Rush Limbaugh is not, nor will he ever be, the face of the Republican Party. Someone alert President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel – or all Democrats, for that matter. Limbaugh is an entertainer. Kind of like the president, only huskier.
November defeat caused many in the GOP to ask what now, and who is in charge? Confused and concerned members of the Republican base turned to its favorite radio personality for answers and a bit of comic relief.
Limbaugh was critical of those outside the party, inside the party and those somewhere in between. He makes a living being critical – and is handsomely rewarded. But, when party officials shot back at Limbaugh, the base was offended. They quickly backed down and issued apologies.
Here is where they went wrong: Republican leaders in Washington D.C. anointed Mr. Limbaugh the de facto Voice of the Party by not standing behind their criticisms. His ascension to the Throne of Untouchability is an accident. It is not a position he wants, nor is it a position the GOP wants him to have.
Suspicions were only reinforced at last weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference. The conference is a weekend for young Republicans to party and refuel the ideological tank. Yes, Limbaugh exceeded his allotted time by an hour. Yes, they hooted and hollered.
Why? Because the man is entertaining. He is not standing behind the podium talking policy. He is up there rousing everyone up with jokes and brash statements about the ideological enemy. To my liberal friends, who would you rather listen to for an hour: Bill Maher, or Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid?
Democrats, though, have seized the moment. They seek to define the entire party based on an entertainer’s comments. According to Emanuel last week, Limbaugh is “the voice and intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party.”
Sure he is, Mr. Emanuel. And there are not any earmarks in that stimulus package, either.
I am actually quite surprised Limbaugh has drawn such a response. The man does radio. His listeners are concentrated solely at the base. But, even they do not endorse him as the sole Voice of the Party.
However, Mr. Limbaugh has been the only one to assert himself since the Election of 2008.
It seems Republicans have retreated to their alleged country clubs and NASCAR races until the wounds heal. And now the country is being stimulated to the point of overdose.
But, legitimate leaders, not entertainers, are out there in the GOP.
Recent straw polling has Mitt Romney as the Party’s top choice in 2012. Romney looks the part, has conservative values and a strong economic resume. Given our current climate, he would be the party’s best challenger.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin made a splash, then about drowned during her time as Sen. John McCain’s running-mate. We understand the media is unfair. We understand the McCain camp sabotaged your message. We understand you’re smarter than the Tina Fey portrayal.
But, governor, you’ve got too much baggage.
The human-interest side of her story is very compelling. She is a true-blue (or red) success story. But her personality and qualifications may be better suited for the Last Frontier State.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was tapped by party insiders to be the best challenger. They let him issue the party rebuttal to President Obama’s Not-A-State of the Union Address. And he, for the most part, flopped. That is fine. Better to flop early than late in politics.
Jindal is a policy whiz and young political sharpshooter. He, an Indian American, managed to win the governorship in a state that almost elected a former Ku Klux Klan member only years earlier. Either he is that good, or Louisiana has dramatically increased their sense of progressivism.
If Jindal can elevate his personality to his policy capability, he may be a legitimate challenger in the 2012 elections. He can attract both the fiscal and faith-driven sects of the party.
Finally, Mike Huckabee could continue his run as affable underdog. He scored an upset victory in the Iowa primaries last year.
However, he lacked a strategy past the Hawkeye State and it showed. If Huckabee entered the next round with deep pockets and an organized campaign, he could be a true competitor.
Also, the media likes the former Arkansas governor. He rips off one-liners like John Stewart, and even plays the bass guitar on late-night television. Neither make him qualified for president. But, in a party suffering at the hands of public opinion, Huckabee can only help.
East and West coast elites will write him off because of his Southern Baptist roots. However, this only increases his credibility in the fly-over states. His beliefs are real, not mere conversion, as proved through polling.
Plus, Huckabee can make a play for both Wall Street and Main Street. By party affiliation, he embraces fiscal responsibility. By personal beliefs, he embraces elements of populism.
This would play well in the Rust Belt, where Republicans have recently faltered.
Whoever secures the nomination in 2012 has a legitimate chance of victory. President Obama managed only 52 percent of the vote despite a failing economy, an outgoing president with the lowest approval ratings in recent history, and an unpopular war.
But, Democrats and Republicans, rest assured: Limbaugh will not be the nominee.
Let’s stop treating him like he will be.
-Matt Felty is a public administration senior.
The Oklahoma Daily is pleased to provide you the opportunity to share your thoughts about this article. We encourage lively debate on the issues of the day, but we ask you refrain from using profanity or other offensive speech, engaging in personal attacks or name-calling, posting advertising, or straying from the topic at hand. To comment, you must be a registered user of OUDaily.com. Thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts.
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Log in | Register
kdbp1213 3 years, 2 months ago
how is limbaugh racist & sexist? educate us, please, swiggy3000.
JJanowiak 3 years, 2 months ago
kdbp1213: google is your friend: that's like saying Everest isn't a mountain, just a big hill, and that you better prove otherwise.
swiggy3000 3 years, 2 months ago
Limbaugh might not be running for President but he still has too much pull within the party. If anyone criticizes him they feel the need to apologize to him and call him a great American. Despite the fact that he is racist, and sexist. Yes, he is a comedian and he is supposed to say shocking things, but we killed Don Imus for much less than any of the stuff that Limbaugh has said and done.
Also, Obama may have only gotten 52.9% of the Popular vote but McCain only got 45.7%, and Obama got around the neighborhood or 9.5 million more votes than McCain. He also turned most of the Counties in the USA more towards the Democratic Party, part of the lower percentage was the Deep South's voting for McCain just because they didn't want a black man in office.
yort 3 years, 2 months ago
If Rush Limbaugh isn't the head of the Republican Leader, why does Matt Felty spend the first half of his column, "Limbaugh not the Republican Leader," asserting that he is?
The fact is, Michael Steele (the supposed leader of the Republican party) and every other major Republican who has come out against Limbaugh in any way, has backed down on their statements immediately afterward.
Felty spends the second half of his column dispelling the notion that Limbaugh will be the nominee for president. Who thought this was a possibility? There is absolutely zero chance that someone so polarizing, who has made numerous public statements proclaiming his desire for the president's policies to fail, could be elected president.
The assertation being made in the media is that Limbaugh is the de facto leader, the voice of a headless Republican party, grasping for any any relevance. Since no Republican will say otherwise, this seems to be the case.
dargus 3 years, 2 months ago
When is the last time a Democratic, or any, politician felt the urge to apologize to Bill Maher for offending him? The point of calling Limbaugh the head of the Republican Party is due to his clear influence on their platform.
RogerG 3 years, 2 months ago
Limbaugh is a Great American patriot of the highest order. He was for "send them up the river" against Drugs until he was caught with a drug problem . Then like all whiny liberals he wanted "understanding" and "compassion" for his drug addiction and like Kennedys and CLinton he hid behind very expensive Lawyers instead of going to jail. Then he is a truly a conservative too for being married and divorced three times. Wonder if he is a closet gay? and Republicans need someone other than Hindu convert to Catholic Bobby Jindal who lied in his speech to make himself important like Hillary did(ducking sniper fire). Your Bush ran up the deficits and hid defence spending for 7 years from us. He cut taxes and splurged and presided over the biggest govt. expansion since LBJ. He made an entitlement program with drug coverage with no money. He fought 2 wars and failed in Afghanistan that the New President has to go try to clean that imbroglio and no one shouted then? Where is the credibility? Rubbish is always rubbish.