Blame Rush and Co. for GOP's Fall

Blame has been flying in Republican circles, but not enough has stuck where it belongs: on conservative talk radio. Rush Limbaugh and his imitators skyrocketed to prominence by being "rabble-rousers—high intensity, 'hot' performers whose appeal is based on energizing their base," writes Steven Stark in the Boston Phoenix. That's “all well and good for radio,” he argues, but “a terrible way to structure a mainstream political movement.”

Ronald Reagan is their idol, but Reagan’s own radio persona was "genial, low key, calm, and measured." In an era with relatively few media outlets, building a mass audience was more important than riling up true believers. The GOP has a similar figure today in Mike Huckabee, but today’s talkers are intent on finding niches, so they prefer the familiar divisiveness of Sarah Palin. Like them, she’s “good for ratings; bad for politics.” (More talk radio stories.)