As long as media personality Rush Limbaugh is in the driver's seat of Republican Party rhetoric, the Democratic Party looks safe in winning elections. And, rhetoric it is--arrogant, stentorian bombast that seeks to divide the electorate.
Yes, Mr. Limbaugh is popular among a subset of GOP activists, but this insures the Dems will win elections, because Mr. Limbaugh alienates a great deal of the middle. And, the middle is required for winning elections today.
Re racism, I have heard Mr Limbaugh make what I considered liminally racist comments, slightly under the threshold for what would be considered blatantly racist. However, as far as effective rhetoric employed to promote fear, liminal comments are quite effective.
But, Mr Limbaugh goes far beyond the liminal. Can anyone deny that he excels in generating fear? Listen to his vitriolic use of the word "liberal" to provide his listeners an object to hate. This reminds me of the "Two Minutes Hate" propaganda film with hate exercises spewed everyday on telescreens in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Similarly, Mr. Limbaugh, to me, is the dystopian personification of entertainer-exercised hate, far beyond the liminal in our all-too-real divisive present.
Again, I'd say the Democratic Party should be quite pleased the leadership of GOP opposition (at least publicly) is now firmly in the hands of fear-mongering Mr. Limbaugh. His is an alienating, divisive, threatening political rhetoric which motivates a minority sector, a sector of the electorate who do not want true discussion of issues; they want to be handed a political line they can accept without a full airing. Mr. Limbaugh, the entertainer, wants to create true believers (the so-called "Ditto-Heads") and garner high listener ratings numbers and collect a huge salary.
But, majoritarian politics will always need a uniting figure. Mr. Limbaugh is not it. The Dems should be majorly happy.
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