Why Letting Bullies Run The Show Is A Bad Idea

Back in the 90's when Clinton was President, Rush Limbaugh began his ascent to King of Conservative Talk Radio.  He had a huge target with Clinton, especially with the Monica Lewinsky scandal.  One of the principles of business is that if one thing works, people will start imitating. So, based on Limbaugh's success, lots of other conservative talk show hosts have sprung up as well.  From Glenn Beck to Laura Ingraham to Hugh Hewitt, these conservative blowhards dominated talk radio.  And frankly, they still do. Add in Matt Drudge, Ann Coulter, and Fox News into the mix, and the conservative viewpoint was loud and strong in America. Due to the dominance, there was no liberal equivalent to bounce back, to debate, to stick up for the other perspective. When Bush was elected appointed by the Supreme Court in 2000, it ushered in 8 years of an idealogical conservative monolith in America, with its may branches in talk radio, the one main internet news hub and its own "news" station. They were all used to being the loudest voices in the room and, in their minds, that made them correct.  For them, being conservative meant being loud, shouting and talking over people, being belligerant, and acting like total bullies.  They would spout lies and no one was strong enough to push back.

Fortunately, in the eight years since, the liberals got their stuff together and fought back.  With a fledgling radio network, lots and lots and lots of blogs, and MSNBC Prime Time, liberals were able to push back against the Right.  I think of this because of the brouhaha around Rush and his wanting Obama to fail comments and about him and Hannity and the others during the 2008 campaign.  When they would try to label the recession the Obama recession, the Left fought back.  For a Rush on their side, we have a Stephanie Miller; for a Bill O'Reilly, we have Keith Olbermann.  For a Laura Ingraham, we have the totally awesome Rachel Maddow.  When Rush says that he hopes Obama fails, people are actually taking him and his lot to task.  Finally. 

The Republicans' loss in 2008 should send them off into the woods to reconsider what they're doing. Hell, they used to be called "The Party of Ideas".  They took over the Congress in the '94 mid-terms due to their "Contract With America".  Now, the old guard of the GOP is running around with their heads cut off, and the old guard is suddenly in the crosshairs... not with liberals, but with members of their own party. David Frum has come out against Rush and his style of conservatism.  Now, for the uninitiated, Frum is a conservative Republican who was a speechwriter in W's White House.  He's the dude to created the phrase "Axis of Evil".  He labeled Rush how I see him: an out of touch blowhard who's more interested in his own publicity than anything else whose selfserving ways will help bring down the party.

Along the lines of Rush is the performance artist Ann Coulter.  Coulter was the subject of an article yesterday by Meghan McCain... yes, John McCain's daughter.  In My Beef With Ann Coulter, Ms. McCain talks about how Coulter's tactics are starting to backfire:

And if figureheads like Ann Coulter are turning me off, then they are definitely turning off other members of my generation as well. She does appeal to the most extreme members of the Republican Party—but they are dying off, becoming less and less relevant to the party structure as a whole.

One of the big differences in the young people and the old guard at the GOP?  The gays.  From Ms. McCain's article:

I think most people my age are like me in that we all don’t believe in every single ideal of each party specifically. The GOP should be happy to have any young supporters whatsoever, even if they do digress some from traditional Republican thinking. I’m often criticized for not being a “real” Republican, and I have been called a RINO—Republican In Name Only—in the past. Many say I am not “conservative enough,” which is something that I am proud of. It is no secret that I disagree with many of the old-school Republican ways of thinking. One of the biggest issues from which I seem to drift from the party base is in my support of gay marriage. I am often criticized for previously voting for John Kerry and my support of stem-cell research.  [Emphasis added by me]

And from David Frum's article:

We need to modulate our social conservatism (not jettison—modulate). The GOP will remain a predominantly conservative party and a predominantly pro-life party. But especially on gay-rights issues, the under-30 generation has arrived at a new consensus. Our party seems to be running to govern a country that no longer exists. [Emphasis added by me]

Now, for the record, I don't agree with David Frum on... well, pretty much anything.  And Meghan McCain is rather socially progressive while conservative on other issues, which is a position I can understand.  It's not my position, but it's at least a position that has a logic that I can appreciate. 

Maybe in the next eight years, the Republican party will give itself a nice, long look and realize that they need to adapt.  If they come out of this period actually supportive of gay rights issues, then they will really be a party to contend with.  Unfortunately, I do feel that both Frum and Meghan McCain will be drowned out by the Rushes and the Coulters and their ilk.  All loud-mouthed bullies should be put in their place.  It's now in the GOP's hands to do so.