I ♥ RUSH LIMBAUGH

The Republicans are out on the airwaves this morning in full force to blame their own spineless sucking-up to the Grand Poobah of Pomposity on the evil Barack Obama and his minions led by James Carville and Paul Begala.  I wanted to move on to something more substantive today, but alas, I couldn’t resist at least one more poke at the idiot right as it spirals into irrelevancy.  It’s like shooting fish in a barrel, and that can lead to some good eatin’.

Actually, the Republicans started their “it’s not our fault” campaign yesterday led by the stomach-turning Tom DeLay, formerly of Texas – my area to be specific.  And why not?  Never mind that Representative DeLay was forced out of office by an indictment on Conspiracy to Violate Campaign Finance Laws.  In the end he stepped down to avoid prosecution and, taking a page from his mentor Dick Cheney’s book, allowed two of his aides to take the fall.  Now he parades around on the talk-show circuit like some sort of grand-old-man who should be listened to.

But all he had to offer was a snarling indictment of all things Obama without one single idea to solve the problems that his buddy, George W. Bush, left behind.  The infamous Mr. DeLay actually claimed that King Bush II had been an excellent President who left no problems behind, and that all the problems were caused during the Obama Administration – well, there was some blame to be placed at the feet of the Clinton Administration.  Mr. DeLay, who was Majority Whip of the House for much of the Bush  Administration, seems to be suffering from the same eight-year amnesia that many Republicans would like to infect the entire nation with.

Adding to the snarling rhetoric of the day was the rejected John McCain – you remember him.  He was Sarah Palin’s running mate.  He took the evil Obama to task for not standing up to earmarks in the budget bill, a position not even embraced by his own pork-hungry party members when he brought the matter to the floor of the Senate for a vote.  But like so many other Republicans, Senator McCain has chosen to live in the ancient world of what may have been, ignoring the realities of his own party’s malfeasance a short while ago.  But, good show, Johnny come lately.  Perhaps somebody is still listening to your stump speech and considering who they’re going to vote for in November.  Oh, that’s right, November’s already come and gone.  They elected the other guy with the other ideas, John.  Sorrrrrrrrry!

But who is it that really speaks for the Republican Party?  Well, they trotted out former press secretary to George W. Bush, Ari Fleischer, today on Morning Joe to give a professional press-secretary’s view of the supposed grab for power by Rush Limbaugh.  In true Republican press-secretary form, he blamed the whole thing on the White House.  It was exactly the same charge leveled by DeLay the day before – along with Limbaugh himself, Michael Steele and every other Republican that has come forward since they got their “Rush is right” message straight.  No matter how much Mike Barnicle and even Joe Scarborough himself poked at his position, Fleischer held firm to the pre-recorded message that it was Obama’s fault that Limbaugh was the voice of the Republican Party.  At least they’re consistent once they get on message.  And the true leader of the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh, has trained his bitches well and given them the new conservative mantra to throw out for every occasion.  “Obama is destroying America.”

Perhaps a newer, fresher voice is needed by the beleaguered Republicans.  Joe Scarborough himself called out for such a thing this morning with the proviso that the Republicans need an alternative plan if they want to be listened to.  And in the hour just after Joe’s show yielded the air to MSNBC’s regular 24-hour news programming, out stepped – I love this name – Representative Zach Wamp (R-TN).  He was sent forth to decry the yet unveiled Obama healthcare plan as socialism.  In his fast-talking country-boy accent, he

proclaimed that everything President Obama has done, is doing, and is going to do is socialism.  And nothing could possibly be worse for our nation than any plan that would get everybody on board some sort of healthcare plan.  “Healthcare is not a right,” he proclaimed.  “It is a privilege.”  And there you have it: the Republican view on healthcare – it’s a privilege, not a right.  Representative Wamp didn’t offer any answer to the healthcare crisis that our nation faces.  He just said: no!  They just keep on talking themselves into a deeper and deeper hole every day.  And that’s why I heart Rush Limbaugh.

In his own insane, irascible way, Rush has pulled the Republican Party so far to the right that they may never find their way back.  Is this good for America?  Maybe not.  I believe in opposition parties and viewpoints.  They keep things honest.  But these guys don’t seem to believe in the tenets of democracy unless it supports their narrow view of things.  They love elections used to deny minorities equal rights.  They love redrawing congressional districts so that they face no opposition come re-election time.  They love electing judges so that they can politicize the judicial system.  But they hate judges as a whole.  On the latest issue of NewsMax, the cover picture was of a woman standing on the steps of the Supreme Court Building in Washington holding a sign that read: Judges don’t rule us!  But then on the other hand, they turned to the courts to get George W. Bush elected to the presidency, and are stonewalling Al Franken’s election to the US Senate through the courts.  I guess they don’t really hate the courts as long as the courts do as they want.

But rushing back to Rush.  Not since Sarah Palin has the Republican Party offered up such an easy target for ridicule as Rush Limbaugh.  Tom DeLay lamented yesterday that he had never seen such a well-organized coalition as the Democrats have amassed.  Thanks, Mr. DeLay.  I always thought organization was the realm of the Republican Party.  But thanks to Tom DeLay, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin and now Rush Limbaugh, Democrats and many independents can clearly see what the Republicans want for America.  Rush puts it best:  “I want President Obama to fail.”  Of course, Mr. Limbaugh and his Republican bitches seem to overlook the fact that Obama’s failure at this critical time would be devastating to millions of real Americans who need help now or might need it in the near future.  Do they care about people?  NO!  All they care about is winning the next election.

So let us look kindly upon crazy old Uncle Rush and take him into our bosoms with a cuddly hug.  He and the crazy-quilt menagerie that makes up the far right of the Republican Party, demanding that it not listen to anybody else, are finally giving us Democrats what we couldn’t seem to find for ourselves: unity.  And I would also urge those of you who enjoy blogging as I do, to continue to put the words of Rush and his zany cohorts out there for all to read.  They rally our side more than a pregnant lesbian standing outside a family planning clinic stirs up the Republican base.  This also relieves the Obama Administration from the burden of taking them on.  After all, the President did ask us ALL to do what we could to make the country better.  I choose to love Rush and reach out to him in his hour of need.  Please join me in this worthy cause.  After all, it’s quite clear that he’s “a little touched in the head” as we put it down here in these parts, and I want to do my part to support mental health issues.  In the meantime . . .

KEEP FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT!