From the Huffington Post:
UPDATE - 6:20PM ET: Michael Steele has apologized to Rush Limbaugh for referring to him as an "entertainer" who can be "ugly" and "incendiary," Mike Allen reports.
"My intent was not to go after Rush - I have enormous respect for Rush Limbaugh," Steele said. "I was maybe a little bit inarticulate. ... There was no attempt on my part to diminish his voice or his leadership." Another Republican leader spoke his mind and the truth, then went crawling to Comedian Rush Limbaugh with his tail between his legs. He has "enormous respect" for Limbaugh? How does this small minded man hold an entire political party hostage? This is a man, who flunked out of college, and knows little about government. He never lets the facts get in the way of what he says, shows little respect for anyone, and like so many others rants against things for which he, himself, is guilty. As a prescription drug addict himself, he ranted against drug addicts. Who knows what other bad habits he has. Yet, he is now the defacto head of the Republican Party.
I am ashamed of the Republican Party, the party of my father. It has allowed itself to be hijacked by the likes of Limbaugh, Kristol, and Coulter. These people are the lowest form of political human beings. They are disrespectful of anyone who disagrees with them, and they incite their followers with lies and innuendo. The once respected party of Lincoln has become a party of rabble-rousers led by the biggest rabble-rouser of them all.
Time will tell us what affect Limbaugh will have on the once great GOP. My guess is that he is inciting only the extremist base of the party. It remains to be seen just how long the elected leadership of the GOP will fear him. At some point, surely one of the true leaders of the Party will speak out and not go begging for Limbaugh's forgiveness. The great concern at this point in our country's history is the affect that a such a demonic personality can have on a segment of the population.
Germany in the 1920's was a country in the midst of a terrible economic downswing. The Deutchmark was so worthless, people actually took wheelbarrows full when they went shopping. It was very easy for a little man with a big mouth to sway the public and place blame on the Jewish population and the current leadership for the country's ills. With big talk and a lot of show Hitler was able to rise to power quickly.
Limbaugh ranted for 90 minutes last week in front of his loving audience. He continues to do so every day to his millions of devoted followers. He blames what he calls "liberals" for everything that he considers bad. He is even trying to say that the President is going to suspend the Constitution. (Pretty interesting, since his party was responsible for walking all over the Constitution for eight years. He also mistakenly quoted from the Declaration of Independence, while talking about the Constitution. As I said, he doesn't let the facts get in the way.)
I doubt that Limbaugh could muster enough of his extremist following to do great harm at this point, but we should be vigilant. This is a time of trouble in our country, and certainly a time, when someone like Limbaugh can begin to incite those who are simply waiting for an opportunity to oil up their weapons and start building bombs. Not the least of these are the racist element within the Party and there are many. He may not actually expect that kind of reaction, but those countless numbers among his followers, who do not think for themselves and do not bother to check the facts, are very easily swayed.
The Republican Party at this moment should remember the words of its greatest president, Abraham Lincoln:
At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.--January 27, 1838 "Lyceum Address
Update 3/3/09
Now Huffington Post reports that Jindal is "glad" Steele apologized to Rushie. It's kissie, kissie time for Republicans with their lovefest for loonies.
