Is Rush Limbaugh hurting the GOP?

November 19, 2:05 AMProgressive Politics ExaminerKaren Harper

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If the Republicans have learned anything from the past two elections (2006 and the recent presidential election), it is that there needs to be a change.  But the agreement stops there.  The party appears to be split.  There are the moderate centrist Republicans who believe that that they need to move back from the far right closer to the center and they want to move their party forward.  But there appears to be no real unity in the party.  The conservative right wing Republicans believe the party needs to be even more conservative and move even further to the right. 

Though most of the news stories that came out of the Republican governor's conference have concerned Sarah Palin, there have also been brief news snippets from the more moderate centrist Republicans who voice their beliefs that the party needs to appeal to more people (ie., voters) by moving the GOP closer to the center.  

Moderate Republicans have an uphill battle.  The voices of the moderate Republicans are all but drowned out by newsmakers like Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich.  Last week in an interview on Fox news,  Gingrich denounced gay rights activists, saying he believes there is a "gay and secular facism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us and is prepared to use violence, use harrassment, I think it's preparing to use the government if it can get control of it..."  The statement was 'over the top' by most accounts.  Some political analysts believe that the fact that Gingrich made such a statement is evidence that Gingrich plans to run for president in 2012 and is trying to appeal to social conservatives.  

Moderate Republicans are going to be hard put to find a venue to get their agenda across to the public in the coming four years.  Given the choice between interviewing Sarah Palin or Newt Gingrich and some of the more centrist Republicans we can hardly remember the names of, the news and infotainment networks are going to give more time to the Palins and Gingriches of the party.  They sell more advertising.  They are entertaining.  

 There is some hope for moderate Republicans.  Govenor Jindal of Louisiana, one of the more moderate Republicans, and Newt Gingrich, one of the more conservative Republicans were on the CBS show, "Face the Nation" with Bob Schieffer. Both GOP representatives talked about the future of the party. 

However, Governor Jindal and other moderates must contend with Rush Limbaugh and others like him.  Limbaugh, the Jerry Springer of radio, continues to encourage his listeners to support the right wing conservative wing of the Republican party as he trashes anyone who disagrees with him and that includes moderate centrist Republicans.

The party is split.   But it appears that the moderate centrist Republicans like Jindal and the more socially conservative Republicans like Newt Gingrich are trying to find common ground to work with and to save their party.  But for now it seems that Rush Limbaugh and others like him along with more mainstream conservative media outlets like Fox news will continue to push the ultra conservative right further to the right.  If this is the case, the 2012 election will most likely go to the Democrats again.

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