Eric Alterman Quotes
George W. Bush … was ideologically obsessed.
Eric Alterman, Historian & Journalist, C-SPAN Book TV, February 1, 2011
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Bush, himself a born-again Christian, made religion in general and fundamentalist Christian values in particular, a major driver of policy making in his administration, subjugating science, medicine, research and social policy to the prevailing views of the evangelical and other fundamentalist Christians. He also claimed that God spoke though him as President. See {589627}.
The Vice President had quoted Ronald Reagan’s famous inaugural address statement {630713}. Once Quayle became the number two man in the government, he was asked if he were part of the problem which elicited this famous response.
Simon Cameron had switched parties from Democrat to Republican. Lincoln said of him:
The Republicans had been badly beaten in the 2012 Presidential Election. Many attributed the loss to the dissatisfaction of the electorate with the Republican ideas which had become more and more conservative in recent decades. Others, like Rubio, wanted to maintain the existing ideas which were very different from the Republican ideas earlier when they won more elections.
When Dole was the Republican Congressional Leader, the Republican Party had a spectrum of liberals and conservatives and Dole was considered to be at the conservative side. However, right wing extremists first gained much influence in the party and then gained control. They then tried to purge the party of those Republicans who were not as far right as they were and were successful in many cases. Liberal Republicans found themselves isolated and tended to retire, become independents, or switch parties. This drove the party even further to the right stimulating Dole’s quip.
While Bannon was more critical of anyone who disagreed wiuth him than most, it was unusual for a conservative to use such harsh tems about a conservative presidential administration.
Eric Alterman is an American historian, journalist, author, media critic, blogger and educator. He is a CUNY Distinguished Professor of English and Journalism at Brooklyn College and the author of eleven books. From 1995 to 2020, Alterman was "The Liberal Media" columnist for The Nation. He is now a contributing writer there, and at The American Prospect where he writes the "Altercation" newsletter.
