THE FACE OF THE GOP

Michael Steele may be the new chairman of the GOP, and Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin may already be positioning themselves for 2012. But although each of the above names are trying hard to reshape the Republican image, if anyone actually believes an African-American, Indian, or Female is the TRUE face of the GOP, you are highly mistaken. That title officially belongs to Rush Limbaugh!

In a stirringly divisive appearance before the Conservative Political Action Conference this past Saturday, the well known conservative commentator and democratic hater proved he’s still King. Reiterating his disdain for bipartisanship and his controversial claim that he hopes President Obama fails, Limbaugh said of the President: “He wants people in fear, angst and crisis, fearing the worst each and every day because that clears the decks for President Obama and his pals to come in with the answers which are abject failures, historically shown and demonstrated. Doesn’t matter. They’ll have control of it when it’s all over. And that’s what they want.”

Limbaugh also dismissed the notion of bipartisanship as a “false premise” given the opposing views of the Democrat and Republican parties on a variety of issues, including the recent $787 billion stimulus package signed by Obama. Limbaugh’s conservative “red-meat” speech came one day after Obama supporters put out a political ad implying that the conservative radio host has become the de facto head of the Republican Party in the absence of a clear GOP leader. The ad argues that the Republican leadership in Congress is following Limbaugh’s lead in opposing the Obama administration’s stimulus package. “So who are Republican leaders listening to?,” the announcer asks before the 30-second ad cuts abruptly to footage of Limbaugh saying, “I want him (Obama) to fail.”

The GOP is proving to be a party of crumbling factions, each with its own agenda in stark competition with the other. One faction thought selecting their own Republican version of “Barack Obama” to be party leader would make the party viable. But the new African-American party chairman somehow believes he can attract hip-hop and young ethnic minorities into the party. And then there’s the Christian and social conservatives like Limbaugh who are thinking and working exactly the opposite of their own party chairman. It’s 3 parties in one, infighting with one another and teetering on irrelevancy and failure.