As a registered Independent, I can easily float around and point my finger and place blame where I see fit. If I see a Democrat who's acting like an idiot, party affiliation doesn't get in the way of calling him out. Left and right political ideologies don't hamper my ability to see things as they really are (even though one could argue that being an Indy IS a political ideology - I vehemently disagree). So, I want to take a look at the landscape of American politics. More specifically, I want to explore the Republican Party's leaders to determine what the future holds. Because, right now, it doesn't look good. Let's start with:
RUSH LIMBAUGH
First... Yes. He is. STOP TRYING TO PRETEND THAT HE ISN'T A PARTY LEADER! When you are the spokesman and representative of a party's ideals on a daily basis to millions of radio listeners, then, naturally, you are a party leader. When you define what a conservative is in a keynote address to the nation, you are a party leader. When the RNC Chairman publicly apologizes to you, then admits you're a party leader, you are a party leader. With that out of the way, it's a sad state of affairs for the party when this guy is the leader. He's got a big, fat opinion (who doesn't?). But, that's all. He's biased media, which is okay. But, let's not confuse this guy's thoughts and ideas with actual important politics.
MICHAEL STEELE
He's the RNC Chairman. Yeah. The same one that apologized to Rush Limbaugh. And, here's the kicker: He was right to say "Rush Limbaugh, his whole thing is entertainment... Yes, it's incendiary. Yes, it's ugly." He showed no backbone in this debacle. He should have told Rush Limbaugh to go fuck himself (in more PG words) and really taken control of the party. But, by admitting his so-called mistake, he showed that he's not a party leader... even though he's technically THE party leader.
BOBBY JINDAL
I liked SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. You liked SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. It won a shitload of Oscars. Great. But, for the party to try capitalizing on that by pushing Bobby Jindal to the front of the line as the representative (and possible 2012 candidate), it showed their great weakness. Now, I'm half joking. I don't think that SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE has anything to do with it. But, his response speech was a "Hello, America" moment. And, although it was a thankless job, it allowed him to position himself as the party frontrunner for 2012. But, for having that free public platform to really wow the country and win supporters, he tanked.
Let's face it. Because Obama is such a great orator, his opponent will have to be to. You might love Bobby Jindal's policies and think he's a saint, but he doesn't have the verbal fervor of Obama. Not even close. He actually sounds shy and unconfident. And, in the response speech, he looked downright scared of the spotlight. Most of all, he didn't offer clear resolutions and rebuttals to Obama's recovery plan. Instead, he pandered to the "America can do anything" crowd. He gets a D- for the speech. And, unfortunately, this was his time to shine. He could have changed some minds and formed alliances. Instead, he did everything but take himself out of the presidential race. Bad boy Bobby.
SARAH PALIN
Laying low. Rightfully so. Lord knows she doesn't need three years of even more ridiculous sound bites and moron moments. But, she's going to be a 2012 candidate. Here's a question to all you Republicans out there: Has the honeymoon worn off? How long did the Sarah Palin fever last? Two months? Still going? When someone like this is your party leader, your potential presidential candidate, a representative of your party, your party has problems.
So, let's recap. Right now, the Republican Party is betting on a pompous radio prick, a spineless goon, a shy, 16 year-old Indian kid from Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, and a legally retarded Alaskan. Problems anyone?
