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The Democratic Strategist

Political Strategy for a Permanent Democratic Majority

Their Master’s Voice

To a remarkable extent, the day-after commentary about the unanimous Republican vote in the House against the economic stimulus package has credited or blamed this development on Rush Limbaugh. Politico is actually devoting its rountable-format “Arena” today to the proposition that Limbaugh has become the de facto leader of the Republican Party. And earlier this week, Georgia Republican congressman Phil Gingrey was forced to make a humiliating retreat and apology after criticizing Rush’s attacks on the GOP leadership for insufficiently robust opposition to Barack Obama.
In a separate development, House Republican conference chairman Mike Pence refused in a media interview to take any issue with a newly notorious Limbaugh comment that Americans have to “bend over, grab the ankles, bend over forward, backward, whichever” because Obama’s “father was black, because this is the first black president.”
This is all pretty interesting, if depressingly familiar. In the wake of their drubbing last November, the one thing Republicans generally agreed they needed to do differently was getting hep to new media–you know, social networks, twitter, blogs, YouTube, etc. But now here we are in the first big decision-moment of 2009, and the GOPers are still taking their orders from that big mouth on the AM radio dial.

One comment on “Their Master’s Voice

  1. Joe Corso on

    Progressives won’t particularly appreciate the comparison, but it’s hard to resist noting the similarity between the stubborn retreat into “there’s noting wrong with us” myopia in today’s Republicans and the frequently similar “just stick to our guns” stubbornness we Dems’ exhibited in the 1980’s in the face of an obviously changing reality.
    On the other hand, if the Republicans are looking at a similar 12 year period of political marginalization, that’s a downright cheerful thought.

    Reply

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