Limbaugh

On the third day of the Conservative Political Action Conference recently held in Washington DC recently, Rush Limbaugh was the headline speaker, and his speech wound-up an event featuring some of the top names in the conservative movement including Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, and the rather fiery Ann Coulter. All-in-all a list of speakers guaranteed to give liberals nightmares! Limbaugh, who was greeted with a standing ovation, gave a summary of what it means to be a conservative, then turned to discussing their recent electoral record. Limbaugh is of course considered to be a complete nut by the liberals, a rabble rouser by the center, and nearly a prophet to many on the far right. Now it appears that the Republican National Committee is once again making every effort to ignore both Limbaugh and the hard core conservative wing of the party. Limbaugh’s “crime”? His popularity is obviously increasing among young Republicans, he’s certainly not playing to a moderate audience, and he’s not “toeing the party line” as established by RNC Chairman Michael Steele. As one commenter stated “If someone in the Republican party disagrees or has a somewhat different take, they are treated like garbage and called every name in the book, including traitors.” As proof of that statement, when Snowe, Collins, and Spector voted for the Obama stimulus package they were quickly labeled the “3 traitors” by Republicans, but consider the facts. The Senate needed three GOP votes to get the bill passed, and they got exactly three GOP votes. Not more, not less, but exactly the number of votes needed, and strangely enough those votes were from Senators whose seats are not presently at risk. I smell a deal here… but like most political wheeling and dealing, if this is what happened it’s certainly being kept a deep dark secret, and the rant continues.

Limbaugh’s statement of "We can take this country back. All we need is to nominate the right candidate," was nothing more than what a good many pundits have been stating since long before the Republican convention or the national election. How many Republicans were comfortable with John McCain’s candidacy? For that matter, how many Republican voters were comfortable with any of the Republican candidates!? No, it seems that the Republicans sleepily conducted “business as usual” throughout what proved to be a most important campaign, where Sarah Palin was the only breath of fresh air to be found! This is why they lost in November, and this is why fewer and fewer Americans call themselves republicans. The Republican Party has to offer alternatives that will work. If they don't, they won't attract the middle-of-the-road "silent majority" that’s so crucial to success in national politics. Nothing we don’t already know. But Limbaugh is being treated like a pariah by the GOP for saying just that, and particularly so by Michael Steele who described Rush’s comments as “incendiary”! Despite the ever popular stereotype view of Republicans being big city “fat cat businessmen” in a three piece suit complete with oversize watch fob and top hat, it’s the red-neck, bible belt, gun toting, hard core conservatives have always been the backbone of the party, and those are the very people who listen to Gingrich, Limbaugh, and Ann Coulter. Instead of pushing them off into limbo, the RNC had better start cultivating those very people! There's a storm brewing in this country, and the RNC had better get on the band wagon if they don’t want the silent majority and the hard core conservatives to jump ship and leave them far behind.

Washington has seemingly forgotten that they work for us, not the other way around, a point that Republicans should be stressing day and night. Throwing away taxpayer money is not the answer to our economic woes. I’m sick and tired of republican congressmen raking assorted CEO's over the coals for making poor business decisions, while those same congressmen have been wasting taxpayer money for decades. I’m also sick and tired of hearing that it’s my responsibility to rescue people that, knowingly, bought more house than they could afford, particularly so when I know very well that I can’t afford to buy so much as a used car right now!
At the moment Obama is still hugely popular with the majority of the American people, but cracks are already showing in the Democratic façade. The numerous failed cabinet nominees aren’t helping any, nor is the continued threat of a total economic collapse as described by both Republican and Democratic economists. It seems the rest of the world is looking to the US to shore up their failing banks, Pakistan has become a political powder keg yet again, and no sooner has George Bush left office than North Korea is back to rattling sabers and threatening the South with war, along with threatening China and Japan. The Beltway insiders are publicly questioning Obama’s plans, and there is a small but growing rebellion within the Democratic ranks as well. (Many of Mr. Obama’s tax and spend plans are already drawing more than a little Democratic opposition.) In an attempt to make political points, congress is loudly telling the world all about what we’re going to do in Iraq and Afghanistan, which is no way to preserve the lives of US troops, or to win any wars either. Adding insult to injury on the military front, the Democrats plan to further reduce the size and capabilities of our overstrained armed forces over the next four years. Further adding to his problems, Mr. Obama has a tendency to overly depend on his political advisors for final decisions, rather like the trouble prone regime of G.W. Bush. There is a growing protest among the American people to demand that Congress and the President listen to us for a change. The Obama economic plan is nothing more than increased taxes and more spending, not anything new and it’s certainly not change. It’s simply a rehash of FDR’s failed New Deal, and it’s not the way to handle a worldwide economic free fall! I’d say that our unproven President has a full set of problems to deal with, and I question the ability of his regime to successfully handle them. Were I the chair of the RNC, I’d be heavily stressing those points in the press!

Rush is right I think, in that the Republicans are unknowingly being handed the 2012 election on a platter, or at least they will be, if they can get their act together, if they come up with an effective platform that will handle our nations problems, and of course if they can find a few viable candidates.

On a more pleasant note, Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig, or, if you don’t happen to speak Gaelic, have a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!