Rush Limbaugh Does NOT Head the Republican Party – That’s a Clever Democrat Ploy

For probably close to thirty years, I have been a registered Republican and have voted Republican in most – but not all – elections. Rush Limbaugh does not represent me as a Republican, and I don’t know too many Republicans who would say he speaks for them either. And for sure he is not the leader of the Republican Party. As one of my most intelligent Republican friends said to me the other day, “Rush Limbaugh is no leader. He is just a provocateur.”Of course it is not Rush Limbaugh who has anointed himself, although no doubt he is reveling in the attention (even if only for economic benefit). This is all a Democrat hatched plot – think Paul Begala and James Carville – to tar all Republicans with the stigma of Rush Limbaugh. Even Thomas Friedman piled on in the New York Times yesterday, referring to him as “the de facto G.O.P boss”. Pretty smart politics, I would say, but just plain wrong.I will admit – and even many Democrats will concur – that Mr. Limbaugh makes some very valid points, as do many pundits/talking heads/or whatever one calls them, be they Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or Green. But his delivery is calculated to shock, to rile up and to foment extreme partisanship. When he is criticized for his appalling statements or for his delivery, he is quick to hide behind his role as an entertainer. Personally I hate that kind of ‘entertainment’ which is why I eschew his show and the shows of other blowhards, both Democrat and Republican. Some may find his calling women femi-Nazis cute or funny, but I find it repulsive. Saying – or should I say screaming – that he wishes President Obama to fail is a revolting way to express his disapproval of policy.If Rush Limbaugh were really the leader of the Republican Party, he would try to help his audiences to understand why he disagrees with the policies being espoused by President Obama and the Democrat Congress. He would explain clearly why the policies are harmful, why they will fail and what should be done instead. That would be leadership.