Bloodthirsty Liberal

This is absurd. Colin Powell says the Republican Party isn’t big enough for him and Rush Limbaugh to coexist. Nice, tolerant. Powell got such love for his endorsement of

that it’s gone to his head.

I like Powell, but his behavior in abandoning his fellow serviceman, John McCain, and then telling Republicans whom they can or can’t have in the party is hardly honorable.

Cue Rush:

The whole thing wears me out. It’s nothing new except now it’s coming from ostensibly the Republican Party. […] I think Powell’s premise — and I understand what’s going on — I think Powell’s premise is all wrong. The Republican Party needs to stop listening to me. Basically, what that means is the Republican Party’s gotta throw you overboard; the Republican Party can’t win as long as it is defined by people like you and me, those of you in this audience. The simple fact of the matter is, folks, what makes this funny to me is that the Republican Party’s not listened to me in the last two years. And you might even say in matters of policy and so forth, the Republican Party hasn’t been listening to me for the last six years. And you might even say that the Republican Party is in the situation it’s in precisely because of the people like Colin Powell and John McCain and others who have devised this new definition and identity of the party which is responsible for electing Democrats all over this country.

…

Here is Colin Powell telling the Republican Party what to do after he voted for Obama! I know what really has Colin Powell upset, it’s because I said his endorsement of Obama was about race, and I’m not supposed to say those things. These things are supposed to go unsaid. The Republican Party nominated Powell’s perfect candidate. The guy’s going after moderates, independents, Democrats, a guy who is not conservative at all, McCain, didn’t stand up for much conservative, and he’s out there now saying he won’t support Palin if she seeks the presidency again, or he might not.

…

Let me get this straight. The guy who has supported the Republican candidate for president should be thrown out of the party. That would be me. But the guy who bolted and sabotaged the Republican nominee by endorsing the Democrat candidate should stay in and be part of the team that determines what the Republican Party is going to be. The turncoat, General Powell, is the one who the party is gonna listen to? McCain’s a moderate. I supported McCain. Powell, who wants a moderate, did not support McCain. It’s unreal. It’s just incredible. Look, I’m trying to be a little humble here, but it’s hard when you got all this other stuff going on and Republicans out there now continue to trash me. It’s flattering; it is amazing. At the same time, it’s mind-boggling how I get under their skin. What I’m learning now, folks, it really doesn’t matter about party. It’s not getting under Republicans’ skin now. It’s getting under the skin of Washingtonians. It’s getting under the skin of the Big Government people. These are liberals. There’s no such thing as a moderate Republican. A moderate Republican is a liberal.

There’s a lot more, but you get the gist.

I’ve been listening to Rush only for maybe the last four or five months. I’ve been alienated from Liberalism for more like seven years, but old phobias and prejudices die hard.

Dudes, the guy’s a hoot. I mean, I admire the hell out of Colin Powell, but there’s no doubt who I’d rather hang out with. Powell is humorless; Rush is outrageous. When Rush gets going on a rant, you can hear the pudgy hands banging on the console, the papers shuffling—it’s theatre. I don’t have to agree with everything (though I agree with most) to enjoy his show. You can keep your metrosexual NPR hosts; give me Red Meat Rush.