It was going almost too well for us Republicans for a few weeks. Although the Democrats did convince enough Republicans in the Senate to jump ship and pass their idea of a “stimulus” bill, House Republicans remained unanimously united against it and, more importantly, convinced many Americans that the bill was a move in the wrong direction. The Obama Administration’s mortgage bailout plan received a flurry of criticism, sparked “tea parties” around the nation in protest, and gave Republicans a populist angle from which to battle their Democratic counterparts. The omnibus spending bill came with such a sticker shock of a price that moderate Democrats have lined up with Republicans to oppose it and there is a very real possibility the bill will not get passed in its current form.
We were gaining momentum and unifying for the all important cause of limiting government excess, but then we had to shoot ourselves in the foot with a petty and disturbingly public squabble between RNC Chair Michael Steele and conservative commentator/icon Rush Limbaugh. After countless news stories and editorials about the subject, I know this is probably the last thing most GOPers want to read about, but it’s important we recognize what a giant mistake this was on all sides and don’t let it happen again.
First, this “battle for the leadership” of the Republican Party is exactly what Democrats want Republicans to be caught up in. Whether you love Limbaugh or can live without him, it should be obvious to everyone he is not a party boss. He is a commentator who is really good at two things: 1) Preaching to the choir 2) Aggravating the non-believers. Yes, he does “energize the base” but we will not win elections with the base alone. He has an important role to play in the reformation and reintroduction of Republican ideals but he should never be treated as if he is “above the party.”
Steele didn’t do himself any favors falling into a trap and openly criticizing Limbaugh on national television. All he needed to do is assert his leadership. He didn’t have to criticize Limbaugh to do that. And Limbaugh, being in the game as long as he has been, should have known better than to respond. Having Steele be the third party member to apologize to Limbaugh recently didn’t look good either.
We cannot just say this is a non issue that the media created and Democrats exploited because if either Limbaugh or Steele would have thought of the party and the obvious consequences before they spoke, we would not be in this situation. Now we all have egg on our faces.
This past week should have been horrible for the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats. There should have been no way for them to escape the fact that the Dow Jones is tanking under their leadership and that February was one the worst months economically in American history. Instead they gleefully changed the subject onto how inept the Republicans are at picking a leader and how subservient we are to a radio talk show host.
The party has plenty of capable leaders. The reason Rush Limbaugh is so important as of late is because Obama Administration wants him to be. They know if they build up a straw man and attack him they could ignore the important issues of the day and if they keep the media satisfied with an irrelevant melodrama then less people will pay attention to their cataclysmic failures.
The ruse of Rush as “boss man” is almost up. Even Time Magazine, usually a loyal Obama propaganda newsletter, is calling this petty.
Pettiness has long been an effective tool for Democrats. Next time they try to start a controversy between us or change the subject from the important to the irrelevant, we shouldn’t let it be.
Last 5 posts by Abel S. Delgado
- Let’s Support the Cantwell-McCain Bill - January 6th, 2010
- Deeds Gets Dirty, Doesn’t Win Anyway - November 2nd, 2009
- Obama & The Berlin Wall - October 25th, 2009
- The Nobel Prom King - October 11th, 2009
- Bureaucratizing Interrogations a Horrible Idea - August 28th, 2009
