Limbaugh leader of the Republican Party?
In the Washington Times this morning, Sean Lengell quotes Rahm Emanuel on “Face the Nation” yesterday in regards to Rush Limbaugh;
“He is the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party,” said Rahm Emanuel on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Mr. Emanuel blasted Mr. Limbaugh’s recent comments that Mr. Limbaugh hopes the new president and his policies fail, adding that Republicans are wary of crossing the powerful radio personality, whose daily show is listened to by millions of Americans.
Mr. Limbaugh has “called for President Obama to fail. That’s his view,” Mr. Emanuel said. “And whenever a Republican criticizes him, they have to run back and apologize to him and say they were misunderstood.”
Well, Limbaugh isn’t the leader of the Republican party – he may be the voice of the party, but he’s not the leader. D.L. Hughley had that discussion with Michael Steele this weekend on CNN;
Here’s the thing – and I had this discussion last night with one of our loveliest readers – if Michael Steele wants to be the “de facto” leader of the party, he’d better start acting like it. I supported his chairmanship because I had faith in his conservatism and his judgment.
The first weekend in his new position, Steele did a YouTube video rebuttal of the president’s radio address and emailed it to hundreds of bloggers who all dutifully posted it to their respective blogs – then nothing. Every weekend I scour the internet looking for his repeat of the excellent strategy and I come up empty. Is it any wonder that the Left considers Limbaugh the leader of our party? Limbaugh is talking every day for three hours and has a web presence to which people subscribe to BUY his OPINIONS – why isn’t Michael Steele doing the same exact thing? Steele is powerful speaker, his politics mirror much of Limbaugh’s – are you telling me that Steele couldn’t do the same thing on every Conservative blog and not reach as many people?
Just like the Republicans’ “Contract With America” was an excellent strategy that won them the 1994 elections…and they never repeated it.
It seems to me that Republicans are relying on Limbaugh to carry their water. That’s why the entire party is considered the Limbaugh Party – because our party leaders won’t drag themselves out of the cloak rooms and do exactly what Limbaugh is doing. Yeah, they send me cutsey bumperstickers, lapel pins, autographed pictures and scare letters about Nancy Pelosi coming for my guns – but I’ll probably already vote for them. How about becoming a presence in the national discussion instead of sticking pins in an Obama voo-doo doll in the closet at the Heritage Foundation?
They’re not going to attract people back to the party by hoping we’ll all vote against Obama – they have to give us something to vote for. And they have to do it themselves…yourself, Mr. Steele. Criticize Limbaugh all you want – but the reason Republicans have to go crawling back to him with an apology is because YOU people at the Republican National Committee don’t have your own voice that SHOULD be more powerful than that of a mere entertainer.
Everyone was talking about Limbaugh’s speech at CPAC this weekend – why doesn’t Michael Steele want everyone talking about him like that every weekend?
Added: I just noticed that Michelle Malkin wrote about Steele’s criticism of Limbaugh, too. (And HotAir has Limbaugh’s response) I found the link to Michelle’s post on my Facebook page while I was searching for the RNC’s and Michael Steele’s presence on Facebook. Steele’s page still says he’s the chair at GOPAC and the RNC’s latest entry announces Huckabee’s withdrawal from the primary.
Is it any wonder that the Democrats are kicking our ass on the internet when our party can’t update their social media? They don’t have one intern that spend five minutes a day on it?
Category: None
Jonn-
You’re right on all counts. People want someone to give them to vote for. Too bad, that they’re all MIA and Rush happens to be visible.
Limbaugh’s speech was nothing if not motivating and passionate. The left overlooks that the wished for failure of the Obama’s stimulus is because we as AMERICANS will all suffer.
And Steele is effectively an idiot if he is going to dis a person that can help his position. And I am saying exactly what I mean.
I am a Bluewater Big Game Fisherman, and I cannot recall how often, when we have fought and caught a fish the damned Captain will want to move to a different spot, change the lures, or otherwise change what we’d been doing. If something works and works well, keep at it. And yes, I agree on Micheal Steele being the Conservative that the party needs to lead it anywhere, but he must lead, must be visible, and must direct the flow of information.
Rush, like Obummer, is a good speaker. Unfortunately, one speaks the truth and the other speaks of what he wants us to hear rather than on what he’ll deliver.
nuf sed
I have told the RNC several times that I will not be giving them money or anything else until they start acting like Republicans. I wanted Steele cause he talked the talk and was hoping he would have the balls to walk the walk. If the best he can do is lambast Rush then I have no use for him. I want leadership and I want it NOW.
Hey, I can walk and chew gum at the same time. I think Steele can be the leader of the Republicans while still “sticking pins in an Obama voo-doo doll in the closet at the Heritage Foundation.”
heh.
I didn’t watch Limbaugh, but I did read the transcript.
Should note I also don’t listen to him on the radio except by accident.
His speech was vacuous at best. We’re getting screwed by vacuous speech makers. <—– hint, hint.
Steele, Jindal, Palin, et al, SHOULD be leading the way. You got that right!
Jonn,
What strikes me about your Piece, which I wholeheartedly agree with, is that I just heard, of all people, El Rushbo himself say essentially many of the same, exact things, right down to the “Scare Letters” (Rush called them “Talking Points”) riff. The only point that I might respectfully disagree with you on is that you appear to view Rush as just an Entertainer. He is most certainly that, but he is also a Powerful Educator and Motivator, and therein lies the key to his popularity, success and what I perceive to be a role of extreme significance in saving our Country and our Party.
I too hope that Mr. Steele will somehow experience some kind of Ideological Epiphany and serendipitously find his Gonads while searching for pocket change, but, in the interim, I will continue to listen to Rush, as well as Michelle and the NeocAnn for inspiration and articulation of the Conservative Principles that the current Republican Leadership seems to be having some inexplicable fear or inability of expressing.
Rush is not a republican he is a Conservative.
bman,
You are absolutely correct, but there was a time when the two went hand in hand, that’s what’s so spooky about the current Political Landscape. I think we are, fundamentally, a Two Party System. The only alternative would a be third Party, presumably, for this discussion, the Conservative Party.
That would leave us with, what, DemocRat, DemocRat Lite (Republican, as currently manifesting itself) and Conservative. I don’t see anything constructive in putting ourselves in the position of having to form Coalition Governments. That’s “Can’t we just all get along?” on Steroids and doesn’t provide for clear Mandates and Policy.
Until I find at least one of the Presidential policies that I want to succeed, I would want them to fail. It’s that simple.
Olga,
Good girl!
I look at it this way; If Mr Steele whom I felt certain reflected Conservative values quite well can’t be on the front lines leading the charge and by example? He needs to get a new line of work because this one sure as sam hell don’t fit his pistol.
Jonn’s right..One video then *zippo*??
I’m a Conservative first and a Republican second, Mr. Steele is acting like a RINO and I fear he will throw Gun Owners under the bus along with any Real Conservatives.
At this point he hasn’t shown any gonads to defend conservative causes let alone the Constitution from this present admin abuses. He also was the only one running for the RNC Chair that doesn’t own a firearm, kind of revealing and show’s his lack of defending the Second Amendment.
I think he’s the wrong choice at the wrong time and Rush could run circles around him. If the RNC and GOP keep going liberal lite I’ll re-register as an Indy. The RINO’s will destroy the party if they are not taken down and Real Conservative Value take a lead.
AZRobert
Looks like you’re preaching to the choir.
And top dead center, as usual.
i agree with you jonn well said. but i am just wondering, for insurance you know, if an o’voodoo doll is such a bad thing? 😛
Leaders must have a clear purpose, otherwise, they could not lead starving wolves to meat. Steele, sadly, showed he lacked the courage to advance the conservative cause. Yes, Rush is a leader.
The Conservative/Republican leadership lost its ass when it began to try to appeal to Democrats by being more like their Liberal leaders. To get democrats, one should become more conservative. My parents, my aunts, n uncles all voted Democrat, (60 years ago). They would turn over in their graves to see what the working mans party has become. Rush nailed it when he illustrated that Liberal Democrats are all about making people feel bad, feel guilty, feel that they owe something to others. On Rush’s ability- Someone, anyone please enlighten me by criticizing his message. I have, so far, watched the first 5 1/2 You Tube segments of his CPAC speech. Anyone who has stood or sat beside me while listening to someone else knows full well that I have no problem with saying “BULLSHIT!”. Watching the first 1/2 of his speech I didn’t feel the urge even once. Yes folks, he is an entertainer. Yes he is opinionated, (that is not a bad thing), and yes his speech sometimes wanders; but his message is well thought out, and one of value to those of us who can see where the current Menege A Trois is taking this country. El Rushbo is about as good a messenger as the Conservative movement has. Hence his very large audience and very large income as a result of it. He is the preponderance of cause for the Liberal Left to want the “Fairness Doctrine” re-enacted. People listen to him, and one would do well to criticize only what is wrong, rather than throw a blanket over the man, (that’d take one hell of a big blanket!), (Oops, now SD will say that I made a joke about fat people.).
nuf sed
Airborne Injun:
Hey Red Man, e-mail Jonn for forwarding to me. (He has mine.) I want your e-address so we can communicate, and plan a raid or discuss past raids, or raid someones cache. Some things are better not said in the public forum.
I recently was enlightened with the fact that General Custer got Siouxed.
nuf sed
F.O. I’ll get up with you tommorrow if you’re gonna be in your A.O.
Olga, well said, and in just two sentences. A breath of fresh air, after listening to the talking heads on TV, telling us why we shouldn’t listen to Rush, and why we absolutely must hope for the Obamunist and his plans to succeed.
UpNorth,
I heard Rush on the car radio on Monday when I was finally making my way to work through the snow, and he was responding to those accusations: If you do not like me saying that I want the Presidential policies to fail, please tell me which of the Presidential policies do you want to succeed?? The thunderous crickets kept showing up every time he asked that question…
Vacuous? ponsdorf?
There must be a vacuum in your brain that sucks out the meaning of all of the words you read as you read them.
Perhaps your rhetoric should be listed in the thesaurus with the rest of the synonyms for vacuous.