Former Bush Speechwriter Fires Shot in GOP Civil War

clipped from www.newsweek.com And for the leader of the Republicans? A man who is aggressive and bombastic, cutting and sarcastic, who dismisses the concerned citizens in network news focus groups as "losers." With his private plane and his cigars, his history of drug dependency and his personal bulk, not to mention his tangled marital history, Rush is a walking stereotype of self-indulgence—exactly the image that Barack Obama most wants to affix to our philosophy and our party. And we're cooperating! Those images of crowds of CPACers cheering Rush's every rancorous word—we'll be seeing them rebroadcast for a long time. Rush knows what he is doing. The worse conservatives do, the more important Rush becomes as leader of the ardent remnant. The better conservatives succeed, the more we become a broad national governing coalition, the more Rush will be sidelined.

That's David Frum, author of Bush's "axis of evil" line. He's absolutely right -- it's not in Limbaugh's best interests that the GOP do well. Limbaugh is also an egotist who'll rise to the bait every time the Democrats criticize him. He's guaranteed to do exactly what dems want him to by virtue of being reactionary. In this way, he does become the leader of the Republican party, because he keeps putting himself in that position.

Having Rush Limbaugh -- a race-baiting, narrow-minded, hypocritical demagogue -- as the face of the party can only help Democrats. And, since elected Republicans are terrified of him, there's nothing the GOP can do about it.