Newsweek is jam packed this week with a delicious series of articles and commentaries by conservatives decrying that fact that Rush Limbaugh now represents their party, the good ol' GOP.
Republican apologist David Frum offers an extensive defense of the party against Limbaugh, with laughable results. More below the fold.
Frum's primary argument is that while both Democrats and Rush want Limbaugh to be the face of the Republican party, it is the worst thing for the GOP, because Limbaugh is everything Americans now detest. He is loud, boisterous, fat and self-indulgent. His cigar chomping, private plane flying persona is radioactive in today's economic and political hurricane, and yet Rush's thirst for attention has put him at the forefront of Republican spokemen.
Frum complains that the Democrats participate in making Limbaugh the face of the party, but doesn't seem to grapple with the fact that Limbaugh's audience (almost all men) really is the spine of the GOP. While Frum suggests that GOP policies formulated during the Reagan era were necessary and right, he goes on to say that the party's policies must evolve to meet the challenge of a new era. Of course, Limbaugh has rejected this out of hand and suggested that conservatism must remain static or it isn't conservativsm anymore.
I suggest you read the articles yourself. They are quite enlightening in understanding the existential angst which the party has fallen into. And yet.
And yet one cannot escape the fact that, indeed, Rush Limbaugh does represent the modern Republican party. His advocacy of authoritarianism, suppression of dissent and advocacy for setting aside the rule of law reflects accurately the quintessential thread that connects Reagan to the two Bushes. From bellicose and belligerent foreign policies, to disdain for working people and the enthronement of the wealthy to places of legal, as well as financial privilege, the Reagan and Bush camps have done much to destroy America's place in the world. It was Reagan to promoted terrorist regimes by funding dictators in South America and armed mullahs of Iran. Reagan purposely let loose a flood of cocaine on American cities in order to fund reactionary governments and death squads in South America.
Under Reagan and the Bushes, the tax burden was shifted off the backs of the wealthy onto an already overburdened middle class; the social safety net has been shredded and government was turned into an ATM for corporate interests. With countless weapons programs that were unwise or unneeded, the GOP spiked the federal deficit and tripled the total Federal debt. While talking about "shrinking government," Reagan and the Bushes expanded government intrusion into our private lives through illegal wiretaps, surveillance of political groups and intimidation of dissent.
It was the GOP intelligentsia that created the theory of the "unitary executive," a president that could ignore the law and the courts and do as he pleased.
It was GOP rhetoric that undermined the courts and placed the lives of judges in jeopardy. Conservatives has been at the forefront of militarizing local police, enhancing the power of federal police and security agencies and justifications for bypassing the courts in dealing with criminals. Long before George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan had begun the politisation of the justice department by populating it with young attorneys who denied the authority of the bill of rights. It was Reagan who elevated signing statements to excuses to ignore laws passed by Congress.
It was GOP "reforms" that set the stage for the current economic crisis. From repeal of the Glass-Steagal act, to bankruptcy "reform" that turns debtors into indentured servants to the bankers, the GOP has been at the forefront of eroding the mechanisms of stabilizattion and regulation that moderated the deep swings of the economy.
The GOP today continues to blame the economic crisis on working people and unions. In the midst of one of the worst economic crises the world has seen since the Great Depression, the GOP continues to advocate that we do nothing: nothing to help the unemployed, nothing to prop up a banking system they pillaged and nothing to stop the looting of our common treasury.
Yes, fair GOP. Look in the mirror. That face you see that looks like Rush Limbuagh really is you. ________________________________________________________________________ Edit
Rec list?!?!? WOW. Thanks everybody. It's quite an honor.
I also want to say I appreciate all the comments and discussion. This is actually an historic moment and, if we play it right, the Neo-Con/GOP machine will be swept into the dust bin of history. I think many of us are just realizing how historic this opportunity is.