Republicans adopt celebrity spokesperson as ‘daddy’ of now-minority party

It's ironic that while many Republicans wish to portray President Obama as a celebrity politician, the obvious leader of their party is a celebrity talk show host. A Gallup poll released June 10 demonstrated that the majority of those polled believe Rush Limbaugh is the person who speaks for the Republican Party.

In March, as the still leaderless Republicans frantically tried to demonstrate to the American people that their party was not completely broken, Limbaugh spoke at the 37th Conservative Political Action Conference, solidifying his position as daddy of the minority party.

While my cohort, Chance York, would like to paint a comedic portrait of Mr. Limbaugh, it is a dangerous thing to underestimate a man with such a massive cult following. The sheer number of listeners that take Limbaugh's rhetoric as the gospel allows him to wield political power over elected officials in a way never before seen. Talk radio is simply based on opinions, and if the hosts had all the answers, Americans would be foolish to not ask them to run for Congress. Those in the Republican Party would like to make us believe that

Limbaugh has no real power, but the proof is in the apologies that elected officials continue to offer when his feelings get hurt.

In late January, Phil Gingrey, a Georgia Republican, released a statement apologizing to fellow conservatives for comments he made about Limbaugh. Politico ran an article in which the representative simply defended his fellow Republicans against negative comments made by Limbaugh. He went on to say of conservative talk show hosts,

"[They're] living well and plus [they] stir up a bit of controversy and gin the base. But when it comes to true leadership — not that these people couldn't be or wouldn't be good leaders — they're not in that position of John Boehner or Mitch McConnell."

In mid-May, Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele attempted to step up and demonstrate that he could lead the Republican Party by directly attacking President Obama on his policies. Steele feels he can go after a president with an approval rating doubling that of our former president, yet cannot make meaningful comments about a man that holds no political position at all.

Less than 48 hours after calling Limbaugh a "mere entertainer" and saying his show is "incendiary,'" Steele publicly apologized for his remarks.

The irony is, Steele's comments are correct. Limbaugh is an entertainer, not an elected official and his show is the definition of incendiary. Limbaugh's entire persona is that of a rant-and-rave conservative who will only be happy if the government ceased to tax us and take care of the less fortunate, while only like-minded people populated the United States.

Limbaugh is a man in a unique position to create a star in the conservative base, courtesy of his multi-million listenership. While the Republicans would like to pick the star, through the years of his ranting and raving, they failed to see that Mr. Limbaugh himself became the main attraction of their show. In a time when Republican approval ratings are dwindling, according to a February Gallup poll, Limbaugh has kept his approval ratings at 60%. 

While liberals and conservatives alike would like to believe that Limbaugh is not the de facto head of the Republican Party, I simply ask: If not he, then who?

What is obvious is that the Republicans seeking re-election must continue to make Limbaugh happy, as his audience of 20 million will continue to influence local Republican politics for years to come.