If Steele's election as head of the GOP national committee was meant to signal that it's not just the party of white Southerners, well, I can only think of two words: epic failure. Have one of the party's very few black leaders acquiesce to his own demeaning? Now there's an interesting strategy - and one that makes me anticipate even more breathlessly the "urban-suburban hip-hop" initiatives that Steele has also promised.
Already, it looks as if it might be time to start a Steele death watch. In taking on but instantly backing off Limbaugh, he has managed quite a lose-lose proposition: He angered the GOP base that considers Limbaugh its spokesman, and takes any insult of him as an insult of them, and his apology surely smoothed nothing over. Meanwhile, he disappointed those who were initially glad to see someone tugging on Superman's cape by then turning tail and saying he didn't mean it. The whisper campaign has started - the big story on Politico yesterday was about GOP leaders having second, albeit anonymous, thoughts about Steele as party chair.
However this drama plays out, it's hard to imagine a good resolution. Limbaugh commands 20 million listeners a week, so, yes, he merits some of the kid-glove treatment that he demands. But by the same token, those listeners - who according to audience data are largely older, white, male and conservative and thus overlap closely with the GOP base - aren't enough to swing an election, as November's results showed.
So it seems self-defeating to concede to Limbaugh such an off-with-their-heads role when it comes to who can and can't speak for Republicans. It's not just Steele he's denounced lately - did you hear him lace into those in the party who criticized Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's sing-songy response to President Barack Obama's address to Congress? "Those of you who think Jindal was horrible ... I don't ever want to hear from you ever again."
Ohhhh-kay. There's something unseemly about a big success like Limbaugh being so sensitive to any criticism, any disagreement. The big talk, the thin skin. The delight in saying rude, obnoxious things, but then when called out, the whining about being taken out of context. (Witness the unconvincing parsing that followed his statement that he hopes Obama fails, or his denunciation of "phony soldiers" who favored withdrawing from Iraq.)
Sounds like someone can dish it out but can't take it. Boo-hoo.
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