Republican House-Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia rejected comments made by Rush Limbaugh at CPAC in which the leader of the conservative movement reiterated his desire for President Obama to fail. It was a refreshing moment of tepid honesty from the House Republican leadership, and we can't really expect anything more than "tepid honesty". After all, in the same interview, Rep. Cantor was caught by Politico doing some serious round-ups with his math on the House omnibus bill to exaggerate its size and its number of earmarks. To digress, though, I cannot help but wonder what sort of backlash awaits Rep. Cantor. Will Rush Limbaugh stand for anything short of down-the-line opposition against President Obama and reality from the Republican Party?
Per George Stephanopoulos of ABC;
"So the Rush Limbaugh approach of hoping the president fails is not the Eric Cantor, House Republican approach?" I asked.
"Absolutely not," Cantor said. "And I don't -- I don't think anyone wants anything to fail right now. We have such challenges. What we need to do is we need to put forth solutions to the problems that real families are facing today."
This came not so long after "Rahmbo" Emmanuel, Chief of Staff to the President of the United States, launched his own counter-attack against Rush Limbaugh and the Republican Party, reiterating the fact that Rush Limbaugh is "the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party."
This also comes just hours after my date with a ditto-head. It wasn't my idea, my friend hooked us up, and it was crazy. Seriously. Not just because she delved into conspiracy theories, but because she was so damn cute. I didn't mince words when she asked about my political affiliation like it were some kind of litmus test. I also didn't hesitate to get another drink. A strong one, at that. And yes, apparently there really are some women who listen to Rush Limbaugh. But, again, I digress.
This brings us all back to the ongoing intra-Republican fight over the heart and soul of their party, divided into two camps. David Brooks calls these two camps the "Reformers" and the "Traditionalists". The "Traditionalists" include the talk-radio wing of the conservative movement. The "Reformers" include what some would call "moderates", others "pragmatists". My favorite at the moment is Governor Huntsman of Utah, who is urging his party to be more accepting of gay-rights(civil unions), less rejectionist of environmental concerns, and more open to a reasonable and inclusive debate about immigration. It takes serious cojones to do that in Utah.
Will the Huntsmans and the Crists and the Schwarzeneggers of the Republican Party manage to hold their ground in this battle over the future of their party? Perhaps, but if history is any indicator, the Republican Party will aim for a more conservative candidate in 2012 after the failure of "moderate"-Republican John McCain in 2008.