The infighting continues among the GOP, with some attempting to jockey into a position of front-runner for 2012, others trying to inject a calm voice of reason into the debate...and then there's Limbaugh. Sort of like "And then there's Maude!" Wouldn't you love to see how Maude would have dealt with Limbaugh? What a comedic goldmine that would have been! But I digress.
The latest brouhaha started with Mitt Romney commenting on only two Republicans appearing in Time's 100 most influential people in the world: Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh. He tried to make some joke about how maybe it was really a list of the most beautiful people rather than most influential. Silly Mitt. Obviously not, since Limbaugh is on the list! Many Palin supporters took offense at that, thinking that he was being dismissive of her qualifications. Silly Palin supporters. What qualifications? [grin] So a group of Palin supporters came out with this video:
I had seen it earlier yesterday, and when Ken saw it last night, we both started laughing. Not at the video, but at the continued snarky infighting going on in the GOP. But wait, there's more!
Colin Powell spoke Monday about the problems the GOP is facing, and believes that one of them is Limbaugh. "I think what Rush does as an entertainer diminishes the party and intrudes or inserts into our public life a kind of nastiness that we would be better to do without." Limbaugh fired back today (surprise, surprise), calling Powell "just another liberal," and stating again that Powell's endorsement of Obama was about nothing more than race. He said, "He’s just mad at me because I’m the one person in the country who had the guts to explain [the endorsement]. There can be no other explanation for it." He suggested that Powell leave the Republican party and become a Democrat.
A few things here.
This sort of fighting amongst themselves is very unattractive. While Ken and I laughed about it, we also agreed that it's exactly this sort of thing that made us stop calling ourselves Republicans, and why we'll switch our affiliation to Independent. While I had made up my mind a while before the election about who I would vote for, Ken's ultimate deciding point was the nasty turn that the McCain campaign took at the end, especially Palin's attack dog tactics. I know some will disagree, but I believe that instead of offering real solutions and plans, their primary campaign platform was to tear down the opposition and paint them as bad people and scary characters. When I see that sort of behavior, it really turns me off, and I much prefer hearing someone clearly articulate their plans and refrain from character attacks.
As for Limbaugh, his remark that Powell's endorsement of Obama was about nothing more than race is offensive and completely unfair to General Powell. It implies that Powell is neither intelligent enough or impartial enough to make an informed decision, that he voted for Obama only because he's black. Obama wouldn't have been elected without a significant number of white votes, so that's a stupid argument. Also another reason why the GOP is hemorrhaging members. Being so dismissive of an obviously intelligent, decorated member of the military--who also happens to be black--would seem imprudent, don't you think? Suggesting that they leave the party seems even more foolish. I suspect that Limbaugh won't be satisfied until everyone who is still left in the party (after he gets done with his exclusionary tactics) is in complete goosestep with him. Yeah...good luck with that.
In honor of the GOP's free for all, here's the Motor City Madman himself, Ted Nugent, in his gonzo glory days. I believe Ted is quite the conservative, so this seems especially fitting...just like Ted's pants. Nuge is a little crazy, but he's one of my favorite guitarists!
