Who is the most intelligent conservative writer/commentator today?

[Lauren2882]

What about dumbest liberal?

[BillZBubb]

1. Maureen Dowd

The dumbest liberal is Thomas Friedman.

[Lauren2882]

10. Would you really consider him a liberal? n/t

[SlavesandBulldozers]

2. nevermind

nah

[Stephanie]

3. Oxymoron

Oxymoran?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

4. Strange as it is to say, I'd have to go with Pat Buchanan.

Many excellent essays at the American Conservative mag. His positions are at least consistent, and he is intelligent and writes well.

[AlCzervik]

5. The Author and sometimes pundit

Kevin Phillips.

[Somawas]

6. Smartest conservative

is probably Buchanan and American Conservative Magazine. I know they're paleo cons, but a lot of the stuff is well written. Some of it I can respect for both values and intellectual integrity.

[mmonk]

7. The most intelligent conservative writer SHOULD

be an easy question since so many are not and you would think an intelligent one would stick out. But it's really not easy.

[Lauren2882]

9. Right.

I'm having the same problem. I know I've read stuff expressing a conservative viewpoint and thought "This is smart" but I can't recall anything off the top of my head.

[AP]

8. Smartest C: K. Phillips. Dumbes L: Cokie Roberts (if she's still claiming

to be L).

[Lauren2882]

11. I'm a little embarrassed

I don't think I've heard of Kevin Phillips; he's been mentioned twice.

[itsnoteasybeingreen]

14. As far as conservatives go

Kevin Phillips is the man, one of my favorite authors. You should pick up a copy of "Wealth and Democracy", that pretty much lays it all out. He just came out with a new one too, I'm sure someone here can name it for you, but my memory escapes me right now.

[AlCzervik]

20. Phillip's new book is

American Dynasty. It's about 4 generations of the Bushes. He holds them in more conrempt than we do. he was on cspan about 2 months ago and some wingnut called in to bitch him out, the guy says "You don't like George Bush do you??!!!" And Phillips just very looked into the camera and said in very old skool speak..."No I don't care for any of them, thats right". He's pretty low key which makes his delivery all the more potent. If you go to www.pbs.org/now
and look him up you can read some transcripts of he and Bill Moyers.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

13. I don't think Cokie Roberts has ever been a liberal...where did...

...you read that?

Even her father, a Democrat from Louisiana, was considered to be very conservative. In fact, that was why LBJ chose Boggs to be on the Warren Commission, even though he later broke with the conclusions of the Warren Commission.

Boggs died when his small plane crashed in Alaska in 1972.

[AP]

16. She claims to be a Dem. She got her daughter a job with a Dem political

consultancy. Her connections are with Dems. On NPR she tries to fool unsuspecting middle class, white suburban women that she's on their side.

She clearly isn't though.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

22. Is that smart or dumb?

On NPR she tries to fool unsuspecting middle class, white suburban women that she's on their side.


:shrug:

[AP]

26. Nobody I know is falling for it.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

30. Then it's dumb. Phew!

[AP]

18. Steve Roberts, her husband, also pretends to be a dem. He's dumb too.

[mitchtv]

12. Dumbest Liberal? Margaret Carlson

tho, I don't read much of Dowd.
Kevin Phillips? sorry don't know him either.

[loftycity]

15. Kevin Phillips

"American Dynasty" book was an eye opener.

[jjmalonejr]

17. Pat Buchanan

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

19. A good example of a good essay by Pat Buchanan below:

From his "American Conservative" magazine:

http://amconmag.com/3_1_04/cover.html

[AP]

21. I can't believe Pat B. is pulling all the love. He's an idiot.

[Jade Fox]

23. Steve Chapman of the Chicago Times n/t

[VolcanoJen]

24. George Will. And yes, I'm biting my lip as I say that.

He's always been intelligent, and well-written and spoken, and has a love of baseball which has always made him slightly sympathetic. He simply went over-the-neocon-frenzy-top during the march to war with Iraq, but he's pulled back the reins a bit lately, and has been making sense.

No pass from me, of course. It's an inherently troubling question. :-)

on edit: typo

[Lauren2882]

33. Yeah I've enjoyed his recent editorials

Criticism of the Iraq War, or anything, is more satisfying when it comes from an unusual suspect.

[Poiuyt]

25. Is William F. Buckley still around?

I haven't heard much about him these days, but I used to have respect for him.

[napi21]

27. Lou Dobbs.

I know he used to be very conservative, but he sure makes a lot of sense in all his broadcasts in quite a few months. I try not to ever miss his show.

I haven't heard him say he supports either candidate, but he's one of a very few who has the ba**s to argue with extremists!

[General Discontent]

35. I agree with you.

Lou rules. I have been watching him regularly of late. He has been giving the neo-cons the smackdown pretty regularly. My only problem with Lou is that he is cozy with guests such as Kissenger and Woosley. When they come on, that is when I change the channel.

DWolfman

[dsc]

28. Margaret Carlson

is the laziest if not the dumbest liberal. Susan Estrich is also quite unimpressive. For smartest conservative maybe Newt Ginrich or William Buckley. Neither are people I agree with but both have bold, often reasonably well thought out ideas.

[charlie]

29. Gingrich isn't bright

Just brash.

[dsc]

34. Like it or not

he kicked our ass in 1994. He schemed successfully to turn himself into the Speaker of the House. He was also corrupt and vain which did him in in the end but he was no one's fool.

[charlie]

36. Right

If you want to characterize unalloyed ruthlessness as a measure of intelligence, Newt was a mental giant, eclipsed only by the genius of Joe McCarthy (and perhaps lately, Tom DeLay). But I'd say he had precious few "often reasonably well thought out ideas." Most of the time he was a moonbat.

[dsc]

38. Supposedly he came up with the Contract for America

which was brilliant. It was short, easy to remember, and struck a cord with the people. Again, the ideas stank but he was a political genius who thank god over reached.

[charlie]

39. Yeah, Contract With America

was Newt's doing. I know it's regarded as his slick coup de grace, but who really knows the extent it truly resonated with voters? It was hokum, political theatrics, the sort of stuff that ordinarily would peg bullshit meters of an electorate naturally suspicious of all politicians. If Repubs hadn't mounted a full-court press to smear Democrats in the preceding years, I doubt it would've amounted to much. The takedown of Jim Wright, Barney Frank's live-in prostitute, House Bank check-kiting scandal, Tom Foley as a closeted bathhouse cruiser, midnight payraises, Whitewater, Travelgate, Troopergate, Hillary Healthcare... a ceaseless drip-drip of slime that made it look like Democrats were a party unfit to govern. I think that's what cinched the Repubs' ascension, not the the CWA.

[Yupster]

37. I really enjoyed Gingrich's book

Gettysburg.

A well researched "what if" on the Civil War.

Wasn't believable in the end, but I think that was it's value. It showed just how many things had to be stretched and pulled to make a Confederate victory at Gettysburg. It pretty much proved it wasn't going to happen.

Very readable though. I couldn't put it down.

I think he has a sequel coming.

[AntiCoup2K4]

31. I'll have to go with Pat Buchanan

He's written several great articles against the war and the neocon shitbag traitors' agenda. He's also spoken out against them on his various TV appearances.

Does that excuse him for some of the ignorant shit he's said in the past? Of course not. But I'll argue that stuff with the real conservatives like Pat once the traitors are behind bars.

[rumguy]

32. Buchanon and Will

[T Bone]

40. What about Ben Wattenberg ?

I have read some things by him that have been incisive, not too cliche'd, as is much of the claptrap from the reichwing.

[zaj]

41. Chris Matthews and Lou Dobbs...

I don't consider matthews a conservative, but since a lot of people here seem to, and he's my #1 guy, I thought he deserved some credit.

I've also been very impress with Lou Dobbs.

[Andromeda]

42. William Crystal and Pat Buchanan...

both very intelligent -- badly misguided -- but nonetheless intelligent.

The dumbest liberal has to be Margaret Carlson. On "Capital Gang" she makes me hysterical with her witticisms, NOT.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

43. William Crystal = "City Slickers" comedian. William Kristol = PNACer.

"The man ate bacon 3 meals a day. You can't DO that."

[Andromeda]

45. Hahahahahaha!

I had a brain cramp; Kristol, of course. I always blow names but it sounds the same!:silly:

[Zorra]

44. Geraldo Rivera.

:shrug:

[Disturbed]

46. Smartest.

Dobbs. This doesn't mean that I agree with him on everything but the anti-outsourcing, anti-mfg. re-locations stands he has taken are fantastic.