Some Republicans want Obama to be a successful president, and others want him to be a failure.
The most important Republican in the success column is Newt Gingrich. This is what he said last month, effectively daring other national leaders of the Republican Party to disagree:
“I think the country is so tired right now of a style of Republican attack politics that has become a caricature of itself, they instinctively go, ‘I’m tired of that,’ ” said Newt Gingrich, a Republican and former speaker of the House. “It’s ineffective against Barack Obama right now. The country is faced with serious problems and is about to have a brand new president. You’d have to be irrational not to want the new president to succeed.”
Saul Anuzis, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party and a leading candidate to become the next leader of the Republican National Committee, offered a similar message on his blog. “Where necessary,” Mr. Anuzis wrote, “we should stand for what is right and forcefully be the loyal opposition. But partisan politics in times like these for the sake of politics is not healthy. “
The most important Republican (so far) who wants to see failure is Rush Limbaugh. Here is what he recently said in comments that were clearly intended to criticize Gingrich, Anuzis, and others like them:
On his radio show last week, Rush Limbaugh railed against “people on our side of the aisle who have caved and who say, ‘Well, I hope he succeeds. We have to give him a chance.’”
“Why?” Limbaugh demanded. “They didn’t give Bush a chance in 2000. Before he was inaugurated, the search-and-destroy mission had begun. I’m not talking about search-and-destroy, but I’ve been listening to Barack Obama for a year and a half. I know what his politics are. I know what his plans are, as he has stated them. I don’t want them to succeed.”
It’s noteworthy, I think, that Limbaugh’s first argument for wanting to see Obama fail is that so many Americans wanted Bush to fail in January 2001. In other words, Limbaugh sets aside the issue of what is best for the country, and focuses instead on the competition between the parties. (Limbaugh’s attitude is “partisan politics … for the sake of politics,” as Anuzis put it.) This attitude – that anything that’s good for Democrats is bad for Republicans, and what’s best for the country is merely an afterthought – is what enables Gingrich to pretend there is no difference between Obama’s overall success and Obama’s success at making progressive change.
Of course, this country is chock full of Republicans who don’t like the idea of universal health care, who believe it’s dangerous for Barack Obama to speak with our enemies, who think talk about the threat of global warming is a bunch of hoo-haw, and oppose Obama’s efforts to stimulate the economy through government spending. I disagree with these people, but I certainly recognize their right as free people to express their resistance to progressive ideas.
But Obama’s overall goals include keeping the American people safe, rescuing the American economy so people can find work to support themselves and their families, and working to bring about a more peaceful, healthy, prosperous world. After all, Obama’s “politics” — in other words, Obama’s progressive agenda — reflect these overall goals.
In wanting Obama to fail, Limbaugh might as well be saying he hopes Obama fails to keep us safe, fails to help people provide for their families, fails to improve the education of our children, etc. If Obama does fail, it will certainly damage the Democratic Party and help the Republicans. But it will also damage the country.
For some reason, it doesn’t matter that Obama has given every indication that he intends to include Republicans in his governance.
Consider the following from a recent Politico article:
It’s no secret Barack Obama is trying to seduce Republicans these days. But his conservative courting runs much deeper and wider than is publicly known.
Obama has had meetings with his former opponent John McCain, GOP congressional leaders and some of the country’s leading conservative commentators. He’s also honoring McCain and Colin Powell in high-profile pre-inaugural dinners, where Obama is expected to toast the Republicans.
Behind the scenes, Obama and his team are working just as hard, courting prominent Republicans and conservatives through frequent phone calls, e-mails and private sit-downs.
The selection of evangelical pastor Rick Warren for the inaugural invocation and Obama’s dinner with right-of-center writers at George F. Will’s home drew significant buzz. But the transition also has quietly reached out to other prominent figures atop the Southern Baptist Church, Charles Colson’s Prison Fellowship Ministry and the Jewish Orthodox Union.
“I think he’s done an extremely good job so far,” said Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who received a call from the president-elect last week. “On both the quality of his nominees and the contact that he personally or his skeleton staff have had with members on the Hill — I think they’ve done just an exceptional job at that.”
It’s completely relevant that Gingrich is a professional political leader and Limbaugh is a professional radio talk show host. Limbaugh makes money by entertaining and titillating people with his over-the-top condemnation of liberals — he is an “outrage performance artist,” as Lee put it, and a “comedian,” as Keith Olbermann puts it.
Limbaugh’s industry relies upon hatred of Democrats. Even if Limbaugh believed he had a patriotic duty to hope that Obama will succeed in leading the country through the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, Limbaugh’s obligation to his employer, to his business, would compel him to continue casting Obama as the great Satan.
So thanks to Newt Gingrich for being rational, and for offering an alternative to Republicans who are too smart for Limbaugh’s snake oil. Luckily, it seems like Gingrich’s tack is winning some significant support:
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who just got back from the Middle East with Joe Biden, was with McCain and the president-elect in Chicago at the post-election meeting and met again with Obama Wednesday for about 45 minutes.
“Once the campaign is over, to govern you have to find consensus and I think he understands that,” said Graham, who will introduce McCain at the tribute dinner Monday. “Ronald Reagan understood the value of personal relationships and I think [Obama] understands that that model offers the best hope of sustaining momentum from the election and achieving legislative success. So far, so good.”
Graham, one of McCain’s closest friends and a frequent campaign trail companion, said much of the good will from his party stems from a patriotic desire to turn the country around.
“A lot of people, including Republicans, want us to get back on our feet because we’re on our knees. And he’s the quarterback, he’s the captain – everybody is pulling for him.”