Rush Limbaugh's ratings practically doubled last week, thanks to Barack Obama.
Ever since White House operatives decreed that America's most popular talk show blowhard was the de facto leader of the Republican Party, the GOP has been tearing itself apart.
Michael Steele, the telegenic new chairman of the Republican National Committee, called Limbaugh's tirades "ugly" and "toxic," then groveled an apology. There are calls from within his own ranks for Steele to step down.
The party of Lincoln, Eisenhower and Reagan is in disarray. Its leadership is divided, its base of support is shrinking, every poll, statistic and projection points to a permanent Republican minority.
But the GOP has a knack for confounding its critics. They wrote obituaries after Richard Nixon's impeachment; six years later, Ronald Reagan was in the White House. They thought Bill Clinton's victory signaled the beginning of the end; two years later, Republicans seized control of Congress.
What do the Republicans have to do to gain ground in next year's midterm elections? How can they limit President Obama to one failed term?
Voices within the conservative movement are deeply conflicted. For some, it means moderating the party's stance, especially on social issues. But others believe Republicans must rediscover their inner steel. They must purge their thinking of wet, centrist apologias.
"The Republicans need to take a step back from the big-tent philosophy," said Tom McClusky, a vice-president of the Family Research Council, a bastion of social conservatism. "All a big tent does is attract a lot of clowns."
This is why Steele is so at odds with the grassroots. The former lieutenant governor of Maryland became the first African American to chair the RNC in February, with a mandate to modernize the party and broaden its base.
But he has been unable to counter a White House campaign that has repeatedly painted Limbaugh as "the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party," as White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel put it.
At first, Steele dismissed
Limbaugh's antics as "entertainment. Yes, it is incendiary. Yes, it is ugly."
But he reversed himself -- "In no way do I want to diminish his voice. I do apologize." -- in the wake of a torrent of criticism from Limbaugh and his supporters.
The whole affair prompted Ada Fisher, a member of the RNC, to send an e-mail to committee members Thursday calling for Steele's resignation on the grounds that he had created "a Republican horror show."
A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows the Republican Party at a historic low in public support, with only 26 percent of Americans viewing the GOP favorably, compared with 49 percent who are favorably disposed to the Democrats.
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who was a senior adviser to John McCain during his presidential bid, pointed out at a forum last month that Republicans are rejected by most people under 65, most women, and majorities in every region of the country except the South and the Plains states.
"It was thoroughly depressing to me, as the policy director, to look at polling data that suggested not only did the American public think Republicans weren't for health-care reform, they actually think that Republicans didn't want people to have health insurance," Mr. Holtz-Eakin bemoaned.
"We need to be more appealing and open to a broader demographic," he maintained.
In every part of the electorate that's expanding, Republicans are increasingly unpopular. Both young (under 30) and Latino voters now prefer Democrats over Republicans by about two-to-one.
The base of the Republican Party now consists of a shrinking number of white voters, most of them from states that used to practise segregation, and many of whom are anti-immigrant, in a society where immigrants and their children are an increasingly dominant voting block.
"If you're asking, how does the Republican Party move out of that? The answer is, I don't know," said Gary Segura, a Stanford University political scientist who studies minority voting trends.
But there are conservatives who do have an answer, and it consists of two words: Prop 8.
On election day, 52 per cent of Californians voted in support of Proposition 8, which amended the state's constitution to prohibit gay marriage. The California Supreme Court is hearing an appeal, but is expected to uphold the result. Black and Latino voters heavily supported Prop 8.
"Once you dig down ... the American people are more conservative than what the Democratic Party is representing," said McClusky of the Family Research Council.
E-mail John Ibbitson at jibbitson(at)globeandmail.com
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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Shrinking GOP
"not only did the American public think Republicans weren't for health-care reform, they actually think that Republicans didn't want people to have health insurance"
No surprise here. With six years of majority in both houses, and a Republican president, the GOP did nothing to address the health care issue. When it came up in the campaign, once again the GOP trotted out a potential tax cut. When Clinton proposed health care reform, the Republicans screamed that there were a lot of other solutions. We have not seen a single one.
Before Reagan "reformed" taxes, health care expenses were 100% deductible, including insurance premiums. As were charitable contributions and unemployment insurance.
Republicans have one trick, tax cuts. Tax cuts do not solve the big problems we face as a nation. It is very difficult to give any credence to the GOP after the disaster of the last eight years.
The conservative position has been to stand in firm opposition to "government" intrusion to ban child labor in 1900, allow female suffrage in 1920, create the FDIC in 1933, enforce black voting rights in 1965.
And they wonder why they have a hard time attracting young and minority voters.
Liberal stupidity
Enjoy it, Libs. Your poll numbers are already shrinking. Every time our teleprompter only Prez speaks the market falls 300 points. Soon his poll numbers will mirror the Dow, because people will realize his tired old socialists policies are not new but retreads of failed European big-government programs that have failed to make the EU a major economic force. If people were smart enough to realize it was liberalism that got us into this with govt prodding Fannie May and Freddie Mac to relax lending standards then Uh-Bama (the live version without the teleprompter) would have lost last year. I'm glad McCain lost so we can witness jimmy Carter 2 instead of quasi-conservatism like we had the last 8 years. Once people realize these liberals have no clue what they are doing and get tired of the Dow falling and the Misery Index rising we will see Conservatives retake Congress without the Rhinos we have had the last time.
your joking,right?
hello! gop congress, court, and using the term advisedly, president (the decision maker). Next time you guys are in charge how about get off your asses and do some work, try to help the country instead of f---ing it up, and instead of using any effort put forth to denegrate the other side. The sh*t tube, you describe us going down, was built by YOU. Either help us fix things or get out of the way. [By the way i hope gw tells us what he was doing (someday) during the 12 or 13 hours we didn't hear from him (and/or the handlers)after 9/11. Of course by time if/when he talks, how spun can it be done? I can not imagine any president, especially modern president, not being visible after that sadness- not even (former Saint) Reagan, who many believe was a figment of Nancy's horrorscope, even he woulda been talking to us.]
Reinvent taxes?
Well Jo,
I have the guts to put in my real name. Reinvent taxes??? I have yet to see a society taxed into prosperity. Maybe you have. Do let me know where Utopia exists.
Canadian health care is set up completely different than the USA.
We have the unique problem of letting anyone into our country and 'milking our system to death', because of the so called 'Right to health care'.
I'd like to think of a way to make it happen but the math seems to get into the way, so instead of venting your Utopianism, here are the facts in the USA.
There are 47 million people uninsured in the USA. Twice the population of Canada itself. If every single uninsured lined up in a row, standing in a two foot square area with each of their hands on the shoulder of the person standing in front of them, that line would extend for 17,803 miles long, 3/4 the circumference of the Earth, and every single one of them has not paid one penny.
You like to vent? What is your answer, ... instead of your opinion?
It is easy to gripe. Please let me know your answer of coming up with the money.
No gripes. No opinions, just a simple business plan to make it work.
Bob Galvin, Meriden, NH.
ENTROPY IN THE GOP
If all else fails, maybe they can get Michael Jackson to pair up with Sarah Palin as party leaders and candidates.
You may be on to something
You may be on to something there. Michael Jackson and John McCain do share the same birth date... hmm... it could be written in the stars!
GOP in Disarray
The story says:
"Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who was a senior adviser to John McCain during his presidential bid, pointed out at a forum last month that Republicans are rejected by most people under 65, most women, and majorities in every region of the country except the South and the Plains states."
There are people in the Plains states who also reject the Republicans. Those of us who know what's the matter with Kansas are working for a better day when our neighbors stop listening to the Rushes and Dubyas.
GOP cuts its own throat
""At first, Steele dismissed
Limbaugh's antics as "entertainment. Yes, it is incendiary. Yes, it is ugly."
But he reversed himself -- "In no way do I want to diminish his voice. I do apologize." -- in the wake of a torrent of criticism from Limbaugh and his supporters.""
The RNC, seeing its support evaporate over the last 2 years, rightly selected someone to make the GOP more inclusive. What Steele said about Limbaugh above, is in fact true.
But when he went groveling back to Limbaugh, as others have... he signaled that the GOP's attempts to be more inclusive are mere window dressing. And the majority of voters now see the GOP to be as extreme, incendiary and as ugly, and as Limbaugh is himself.
Had Steele and other moderate Republicans stuck to their guns and treated Limbaugh as just another conservative voice, that would have been one thing.
But by making endless "mea culps" to Limbaugh, they further erode their already virtually extinct credibility.
Had Steele stuck to his guns, the effort to tie Republicans to Limbaugh's extremism would have backfired instead of proving what Limbaugh spews does represent what ALL Republicans really think.
Republican Party
The Republican party lost its way when it ignored Barry Goldwater's admonitions to eschew the religious right, when it kowtowed to the chamber of commerce and pressed for open borders, and especially when it became, under George W Bush, the party of really big government spending.
In truth, neither party cares a whit about the public interest. Warning after warning that the GSEs were going to cause an economic crisis went unheeded, or worse. Indeed, Christopher "Friend of Angelo" Dodd and Barney "Comrade of the Month" Frank succeeded in thwarting investigation and regulation of Fannie Mae, while most, but not all, of the remainder of congress sat on its hands. One brave soul, Chris Shays of Connecticut, gave warning of the impending crisis, and was not only ignored, but voted out of office by the limousine liberals of Connecticut. The warning of another, John Dingell, fell on deaf ears. The 1993 Report to the President and Congress on Origins and Causes of the S & L debacle (ISBN 0 16 041879 8) has been suppressed, and I have probably one of the few copies still in existence.
Sunday we read in the Washington Post that the FHA is still insuring fraudulent mortgages, for which the taxpayer (that would be me and some of you) will pick up the bill.
What a country. For those unhappy with their 201Ks: where have you been for the past ten years while congress was "burning down the house?" (Look up Burning Down the House on YouTube).
Everyone gets the government some people deserve. house dot gov, senate dot gov
Prop 8 and California
"Once you dig down ... the American people are more conservative than what the Democratic Party is representing,...", not even. McClusky apparently is looking for any excuse to just do what they have been doing. First of all, America didn't vote for Prop. 8, California did. At the same time we voted for Prop. 8 we also voted for Barack Obama who ran mostly populist and then tacked back towards centrist. With his campaign promises and now the country screaming towards April, with his vast programs and proposals being implemented and his approval ratings continuing to be good and high, where exactly is the country all that conservative? They don't want to see that the country's demographics are shifting. Just today there are articles out discussing the country's shift from Christianity to just not as religious as we used to be I guess. Still, if you are the Republican Party and you gained your moral majority with big tent preachers, the writing should be on the wall and they come up with Prop. 8 is the way, the truth and the light. That's sad. Republican answers to the common cold and cancer are tax cuts. One of the biggest hints as to the direction of this country was US citizens going to Canada and Mexico to purchase medications for a hand full of dollars vs. the hundreds we pay here and the President a Republican and both houses run by Republicans respond that we stay here and pay the hundreds of dollars. This sort of cluelessness and lack of compassion that is the Republican party is way people are gravitating away from.
the Rush Want list
1--He wants Obama to fail.
2--He wants Obama's effort to save this country from financial disaster will fail.
3--He wants millions of Americans to have no health insurance.
4--He wants Obama's efforts to get Americans out of Iraq will fail.
Will he ever admit that he is the only one who wants those things? Please, Republicans, nominate Rush and Sarah for president and vice-president, and Coulter for secretary of state so that what came close to an American empire can follow the Roman and British.
Rush's followers are doodoo heads. Wake up Religious right!
Rush Limbaugh is a comedian not a conservative.
Those who follow him are doodoo heads not ditto heads.
The "rush, rush, rush" nonsense he led during the CPAC meeting showed exactly what he is -- a lime-light addict. Nothing more. Anyone can spout half-truths that make his supporters shout with glee -- but actually running a country and taking responsibility for the backlash of these decisions is the halmark of a true leader. The doodoo heads need to wake up and realize that any liar can tell them what they want to hear -- it is only a true friend or good doctor that tells them what they need to hear.
If the Republicans don't figure this out and side line him, they are going to lose elections JUST like they deserve.
Religious people have a right to a voice and to vote as they please, but the Republicans are not benefiting from their support. Between Bush, religious right, and Limbaugh, I am NO LONGER giving money or my vote to the Republicans. I used to vote straight party R, but I'll start voting D until the Republicans earn it back.
Sad in Dallas
sleep#beds
How about yawl print a list of the accomplishments of gwb in the 1st six months. e.g. wasn't august the vacation month? next "inventa war", not a ? of support, we just plain didn't/don't want it. Here, I'll be objective, wouldn't I be a liberal humanitarian if i tried to keep sunnis and shias from killing each other, in addition it would be so, so uncomplex. oops it appears they don't seem to want our good vibes, or our good vibes don't trump traditions and beliefs, or something like that. Moving right along, and skipping past one or two other big hits of the gwb era, we all take a look at the politcal persuasions of those who hocked the real estate to the chinese to pay for e.g. the aforementioned conflict, and not to forget that yummy side dish of eggfoo big profits for somebody- garnered at bargin basement 3rd world labor rates. Today's last ? for the rushter et al, help me out, the chinese, their the good socialists/(even lefter)communists, correctomundo? (not the bad ones which of course you get to say who they are, and of course you get to say that we are in bed with them, but i can think of two really/real reasons we might not be as zonked out)
More liberal Drivel!
An adoring liberal media would have us believe all is lost in the GOP. Let us not forget the Democrats of the 80’s and 90’s were in the same boat. They were the minority party for many years. There was a vacuum in their leadership as well.
Events shape the successes and failures of a party in power. Now the Democrats have it but they must also live with the consequences of their policies. The high perch the sit upon can only go down. Just look at the favorable ratings the democratically controlled house and senate.
The country is not as liberal as its president or his legislative leadership. If asked, everyone is for free health care, free clean renewable energy etc. When told your taxes must increase by 15 or 20 percent to pay for health care it becomes harder to get elected. What happens when you tell a coal minor that his job is gone or that gas must get to $ 10.00 per gallon or your monthly electric bill needs to $ 1200.00 all in the name of global climate change?
The GOP will develop its voice as the reality of these policies come to light.
True Enough
The average American --- especially if you randomly picked one from the conservative states --- has an awareness of the world that is less than that of an average third world person.
You can scare the said average American when you say things like,
"Would you vote any politician back into office if they didn't subsidize gas, so that we have to play between $5 to $8 a gallons like most Europeans and Japanese?"
The answer is immediate, clear, and unequivocal: "No, no one is gonna git my vote if they did that. We are Americans, the most powerful and richest in the world. Why do we have to pay more than $2 a gallon for gas? Especially when we spend close to a trillion dollars to help free the Iranians, Iraqis, and Saudis from the communist Russians and Chinese?"
GOP and Cons have used such "truth [scare] tactics" well in the past, even though they have always been a small political party. They don't need a whole bunch of "clowns" from a large political party, as quoted here in this piece.
To the GOP, a "big tent" party like the Dems is basically a place full of clowns. Moderates like Lugar, Snowe, Collins, Chafee, Simpson, Spectors, et al. are, to the Cons, a waste of space, time, and energy. They rather have a whole bunch of Rushie types in the GOP camp. Even if 95 percent of them are Whites and 90 percent of them are males.
Liberals are funny
In all of the blogs, comment and opinion sections of these papers, one thing is the same. Liberals have pronounced conservatism as dead, anyone who in any way supports a conservative idea is a hate monger, stupid, idiotic dinosaur AND..............if you are liberal you are absolutely correct in any thing that you say, feel, believe or do. Anyone else seem to notice a pattern?
"What do the Republicans
"What do the Republicans have to do to gain ground in next year's midterm elections? How can they limit President Obama to one failed term?"
This is precisely the reason the Republicans have lost all credibility with the American voters. Rather than being uniters, Republicans are dividers. Rather than reaching across the aisle and putting partisanship aside, they plot to cast Democrats in the worst possible light. Republicans think that constructive input is looking for ways to cause the other party to fail.
America is tired of Republican nonsense. Until they're ready to set partisanship aside and come to the table to find solutions to IMPORTANT issues, the Republican party will continue dwindling towards irrelevance.
ouchsourcing
hey republicans, i don't care what humptydumpty says, remember when you were so liberal/radical you freed the slaves. Fat chance the round-one would tumble for such, be like chewing peyote or something... Then what became of you? e.g. as village person could be Teddy R. landsakes, power pollutes. "Follow the drinking gourd" same melody, lyrics now> "follow the money trail".
ihavethenametogivemyguts
so how can we really really know if its your real name. we hear lots of monkeybiz. occurs on the internet> luckily its small enough to be contained. well ok they probably won't read it in china anyway. I have made my peace with the supreme being and i am now ready to become a martyr to what ever cause we disagree to agree on, and now if you'll excuse me there appears to be a primate with a plan over there.
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