Comments on: Where The Realists Are http://larison.org/2007/09/07/where-the-realists-are/ n. the principle of good order "Observe the strange inversion of all order and sense! Dignity debased; how vilely is the function of a consul prostituted!" ~The Craftsman Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:58:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4 by: Daniel Larison http://larison.org/2007/09/07/where-the-realists-are/#comment-7618 Sun, 09 Sep 2007 02:38:27 +0000 http://larison.org/2007/09/07/where-the-realists-are/#comment-7618 Thanks for your comment. That's a good point. I should have paid more attention to the source of the quote. The former spokesman for the CPA is not exactly an impartial or reliable guide on what "the base" of the GOP thinks about foreign policy realists, since I'm fairly sure a lot of the CPA people had very low opinions of realists before and after they worked in Baghdad. For that matter, I don't think Dan Senor is regularly taking the mind of townsfolk in rural Iowa. I've noticed a habit of this or that person, usually a pundit or radio host, declaring with great solemnity what "the base" wants and believes, which is strangely almost always what the person speaking wants and believes. "The base" is the phrase that Republicans seem to use in the way that politicians use "the American people"--it is a phrase that they use to bolster and legitimise whatever they are arguing for, regardless of what party or popular opinion on an issue happens to be. Thanks for your comment. That’s a good point. I should have paid more attention to the source of the quote. The former spokesman for the CPA is not exactly an impartial or reliable guide on what “the base” of the GOP thinks about foreign policy realists, since I’m fairly sure a lot of the CPA people had very low opinions of realists before and after they worked in Baghdad. For that matter, I don’t think Dan Senor is regularly taking the mind of townsfolk in rural Iowa.

I’ve noticed a habit of this or that person, usually a pundit or radio host, declaring with great solemnity what “the base” wants and believes, which is strangely almost always what the person speaking wants and believes. “The base” is the phrase that Republicans seem to use in the way that politicians use “the American people”–it is a phrase that they use to bolster and legitimise whatever they are arguing for, regardless of what party or popular opinion on an issue happens to be.

]]> by: Jonathan S. http://larison.org/2007/09/07/where-the-realists-are/#comment-7614 Fri, 07 Sep 2007 23:07:00 +0000 http://larison.org/2007/09/07/where-the-realists-are/#comment-7614 The "base," as I understand it, is comprised of party volunteers. If this is the case, I imagine the typical member of said "base" to be an insurance salesman from Tulsa who always votes for the GOP candidate, devotes his energies to party efforts when he can find the time, and barbeques and powerboats on the weekends. It's hard to imagine this guy, or even full-time, professional party apparatchiks, saying to himself "That Brent Scowcroft really chaps my hide." The “base,” as I understand it, is comprised of party volunteers. If this is the case, I imagine the typical member of said “base” to be an insurance salesman from Tulsa who always votes for the GOP candidate, devotes his energies to party efforts when he can find the time, and barbeques and powerboats on the weekends. It’s hard to imagine this guy, or even full-time, professional party apparatchiks, saying to himself “That Brent Scowcroft really chaps my hide.”

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