Brookings Senior Fellow Thomas Mann
writes at The Politico (bolding added by me for emphasis):
Rush Limbaugh is a gift to Obama and the Democratic party who will keep giving the more he is seen as the embodiment of the Republican party. His bombast and ideological invective could not be more out of touch with the country’s zeitgeist. A Limbaugh-led conservative movement will be a boisterous but inevitably irrelevant minority. But a Cantor/Gingrich “new ideas” approach may not be much more promising if the ideas flow from the same bromides of smaller government and lower taxes and are based on a certainty that ours is a center-right country that values conservatism over performance. We are living through the most perilous and uncertain economic times since the Great Depression. Most Americans are scared, and rightly so. Strong and decisive government intervention in the economy is not an option, it is a necessity. We are not sure what will work but we are willing to give a new leadership team, one that demonstrates ambition, pragmatism and resolve, the time and space to give it a try. If this effort succeeds, Democrats are likely to dominate our politics for some time. If it does not, Republicans will have another opportunity to govern if they can be trusted to manage the nation’s affairs. Uniting in opposition to every Obama initiative, ranting about the evils of government, and offering tax cuts for every problem we confront will do little to restore that trust.
Personally, I'm rooting for Republicans to be the mindless, reflexive, "angry/no" party. If they go that way - the Rush Limbaugh "dittohead" direction - we could see a long era of progressive governance in this country. Which, by the way, is exactly what we need after 28 years of Reagan/Bush/Gingrich/DeLay conservatism. My second choice would be to see the Republican Party return to its Teddy Roosevelt Progressive roots (or, heck, even its Richard Nixon roots, sans the corruption and paranoia). If I were to put money on it right now, though, I'd say that a frustrated, angry, clueless Republican Party will continue following Rush right off the political cliff. Anyone care to bet against that scenario?
