Nattering Nabobs of Negativism '09

The Republicans seem to be taking "opposition party" as their sole defining characteristic as they flounder for their place in the new political landscape. Considering how much they bitched when they controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress, it's not surprising that their current situation would leave them surly and uncooperative.

So President Obama meets with Republican leaders and the stimulus bill gets crammed with GOP-friendly tax cuts, but not a single Republican Congressman votes for it anyway, because they don't agree with every syllable it contains. Hey, folks, bipartisanship can't be accomplished unilaterally. No one expects genuine philosophical differences to disappear, but in frightening times like these, surely it's possible to find some common ground untainted by political calculation. Remember that brief, soul-elevating spirit of cooperation after our country was attacked seven years ago? Well, our economy just blowed up real good, and we need people on all sides to be striving honorably to fix it. This is not a time to simply cross your arms, stamp your feet and yell, "More tax cuts!"

The concept of a presidential "honeymoon period" apparently having been obliterated, anti-Obama pronouncements are already popping up. Mitt Romney gave the administration a whole two weeks before telling Time magazine that "the simple solutions and the hopes that were sold by the Obama team are inadequate to the task ahead." I guess impeachment proceedings should be starting any day now.

Dick Cheney, Lord of the Sith Emeritus, seemingly believing it is still his legal responsibility to periodically scare America, emerged to inform us that any terrorist attack from this point forward will be the fault of the Obama administration's lack of understanding of the grave threats we face -- oblivious to the natural conclusion that 9/11 must have resulted from the Bush administration's cluelessness about the same.

Astonishingly, congressional aides even received political advice from "Joe the Plumber", about whom Andy Warhol returned from the dead to proclaim, "No, for him, fifteen seconds." Among the pearls of wisdom dropped by Mr. Wurzelbacher was this nugget of non-nuance for our complex world: "I don't believe there's two sides to every story. It's black and white. There's right and wrong." Gee, maybe he has been the Repubs' strategic guru.

But leaping into the leadership void and striving to assert his relevance as the antidote to all that "Hope" and "Change" b.s., Rush Limbaugh led The-Hell-With-All-You Chorus with his notorious, pre-inaugural, four-word benediction for our new president: "I hope he fails."

Under the premise of taking a slightly more cooperative tack, Limbaugh put forth the "Obama-Limbaugh Stimulus Plan of 2009," in which 54% (Obama's share of the popular vote, plus the 1% who voted for "wackos") of the stimulus money would be "spent on infrastructure and pork as defined by Mr. Obama and the Democrats," while 46% (equivalent to Senator McCain's slice of the electorate) would go to Limbaugh-approved tax cuts. "Then we compare," said Limbaugh. "We see which stimulus actually works. This is bipartisanship!"

A novel suggestion, one which I did not hear from Rush and his ideological kin when "the Decider" was in office -- and certainly not when that same "Uniter-Not-Divider" received fewer popular votes than "Ozone Man". That would have been fun, seeing slightly more Democratic than Republican ideas enacted under Dubya's dubious leadership. Heck, why limit the Limbaugh System to divvying up the stimulus? Why shouldn't Obama be president 54% of the year and McCain hold the office the other 46%? I mean, as long as we're ignoring the concept of majority rule and all...

At the close of his Wall Street Journal piece proposing this plan, Limbaugh went on to assert, "The economic crisis is an opportunity to unify people, if we set aside the politics... Let's stop the acrimony." I completely agree. And who better to end the acrimony and lead us into a new era of gracious, civil discourse than Mr. "I Hope He Fails"?

Limbaugh's internal inconsistencies are stunning, except when you realize that his job is to bloviate unchallenged into a microphone for 15 hours a week. No one is allowed to ask the Great and Powerful Rush to explain how "I hope he fails" can logically coexist with his more conciliatory statement that Obama "may end up being one of the greatest presidents ever. Frankly, I hope so. I have doubts, but if he is, I'll be the first one to say so."

No, Rush, I actually think you'll be the last one. (Wait, that's not fair. Michael Savage will be the last.) I can accept the intellectual consistency of the position that, if you vehemently oppose a candidate's positions, you would wish him ill in office, country be damned. But how can you hope someone fails and, even with caveats, also hope he becomes one of our greatest presidents?

I'd wager Rush's feelings are more accurately reflected in these other remarks from his "I Hope He Fails" broadcast:

I disagree fervently with the people on our side of the aisle who have caved and who say, "Well, I hope he succeeds. We've got to give him a chance." Why do we have to accept the premise here that because of the historical nature of his presidency, that we want him to succeed? This is affirmative action, if we do that. We want to promote failure, we want to promote incompetence, we want to stand by and not object to what he's doing simply because of the color of his skin?

Yes, Rush, the alleged non-racist who brought "Barack The Magic Negro" to our airwaves, has once again made it all about race. Somehow the simple concept of hoping that our country succeeds and prospers under a president's leadership, regardless of his party, has been contorted through the poisonous workings of Limbaugh's thought process into "We gotta be nice to the darkie." To Rush, Barack Obama is not the duly-elected leader of the United States of America. He is merely the Donovan McNabb of politics.

It's not news that a self-aggrandizing blowhard like Limbaugh is trying to seize the spotlight by being outrageous. Remember last year's Operation Chaos, during which he encouraged his army of Dittoheads to disrupt the election process? For proof of the success of Limbaugh's manipulation of the workings of our democracy which he claims to revere, one need only think back to President Romney's decisive victory over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, whose nomination came amid the Limbaugh-inspired riots which have left the still-smouldering city of Denver uninhabitable.

While the failure of Operation Chaos demonstrates that Limbaugh may not exert the power he thinks -- or wishes -- he had, he continues to preach daily to a sizeable nationwide congregation who take his word as gospel and are unlikely to hear him refuted. It is his influence over that audience which has allowed Limbaugh to assert such authority in the GOP's current power vacuum, and it is the safe cocoon of his radio kingdom, where he controls who may speak, which allows him to pontificate with such certitude.

Rush, if you really want to test whether your theories on how to run the country are correct, run for office. Be a man. Like Al Franken.

And if you lose, you've already got a ready-made excuse:

You're white.

Comments

[imfedup]

It all boils down to this: They would rather see this country stay in ruins than let the other side score a point. Period.

[jojothedoggirl]

I listen to Rush and all his Ditto heads every day, just because he's so dog gone funny. When he goes on a rant and you know he's gonna have to change his shorts after , sublime. The man thinks he is really Jack Bauer. And I love Laura Ingram in the morning.Ma­n she keeps me , to use her word (constantly overused word ) Howling !But the fun she made of that young man that stood up to ask the President a question in Florida was too , too cruel .I was surprised at even she would sink that low.The disregard they show for the people of this country , except for the few they hold that are important and deserving of respect is horrible. Lets hope that a new era president is bringing in will inspire us all to be a little more kind to our countrymen.

[IndependentTogether]

Eric, that sounds like a compilation of the Limbaugh-centric posts that I've been making over the last few weeks! Seriously! Obviously, I agree with what you're saying.

Limbaugh is the greatest gift that Obama has delivered to the Democratic party; the dude has single-handedly castrated the Republicans. I'm just so glad that Limbaugh's ego is so friggin' huge that he can't see that he has been played... WELL played.

[hearmeloudandclear]

The man seriously has a problem...­.and people actually watch him...and MUST BE ABLE TO DETECT IT...yet no one helps him. He can't help himself. Stay turned.

In the meantime, he remains the RUSH-publicans leader and the RUSH-publicans don't dare cross him....eve­r notice?

[Crystalmoon47]

Probably because he has secrets on a lot of them and they pay him to keep quiet.

[WILLMAX]

People please, Its Limbaugh! It is long past the time where his words should be analyzed. He has proven himself illegitimate time and time again. Nothing he says is even intermittentently in phase with reality.

[IndependentTogether]

The difference now is that he's the "unofficial" head of the Republican party; when *he* speaks, he speaks for all Republicans.

[CJBG]

Your comments prove you (and the other posts) don't quite get it, and never will. Rush doesn't speak for Republicans, he speaks for CONSERVATISM. The GOP hasn't been conservative for many years, including GWB. If the Reublican's had listened to Limbaugh, Obama would still be a community organizer chumming it up with Blago and the rest of the Chicago thugs in the outskirts of Chicago.

[contrariandy]

So, Rush wants America to fail. How patriotic!

[MotherKnowsBest]

Rush and the privileged class of bankers, and insurance industry fat cats who have ruined the financial system do not get it. We want socialism. I repeat, we want socialism. We want banks that are nationalized and operate with transparency and integrity, we want universal health care, we want affordable higher education, we want excellent elementary and secondary schools, and we want infrastructure that allows creative minds to develop energy efficiency for the 21st century. But most importantly of all, we want equality and dignity. We do not want to be exploited by an artificial hierarchical system of incompetent managers. Government is in place to provide FOR THE PEOPLE, not for an oligarchy comprising 5% of the population. Socialism is American! We have been evolving into this system for more than 100 years.

[Mitchbailey]

I'll stand with you Mother!

[aintnogod]

Recall. Rush only speaks to 8% of the population. That's small potatoes and not everyone who listens to him agrees with him. Some people have very strong stomachs and can listen to and laugh at or with him. Americans have to make a major decision. With several European nations (socialist, according to Rush) passing us in the best standard of living category, we must decide if we want to follow their lead and pay higher taxes to get a better standard of living for all Americans or continue the dog eat dog Republican model which yields higher levels of poverty but more money for the rich. It's a decision we must think about and make.

[CJBG]

Your argument reinforces the twisted nature of liberalism­..."pay higher taxes to get a better standard of living for all Americans"???? If that's what you really think, it's useless to argue with you.

[BigMike75]

Rush would never run for public office, and give up the opportunity to continue to rape the public airwaves for millions a year. Running for office would also mean he'd have to try to tell the truth and actually make sense.

[imfedup]

No one would elect this guy. Plus, he'd have to take an enormous pay cut. He's much more influential in his current position.

[DennyCrane]

The real problem is people who listen to Limbaugh. If he was no longer on the air, someone else would come along to fill the void. Because there's enough people out there who think like him. It's these ignorant Americans that drag us down. I'm a big believer in everyone having an equal voice, but when the idiots among us make life harder for everyone, perhaps it's time to give these people their own country instead of ruining ours.

[netty5264]

Why don't we send them to Alaska

[Dragline]

Eric, great job! I've been waiting for somebody to point out Limbaugh's faulty premise that people want President Obama to succeed because he is black. I guess it hasn't entered his fat head that a successful administration would be good for the county.

I particularly appreciated your "blowed up real good" SCTV reference.

[Dr. Sam]

The Republican bunch left in Congress (minus three) want Obama and the Democrats to fail at all cost. Surely they are playing fiddle while the country burns--and they couldn't care less so long as they see Obama's failure as a plus for their chances in 2010 ans 2012. These bunch who used to drown our ears with shouts of "Country First" again are choosing Party and individual interest first. Who do they think they are kidding but themselves--because the country will never forget! Two past elections made it clear that the country wants a different attitude and a different kind of politics--not Karl Rove type. But these gugs are always going to be tone deft. The last Presidential election made it abundantly clear that Sen. McCain is not a nice man"and can be very nasty! He can totally disregard the truth in favor of expediency. After he lost, in the initial search for a post-election role and penance, he took a trip with Sen. Linsey Graham to Chicago to meet with Obama. If there was an initial uncertainty about whether or not to mend his ways remained, it evaporated decisively in favor of his old ways during the past days of Senate debate about the stimulus economic recovery package although Obama has sought to make him an ally. We are seeing again vintage McCain"erratic, belligerent, confrontational, intemperate and not sufficiently reflective. The Mummy has returned!

[JustDee]

Excellent article.

In response to some other comments, here's the thing. I agree very much with the idea and notion that all people need a voice, regardless of political affiliation or other "dividing" characteristics. But that's a little difficult to accomplish, don't you think, if the participants being invited to the field take this attitude:

"It's my ball, and if you don't play the way I say, then I'm gonna pick it up and go home."

Only two options remain w/that attitude -

1) Go home
2) Get a new ball and start a new game

I think the republicans, by and large (or at least as reflected by their current leaders and talking heads) have 'picked up their proverbial balls and gone home'. We can't afford to 'stop the game' anymore, it's time to 'get a new ball' and 'start a new game'. And if they don't want to play - it's certainly not for a lack of desire or opportunity for them to 'play'. It's their choice not to. *shrug* It's just the rest of us aren't content to let them unilaterally define the rules by which the game is played anymore.

[lilacluvr]

correction: 'better than that one over there'

[LondonTownNY]

Rush Limbaugh is a high paid shill of America's guilded class, a right wing minister of propagands who is a profoundly effective manipulator of America's moronic masses who he successfully shapes and molds to vote against their self interest.