McCain's Limbaugh Problem
While the Democratic primary race is the most exciting in a generation, the Republican contest may be the final nail in the coffin of neo-conservatism. We've got Rush Limbaugh leading the talkinghead set against McCain in a breathless diatribe against the guy who is closer to Barry Goldwater Republicanism than anyone in 30 years. If you want to know how far to the lunatic fringe the GOP has gone, look no further than the charges Limbaugh levels at John McCain as being so "liberal" that if nominated, this war hero—who is consistently rated in the high 80s by conservative thinktanks—would destroy the Republican Party as we know it. He's so worked up that Limbaugh says he would rather a Democrat win the White House than John McCain. A Democrat!!!
I have long thought Limbaugh's influence over voters was inflated, but he reflects a distinct distrust of John McCain among Bush-ites. They smeared him shamefully and mercilessly in 2000 and now they are determined to keep him from the White House. They'd rather see a phony, flip-flopping, ex-Governor from Massachusetts who once declared himself a stronger defender of gay rights than Ted Kennedy win the party ticket than John McCain. This is the modern Republican Party.
It's unlikely either Dem will win enough of the states or delegates today to knock the other out of the race but it's much more likely on the Republican side where delegates are distributed differently and where McCain has been stomping in California and Romney's own backyard for months. He was dead this summer but somehow John McCain has soldiered through and is now steps from being the Republican nominee for President of the United States. The question is: will anyone stand with him?
Comments
What are these guys thinking? McCain is the only Republican with a real shot at the presidency. This McCain Derangement Syndrom (MDS) is a sure sign that the Republican party has been infected to its very core by ultra-right wing and lunatic-fringe whack-jobs and there is no cure.
I hesitate to call the modern Republican party "conservative."
Posted by: Jude | February 5, 2008 1:07 PM
Bush and his corrupt, incompetent cronies on the hill are the ones who "destroyed" the GOP. And make no mistake, it's as dead as Limbaugh's influence.
Posted by: Blippystein | February 8, 2008 4:55 AM
Not dead, just dormant.
These guys thrive when they're not in power. Its better for them to whine about Democrats governing than it does for them to try to explain their own. They're at their best when they play "More conservative than thou" and get to throw their bromides around.
Posted by: barabajagal | February 8, 2008 10:05 AM