The 2008 election ended in what was considered a landslide victory for the Democratic Party. With the widespread popularity of Barack Obama and them being just shy of 60 senate seats, most Republicans had finally come to terms with the fact that the party was in dire need of a makeover (I’m looking at you Chambliss!). While the GOP is in the midst of a political panic, analysts and other voices in the media continue to speculate on who’ll save the party from spiraling into political irrelevance. Perhaps former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee? There were even whispers about former Speaker of the house, Newt Gingrich running in 2012. Seeing that there’s been endless discussion surrounding the future of the party, quite a few names have been taken into consideration. Among the suggestions, the most bewildering was the mentioning of Rush Limbaugh. In spite of some republicans agreeing to work together with Obama, Limbaugh protested the GOP’s fresh approach and declared in an interview that he “hopes Obama will fail”. Given the amount of attention he’s received from the media and even a remark made by Barack Obama, it seems as if people are actually buying into the idea of Rush being the face of the Republican Party.

Let it be duly noted that Rush is strictly an entertainer. He generates controversy based on brazen statements that consist mostly of his demonization of everything liberal. I was disappointed that Obama even acknowledged this guy. However, with all that being said, I have the sneaking suspicion that this conservative windbag is reaching the end of his rope. With a catastrophic economic climate, a majority of Americans have grown weary of partisan bickering and are demanding a course of action. Rush Limbaugh is the polar opposite of progress. An ardent proponent of the Reaganomics philosophy, Limbaugh has no interest in actually reforming the political system for the good of the people but rather putting across his own narrow minded ideology as law regardless of whether or not it makes sense.

The biggest mistake that critics made about Obama’s call for change was that the change was not a matter of veering towards the right or left. It was a cry for the return to civilized discourse and developing solutions through bi-partisan support. I’m not so naïve to think that this particular breed of passionate “thinkers” will be totally cast aside, but in a country hungry for change, Limbaugh’s antics just seem like an exercise in self-marginalization.

Tags: politics