GOP's man of Steele turns to mush in Limbaugh fight

Original Link: http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/441557

By John Nichols

Here's the latest from the not-exactly-sure-whether-it-wants-to-be-loyal opposition:

Rush Limbaugh, the nation's most verbose Republican, delivered a chest-thumping, eyes-popping denunciation of President Obama's efforts to renew the economy on Saturday: "What possibly is in this that any of us want to succeed?" the radio ranter told the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, leaving no doubt about where his patriotism begins and ends.

Yikes, thought Michael Steele, the defeated U.S. Senate candidate who, after a lengthy job search, recently found work as chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Appearing later Saturday on CNN's "D.L. Hughley Breaks the News" -- a program that the media-savvy RNC chair presumed Limbaugh would not be viewing -- Steele sought to place a little distance between an already out there party and Limbaugh's apocalyptic advocacy.

When Hughley suggested that Limbaugh was the "de facto leader of the Republican Party," Steele shot back: "No, he's not. I'm the de facto leader of the Republican Party."

"Let's put it into context here," the chairman continued. "Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. Rush Limbaugh, his whole thing is entertainment. Yes it's incendiary, yes it's ugly."

All true and, arguably, the most honorable statement of Steele's long and disappointing career.

Unfortunately, Limbaugh got wind of the chairman's heresy.

Then things really got incendiary and, yes, ugly.

"Mr. Steele, if you want to lead the Republican Party, as you say you do, then you need to run for and win the presidency. You are chairman of the Republican National Committee. That is your job. To run the Republican establishment bureaucracy and prove you can defeat Democrats and elect Republicans, to come up with a new primary system that eliminates Democrats participating in ours and choosing our candidates and getting the grass-roots revved up again. This is how you're going to be measured, not by how entertaining or cute you are on talk shows," growled Limbaugh, as part of a 20-minute long rant on his program Monday.

"By the same token, I'm not in charge of the Republican Party, and I don't want to be. I would be embarrassed to say that I'm in charge of the Republican Party in the sad-sack state that it's in. If I were chairman of the Republican Party, given the state that it's in, I would quit. I might get out the hari-kari knife because I would have presided over a failure that is embarrassing to the Republicans and conservatives who have supported it and invested in it all these years. I certainly couldn't say I am proud of the Republican Party, as I am leading the Republican Party. Right now the Republican Party needs to be led, and it will be. The next Republican president is going to be the head of the party. Last time I checked, I don't think Mr. Steele is running."

Limbaugh wasn't done.

"Mr. Steele, we do like to entertain people here. The audience is very smart, sir," the millionaire radio host explained to the minion. "They know the difference between entertainment, and they know the difference between deadly serious issues that affect their country. Don't underestimate the intelligence of this audience or Republicans and conservatives generally. The biggest problem with all of you who live inside the Beltway is you look out over America and you think you see idiocy and unsophisticated people, ignorant people, and when you're looking at liberal Democrats, largely you're correct, but your own voters are every bit as informed, involved, engaged, and caring, if not more so than you are.

"We don't care, first and foremost, about the success of the Republican Party. We care about the United States of America and its future, because we cherish it and love it, and we know what it is that made it the greatest nation on earth, and we don't hear you articulating that you understand that, not just you, Mr. Steele, but hardly anybody else in Washington, D.C. So send those fundraising requests out, and, by the way, when you send those fundraising requests out, Mr. Steele, make sure you say, 'We want Obama to succeed.' So people understand your compassion. Republicans, conservatives, are sick and tired of being talked down to, sick and tired of being lectured to, and until you show some understanding and respect for who they are, you're going to have a tough time rebuilding your party."

Steele's response?

He groveled, calling Limbaugh on Monday afternoon to apologize.

"My intent was not to go after Rush -- I have enormous respect for Rush Limbaugh," Steele then told The Politico. "I was maybe a little bit inarticulate. … There was no attempt on my part to diminish his voice or his leadership."

So, just to recap the last few days:

Steele attempted to suggest that he, not Limbaugh, is in charge of the Republican Party.

Limbaugh objected.

Steele said, "my bad."

This would seem to settle the question of who is now calling the shots in what was once the party of Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt but is now not much more than Rush Limbaugh's plaything.