Sarah Palin would rather be Rush Limbaugh's friend than George Will's (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)
Yesterday, conservative elites pummeled Sarah Palin, basically telling her to STFU. They claim to be offended that her political brand is focused on identity instead of ideas, though given the GOP's long history of cultural warfare and exploitation of racial resentment, their claims rang hollow. And now, perhaps unsurprisingly, Rush Limbaugh has sprung to Sarah Palin's defense:
Look, I could understand not wanting her to be the nominee, I can understand thinking there's somebody better, but this? There's an all-out assault on her by our guys that puzzles me -- and now this latest to say that she's Al Sharpton? Our version of Al Sharpton in Alaska? So you guys gotta help me out out there. Somebody's gonna have to explain this to me because it makes no sense. You know, I'm totally immersed in logic and common sense, and some of this doesn't register that way for me. I don't get it. ... I think the simple explanation here is, if you want to be an accredited intellectual, one of the tests is, do you hate Sarah Palin? Do you think she represents a pox? Is she a danger to whatever? If you do, then you will pass the test and you are, therefore, an accredited intellectual.
As Andrew Sullivan points out, in the context of today's GOP, Sarah Palin would rather have Rush Limbaugh on her side than George Will. She'd make that choice any day of the week. Of course, when it comes down to actual policy, there's virtually no difference between George Will, Rush Limbaugh, and Sarah Palin, but for these guys, this really is about identity politics—and within the Republican Party, it's Sarah Palin who is winning the identity battle.
Assuming Sarah Palin seeks the Republican nomination, there's really only one thing that can stop her from winning it, and that's if Republican primary voters base their decision on her electability. But the conservative elites are attacking Palin not so much on electability but on substance, and on substance, Sarah Palin is a perfect fit for most of the Republican base. And to the extent that Sarah Palin's conservative critics want to shift the debate from her electability, the net result will be to strengthen her prospects of winning the nomination. So let's hope they keep it up, because she's utterly unelectable.