GOP vs. Limbaugh

The President likes to blame Rush Limbaugh for the opposition he faces in the Senate, but the GOP? Politico’s John Martin reported earlier that after Limbaugh made the point that Obama is more afraid of Limbaugh than he is of Mitch McConnell, another GOP Senator leapt to McConnell’s defense;

“I think that our leadership, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, are taking the right approach,” [Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga.] said. “I mean, it’s easy if you’re Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh or even sometimes Newt Gingrich to stand back and throw bricks. You don’t have to try to do what’s best for your people and your party. You know you’re just on these talk shows and you’re living well and plus you stir up a bit of controversy and gin the base and that sort of that thing. But when it comes to true leadership, not that these people couldn’t be or wouldn’t be good leaders, they’re not in that position of John Boehner or Mitch McConnell.”

No, Limbaugh isn’t in the same position as McConnell. McConnell is supposed to be a position of leadership, not a position of reconciliation. If members of the GOP are turning towards Limbaugh, it’s because those “leaders” in the GOP have failed us. Limbaugh took the helm of conservatism in 1994 because no one in the Republican Party acted like leaders. And when Newt Gingrich finally formulated a plan to win, Limbaugh stepped aside.

Democrats are scared of Limbaugh, as they should be. The Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee has put up a poll to tell Limbaugh to shut up. Like he’ll listen to a stupid spammed poll. But like everything else the Democrats do, it’s form over substance.

The Washington Post asks “Is Limbaugh the new face of the GOP?” He will be if the Republicans that have been elected to their leadership positions don’t show some of that leadership. But that’s not likely. The Post got a quote from a McCain aide who’s afraid the whole GOP will be lumped in with Limbaugh;

John Weaver, a former senior aide to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), said that Republicans must be careful not to allow their Democratic rivals to paint them all with the brush of Limbaugh.

“The Democrats and the far left will do all they can to grab electoral turf,” said Weaver. “And one sure way to do it is take some of the most controversial voices on the extreme right — like Limbaugh and [Alaska Gov. Sarah] Palin — and try to insist they speak for all members of the center/right movement.”

Only a McCain aide would think Limbaugh and Palin are extreme right. If the dwindling number of Republican Party members can’t point their fingers at themselves for their recent electoral failures, then they might as well pack up and leave, too.

To their credit, Boehner and Cantor told rank and file GOP members to vote ‘no’ on the President’s $825 billion stimulous package, but how much influence do they have among the squishies like Snowe, Collins and Voinavich? Republicans have been cruising towards this trainwreck since 2002 when they took their majority for granted.

So if it takes a lowly entertainer to bring conservatives back to the party, so be it. Like I said, it worked in 1992, and if the Congressional GOP caucus can’t pull their heads out of their collective ass in the next year, it might be our only chance to blunt this assault on the Constitution that we’re facing.

Category: Politics