Ripping into Rush Limbaugh or why I love Chuck Hagel

Every Democrats favorite Republican is Chuck Hagel. There are number of reasons for this-- his opposition against the Iraq War comes to mind-- but the biggest reason for me is because he speaks his mind. For example, here's what he said yesterday:

"We are educated by the great entertainers like Rush Limbaugh," said Hagel, sarcastically referencing the talk radio host who once called him "Senator Betrayus." "You know, I wish Rush Limbaugh and others like that would run for office. They have so much to contribute and so much leadership and they have an answer for everything. And they would be elected overwhelmingly," he offered. "[The truth is] they try to rip everyone down and make fools of everybody but they don't have any answers."

LOL. Kudos Chuck.

David Brook's "Darkness at Dusk"

Despite his conservative leanings, David Brooks is one of my favorite writers. He has a way of seeing what is happening on the national stage and elucidating it in clear, well-thought prose. Today he tackles the fight the Republican party is sure to have in the upcoming years, the fight between the Hannity's and Limbaugh's vs. the Frum's, Douhat's and Brook's of the world:

Traditionalists own the conservative mythology. Members of the conservative Old Guard see themselves as members of a small, heroic movement marching bravely from the Heartland into belly of the liberal elite. In this narrative, anybody who deviates toward the center, who departs from established doctrine, is a coward, and a sellout.

This narrative happens to be mostly bogus at this point. Most professional conservatives are lifelong Washingtonians who live comfortably as organization heads, lobbyists and publicists. Their supposed heroism consists of living inside the large conservative cocoon and telling each other things they already agree with. But this embattled-movement mythology provides a rationale for crushing dissent, purging deviationists and enforcing doctrinal purity. It has allowed the old leaders to define who is a true conservative and who is not. It has enabled them to maintain control of (an ever more rigid) movement.

In short, the Republican Party will probably veer right in the years ahead, and suffer more defeats. Then, finally, some new Reformist donors and organizers will emerge. They will build new institutions, new structures and new ideas, and the cycle of conservative ascendance will begin again.

This is seems to be a wise and probably predicative sentiment. The Republican party needs to remake its brand after George W. Bush to become a legitimate national party again. This will not happen if Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh are at the forefront; they have veered too far right and alienated almost every minority group in this country. The only way these types will start to lose their influence is if the G.O.P. begins to suffer crushing defeat after crushing defeat at the polls. If Obama does well in first term, I can see this happening. Only then will the G.O.P. return to the center and become exactly what America needs: an important voice of dissent against the ruling party.