where he surprises everyone and wins. Of course, the primary votes may change everything but he is not going to go up in the polls with an empty chair. ---
**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, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/24 "2011-10-27T22:07:44Z")
The other option might be to go down faster in the polls because he appears to be so inarticulate. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/25 "2011-10-28T03:36:21Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > In some cases, sure. Michele Bachmann isn’t any crazier now than she was in 2008, and she probably didn’t run in 2008 because she saw there weren’t a lot of voters looking for a candidate like her. Santorum hasn’t held elected office in years and he’s running because he thinks someone might listen to him, and Gingrich thought people might see him as the one guy who knew what the fuck he was talking about. But it’s definitely true that the Tea Party factions have been pushing the rest of the party right for two-plus years. Most of the politicians are just trying to keep up and keep them happy. It was very obvious during the debt crisis that even Boehner wanted to strike a deal because a default would have been a disaster, and he had a lot of trouble doing it because he couldn’t get the Tea Party freshmen to sign off on any kind of compromise. The Senate Republicans and older politicians who, in some cases at least, were elected to do stuff, had a big problem reining them in. For typing “reining them in” instead of “reigning them in” I award you [del]ten[/del] fifteen **kaylasdad99** points. Try not to spend them all in one place. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/26 "2011-10-28T03:42:04Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I think Romney actually believes in some rational things, but realizes that in the current environment saying anything rational will get you into trouble - … > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > He believes he wants to be president, and I suppose that’s rational, and since everything else he says and does in in pursuit of that goal, it’s all rational too. But – but – but that would result in our having a Republican as president. Nothing rational about wanting something like that. ---
**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 28, 2011, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/27 "2011-10-28T03:51:02Z")
It’s might be rational for him to want to be president, but it’s also irrational for, er… anybody else, to want him to be president. Nevertheless, I think that he would be the least bad Republican president, because he would cut deals and not be as destructive as some of the others. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/28 "2011-10-28T15:22:13Z")
Would someone do me a solid and summarize which “extreme views” Robertson is objecting to? The article doesn’t say, and I’d prefer not to watch the video because seeing that sanctimonious assclown’s yammering fat stupid face is bad for my dental work. TIA. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/29 "2011-10-28T17:02:30Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > He believes he wants to be president, and I suppose that’s rational, and since everything else he says and does in in pursuit of that goal, it’s all rational too. > > I should have said that Romney is the exceptional candidate _because_ he has no stronger principle than winning. I think his strategy is the right one – just don’t go out as far on a limb as the others, and watch them fall off as they end up freaking people out. > > [I just read a story that Perry might skip future debates](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/rick-perry-skipping-debates-bad-idea-jeans/2011/10/27/gIQASGJQMM_blog.html%20?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics), which I think is a good strategy for him. Those interviewed for the story think it’s a bad idea – “like skipping the 3rd quarter of a football game.” I think it’s good because Perry has been _terrible_ in the debates, so it’s like avoiding drinking poison. It will be seen as cowardice by many and as an opportunity by the Dems to attack him for being afraid to face the people. The guy is toast. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/30 "2011-10-28T20:16:24Z")
Am I the only one who sees all of the craziness as just a sideshow? The nominee is going to be Romney. All the other candidates are a distraction from, well, anything approaching sanity, to be frank. ---
**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 28, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/31 "2011-10-28T22:55:42Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Am I the only one who sees all of the craziness as just a sideshow? > > The nominee is going to be Romney. All the other candidates are a distraction from, well, anything approaching sanity, to be frank. Even Jon Huntsman who is a far more consistent version of Romney. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/32 "2011-10-28T23:02:09Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Even Jon Huntsman who is a far more consistent version of Romney. Keep on clapping your hands you might be able to bring him back from the dead. When his polling numbers can be measured in single person rather then even a single percentage point I think it’s time to stick a fork in him. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/33 "2011-10-29T02:58:11Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > [I just read a story that Perry might skip future debates](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/rick-perry-skipping-debates-bad-idea-jeans/2011/10/27/gIQASGJQMM_blog.html%20?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics), which I think is a good strategy for him. Those interviewed for the story think it’s a bad idea – “like skipping the 3rd quarter of a football game.” I think it’s good because Perry has been _terrible_ in the debates, so it’s like avoiding drinking poison. > [@Chefguy](#): > > It will be seen as cowardice by many and as an opportunity by the Dems to attack him for being afraid to face the people. The guy is toast. Something tells me that Dems aren’t going to have any meaningful opportunities to attack Rick Perry. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/34 "2011-10-29T14:29:07Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Something tells me that Dems aren’t going to have any meaningful opportunities to attack Rick Perry. I was basing my comment on the long shot chance of Perry becoming the nominee. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/35 "2011-10-29T15:31:57Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Would someone do me a solid and summarize which “extreme views” Robertson is objecting to? The article doesn’t say, and I’d prefer not to watch the video because seeing that sanctimonious assclown’s yammering fat stupid face is bad for my dental work. TIA. Clip doesn’t show him addressing any specific position, save for what seems to be a passing mention of “Cain or whoever” gaining favor with the base; he elaborates on the Johnson quote as “they don’t realize I’m the one who can give them what they want, but I can’t do that if they make me lose the election”. He probably means a combination of all the various forms of Tea Party/Birther pander-talk. We know he wants tax cuts and loosened regulations on big business and stronger restrictions on abortion and gay rights. He knows he can’t get that by promising electrified border fences, a trade war with China, Gold Standard/flat tax fantasies, privatized Social Security, attacking policies approved \*by Republicans \*as if they were socialist anti-American conspiracies, etc. or by having the likes of Gingrich try to champion “values”. Essentially he’s telling the Republicans: Don’t pull a Christine O’Donnell with the presidential nomination. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/36 "2011-10-29T16:43:05Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Something tells me that Dems aren’t going to have any meaningful opportunities to attack Rick Perry. > [@Chefguy](#): > > I was basing my comment on the long shot chance of Perry becoming the nominee. Mine, too. Emphasis on “long shot.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/37 "2011-10-29T17:47:59Z")
Kind of like having Lady Gaga tell you need to dial it back a bit on the weird outfits. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/38 "2011-10-30T14:06:13Z")
Ah, at last. An analogy the young people can understand. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/39 "2011-10-30T14:48:23Z")
There will be plenty of time for Repentance of Pat once GOP wins WH is what he meant. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802/40 "2011-10-30T16:46:13Z")
> [@medicated](#): > > Agreed. Robertson doesn’t think the party is too extreme. He merely thinks that it’s too extreme to win. Perhaps he remembers that “flying under the radar” (i.e., dissembling one’s actual politics) was a strategy that served local RW-extremist candidates very well in 1980s and '90s. How soon they forget! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-criticizes-gop-extremenism/600802.md?page=3)