Conservatives At War With Themselves

Conservatives At War With Themselves

After spending weeks arguing over talk radio host Rush Limbaugh's leadership role in the Republican Party earlier this year, tensions within the GOP and the wider conservative movement are escalating again. This month, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) sharply criticized Fox News' radical right-wing host Glenn Beck, saying that "only in America can you make that much money crying," and Beck is "aligned with cynicism" (criticism which Beck described as a "badge of honor"). Graham later argued that the Fox News host and in front of a group of fired-up tea party activists (who are now also fighting amongst themselves), the South Carolina senator said bluntly, "We're not going to be the party of angry white guys." Soon after, Beck lashed out at Graham. "You gotta ask yourself, is the problem the angry white guys or is it the Obama-lite guys?" Beck said referring to Graham. "I think I'm going to stick with the angry people over there. Because they're only angry about you," Beck exclaimed. But the backlash against Beck from the conservative establishment has begun to boil over. On Sunday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich expressed concern with the latest Weekly Standard cover that identifies Limbaugh, Beck, and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin as the faces of the GOP. "You know, you can have a very, very intense movement of 20 percent," Gingrich argued, referring to their respective bases of support, adding, "[but] you can't govern." Indeed, Gingrich has been making the very same arguments in a new intramural dispute over which conservative candidate to support in New York's 23rd Congressional District special election coming up next month -- a dispute that has a dispute that has split various factions within the conservative movement.