By Wayne Allyn Root, Former Libertarian Vice Presidential Nominee
Newt Gingrich may have won South Carolina. But this wasn’t a Newt victory, as much as it was a devastating rebuke to the national media.
Study the poll numbers. Yes, Romney really dropped the ball with the tax return and 15% capital gains issues, but the numbers started flipping from a Romney landslide to a Newt Gingrich landslide only after the ABC television interview with Newt’s ex-wife. And voters made the final decision to change their votes only after hearing Newt strongly and courageously scold and shame the media in the South Carolina Presidential debate on Thursday.
Make no mistake about it- this was a resounding rebuke of the mainstream media. They were kicked in the teeth.
Read on. I’ll tell you why they deserved it.
America may hate politicians, they may hate Congress, they may even give Obama among the lowest ratings in modern history at this point in a Presidency. But the media has now sunk to even lower depths than the politicians.
And deservedly so.
Only days ago I pointed out what a travesty it was the media sharks were in a feeding frenzy to destroy Romney over taxes, Gingrich over ex-wives, and Ron Paul over 20 year old newsletters, but seemed to lack the same level of enthusiasm about Obama’s mysterious past. But the biased leftist media doesn’t care. Par for the course.
This same mainstream media also snickers at the idea that Obama is a socialist. Funny how they ignore a brand new Pew poll that proves that liberal Democrats not only favor socialism over capitalism, but by a wide 59-33 margin they see socialism as a positive. Even more shocking is that the same poll proves that a large majority of African American voters (Obama’s staunchest supporters), by a 55-36 margin, also see socialism as a positive. Shouldn’t alarm bells be ringing in the mainstream media?
Well, the alarm bells aren’t ringing for a good reason. The mainstream media is made up of radical, extreme, progressive leftists who also see socialism as a positive. Want proof? Let’s head back to my Columbia University days. You know, the same place where my classmate Barack Obama was indoctrinated…oops, I mean educated…in the philosophy of radical socialism.
Something extraordinary happened on March 30, 1981 at Columbia University. I was sitting in the biggest political science class at Columbia University. Perhaps 200 or more students in a theatre in the round. If Obama was attending Columbia at the time, as he claims, and he was a Political Science major, as he claims, he would almost certainly have been in this class.
On this date in history my hero Ronald Reagan was shot. The reaction in that large political science class that day tells you all you need to know about the media. Because all these years later, when I read Columbia College Today magazine, with updates on my classmates’ careers, it is extraordinary how many of them are now leading members of the mainstream media.
As I sat in class that day listening to the professor lecture, a strange loud noise came from the back of the room. The entire class turned around. The doors in back burst open and a breathless student ran in and screamed, “They just shot Reagan. President Reagan has been assassinated.” Can you imagine what the response was at that moment of horror from the future leading members of America’s media? Take a wild guess.
A standing ovation. Wild celebration. High fives. Cheering. Fists pounding the air. My classmates were jumping up and down and hugging each other like they had just won the lottery. It was the happiest day of their lives! And I can’t forget the words wafting through the air in the midst of this celebration, “YES, they killed that bastard Reagan!”
Reagan was my hero. He felt like a second father to me. I got sick to my stomach and ran out of the class. I raced into the bathroom and vomited, then sat on the bathroom floor with tears streaming down my face. I thought my hero President Reagan was dead. Worse, I realized my ultra-liberal classmates were not just your run-of-the-mill leftists. They were socialists and Marxists who openly hated America, despised capitalism, and were cheering for the death of a man simply because he was a conservative and capitalist. I was dazed, disgusted and disillusioned.
Please keep in mind that many of these same men and women now run the American media. They are at the very top of many of the most important television news shows and news organizations. And they proved that day (and throughout my 4 years at Columbia) that at their core they despise conservatives, conservatism, patriotism, and the exceptionalism of America.
This is the same media expected to give a “fair shake” to a conservative Presidential candidate like Mitt, Newt or Ron Paul? Not a chance.
Now you know why the media is so desperate and obsessed with digging up dirt on Newt’s ex-wives, Mitt’s old taxes, or Ron Paul’s 20-year-old newsletters. But this same media seems to have no interest in digging up Obama’s mysterious and questionable past. They sit across from Obama, tingling, lobbing softball questions, while gazing into their fellow socialist’s eyes. Now it all makes sense. Now the pieces of the puzzle fit.
The sudden turnaround in South Carolina after a media “hit piece” on Newt is the first sign that the American people are finally starting to understand how biased the media really is.
Now you know why the mainstream media had their teeth kicked in on Saturday in South Carolina.
And…they deserved it.
Wayne Allyn Root is a former Libertarian VP nominee and the author of “The Conscience of a Libertarian.” He now serves as Chairman of the Libertarian National Campaign Committee. He’s a regular guest on Fox News and hundreds of television and radio shows across America. His syndicated column has appeared on Newsmax and Forbes.
He’s also a gun-slinging, riverboat gambling, entrepreneur and capitalist evangelist. His web site: www.ROOTforAmerica.com
BH@101,
I explained my reasons for leaving the LP, and the timing thereof, because you seemed to be asking.
Arguing about those reasons is a completely different thing, and not something I intend to do in this thread.
The notion of “not voting so as to withhold consent from the System” is just as profoundly naive as the notion of “voting as a duty under the System”.
In reality, voting is no more and no less than a way to add one to your choice of several different numbers. “Not voting” IS voting: it adds one to the number that measures indifference to what the System is doing. Congratulations.
Of course, almost none of the political activism we do has as little impact as our choice of what number to add to. Heck, any effort to spread the (mistaken) meme of protest-the-System-by-not-voting will do more for the cause of System protest than a lifetime of not-voting will — unless your signal is drowned out by the increase you caused in the noise of measured Indifference.
An obvious (but infinitesimal) improvement in your strategy would be to continue to advocate against voting while secretly using your ballot to add one to some number other than the number for Indifference. The optimal strategy would be to somehow advocate against voting duty in a way that 1) preserved the shock value of opposition to voting duty while 2) subtly encouraging sympathetic voters to add to some number other than Indifference.
You just might be clever enough to pull that off. I don’t think I am.
Or am I?
Gee Tom… I did all that in 1985! I didn’t write it all up since I am not important and really nobody would care what I think. You are right… the LP is toast and getting worse. I still vote for them, however, unless the CP nominee is MORE libertarian AND on the ballot in my state.
BH@98,
Both my reasons for ending my membership, and the reasons for the timing of doing so, were plural.
Reasons: Post-2008, I both believed the LP to be moving in the wrong direction with respect to exerting a positive pro-liberty influence through the political process, and became increasingly skeptical that it was possible for any person or organization to exert a positive pro-liberty influence through the political process.
Timing: The 2010 LP national convention confirmed to me that the LP wasn’t serious about changing direction, at the same time that my skepticism about the utility of the political process hit maximum.
I don’t think I’ve completely “written that up” yet, but here are a couple of semi-explanatory articles that bookend the decision:
Confessions of an Increasingly Skeptical Libertarian Partyarch was published on May 24, 2010, just before the 2010 national convention.
Shortly after that convention, I dissociated from the LNC’s membership program. In August, my term as county LP chair expired. I declined to seek re-election or other office, and that was my last local LP activity.
Then on September 23, 2010, I published Remember, Remember, Don’t Vote in November.”
OK, I misunderstood. Did you ever write up your reasons for 1) ending your membership and (more interestingly) 2) the timing for that decision?
BH@94,
“How did the LP get less representative of you between now and Nov 11 2008”
We’re using different meanings for the word “representing.”
You are using it as a rough descriptor of similar positions, in which some similarity of position might be used comparatively by an observer.
I am using it as a descriptor of agency.
Thus, the LP didn’t get “less” representative of me over time. It immediately became non-representative of me when I ended my membership in it.
Wayne, if you think Fox like libertarians any more than CNN does, you’re living in a dream world. Both sides hate libertarians, and both sides hate Ron Paul.
so·cial·ist? ?/?so???l?st/ Show Spelled[soh-shuh-list]
noun
1. an advocate or supporter of socialism.
2. ( initial capital letter ) a member of the U.S. Socialist party.
so·cial·ism? ?/?so????l?z?m/ Show Spelled[soh-shuh-liz-uhm]
noun
1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
3. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.
Knapp: the LP isn’t representing me any more either
How did the LP get less representative of you between now and Nov 11 2008, when you announced you would be seeking the LP’s 2012 presidential nomination? (You can review the minimal changes to the LP platform in 2010 at http://libertarianmajority.net/2010-lp-platform-annotated.)
@91 I do believe this has been explained to Mr. Root quite a few times. It seems he disagrees.
@92 “Anyone here ever hear that Ronald Reagan performed in gay porn when he first arrived in Hollywood to help pay the bills ?”
What is your evidence for that claim?
@77 yes the media has an agenda. It is to PROTECT their bosses, the super rich elitists.
Anyone here heard of Bohemian Grove ? Research it, you’ll never think the same again.
Anyone here ever hear that Ronald Reagan performed in gay porn when he first arrived in Hollywood to help pay the bills ?
No, things aren’t as they always seem as protrayed in the daily propaganda.
Has the media covered these following points enough or not ?
LeRoy Newt Gingrich: Selling Access – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRdqGKA782A&feature=youtu.be
MittvMitt.com: The story of two men trapped in one body – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9njHHyRI7g&feature=player_embedded
The Compassion of Dr. Ron Paul – http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8Rv0Z5SNrF4
I say NO. Their agenda is to serve their masters, to continue to receive their bloated salaries, not the people’s interest.
Thank you Ad Hoc. Now can you please explain that to the likes of Mr. Root. My guess is though that deep down he knows that. He is just so caught up in the demagoguery that he can’t help himself
I don’t think you, much less Obama, is/are socialist.
There’s a big difference between supporting a welfare state as part of a corporatist economy vs. supporting outright government ownership of all the major means of production.
And that’s if we even accept government as a proper proxy for worker ownership, which it is not.
Yes Ad Hoc, by those standards the WFP and I would be socialists. But the fact is we are not. And it is childish and ridiculous thing for him to do.
He calls Obama a socialist, so certainly he would consider the WFP to be socialist at the very least.
Actually WAR childish taunt towards me was ‘socialist’. I am not a socialist, nor is the Working Families Party. Left wing for sure. And quite frankly a little further to the left to me but I want to support a 3rd Party and the Liberal Party is defunct. If I was a socialist I would be a member of the Socialist Party USA. But the real point of WAR calling me that was to sink to the lowest common denominator with his Glenn Beck style of name calling.
Notice that whether or not I was a socialist was completely irrelevant to the discussion at hand.
Paulie@85,
“for those who would like to see the LP put forth a message closer to yours and mine, not so much.”
I don’t think that’s necessarily so. The LP seems to be far more responsive to outside fads than it is to internal argumentation.
The LP never seems to want to lead, or to get the hell out of the way, so we’ll try to give it something better to follow.
@1 is a Working Families Party supporter, which is leftist. I agree that it was a presumption at that point, however. I’d say I’m a leftist as well, although no longer a big government leftist.
From your standpoint, I can see why you would see it that way. But for those who would like to see the LP put forth a message closer to yours and mine, not so much.
paulie@82,
“My point was that you are not representing the LP any more.”
True! And the LP isn’t representing me any more either. Both of those things are probably for the best.
Paulie @ 80: “I respect him working hard to advance his beliefs .”
I know that Root works hard to advance his beliefs. I appreciate that he’s in the media often, yada yada, although I would expect his name recognition in this country is probably more like 3 %. My problem is that he doesn’t appreciate that many of us also work hard to get our views out, although in our own different way. Even on this thread, at the first negative comment, he starts in calling the commenter “leftist”, which we know is a huge insult coming from him. At that point, I stop taking him seriously because that’s childish and counterproductive.
Fair enough.
My point was that you are not representing the LP any more.
Paulie @80,
I’m not “against voting” per se. I’m just skeptical of its utility in achieving libertarian objectives, and interested in organized/co-opted, purposeful non-voting as an alternative strategy.
To those who still think voting might work, I say knock yourselves out.
On the other hand, he makes a real effort to get his views to the general public. Most of the libertarians that I agree with on issues more than I do with Wayne don’t make nearly as much effort to do that.
I can think of a very few counter-examples: Darryl Perry (however, Darryl represents the BTP, which was on three state ballots last time and is not on any state ballots at all as of right now), and Tom Knapp with the c4ss (however, Tom is now against voting).
Regardless of the fact that I have many of the same disagreements with Wayne that other libertarians have expressed, I respect him working hard to advance his beliefs and his willingness to participate here. And, the tone of some of the less substantive negative comments especially strikes me as counter-productive.
what an embarrassment to the Liberterian Party Root is
it’s great that folks of a wide variety of political persuasions comment here… socialists, libertarians, whatnot…
Wayne,
I don’t think libertarians and conservatives are victimized by the media. I think AMERICANS are victimized by the media. That includes libertarians and conservatives, but it also includes liberals, progressives, and, yes, socialists.
I remember the media obsessing over Obama’s friendships with Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers, not to mention the dumb birther stuff. I remember the media questioning whether John Kerry was in Vietnam, and how they virtually ended Howard Dean’s campaign. They also succeeded in marginalizing Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel in 2008. The media is awful to the right, but it’s awful to the left, too.
Please, just stay away from the Libertarian Party, you wackjob.
What, if anything, have you tried to do to fix it?
Certainly Root is more well known than anyone posting here, and most other people.
And that is the problem.
I suppose it’s quite ironic that Root manages to get far more airtime on the mainstream media than anyone else, despite his constant attacks on it. Perhaps he’s not nearly as much an outsider as he’d like to believe.
Another example, from this past summer, I was petitioning to get Libertarian Ken Moellman on the ballot in Kentucky.
A lot of people were confusing him with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Mehlman
paulie-
Back @ 2001 I was getting signatures for a local candidate named Jeffrey Cully. Unfortunately the big local story that summer was that a local teacher named James Cully (no relation) had molested some students. Boy did I get some dirty looks. Plus I wound up having to testify in court after the sigs were challenged (by the Local Dem Party) but it all wound up well as the judge literally laughed at the challenges and put us on the ballot. Even the attorney for the other side smiled when the judge issued his ruling. Occasionally the establishment does lose.
Here’s the irony….as low as the party pols and the corporate media are on the slime chain, WA Root is even lower.
DWP
Also, petitioners 😛
DWP
Did you mean @bruuno/Knapp?
@paulie – used car salesman is another occupation that has many slick people that fit the description…
Mr. Knapp@67
Don’t worry, I was just joking around. My brother would be the first to tell you they tend to be sleazy. The film Tin Men, according to him, was a very accurate depiction. He was far too honest for that business and he is much happier now as a boring old CPA.
bruuno@65,
I’ve got nothing against vinyl siding salesmen. Our house has vinyl siding on it.
I was just trying to think of a class of fairly ubiquitous human beings from whom the average American would have difficulty distinquishing Root in particular.
The allusion probably is kind of dated, though.
Are there a lot of people confusing Wayne Root and Wayne Newton?
#63- I take exception to that. My brother used to sell aluminum and vinyl siding in Texas and he didn’t look nearly as ‘slick’ as Mr. Root. Of course his business partner stole all his money and my brother became an accountant so maybe you are right. And come to think of it his partner did look like Mr. Root. Hmmm…
I wouldn’t count people who think they recognize the name but can’t match it to anything that indicates they have some clue to who he is.
For instance, in 2000 I was circulating Libertarian petitions in Illinois and had some people refuse to sign (or sign in some cases) because apparently they confused the stand-in candidate — David Kell(e)y (sp?), the state party chair at that time – with David Duke.
That’s just one of many examples.
@53, 62,
I suspect that as many as 1 in 10 Americans might respond “the name rings a bell” if hit with “Wayne Allyn Root.”
I’d be surprised if 1 in 1,000 could pick him out of a lineup of vinyl siding salesmen.
Everyone in the United State and some oversees KNOWS ROOT.
I’ll grant a lot more people know who Wayne is than know who I am, but I’d still be willing to bet that his name recognition among the general public is in the very low single digits at best.
Would you like to bet?
I’m trying to remember my own reaction.
I was far from being a Reagan fan (that hasn’t changed as I have moved from big government left to libertarian), but I don’t think I would have celebrated a human being being shot, and besides I already knew even though I was very young that the VP would take over and that he was from Reagan’s party also, so it wasn’t like the Democrats (my party at that time) were about to take over.
_ probably not much but i bet theyd listen to drug legalization , personal freedoms and all those other inconvienent libertarian positions for conservatives.
Also the peace issue resonates with many as well.
#53 may be the single dumbest comment I’ve ever seen here, including Lake and Seidenberg.
_I remember the day Reagan was shot , 5th grade , everyone was traumatized , crying and silent , I saw no celebrating.
No one was traumatized or crying at my school as far as I can remember, but no one was really that giddy about it either. For some reason I don’t remember it being as big a deal as, say, the Challenger a few years later. You would think it would be, but it just wasn’t. It was before my drug years, but I was already a politics prodigy, and I have little recollection of it.
I lived in Alabama from 1993-1996 and 2004-2011 having just move back to Long Island to help take care of my ailing father who just died.
Two places I have lived as well. Did you ever go to LP meetings in Alabama? I was active with the LP there during some of those same times.
That doesn’t mean he isn’t a self-loathing fat fuck who needs everyone to love him (preferably naked and at the same time from what I hear) in order to get some kind of validation in his life.
Hey!!! I rese….
Oh, sorry, you were talking about Neut….carry on…
#53 Everyone i the US knows who Wayne Allyn Root is? Man you have GOT to be kidding me. Get out in the real world a little.
“my hero Ronald Reagan ”
*baaarrrfff!!!*
Dream on. For a much TV, Radios, News and etc that Root is on. Where are the rest of you guys. On a blog, talking crap. Everyone in the United State and some oversees KNOWS ROOT. You guys. just that. you guys.
@2 “Libertarians who want to cut spending by 50%…eliminate taxes, end public schools and end Social Security.”
@32 “I don’t take extreme positions”
Is this more of your attempt to “redefine libertarianism”???
Almost anyone commenting in this post has a better chance than Root to be President. It’s kind of heartwarming actually.
REference: bruuno // Jan 24, 2012:
Lake: ‘save yer Dixie Cups —– the South will rise again’ *personal experience* half a century ago.
Anyone else notice Dr. Paul got shafted again on time? He was a little cooler this time (Monday Tampa debate) and I thought did a much better job than usual. Poor old fellow has a hard time spitting it out most of the time. Tonight he did very well with the little time given.
The MSM are paid well to do what they do. Anyone know that Brian Williams and LeRoy G. are both members in good standing of the Council On Foreign Relations ? Nope, no one ever asked what’s that all about. Afterall they bring out Andrea Mitchell (CFR) to tell you what you are suppose to think about the debate you just heard. You could flip over to CNN and have David Bergen (CFR) and Gloria Borgers (CFR) tell you what to think. Well maybe FOX with the Prince of Darkness Carl Rove might have a different spill on the proceedings!? Nope all pretty much the same……..Oh, well another 4 years of the SAME old same OLD………..
Who Donated to Mitt Romney – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zq7sOjLvhI&feature=related
Federal Records Show Romney Campaign Bought And Paid For By Big Banks – http://www.conservativeactionalerts.com/2011/10/federal-records-show-romney-campaign-bought-and-paid-for-by-big-banks/
Wonder why ole Newt and Rick don’t bring this up ? Could it be they are working hard to tap this goldmine as the nominee ?
Santorum held 170 townhalls in IA .
Romney owns a home in NH and was a next door Gov,
Gingrich was a GA congressman and speaker, next door to SC, and FL, and AL and TN.
Hard work and homefield is playing a lot in this race so far IMO.
For you northerners who don’t know, Gingrich was using code words. WAR is partially right as the outburst helped him. And who could blame him for deflecting the truth from his second wife, that he is a SCUMBAG of the worst sort! But he also played the racecard. And as stated southerners aren’t going to vote for a mormon, plain and simple! So more than one thing is the cause of Gingrich’s win IMO.
Let’s be honest this is an extremely WEAK RP field. Obama will be hard to defeat and that is truly a shame. If Gary Johnson had $200M and ran the right campaign I can see shocking results. The more I look into GJ the more I see a GREAT record as a two-term gov. GJ is MORE qualified and could do the job better than Obama or any of the 4 major Rs left.
This election is about the ECONOMY STUPID! Johnson knows the solution. He needs good staff and at least $200M to get the message out !
Example :
Got Jobs? Johnson, Romney, Obama – http://garyjohnsongrassrootsblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/charles-lupton-created-nice-job-growth.html
Gary Johnson on jobs:
“The fact is, I can unequivocally say that I did not create a single job while I was governor,”
“We are proud of this distinction. We had a 11.6 percent job growth that occurred during our two terms in office. But the headlines that accompanied that report – referring to governors, including me, as ‘job creators’ – were just wrong.”
“we kept government in check, the budget balanced, and the path to growth clear of unnecessary regulatory obstacles.”
“My priority was to get government out of the way, keep it out of the way, and allow hard-working New Mexicans, entrepreneurs and businesses to fulfill their potential,”
“Summarizing: Gary doesn’t accept the fallacy that job creation is something that the government can do.” -Rui Nobre Pinheiro
That’s right people 11.6% job growth and he did it the libertarian way ! I understand he is only roughly a 70-70 L (Nolan Chart), but I truly believe Gary Johnson could make one of the best POTUS of all time. It’s the ECONOMY STUPID !!!!!!!!!
ME__I remember the day Reagan was shot , 5th grade , everyone was traumatized , crying and silent , I saw no celebrating.
WR_If the media thinks it’s greedy, selfish and cruel to support small spending cuts, small tax cuts, small welfare cuts, school choice and partial privatization of Social Security…and hates Republicans for it…
What do you think that same media thinks of Libertarians who want to cut spending by 50%…eliminate taxes, end public schools and end Social Security.
me_ probably not much but i bet theyd listen to drug legalization , personal freedoms and all those other inconvienent libertarian positions for conservatives.
LOL
Good luck selling those ideas to the MSM.
When I hit the media in the gut, it’s a blow for Libertarians just as much as Fox News or conservatives.
WR_I never said I supported Newt…or believed his rant…I said it was a brilliant move that turned a landslide defeat into a landslide victory.
Common sense Americans dislike the media. They rate lower than politicians or lawyers. They are biased hypocrites. Newt was brilliant to understand that…and play on that. And it worked.
me_ so success equals taking a moral and ethical disgrace and framing it so you sound like a stand up guy?
i didnt get past the first few paragraphs and the last 3 comments just FYI , so theres a good chance I have no idea if my comment makes sense , I saw Newt , I saw Romney and my mind shut down…sorry
I must be naive , bored and probably high but who gives a shit what Newt and Romney are doin besides spreadin lies while liberty dies. sorry wayne ..
“I realize leftists are incapable of ever seeing the truth in an unbiased way. LOL”
Well hold on a second. I am a libertarian, and so I oppose every single government program, regulation, dictate, edict and tax in existence. But yes – I am also a leftist.
Again, please understand what you’re talking about before going on a deranged rant.
#40- Thank you Mr. Myers, you stated it perfectly. Well said.
As for Mr. Gingrich’s win in SC it was mainly due to 2 reasons- 1) he came across as the pit bull and that is what a lot of GOP primary voters want. They buy the propaganda about Obama being reliant on a teleprompter (ignoring the fact that he did just fine in the 28 debates he took part in in 2008) and think Newt will somehow eviscerate Obama in the debates. Keep dreaming. Newt would get slaughtered in an election against Obama and the Dems would suddenly have good shot at recapturing the House. He fed raw meat to the Fox News/Rush Limbaugh crowd and yes, his answer at the debate was part of that. The level of hypocrisy (staggering) is another issue for another time.
2) He played the race card-hard. I lived in Alabama from 1993-1996 and 2004-2011 having just move back to Long Island to help take care of my ailing father who just died. Anyway I absolutely love Alabama and the Deep South but there is still a core group of racists and they vote heavily in GOP primaries. Newt sung their tune to perfection. He has done it his entire career and his time in georgia taught him well in this field. To be honest I think the Mormon issue had little to do with it but it certainly didn’t help either. Racial (and even regional- northerner vs southerner) prejudice was a lot bigger factor. There are still a lot of people fighting the Civil War.
@17
Mr Root.
I have been completely non-anonymous. You never give a courtesy of the response to my questions. So there is your latest “stretch of the truth.” Latest in a long series.
This is so blatant a nod to the Republican message, it is not even funny.
Oh and Mr Root. For the record, those of us on the political left, progressives have been talking about media lies for YEARS. By that I mean those of us who have noted Fox News and MSNBC both being full of it.
Both corporate, both separating us to remain divided and conquered.
Wayne Root is doing to you Libertarians what David Cobb did to the Green Party.
I have no dog in this fight. Just a heads up from an ally.
ol’ Jon Stewart sliced and diced Newt & John King pretty well tonight . . . he went to Plattsburgh
I am going to take it easy on Wayne here, by just saying a few things.
Most of what is wrong with our media is exemplified in this article, it’s all speculation, inuendo, sensationalism, & most probably a made up story, all with the same self agrandizing style that Wayne utilizes that so often turns off most listeners or those willing to read through the slop, to try to pull out a nugget of knowledge.
This style of writing is only appreciated by an uneducated, scared, strange class of American that can only see through the lense of a tainted media, which Wayne is somewhat right about, we do have a tainted media, CNN, MSNBC and especially his precious FOX News are some of the most corrupt, insideous sources of information and the fact that the American people are subjected to them should almost be criminal.
But to pander to one side of a broken prism so outright is just sad, to take a stand against one half of the media, while acting as if Fox news lives by a higher standard is a fine example of Pot meet kettle, and this article does nothing to advance the intelligent ideas, or to help the party, but it is a prime example, and I am glad to seet it, of just one more reason why Wayne and his cohorts need to be voted out of any role in the party in Vegas.
Sorry I had to keep the gloves on a bit, I didn’t want to be too harsh.
Sorry, I meant “Allyn” …are you ever mad at your parents for giving you a bit of a girly middle name?
ITT: Wayne Allen Root being verbally kicked in the teeth.
I’ll just chalk it up to Gingrich’s organizational machine being a hell of a lot more refined than anyone wanted to give him credit for. He plays the game well because he’s been in it for a long time.
That doesn’t mean he isn’t a self-loathing fat fuck who needs everyone to love him (preferably naked and at the same time from what I hear) in order to get some kind of validation in his life. None of these presidential candidates has produced *anything* except wealth and words. Ron Paul was at least productive enough to deliver a few thousand babies and be able to hang his physician’s laurels on that.
Lots of religious bigotry in this nation and I feel pretty sure that some of that is why Newt got his votes. Some people don’t like, or trust Mormons period!
I will tell you about UNION GOVERNMENT. ITS CRAP O LA. The union is just there and what they do is be in bed with management. Or they are out partying with the employees members money. These people do not represent the employees. They are small wanna bees lawyers, and the paper with the rules are just that. The rules are only followed by people who want to use them. I know a lot more than you think MR> SOCIALIST BRUNNO.
I do know that both Management and the employees can do things that are not right. But I also know money is wasted and the union do not do what they are suppose to do. In Government or outside government.
Hi Wayne –
What does it mean that your Columbia records are on open book? If I ask, will they send me a copy? What would be included? Does Columbia let students seal their records? Neither of my alma maters have ever given me an option – the default is privacy.
Also, with respect, your use of “as he claims” looks pretty clearly like an effort to cast doubt on the idea that Obama attended Columbia. If you believe he attended and want to be clear about that, why not leave out the “as he claims” – or better yet, replace it with “as I believe” and have the courage of your convictions on this one? I know it doesn’t play well with the WND and Newsmax crowd, but I’d like to see you stand up to them from time to time.
On a side note, when was your wife Miss Oklahoma? I looked for her and couldn’t find her, but I’m sure there are several different Miss OK contests. Which one did she win?
Best wishes…
@32- thank you for clarifying!
W.A.R. “I don’t take extreme positions”
Readers of this article may also be interested in http://www.rootforamerica.com/webroot/blog/2012/01/20/the-perfect-political-trade-obamas-college-transcripts-for-mitts-tax-return/ and http://www.rootforamerica.com/webroot/blog/2012/01/17/a-lesson-in-capitalism-for-newt-gingrich-and-rick-perry/
@29 I am for school choice.
I don’t take extreme positions that will frighten 90% of mainstream voters.
@30 Another leftist. Save your biased critique.
However it is important to note you misread it. I never anywhere said I support Gingrich. I am an analyst and pundit. I complimented the man on a good strategy to win South Carolina. I realize leftists are incapable of ever seeing the truth in an unbiased way. LOL
But in 2008 I praised Obama’s victory. I’ve given hundreds of speeches where I compare Obama to Reagan. Obama was best marketer and salesman of anyone on the left in a generation. Reagan was the same on the right.
In any business the better salesman wins. Obama sold America. Unfortunately he sold us on a load of lies, fraud, hypocrisy and corruption/cronyism.
Best,
Wayne
Radley Balko summed up Gingrich’s SC victory speech perfectly: to quote from http://www.theagitator.com –
“Condensed version of Newt Gingrich’s victory speech last night: I’m a millionaire, lobbyist, book author, academic, ex-House speaker, wannabe historian, Pericles-like statesman who has enough power to move the planet. And I’m here to take on those bastard elites!”
Conspiratorial rubbish about Obama, bullshit story about Reagan, ludicrous bashing of leftism, liberalism and socialism, not having a clue what they are, lusting over conservatism, delusions that somehow let’s-kill-drug-dealers Gingrich is somehow better than Obama just because he’s a conservative, laughable accusations of the media’s radicalism (hint: they’re a bunch of centrist corporatists), insinuations about blacks,
Fire this idiot.
@Wayne,
Did I read correctly in your comment @2 that you want to end government run schools?
I know in the past, you’ve not taken that position.
W.A.R. @27 said
“All government employees need to pay for their own retirements with defined contribution plans.
Just like the rest of us working stiffs. No more “privileged class.”
Damn right! As a small business owner, who lives inside the beltway, I am angered by this kind of crap all the time. It isn’t just retirement benefits. It is 15 paid holidays per year, automatic raises (even when the rest of us are seeing our income drop), paid day off work for the THREAT of snow, the 0% chance of 3ever losing their job for damn near ANY reason at all, and the running joke of “I don’t work, I’m with the government.”
On the other hand, maybe I’m just a sucker for not joining them………
P.S. I meant government employees should not be allowed to unionize.
Does anyone realize that business owners like me might make $250,000 to $500,000 a year while we are working…
But once we retire we make -0-.
So for 40 years we live on what we’ve saved.
But a government employee might retire on $150,000…based on overtime during last 3 years of their career…
Even though their working salary was $70,000…they retire based on 80% of last 3 years of working…
So last 3 years with overtime, they made $150,000 or $220K. Happens all the time.
So now they retire on twice their actual salary.
Now add up $150K times 40 years (if they live to age 90)…
That means taxpayers have to pay them over $6,000,000 plus cost of living increases.
$6 million for one public employee.
So the Occupy Wall Street movement should be protesting the real 1%.
Public employees who get $6,000,000 retirement packages.
Thats the same as having $6 Mm on the day you retire…which puts you right in the 1%.
Few small businessmen I know have $6 Mm upon retirement.
Yet we risked our own money…and worked 16 hour days…and have no sick days…or auto cost of living increases…no summers off like teachers.
This is the biggest issue in America today. It is bankrupting the country.
All government employees need to pay for their own retirements with defined contribution plans.
Just like the rest of us working stiffs. No more “privileged class.”
@22 Bruuno,
There are alot of good teachers. I like teachers. But teachers unions have destroyed public schools.
Big difference between the people and the unions.
Same thing with most types of government employees. I like them as people.
But their unions are out of control.
Bankrupting taxpayers and this country.
Unions in private sector are completely legal.
But government employees should be allowed to unionize….unless taxpayers are represented by independent lawyers and judges at the negotiation tables.
Otherwise what goes on is not a “negotiation.” It’s fraud against taxpayers.
You can’t allow government employees to negotiate with the same politicians they elected with millions in contributions, phone banks and walking door to door.
That’s like putting the wolf in charge of the hen house.
Which explains how America is bankrupt.
I’m all for reasonable compensation for government employees. But not $2100,000 pensions for retirement.
No small business in America gives away big pensions. Can you imagine a restaiurant or bodega or real estate office paying $100K pensions for not working for 40 years. Insanity.
Only government does that in cahoots with govt employee unions…with kickbacks, legal contributions, and under the table bribes. It’s all a crime against taxpayers.
Wayne, just head on Hedgecock that you will be testifying on Georgia Court regarding Barack Obama’s eligibility to be on the State ballot in November.
The debate question to Newt did give him a small boost.
Not because South Carolina voters wanted to “send a message to the media,” but because they like a combative, energetic candidate.
It didn’t put him over the top. He was already set to win South Carolina, just like I predicted (right after Iowa) he would.
@20 Glad to hear you have a load off your mind and are thinking more clearly now 🙂
Ah yes, those bastard union workers and government employees. Pathetic. Keep with the demagoguery though, I am sure you have found it quite lucrative.
PS- I preferred the Liberal Party but for the moment they have been overthrown by the WFP. When they come back I will eagerly jump over to them.
@19
P.S. Bruuno, I appreciate you IDing yourself. Thats a good thing. At least we can openly agree to disagree.
Working Families Party. The party of unions and government employees. Socialists. The party that wants to bleed the money away from business owners, so everyone can work for government…just like Cuba.
Except you can want $100,000 pensions for 40 years for not working, after retiring at age 50.
I love it. Now I know I’ve hit a homerun.
If you’re angry at me- I hit a direct bulleye.
Now I understand your comments.
God Bless.
Wayne
I just printed this out, took a massive shit and wiped my ass with it.
Thank you for the useful article.
I have identified myself before on this board Mr. Root. My name is Christian Bruun. I live on Long Island, NY. I am a registered Working Families Party member who has on occasion voted Libertarian Party. I am merely a follower of 3rd Party news as it is of great interest to me. I have an opinion that you clearly don’t like (as I don’t like yours). For you to resort to the childish taunt of “what are you hiding by posting anonymously’ and ‘what are your qualifications’ is rather sad on your part. God forbid I express my opinion. Quite frankly your entire column is childish and rude. If you want to find vicious and rude then look in the mirror. The wide sweeping comments you make about liberals and the media, and the laughable and disgusting claims you make about their reaction to Reagan being shot. Good Lord Mr. Root, do have any sense of decency and tolerance? You seem to be quite hate filled yourself.
Please do some research, Mr. Root, on that first Executive Order by Obama. He really was only reinstating an earlier Executive Order. As much as I dislike Obama, I do not believe it’s correct that he sealed his own records with that order.
Bruuno…what’s your name?
Why are you posting anonymously?
What’s your qualification?
Anyone want your opinions in the media?
Unless you have the guts and class to identify yourself, you will no longer get courtesy of my responses.
I tried to be nice and interact.
And if people weren’t rude and vicious and anonymous, that might be a good thing for IPR.
Best Wishes.
Wayne
7 wr: I repeat, I don’t know why Obama sealed his records. But I do believe there is a scandal there. Far worse than…or Ron Paul’s newsletters.
me: If you believe there is a “scandal,” and the scandal is in your mind “worse” than NewsletterGate, I get the impression you have something in mind. What might the scandal be?
Wayne, you do not appear to be a stupid man but this column is clearly sucking up to a stupid audience with your BS claims about the reaction to Reagan’s shooting and Obama’s Columbia BS that you are back to making yourself look like an idiot about. Honestly you have completely embarrassed yourself with this column but my guess is all you care about is the number of readers and pandering to the lowest common denominator.
“My gut instincts tell me theres a scandal there.”
That is conspiratorial!
This is Beckian logic at its finest!
“Now I’m not suggesting eugenics is coming…but it’s a possibility.” -Beck
Allow me to paraphrase:
“I’ve never gone on record saying that Obama never went to Columbia…but my gut tells me he didn’t.” -Root
Root, your so-called punditry is lazy and is demonstrative of some of the worst behavior in the infotainment nightmare that passes as the modern U.S. public sphere. Perhaps you should have taken an argumentation or classical rhetoric class while at Columbia.
Gingrich and Obama are both tools.
Well, as far as digging into Obama’s past, I’m sure you know he’s been called to court on January 26, and has been told to bring several documents. I fully expect Obama to blow it off, of course. I learned this from Facebook and not the MSM, but I still think the Gingrich stunt was totally orchestrated, and INCLUDED the MSM in its planning.
Politics is about winning elections. I find political strategy fascinating. I find ways to salute and celebrate winners.
Obama’s a political winner.
Jill,
I never said I supported Newt…or believed his rant…I said it was a brilliant move that turned a landslide defeat into a landslide victory.
Common sense Americans dislike the media. They rate lower than politicians or lawyers. They are biased hypocrites. Newt was brilliant to understand that…and play on that. And it worked.
Politics is about winning elections. I find political strategy fascinating. I find ways to salute and celebrate winners.
I’m an analyst and pundit in the media. I talk about big happenings. This was a big happening.
As far as the media attacking Newt, it was dirty politics and they now get everything they deserve.
But I repeat…where are the dirt digging and intensive investigations against Obama. I say BRING IT ON!
I can’t believe you believed that scripted and rehearsed rant from Newt.
It completely turns my stomach that family values only matters to the GOP when there’s a liberal to bash.
Nick,
You must read into what everyone says.
I repeat, I don’t know why Obama sealed his records. But I do believe there is a scandal there.
Far worse than Newt’s ex wives…or Mitt’s tax returns…or Ron Paul’s newsletters.
I don’t know what it is…although I’ve asked several questions publicly about his time at Columbia.
But what is amazing to me…is if media asks me a straight question…
And rather than evade or refuse…I answer it straight and honestly…
You can criticize it.
I’ve been asked again and again…did you know Obama at Columbia.
I have honestly answered again and again…we had same major, and both Pre Law…but I never met him, saw him, or heard of him. Nor has anyone of my classmates that I went to school with at Columbia.
Thats the exact quote everywhere. I’ve never deviated.
I never heard of him.
Does that mean he didn’t go there? No, it means I thought I knew most everyone…but he is a ghost. A mystery. Strange.
But did he go there? I have no idea. I didn’t know him. But as I’ve said a hundred times in the media, I assume he did. I don’t believe the Dean of Cc would lie or participate in a coverup. Or risk his career. So I assume he did go to CC.
But I believe he has a scandal in his closet at Columbia. His records would not be sealed if he didn’t have a problem.
My records at CC are an open book. Why would abyone seal their records? Strange.
That’s a quote. Now it doesn’t say that Obama didn’t go to Columbia, but there’s some pretty heavy insinuation there.
Nick,
First never once have I ever said Obama did not go to Columbia. Ever. Anywhere. So please stop misquoting me. His records are sealed. They should be investigated. My gut instincts tell me theres a scandal there. But I’ve been very clear on hundreds of media interviews that I assume he went there.
And as far as celebrating Reagan’s attempted assassination…it happened in my class, right in front of me. I wouldn’t talk about it publicly if it didn’t happen. Or I’d be endangering my business and political careers. Which I would never do.
By the way, I’ve talked publicly about my classmates cheering Reagan’s shooting for 10 years now…and not one Columbia classmate has ever stepped forward to deny or dispute it. Interesting.
What has happened is I’ve gotten emails from strangers across USA who were in Ivy League classrooms that day…at Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Penn, and Stanford…and admitted their classmates cheered too but they’ve never had the guts to talk about it publicly. They thanked me for guts and courage.
Best,
Wayne
https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2010/05/jim-davidson-i-met-obama-at-columbia-and-told-wayne-root-about-it/
Whether you consider Davidson a reliable source, YMMV
I see Wayne is back on his “if Obama really did go to Columbia” kick.
Also, the cheering and high fives for Reagan’s shooting just sounds like bullshit to me. Unverifiable bullshit.
Bruuno…if you don’t think the MSM hates Libertarians even more than conservatives…you are living in a dream state.
The mainstream media hates conservatives…
But they can at least tolerate them.
I’m a former anchorman and host of 5 shows at CNBC. I have many friends in the media.
Their hate for Ron Paul makes them seem downright loving towards Gingrich.
So no, my commentary wasn’t aimed at Fox News.
Any Libertarian knows the media is not on our side either. And that no media gives Libertarians a fair shake any more than a conservative.
If the media thinks it’s greedy, selfish and cruel to support small spending cuts, small tax cuts, small welfare cuts, school choice and partial privatization of Social Security…and hates Republicans for it…
What do you think that same media thinks of Libertarians who want to cut spending by 50%…eliminate taxes, end public schools and end Social Security.
LOL
Good luck selling those ideas to the MSM.
When I hit the media in the gut, it’s a blow for Libertarians just as much as Fox News or conservatives.
Wayne
Sucking up to the FoxNews crowd I see.