Michael Steele's Master

The chairman of the Republican National Committee has apologized to Rush Limbaugh for describing him as an "entertainer." This seems fair to me, since I don't find Limbaugh very entertaining, but the abjectness of the apology is pretty disgusting, since it comes as further acknowledgment that the radio bloviator is the de facto leader of the political opposition in the United States. Democrats are glad to acknowledge this. They think it helps them to make Limbaugh, who is probably one of the most hated men in the country (and probably one of the most popular as well), the public face of the Republican party and the conservative movement. He has just the sort of porcine face and chortling manner that makes liberals' blood boil. He's the sort whom people can easily imagine laughing at other people's suffering, -- and I've long thought that the idea of rich, powerful people laughing at them (look at a lot of left-wing editorial cartoons) fuels a lot of liberal anger -- if the term "liberal anger" isn't an oxymoron. Many liberals, I suspect, have a masochistic relationship with Limbaugh. I've always assumed that his huge ratings reflect the fact that lots of liberals listen to his show in order to get mad at him. Liberal radio shows have never come close to Limbaugh's popularity, most likely because Republicans and conservatives don't have that same impulse to check out what the other side is saying, even if only to get angry at it. If I'm right, liberals have themselves to blame, in part, for Limbaugh's power and influence -- so I suppose it's only fair if they exploit it toward their ends.