Toxic Talk

I posted Dancing with a Snake last month about the GOP leadership vacuum and the nature of those seeking to fill it. Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel reminded us that radio blow hard Rush Limbaugh has forcefully voiced his desire for President Obama to fail. Emanuel stated, "I do think he's an intellectual force, which is why the Republicans pay such attention to him."

Without getting into the semantics of such a failure (would Limbaugh like to see the economy implode to mass starvation?) one has to question the motivation of the CPAC crowd during these times. How do they scream for less governance in a nightmare brought forth by lack of governance? What data do they cite to forward the argument that the issues of our society are best resolved by whom, CEO’s? The data hardly supports the notion that unchecked these characters solve anything for anyone but themselves.

To agree with Emanuel requires me to twist the semantics of "intellectual" backwards. Limbaugh may be an intellectual force, but in the anti-intellectual direction. Like George W. Bush, he is the non-analytical who rejects the slightest introspection. From the self-anointed mantle of infallibility, Limbaugh bellows his self-righteousness, facts be damned.

At the local level (hey, some of my best friends are ... ) I’ve enjoyed conversations with more than a few elected Republicans I’ll go on the record as respecting. They include county supervisor Ray Carroll, Rep. Frank Antoneri, Senator Jonathon Paton, and others. I also got to know (rather well) another local GOP politician no longer holding office that demonstrated what I think may point to the death sentence of the Republican party, blind loyalty and unquestioning allegiance. She supported W "no matter what." Even though Randy Graf’s positions in 2006 made him a ludicrous candidate, she worked hard on that campaign. Why? Loyalty to the party.

Remember the bumper sticker, "Question Authority"? President Obama has welcomed intellectual rigor and the enrichment of the discourse regarding the extraordinary challenges we face. One of the elements blowhards like Limbaugh have in common is that they have never held office or had to solve a problem in the face of reality. Neither he nor Hannity nor O’Reilly nor Coulter nor Beck has seen let alone touched the trenches of crafting and passing legislation that helps one citizen. Not only do they have no solutions, they don’t even have questions.

The rage and hate infested rhetoric inflames dangerous elements the McCain campaign unintentionally exposed at its rallies. Whipping the base into a frenzy does not expand it. I think the GOP exacerbates its difficulties if it allows empty headed venom to become its voice.