Go along to get along? Principles don’t matter as long as the peace is kept?

I gather that you have not listened to Rush at any length. He is not incendiary at all. Conservatives are under no obligation to “get along with” or “give a chance to” those with whom we have principled disagreements. It matters not if Obama is in his Honeymoon Phase, I hope he fails. His goal is to implement socialism, far and wide, vigorously and deeply. I disagree with this goal, and I am delighted that there is an articulate spokesperson that can cogently express this on my behalf. Obama did not win by a huge majority, and I see no reason to give him a moment’s pause in the battle for the future of the country. I would appreciate it if the closest things there are in Congress to my beliefs, namely Republicans, would fight against the imposition of socialism. We have had a run of the “Democrat Lite” heads of the party, and as a presidential candidate. And we operate now as a tiny, virtually powerless minority. Sounds like a recipe for failure to me.

You hope in your close that there will be a principled leader to take control of the ship. Rush is exactly that. But he is not a politician. It seems that for which you pine, exists on radio for 15 hours a week. If only you can listen more intently.

In all of that little screed you were not able, not once, to bring yourself to point out a specific instance where you actually disagreed with WHAT Rush said.

Sounds more like a “See guys, I can think for myself! Yippee!” Post.

Pretty pathetic.

You are full of crap -

Don’t shoot the messenger.

As a long time Rush 24/7 member I can tell within one paragraph whether a critic of Mr. Limbaugh has actually listened to his show (I mean more than once).

Rush Limbaugh espouses “mainstream” conservative thought. He is not incindiary IN ANY WAY!. He is a commentator of gigantic talents and intellect. He is also fearless. Republicans and conservatives should thank Rush everyday for the slings and arrows he takes.

In my lifetime there has never been someone who more accurately covers the left and their real agenda more than Rush. If there was a Medal of Honor for intellectuals Rush would have won it numerous times.

When the Republicans pick up seats in 2010 it will be because Rush gave them the backbone to fight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoGYx35ypus

But, my point remains. The pure politics reality is that to be able to institute conservative values and conservative policy we first must win elections. To win elections you must pull in far more people than solely the base. This means moderates and this means the center left. It means being able to coherently, yet respectfully show that our ideas are the correct solution. No one ever voted for a candidate that made them feel bad and scolded them for being wrong.

I praised him for what he has done for the party and agree with the core of what he says, but the fact is that his ideas are praised or even attractive ONLY to the base of the Republican party.

As a Texas republican and student at SMU, I know not of one young republican my age that sees Rush Limbaugh as anything more than ‘our’ Keith Olbermann and his ilk. I apologize for offending, but this is the political reality of the future.

Is that the Republican Party IS a big tent. But even a big tent is held in place by stakes. This is what makes it stand, and resist the winds. Without the stakes, the tent is just a pile of canvas. If the party doesn’t stand for it’s core beliefs, which happen to be (or SHOULD be) conservative, it might as well be a pile of canvas. If you start with the right principles, everything else is easy.

I didn’t expect agreement, but I certainly didn’t expect this kind of reaction. The entire point of the piece was pointing out my disagreement with the hostility and implications of Rush’s comment, and its affect on the the party’s future. There is room for differing tastes, we’re all on the same team here.

And do not say I am not a conservative:
http://www.pretendyoureadthenews.com/2009/02/top-10-things-ill-miss-about-capitalism.html

h/t to whoever it was who brought this….

“Top Democrats believe they have struck political gold by depicting Rush Limbaugh as the new face of the Republican Party, a full-scale effort first hatched by some of the most familiar names in politics and now being guided in part from inside the White House.“

You guys are still young enough that you buy in to the media premise. You are not jaded enough. Politics ain’t beanbag, never will be. Rush stands for conservatism everyday and he provides the stark contrast that has been lacking from the party.

Talk to Achance, or Erick or Janis or Jaded or AceinTX, or any of the others here who have been doing this “conservatism” thing for a while now in the trenches. The happy language and respectful opposition era is over. President Obama’s policies are dangerous for our country. Economically we face malaise or depression, socially we face dependence on the state, National Security not the best record.

Furthermore the democrats are certified slime merchants, and what should be outrageous enough for you to write about, would be the fact that Rush Limbaugh, a private citizen, is being attacked in a coordinated way by the White House. But no, instead in your youthful naivety of politics still being a gentlemen’s sport has allowed you to accept the media driven premise that Rush Limbaugh actually said something wrong.

It is imperative to the Nation’s survival as a Republic for President Obama’s policies to fail. That is the true political reality. You need to wake up to the real world, it ain’t like college.

My problem with Rush Limbaugh has never been about values or beliefs. The post was meant to criticize his tactics and their potential effects on future elections. You can’t implement policy without getting elected, and you can’t get elected without showing people why you should vote for them. My point, is that Rush is divisive and alienating to many of the people we should be proving our values to, people that in the future would vote for a conservative candidate, and that is detrimental in an election.

So you want to kick Rush out in order to encourage more liberals and socialists inside your Republican big tent?

Courting the moderates and liberals? How?

To look, sound and feel like liberals and democrats too? Like what Steele was attempting when he went to that CNN show? No. We have already a Democratic Party which espouses all kinds of liberal and socialist principles. If you want the same thing as with the liberals but you want to retain your “R” badge, I encourage you to form a third party called “Liberal Republican” inside the Democratic Party. In there, you can practice your experimentation. And the converse can also be true. A liberal republican third party espousing a mix of liberalism and conservatism (I just don’t know how inconsistent is that) inside a Republican Party is also a possible thing.

Reality Bites

But in the end, you will still need to face the problem of teaching the liberals that you will attract with the conservatism or republicanism.. And that will still hurt their feelings.

But, you miss the point of Rush Limbaugh. Rush is doing exactly what you are thinking. Rush is courting moderates and democrats 24/7. That’s what he’s doing. His strategy is exposing the lies and hypocrisy of the liberals and socialists. THAT’S THE REASON WHY MANY LIBERALS AND DEMOCRATS HATE RUSH! IT HURTS!

Now don’t tell that your strategy is for the Republican Party to go to the center and profess some policies of liberalism and socialism to lure people with “give me give me” mentality. Yes, you may experiment in presenting a liberal Republican as your candidate. But that’s what we exactly did in the last election. Did we win the election? No. The moderates chose the real deal…. a pure blooded Democrat. By the way, what’s the use of having a Republican in the White House if that Republican does and thinks the same thing as the Democrats? It will just further tarnish your Republican brand in the eyes of the people. GWB is a case in point, particularly his fiscal liberalism..

Just remember.

Liberals hate even the Liberal Republicans inside the Republican Party.

I fail to understand why you find Rush’s approach to things so ‘controversial.’ If you have specific quotes or instances instead of one remark taken grossly out of context, I’d be happy to read them. But if you’re just going to break out the broad brush strokes, it will be hard to take your opinion seriously.

And let’s be honest here; Making nice with the media, not calling them on their insults and trying to reach out to the other side has proven counterproductive. The only thing the Moral High Ground is good for is staging the artillery.

“But, there was a glimmer of hope that the GOP might finally put Rush in his place.”

I’m going to be honest with you. That remark right there makes you sound like a moby. Why should the GOP ‘put Rush in his place’? Where is the benefit in attacking someone who is a voice on a microphone that draws in a lot of listeners? Do you honestly think of he was put in his place, all of the sudden people would say ‘Hey, these conservatives aren’t too bad. Maybe I should vote GOP.’?

that Bob Michel is apparently running the College Republicans at SMU and teaching them his ways.

Did you not pay attention to the last election? Running as a moderate does not win you moderate or liberal voters. It just causes your base to stay home. You must convince people why conservatism is the best way for the country. The reason Rush has to do this by himself is because our party leaders are to weak and inept to effectively communicate our message.

Answer me this, what part of Obama’s agenda do you want to succeed?

put his library there.

The exact kind of hostility and resentment that I was voicing my opinion about and the damage that it has the potential to do to the party is the exact kind of thing that has been on display in this thread.

As a Republican I voiced my views on Rush Limbaugh that differ from many people’s, and I am torn apart, mocked and ridiculed (the SMU jokes are especially good). Crush the dissenting voice and discount everything he says? Maybe I should get in line or get lost? How American.

The idea that if we mock someone enough they’ll start to agree with us is exactly why Rush is ineffective and even damaging to the expansion of conservative values. His tactics used here against a fellow conservative are personally disillusioning.

How is tearing down anyone who disagrees going to win anything?

blech!

Regarding Rush, you claim that you “…never stated that you disagreed with his values…” and yet in your post you write “…he does espouse and embody the main principles of the conservative, but they are massively amplified and EXTREME versions of these beliefs…” (emphasis added)

You intimate that he is not mainstream because he is extreme. Do you agree with this “extremeness” as in your comment, or do you disagree? Either you hold the same values or you don’t.

You write “The fact that the audacity of the idea of hope won an entire election should put to bed any ideas that confrontational negativity and arrogance have any place in the political debate.”

Were you even paying attention to the 2008 election? Are you suggesting that there was no negativism on the left side of the aisle towards the Reps.? That it was just one big hug fest? Perhaps you missed the part about the ripping on McCain because of his age, or questioning Palin as a mother because she chose to have 5 kids, or the constantly bringing up the race card, or the likely voter fraud by Acorn (especially in Ohio), just to name a few.

You claim in your subsequent comments that you are a conservative, a capitalist, and not a socialist. You also comment that “…I am saying show and prove that conservative policies are better for the country.”
And yet you write:
“…Offering new innovative ideas and prove that they work better and make life better for Americans.”

Which is it?? Do you want to “prove” conservative policies work or do you want to come up with different ideas?
A quick look back at recent history is PROOF that conservative principles are what make this nation great. Look at the Reagan revolution in the 80′s, look at the Contract with America in the 90′s. Heck, look at the original founding Documents of this country, They are not exactly a bastion of liberalism.

You think that Rush is a “…shining example of what is wrong with the current state of the party.” Well, Matthew, we tried it your way in 08. We tried it Democrat lite with Mr. McCain. EVERY time we try being Democrat lite we get our butts kicked. When Bush 41 broke his “read my lips” pledge, well, the rest is history as they say.

If you are a typically aged college student, you MAY have voted in 2 presidential elections thus far, most likely one. You do not have a ton of experience under your belt in this area. History shows that when the GOP STRAYS from its BASE and is off message, we get our petards handed to us. If you really think that “playing nice” is the answer, look what happened during our time in the desert after FDR. I think that you completely miss the boat on this one.

Thank you for posting, Matthew. I appreciate your courage in coming and writing. You have been hit hard here. That happens. Do NOT be a quitter. If you want to share opinions and ideas, great. We are ALL here for that. Please be prepared to substantiate your position more thoroughly in your next post (which I look forward to reading.

Lastly, ou do say (after the fact) that “The blog post is satirical” and “…it isn’t even a persuasive post.” Well, then Matthew you should actually PRESENT it as SATIRICAL and not as an attempt at being a PERSUASIVE post.