that they can’t lead. And they have been following Dems for the last 4 years, so I suppose that option is foreclosed as well. Looks like there is only one way left to go….

Great write-up EPU. As a conservative, I share your frustrations.

RNC, are you listening?

Everywhere I turn these days people I know who are historically moderate have shifted their thinking. They personally feel the impact on their 401k or attempts to use credit and see that DC is not helping them. (And they categorically were wooed by the Hope & Change).

My more affluent friends are already starting to modify their incomes so their success is not penalized.

People I know are starting to become disillusioned with a Washington that does not hold American Dream ideals.

And I hear more often people who I would never have expected it, quote what Rush has said; in a positive light.

As Obama makes his attempt to vilify and malign Rush as the left did with Bush this will backfire as every previous attempt has. Rush is too smart, too able and has the microphone to splay the DC machine.

Squishy ones, your time is coming up. Get with the program or begone!!

I’m getting sick and tired of “Republicans” that are afraid to be conservatives. We do not need the return of the Nelson Rockefeller wing of the party at this time in our nation’s history.

They hate Rush because he articulates the painful truth that most GOP leaders are afraid to even consider. Obama is not our friend. He wants to redefine America in ways we can’t even imagine. Yes! I said redefine America.

We are careening down the slippery slope and Rush is one of the few people to point that out effectively.

Great societies are not murdered, they commit suicide.

This needs to be on the top of the Recommend list for a month.

Well said…and I really am glad you were recognized and put as a front pager.

The “Big Tent” analogy isn’t the correct one…the correct one is a MAGNET…we need to be a MAGNET that draws these independents in who are sick and tired of what’s going on in Washington—Fred Thompson

The more I talk to people, the more I am convinced that most are finally waking up to the reality that is Obama. I hear fear. But I hear anger, frustration and an unwillingness to go down without a fight, a whole lot more.

I’m certainly on a war footing until we get our country back.

Nail meet hammer.

Now we need to turn those words into action.

hmmm …

Why does Al Sharpton’s ugly mug keep floating through my mind …?

Thank you EPU, the post is right on!! Many of us conservatives are thinking the same…I can only wish the RNC will wake up and take notice of their past failures and move to core Conservative principles, otherwise, a third party needs to be established with those principles..

you have no idea how painful speaking up can suddenly be. In the past, being an Academic Conservative was lonely and occasionally stressful. It is now downright frightening. The Left won and is not afraid to say so. Anyone who disagrees is unwelcome – and that news is delivered clearly, loudly, and painfully.

Even as a tenured law professor, I’ve suddenly learned to watch my back, my car, my property, and my job. Certainly many decent people remain; however, they are mostly quiet. Speaking out has real consequences. I wonder how many “squishy” Republicans are truly “squishy” and how many are actually scared, pressured, and alone.

I agree, the squishy ones need to go. But the scared ones may need some help and support. I’m not sure how to accomplish that, let alone how to determine the group to which they belong.

But, as one who is committed, but alone, I know the meaning of fear. My job, my family’s welfare depend on what I do and say. I wish the First Amendment and Academic Freedom were real. My friends, they are not, at least not from where I sit.

I can be relentless and am not easily cowered; however, we all have our breaking points. Please be careful about discarding – rather than helping – leaders who have reached or crossed theirs.

I agree with Ace. This needs to be printed in red letters and handed out to every single member of the RNC and every Republican “leader” across this country.

We’re mad as hell. Rush said this morning that Obama is remaking this country from the ground up and he’s absolutely right. Every morning is like waking up with the wrecking ball coming right through the bedroom window. And those on the Left–politicians, MSM, and useful idiots alike– are growing way too big for those nasty little britches they are wearing with such glee.

Fight, people, fight!

I agree 100%.

Thank you.

Join the RedState Strike Force

Besmirch? Not so much.

But is Rush really the leader of the GOP? I think not.

If for no other reason, he doesn’t want the job (pay cuts and such)

Now… is Rush the ‘heart’ of the party? Is he the soul? The spirit?

Might he be called the conscience of the party?

Perhaps even… if it could be said that we conservatives are looking for our ‘messiah’ to lead us back from the darkness… might Rush then be our John the Baptist?

More thoughts along this line later…

I finally watched the entire Rush speech yesterday and was jumping out of my seat in agreement. Even if Michael was “baited”, how could he have disagreed with anything said in the speech?

I have alienated friends – some recently – over my conservative beliefs and I am at the point where I could care less. My family is being adversely affected, my business, already over-regulated and over-taxed, is going to be hurt badly by Porkulus. (I also live in California so how is that for a double-whammy?)

I could ramble on but will not. I am sooo over “limp fish” Republicans. So what if this shrinks our ranks. We will all be stronger because of it, and, sooner than we think.

While it is definitely true that the party has had all sorts of issues with people speaking out claiming to represent the GOP or conservatism, the whole strategy of returning fire and praying for as large a body count as possible is political suicide. If this keeps up the way it has the last three or four years, Obama wins 40+ states in 2012, and has 70 Senators along for the ride.

The issue is not so much that the party is being damaged by unscrupulous individuals, but rather that the party damages itself through a complete and utter lack of principles, standards, and torchbearers. It’s the whole “crabs in a barrel” situation… one crab climbs up to the top of the barrel, a few other crabs pull him back down into the bottom. The focus is no longer on Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Soros, any of them… but rather it seems like most everybody in the GOP has taken out the biggest guns they can find, turned them on the person nearest to them, and pulled the trigger. We’re then left with an emboldened Left, a gigantic body count on our side, and most of those who didn’t get shot have since run off, hoping to avoid getting shot (with regards to the analogy, I guess that makes me a person who ran off and is now trying to get himself shot, but I digress).

This power struggle comes from a lack of accountability within the conservative movement for many years, allowing people who couldn’t understand the principles of opposing the Left even if they were beaten upside the head with them to ascend through the ranks, becoming influential members within the institution. The problem isn’t with the Ivy League mentality, a regional struggle, or even an insider/outsider problem, but rather the problem lies in not knowing who one’s true enemies are.

As much fun as it is to go after easy targets like Brooks, Dreher, Parker, or even Steele… they’re misguided. Our true opposition is malicious, calculated, and grinning sadistically as we add to the body count with them not even having to do so much as lift a finger..

5′s

You have a great gift of saying exactly what us conservatives think, feel and believe, and with no fancy 50cent words, just plain ole english that carries in the wind.

“We’re so done with your way, you gas bag idiots” so get the hel! out of the way, because there are lots of us and that number is gaining daily!

You have a great gift of saying exactly what us conservatives think, feel and believe, and with no fancy 50cent words, just plain ole english that carries in the wind.

“We’re so done with your way, you gas bag idiots” so get the hel! out of the way, because there are lots of us and that number is gaining daily!

Wait until they see what a conservative Congress can do with their agenda.

Oh, and 5.

Rush does come off as incendiary and even ugly at times and I would call him an entertainer. Even though I agree with his basic message but I do not enjoy listening to him rant and rave and talk about how smart he is. I have a lot of respect for what he is doing currently and he is very good at it, so I appreciate that. He’s an attack dog and a very effective one. Thank god we have him!
Steele is in a totally different role and trying to get the conservative message out into popular culture which is why he was in the belly of the beast like the Hughley show! Talk about hostile! But he is very effective in that environment. God bless him! I respect what he is trying to do. DL even admitted the conservative message appealed to him, he just doesn’t like the people that are Republicans!
That is very telling and a real problem. His comment about the GOP convention looking like Nazi Germany was way over the top and Steele should have called him out on that, but it’s also legitimate to point out the appalling lack of ethnic diversity at that event. It was an embarrassment. We have a fine African American House candidate (Barb Davis White, she loses every two years, but she keeps trying!) here in Minneapolis and it would have been a goldmine to have her speak, both for her own political career and the party’s image. I’m not sure she was even invited to attend! She gets little support from the party and it’s a shame.
The party needs an aggressive diversity program right now! I am not proud to be part of something that does not reflect the ethnic make up of the country a little better. This is politics and it does matter.
Anyway, Steele is right to play down the Rush factor especially in that environment. Rush is never going to attract the diversity we need, in fact he may hinder the effort because he is pompous. So I’m with Michael on this one. It’s about reaching out to people. If we don’t have an ethnically diverse party it is our fault, not anyone else’s. And it’s just bad politics. Thank god we have Steele and Jindal now, but there is still a very long way to go. And Rush is not gonna get us there!

my fellow Texan.

I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of Jim Sumpter, but he is one example that criticism of Rush isn’t always coming from the left. As he sees it, Rush was a “lapdog” for the Bush administration and the liberal policies enacted or continued under him. I can’t confirm this statement, since I haven’t listened to Rush much. However it seems this is more along the lines of why didn’t Republicans get it right before they lost elections.

The bigger problem I see is this inherent trait of Republicans, especially those in leadership roles, to cower to the Democrats and their spin. In every sentence they speak, Republican leaders and elected officials seem to inject the word “respect” in reference to the Democrats. It’s either that or a “good people can disagree” disclaimer. It dilutes the message and passion, and it only turns people away from conservatism. There should be no room for it in Republicans with any leadership role.

I can only dream!!!

..

Just heard a radio interview with David Brooks who was asked about Rush and he basically said “republicans” need to distance themselves from Rush because his negatives are so high they will never get back in power. He asserts that this is why Obama is gleefully trying to make Rush the face of the republican party. Who hates Rush besides liberals and RINOS? And who is David Brooks any way? If all the people like Brooks who want democrat light, would the republican party be that bad off if they just became democrats???

Rush is the best thing ever. Anyone who insults him or even says something in a tenor that displeases him should be immediately skewered and held as an example and a warning to others who would dare profane our dear leader. It doesn’t matter that someone like Michael Steele actually has a chance to reach out to those outside the republican party or establish some sort of credibility with the general populace. It doesn’t matter that the repuiblican party is becoming a laughingstock because of this. None of the myriad of offensive things he’s said matters at all; he’s one of us! He’s loud; he has listeners! It doesn’t matter at all that his approval rate is lower than Williams Ayers’ or Jeremiah Wright’s. Remember how well it worked when Obama abjectly apologized to them for possibly offending their delicate sensitivities. That anyone woud apologize to Rush Limbaugh, especially for pretend insults (Steele never even insulted Limbaugh!), is the height of ridiculousness.