Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer (see Michael Steele). He is incendiary and ugly (ibid).
Because he gets paid for having listeners! Not voters!
The Republicans succeed if they have voters. If Rush's listeners are voters, that's nice, but if all of Rush's listeners are the only Republicans left, the Republicans lose. Big. Catastrophically. Huge.
The only places where Rush's listeners represent majorities of voters are in solidly Red parts of America where there are, for a short while at least, few hopes of turning purple, much less Blue. You can look 'em up. So, until 2010's primary season is over, Republican candidates in these areas can't afford to be flanked on Rush's side of the party and get primaried out of a chance to go back and torture Democrats. Lots of agreement and kowtowing ahead. Rush's ring and possibly his backside look to get a lot shinier in the next 16 months or so.
However, (see ya below the fold)...
...past next year's primaries, we'll start to see the true splinters of the Republican party. Whither goest thou, then? After the primaries, these candidates have general elections in which they are forced, for the first time, to truly face the Democratic demographic majority. Whither goest thou?
Well, I think a lot will depend on the fortunes of the Obama Administration between now and then. If the deficit bulges and so do job losses whilst the stock market and home prices get still slimmer, then Red-Staters and Red-Districters will have some room to belly-ache from the Right that Obamanomics have failed, just like they said they would.
However, the President and his Prince are clever guys. Most of their rhetoric is playing ahead to these days:
"This will get worse before it gets better."
"This may take most of the first term to get turned around."
And more black crepe -- no way are they going to allow an expectation of Blue Skies to clear before Election Day 2010. They'll still be cleaning up the old mess, especially if things don't improve. And we know who holds the bucket on that one, don't we? The Red guys all the way.
"They took eight years to make this mess. We're going to need more than one year to fix it. Even President Roosevelt didn't show gains against the Depression until his second year and that was after 5 years of Depression! It's still really early in this game -- we inherited it as it was still unraveling. It's going to take more time to wind some of this twine back on the old ball."
"By the way, Republican equals Rush Limbaugh and vice versa!"
And if things do improve measurably, then they will have exceeded expectations and laid down some long coattails for Democratic candidates. For not only will they have succeeded, but they will have narrowed the Republican party down to Rush's Immoral Minority. Swing voters will keep coming to the Blue side, and so may some candidates. Whither goest Red office-holders in states and districts going increasingly Blue? Not Redder, unless they long for short political careers.
And whither Rush? How fairs The Fat Man? Rush makes money. He has his audience, large enough and reliable enough to attract advertisers who want to transfer some of their wealth to The Fat Man, even if they hold their noses while doing it, because, doggone it, this is a free market economy and we do what makes the most economic sense. And even if that large, reliable audience is a minor minority among American voters.
As for Rush, dear Rush, dear beloved and reliable Rush, he longs only to make money and, while doing so, he will splinter and marginalize the Republican Party. Rush can make noise, and doing so, he will assure Red-party minorities from his little perch over there on the extreme right.
God loves America so much that he would give us Rush and do away with the threat and memory of more Bush-like RedRadicalRight Administrations.
What a country!