Elites vs. Grassroots at CPAC

Pajamas Media ^ | March 3 | Eric Florack

[AJKauf]

Republicans tend not to need an elite leadership to do their thinking for them. Rush Limbaugh (who spoke so eloquently of conservative values at CPAC) and the hosts of conservative talk shows across this country are extremely popular because they manage to articulate what ordinary voters are already thinking and, all too often, what the Republican Party leadership is ignoring. It comes as no shock then that Republican Party leaders find it harder, if not impossible, to maintain the “leader walks on water” meme that the Democrats promoted with Obama and Clinton.

I agree that Joe Wurzelbacher’s personae has been somewhat overblown by his supporters, and it seems logical to ask why that’s so. I submit to you the reason that Joe the Plumber is elevated by conservatives to the degree that he has been is because the rank and file of the party have been ignored for too long by the leadership. The base is latching on to Joe as a drowning man does to a life preserver. Joe’s instant celebrity should have been a red flag waving in the face of the Republican leadership, warning them that something was seriously wrong with the direction of the party. Alas, that warning has been ignored thus far. And at CPAC, we saw people reacting negatively to those waving that flag....

[FlashBack]

DC isn’t listening to us it would seem, and that’s both parties!

[Texas Fossil]

Rhino Republicans:

“Under these conditions, when Republicans are in power they tend to spend more time in “go along to get along” mode than they do governing on conservative principles, essentially guaranteeing a loss at the next electoral opportunity.”

—

Rhino Republicans-

Their Actions insure defeat.

[EyeGuy]

“..... they manage to articulate what ordinary voters are already thinking....”

####

This is what the IdiotLeft does not get about Rush Limbaugh: He is giving voice to the things that we are already thinking.

He is not our leader, he does not direct conservative thought, and we are most assuredly not ditto-heads.

[colorado tanker]

I think he's overblowing the comparison between the parties. There is a real cult of personality around Obama that other Democrats don't have, certainly not Hillary. And in comparison, last year no Republican leader emerged who could unite the base.

This too will pass. Dole ran a lackluster campaign in 96 but the party united around Bush in 2000.

Plus, who would have predicted Obama would be screwing up so completely and badly this early?

[Paladin2]

The GOP is a Zombie, but they don’t know.

[JSDude1]

The same can be said for the Phenomenon of Rick Santelli (and his “tea party” comments), and somewhat about Sarah Palin (not that I think she’s the most conservative or am endorsing her), but all three have One element in common=they act like regular ordinary Americans, no pretentious hype. They’re the every man, or woman (or come across that way)..