Ever heard of the NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR A NEW AMERICA? Don’t feel bad. Neither had anyone else until high-profile Republicans Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, John McCain, Eric Cantor, and others invented it in hopes of “re-inventing” and re-branding the fledgling Republican Party. These prominent Republicans have virtually distanced themselves from the name and brand of the GOP, and intend to go on a listening tour across America in hopes of re-connecting with voters, rekindling interest in their conservative message and remaking the party
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Well, so much for party unity and repair, as the so-called “True Leader” of the Republican Party Rush Limbaugh is having NONE of it. Sir Rush made it known via his radio show Monday that he opposes any plans to remake the party’s image after the ’08 election — saying that rather than a “listening tour” across America, what the party needs is “a teaching tour.”
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“I’m weary of the same people who drove us to this point telling us what we have to do now. I’m not including Jeb in that. Jeb was not part of the campaign last year,” said Limbaugh. “But everybody else on this bus tour — for the most part — is responsible for where we are. We did it their way in 2008. We did it with the candidate and approach that they thought would work. Pandering. ‘We got to listen to the American people.’ I maintain that when a politician says we have to listen to the American people and learn, we are pandering. We’re not leading.”
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Realizing just how much the party is in turmoil and how necessary a near overhaul of the party might be, not everyone agrees with Limbaugh. Senator Lindsay Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said: “We are not losing blue states and shrinking as a party because we are not conservative enough. If we pursue a party that has no place for someone who agrees with me 70 percent of the time, that is based on an ideological purity test rather than a coalition test, then we are going to keep losing.” He added, “Do you really believe that we lost 18-to-34-year-olds by 19 percent, or we lost Hispanic voters, because we are not conservative enough? No. This is a ridiculous line of thought. The truth is we lost young people because our Republican brand is tainted.”
Politico UPDATE: A statement from Eric Cantor:“I am pleased to announce that Governor Palin has joined the National Council for a New America's panel of experts.”Okay…so YESTERDAY: Limbaugh railed that the GOP “establishment” are “embarrassed” by Sarah Palin; He said the underlying issue of these speaking engagements is that Bush and Romney “hate” and “despise” the Alaska Governor and former running-mate of John McCain_added they have “presidential perspirations” and called their tour an “early campaign event.”He defended Palin and heralded her as the “most prominent and articulate voice” for conservatism.TODAY: As per her spokeswoman, Palin has now agreed to work with the NCNA. I’m just gonna assume that Palin DIDN’T get "the memo" from Rush_lol. Anyway, WHAT does all of this drama tell me about the GOP?Simply put: I'd say it’s further confirmation that the GOP is literally tearing itself apart from the inside out and it doesn’t know how… Read more »