NYT's David Brooks Goes Off Deep End with Ludicrous 'First They Came' Rant

In Tuesday's New York Times print edition, supposed in-house conservative David Brooks ended his column bemoaning how the Republican base (nicknamed "wingers," who are "Republicans on the extreme") is ruining the "mainstream" Grand Old Party by violating a Godwin's Law corollary, namely (rephrased for columnists) that whoever inappropriately alludes to the Nazi era in German automatically fails to make his point effectively.

Brooks's final bark: "First they went after the Rockefeller Republicans, but I was not a Rockefeller Republican. Then they went after the compassionate conservatives, but I was not a compassionate conservative. Then they went after the mainstream conservatives, and there was no one left to speak for me." Yep, he's trying to claim he's to the right of George W. Bush, but that he's not sufficiently pure enough for today's "wingers." Sure, David.

In the run-up to his wrap-up outrage, Brooks lamented how really great guys like Orrin Hatch and Dick Lugar have to be dishonest to get reelected:


Gosh, if only these "wingers" would stop fighting for "extreme" things like constitutional adherence and balanced budgets. That's crazy talk. $5 trillion in deficits in 4 years and executive "we can't wait for Congress" rule? These would appear to be petty annoyances.

For this to work, Brooks needs to rewrite history, so he can misapply it to today:

... professional Republicans ... (are) Opossum Republicans. They tremble for a few seconds then slip into an involuntary coma every time they’re challenged aggressively from the right.

After all those "moderates" were driven from the party, Ronald Reagan won two landslides, despite only appealing to "rigid" conservatives. Sure, David. And if you think the "establishment" and the grass-roots are almost on the same page, and that the establishment isn't actively going after the Tea Party challenge, you're the one living in an "insular" bubble. You certainly know nothing of what is happening in Ohio.

Erick Ericksen's reaction at RedState to Brooks's "First They Came" riff provides useful historical perspective:


The pretense that David Brooks is meaningfully conservative in any way that matters truly offends. The purpose of his presence is to tell Times readers that anyone to the right of him is an extremist who shouldn't be allowed in polite company. What a tool.

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.

Tom Blumer
Tom Blumer
Tom Blumer is a contributing editor for NewsBusters.