The Blog of Dan Driffill

The feud between President Obama and conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh was pretty well documented. The President and his staff have portrayed Limbuagh as the “voice of the Republican party” and a lot of people are willing to believe that. Truth is that smart people know, Limbaugh isn’t for anybody but Limbaugh. He has mastered the art of being a hyprotical swine to generate the most listeners. He props up his faltering ego with the adulation of others, and will say anything, ANYTHING, for it. He is a fat broken record of shameful soundbites. And don’t even dare let him try to play the role of moral dictator; if messy divorces, prescription drug abuse, and disrespectful comments to women aren’t enough for you, then your own moral compass is so ass backwards I can’t help you. 

Just look at the “feud”, on the one side, the president of the United States: soft-spoken and conciliatory, never angry, always invoking the recession and its victims. This president invokes the language of “responsibility,” and in his own life seems to epitomize that ideal: He is physically honed and disciplined, his worst vice an occasional cigarette. He is at the same time an apparently devoted husband and father. Unsurprisingly, women voters trust and admire him.

And Limbaugh? A man who is aggressive, cutting and sarcastic, who dismisses the concerned citizens as “losers.” With his private plane and his cigars, his history of drug dependency and his personal bulk, not to mention his tangled marital history, Rush is a walking stereotype of self-indulgence—exactly the image that Barack Obama wants to affix to the GOP. Those images of crowds of CPACers cheering Rush’s every cancerous word, we’ll be seeing a lot of those when the President’s approval ratings stay high and the economy comes back.

Rush knows what he is doing. The worse conservatives do, the more important Rush becomes as leader. The better conservatives succeed the more Rush will be sidelined. But I just don’t see him is a viable voice or a viable political candidate. There is no chance he would ever win public office, none at all.

Glenn Beck is a more interesting figure. Since launching in January, Beck’s been a breakout hit at 5 p.m. for the Rupert Murdoch-owned network, with an average of more than 2.2 million viewers daily — a 90 percent increase from that slot a year back. Those kind of numbers have even overtaken Sean Hannity for runner-up to O’Reilly. Insane success in a few short months.

On last friday’s episode Beck teased the show with images of Stalin, Lenin and Hitler, while telling audiences on Wednesday’s show that he was wrong to have said the Obama administration is leading America to socialism — it’s actually fascism. “They’re marching us towards 1984,” Beck said. “Big Brother, he’s watching.”

Although Beck’s brand of libertarian conservatism has generated a strong following, some members of the right-leaning commentariat openly doubt whether such heated rhetoric is helpful to the Republican Party or the conservative movement at large. 

Conservative author David Horowitz, himself no stranger to controversy or heated accusations, warns that the criticism of Obama among some conservatives has approached “over-the-top hysteria.”

“Conservatives, please,” Horowtiz said. “Let’s not duplicate the manias of the left as we figure out how to deal with Mr. Obama. He is not exactly the anti-Christ, although a disturbing number of people on the right are convinced he is.” 

David Frum was a speechwriter for George W. Bush and said this week, “You never get very far in American politics with extreme talk,” Frum said. “When you use extreme language, you’re much more likely to push away the audience.” 

What I don’t understand is the purpose here. We have Limbaugh and Beck (And all conservative media) with ratings through the roof, but GOP politicians are losing influence in every state everyday. Republicans are just coming off an amazing defeat in every part of the country. They are confused, upset, and simply unsure of what to do next. So when Rush and Beck ‘rah-rah’ the troops people watch, because they feel empowered temporarily by these media pundits. But then the show is over, and they again have no control. So they blame socialism, fascism, wreckless spending, and czar Obama.

You know what else doesn’t help them? Watching the party that let PAYGO expire and brought us Medicare Part D scream about “fiscal responsibility” as if they know better: 

With the gutting, then abandonment, of PAYGO, budget deficits returned. The federal surplus shrank from $236.2 billion in 2000 to $128.2 billion in 2001, then a $157.8 billion deficit in 2002. The deficit increased to $377.6 in 2003 and $412.7 billion in 2004. The federal deficit excluding trust funds was $537.3 billion in FY2006. In the first 6 years of President Bush’s term, with a Republican controlled Congress, the federal debt increased by $3 trillion.” Enjoy That.

Look Republicans, you lost your way. It’s cool, everybody messes up now and then, but what you need to do now is focus on getting back to your roots: Truly conservative fiscal policy. Slip the stranglehold the religious right has on the party. Smaller government. (Take a look at Ron Paul, there is a reason why people like him! Including me.)

Republicans are like the hot chick from high school that got fat in college. You still have a cute face, but you need to start hitting the gym and start focusing on some target areas. Stop opposing every move that Obama makes, and start focusing on your bloated ass.

Do this, and you may become relevant again.  Until then, the rest of us will be here cleaning up the amazing mess you left for us. And the better the Democrats are at cleaning that mess, the more power they will amass in 2010 and 2012.

So Rush and Beck, start asking for ideas and progress rather than negative bashing of the current administration. That is my advice.