Neff Zone Column

Print Edition: May 27, 2006

QUOTES FROM THE CRATE

I’m often asked how I get the ideas and topics for this column. People are usually taken aback when I tell them I only use about 5 percent of the material I collect. I have a big crate under my desk and as I find things in print that interest me, or things I write down for further research, they get tossed in the crate.

Most of the time I have a hot topic in mind for each column, but every now and then I reach down into the crate to see what’s there. I have such a steel trap mind I’m as surprised as the next guy at what I find. The other day I noticed I’ve accumulated quite a few quotes, things that people have said that have not made their way into one of my columns.

What follows are "Quotes from the Crate." Connect your own dots and draw your own conclusions. I just thought each of these were interesting in one way or another. Feel free to give an "amen," a "baloney," or a "say what?" to each as you see fit.

Newt Gingrich in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Conservatives actually believe in a balanced budget as a moral issue. Conservatives actually believe you ought to control the border as a matter of national security. Conservatives are the people who pay the taxes. They’re not the people who get the pork."

James P. Pinkerton in Newsday: "President Bush has held a pro-immigration opinion for a long time. His business backers convinced him that low wage immigration was good for the economy, Karl Rove convinced him that Hispanic immigrants could be future Republicans, and his father convinced him that the Bush destiny was to preside over improved U.S.-Mexico relations."

Kevin Phillips in his book, "American Dynasty:" "In pivotal states he (Bush) would drop in at Hispanic festivals and parties, sometimes joining in singing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ in Spanish, sometimes partying with a ‘Viva Bush’ mariachi band flown in from Texas."

President George Bush in a speech on April 28, 2006: "I think the national anthem ought to be sung in English."

Conservative columnist Cal Thomas in his Tribune Media syndicated column: "A recent Wall Street Journal editorial called the $100 rebate proposal ‘destined for the pandering hall of fame.’ When Democrats want to hand out checks, Republicans call it ‘welfare,’ and they claim to oppose it on principle. What should it be called when Republicans do it, hypocrisy?...Republicans have forgotten why they wanted power. It was to reduce the size and cost of government and return power – and money – to individuals."

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina discussing immigration reform on "Meet the Press:" If the Republican party can’t sit down with each other and work through a hard problem like this…if we walk away from the table, the American voter is going to walk away from us. We’re in charge of the House, we’re in charge of the Senate, we’re in charge of the White House, we got nobody else to blame."

Eric Sharp in the Detroit Free Press: "George W. Bush’s environmental callousness has gone far beyond oil to include destructive forest management, attempts to weaken air and water standards, proposals to sell vast acreages of public land and an effort to keep the public from having a say in the management of publicly owned natural resources. While Bush supporters will write me off as a pinko sympathizer who works for a liberal newspaper, the president’s efforts to sell off public land were opposed recently by organizations such as the Izaak Walton League, Safari Club International, Texas Wildlife Association, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Association, Ruffed Grouse Society, Federation of Fly Fishers, Quality Deer Management Association and even the National Rifle Association. None of those organizations could be considered bastions of leftist thought."

Bob Herbert in the New York Times: "The Democrats are thinking too much and doing too little. This is a party in need of a moxie transplant. It’s time for the patient to climb off the couch, walk outside and mix it up..."

Joe Klein in his book, "Politics Lost: How American Democracy Was Trivialized by People who think You’re Stupid," bemoaning the over-reliance on political campaign consultants: "I am fed up with the insulting welter of sterilized speechifying, insipid photo ops and idiotic advertising that passes for public discourse these days. American politics has become overly cautious, cynical and bland."

Klein cites the John Kerry campaign as a prime case in point: "The Massachusetts senator seemed eerily intent on replicating every last Democratic mistake of the television era. It was a conundrum: the man who was a hero under fire and was a coward when he wasn’t."

Finally, a word about one of the most intriguing websites I’ve seen a while, and one that gives everyday Americans a chance to wade in on political debate and literally author their own quotable material – www.elevatethedebate.com. To wit, the website’s goal: "Elevate the Debate is an active website encouraging citizens to publish their thoughts and advocacy on public policy in America. We are not a political nor fundraising organization. We are a small group of concerned citizens donating our time toward improving America through honest debate." When you go there be sure to read "A Renewed American Agenda," a great jumping off point for thoughtful, calm, rational conversation.

Jim Neff is a local columnist. Comments to neffzone@gmail.com. Read Neff Zone columns online at www.neffzone.com/cadillacnews.