Let That Be A Lesson To You, Bobby
Bobby Be Good
Rush Limbaugh is Bobby Jindal’s main sponsor in the Republican Party. They need a couple of dark skinned guys and a gal or two to show that they are open-minded too. As long as the new faces obey the guys who run the Party they are allowed to stand in front of cameras. Bobby understands that. That sycophantic smile on his face is to reassure them that he knows he is pwned.
But Michael Steele does not. Just because they chose him to be head of the RNC, Steele thought that he was the head of the Republican Party. Not only that, he went on a TV show run by another uppity fellow and declared ” I am the head of the Republican Party”. And then called Limbaugh some ugly things.
Such as, he is ugly. Was calling Limbaugh `incendiary’ a reference to the low burning point of all that body fat?
That is why Steele was taken behind the woodshed, his trousers lowered and beaten but good. That was not just to teach him a lesson. A lesson for Bobby too. If ever Bobby thinks that just because he is a Governor he is his own boss, let this be a reminder to him. Sarah Palin is on a looser leash.
Sarah The Temptress
Right-wing blowhards like Limbaugh and Lowry seem to have a soft spot for gals like Sarah Palin. Lowry said once that he sees stars when she smiles. But she knows that despite all that, if she were to ever depart from the Party Line she will be humiliated as well. Look how quickly Carly Fiorina was dropped.
Colin The Spear Carrier
Colin Powell and Condi Rice understood it too. This is why Powell said nothing as his reputation was used to sell the fake evidence for WMD in Iran. He not only sat quietly as the President lied during his State of the Union, he stuck his neck out and went to the UN with that little vial of white powder. Resigning as Sec State after the re-election of W. was not enough to restore his self-respect. When Powell endorsed Obama, it was Rush that screamed that it was all about race. You see, the only thing two intelligent, educated, ambitious black men can have in common would be their race.
Harpooning The Whale
Was it all a scheme by the Clintonistas (Emmanuel, Begala and Carville are all Clinton folk after all) to settle old scores at the expense of the young President? This is what some CNN commentators were suggesting the other day. I don’t buy it. The Clinton and Obama interests align perfectly in bring down Rushbo. In fact Obama is a major beneficiary of tarnishing the Republican brand by focusing on a repulsive moron like Rush Limbaugh, away from more responsible elected leaders in Congress.
Barack himself is doing it. With his characteristic audacity he harpooned the whale that has tormented the Democratic boat for so long.
We will know in a few weeks how it turns out. By the time the budget is passed, Limbaugh will be braying even louder, but his hold over the Republican Party Leaders could have diminished.
Or it might turn out even better. The Dittoheads might bray so loud that the so called leaders of the GOP, not just those hired for the sake of cosmetic diversity, are totally cowed. Right now this looks more likely. We are in great shape for 2010 if that is the way it turns out. A few more Senate seats will fall. Couple of Governorships. We don’t really need any more House seats, but we just might get rid of a few of the moderate Democrats who think Rushbo is not so bad.
The down side is that some of the sheen will be off Obama. The soaring rhetoric of his inaugural address not withstanding, Obama is a tough, ruthless politician. The O’Bambi of Maureen Dowd’s columns a year ago was just a mirage he put out there to trap the Clintons. Now, as he embraces bipartisanship, Obama is exploring weak spots on his opponents.
The Obama Derangement Syndrome
So why does Steele and his ilk not realize that they are dancing to Obama’s tune? Because of what I have called the Obama Derangement Syndrome. Obama has an uncanny ability to make his opponents do exactly what is most damaging to themselves. His first opponent in the IL Senate race self-immolated on a sex scandal. (7 of 9.)
The replacement was the incomparable Alan Keyes. Okay, I grant that Keyes was deranged already. But the IL Republicans were deranged enough to think he would be a match for Obama. Just as the GOP now thinks Steele is a match.
Then it was Edwards and Clinton. Two very talented and capable candidates did a series of stupid things to destroy their chances. (Snipers in Bosnia.) After that McCain was easy. Why did he chose Sarah Palin? Why did he suspend his candidacy when the markets tanked? McCain might have lost even without those blunders, but at least, he could have limited the GOP bleeding in the Senate.
So it continues. Each battle, Obama sizes up the situation and does something audacious that no one expects, but is obvious in hindsight. We all knew that Rushbo was unpopular with the sane majority, but who among us would have thought that taking him head on was the way to ignite Civil War in the Republican Party?
As many people have noted, Rushbo is the winner of this mud-slinging contest. His audience almost doubled in the last week. Not all are supporters. Many are just curious. But some will stay: the man is talented and funny, we have to admit, even as we loathe him. The President loses some of his dignity, although he can minimize the loss by out-sourcing attacks to Begala and Carville:what Emmanuel does is a direct reflection on Obama. The losers are the Republican Party, especially the North Eastern moderates in the Senate who are hanging by a thread. Just what Obama wants.
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