The GOP debacle: Thank you, Rush Limbaugh

Now that Republican senatorial candidate George Allen has conceded defeat in Virginia, the U.S. Senate, like the House before it, has been delivered to the Democrats. Pundits are poking through the entrails of the exit polls in search of reasons for the GOP debacle, and many are obvious: the fact of the seemingly intractable Iraq war; the fact that, for the past decade, Republican congressmen have allowed themselves to be seduced by the Dark Side of politics, and have thus abandoned their principles for perks and pork; the fact that, even with total control of all three branches of the federal government for years, the Republicans have failed utterly to accomplish much of anything -- except to balloon the size and power of the state to proportions not seen in Karl Marx's wildest wet dreams; etc.

But did the congressional Republicans have to lose everything to the Democrats (not a single one of whose incumbents was unseated)? For instance, did they have to lose the U.S. Senate -- and therefore, vitally important control over the appointment of federal judges? The Dems now run that body by virtue of a single vote, 51-49. This means that had the GOP held onto only one seat in any of several very close senatorial races -- e.g., Virginia, Montana, Missouri -- the balance would have tipped the other way.

There is plenty of blame to go around for this sorry mess. But let me single out a previously uncited person to blame for the loss of the Senate: Rush Limbaugh.

Yes. Rush Limbaugh.

Let me explain.

By now, just about everyone knows of Limbaugh's self-indulgent, mocking tirades against actor Michael J. Fox on the issue of federally-funded embryonic stem cell research. Fox suffers from advanced Parkinson's disease, and exhibits obvious tremors and shaking that have ended his acting career. For Fox and people like him, a cure is possible only through medical research; embryonic stem cell research is one promising area that scientists are probing for a medical breakthrough. However, many conservative Republicans (including Limbaugh) took a stand of blanket opposition to all embryonic stem cell research as such, on religious grounds that the embryo is a person.

This viewpoint, also reflected in general conservative "right-to-life" opposition to abortion, is justifiably rejected by most Americans. For example, in South Dakota, a ballot measure this November that would have banned all abortions except to save the life of the mother went down to defeat by a comfortable 56-44 percent margin. This vote is consistent with national polls on the subject. Most Americans believe (sensibly) that we should not sacrifice actual human lives to potential human lives. For that same reason, they tend to support embryonic stem cell research.

In any case, the issue prompted Fox to hit the campaign trail on behalf of government-funded research and candidates who support it. A pivotal state in this regard was Missouri, where Democrat senatorial candidate Claire McCaskill endorsed a state ballot measure promoting such research, while GOP candidate Jim Talent did not. The actor, shaking uncontrollably, appeared in TV ads on behalf of McCaskill and the ballot measure.

Enter Limbaugh, who draws a bigger audience than any radio talk show host in America. On his national radio show -- portions of which are also available online as video downloads from his website -- Limbaugh decided to attack not Fox's views, but his sincerity. "He is exaggerating the effects of the disease," Limbaugh claimed concerning Fox's tremors in TV ads. "He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act." Not only did Limbaugh claim that the hugely popular and tragically afflicted actor was faking his tremors, he actually stooped to lampooning and imitating Fox's uncontrollable spasms.

This caused a justifiable national uproar against Limbaugh -- and, in my humble estimation, a measurable political backlash against Republicans. The Missouri ballot measure favoring stem cell research won by a narrow margin. Even some Catholic voters supported the measure, tipping the vote toward its margin of victory:

In Missouri, anti-abortion groups, evangelical Christian clergy and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis campaigned hard against the stem cell measure, contending it would condone life-destroying embryonic research.

Debbie Forck, a Catholic from Jefferson City, Mo., was among those giving the measure a narrow victory.

"I've had several family members that have had debilitating illnesses," said Forck, 50. "It goes against my church, but to eliminate pain in my life, I thought it was worth it."

Much more significantly, however, Democrat Claire McCaskill beat Republican Jim Talent, who had publicly opposed embryonic research, by a very narrow 49-47 percent margin.

That single, razor-thin victory gave control of the U.S. Senate to the Democrats.

Would anyone care to dispute the likelihood that Talent's defeat -- and the consequent GOP loss of the Senate -- hinged on a one-percent swing of voters toward the Democrats because of Rush Limbaugh's highly publicized and grossly offensive personal attack on Michael J. Fox?

Not only was Limbaugh's mockery of a sick man disgusting, it was incredibly stupid. Rather than focus the debate on the narrower question of whether such research should be government-funded, he and other conservative Republicans chose instead to mock Fox, and to hinge their case on faith-based "right to life" premises that every poll shows that most voters reject. As columnist Ilana Mercer points out today in a scathing column:

Limbaugh needed only to remind Fox (and his own soon-to-be-dethroned party) of a thing called the Constitution. He needed to berate Fox not for his spasticity, but for using his celebrity to petition Congress for money not his. Limbaugh ought to have suggested Fox refrain from pickpocketing the taxpayer, and raise money for private research among his stinking rich pals. Instead—and in character—Limbaugh beat up on a cripple.

There is an irony here, one that I hope conveys a lesson for "conservatives."

Rush Limbaugh's influence was widely credited with inspiring the "Republican Revolution" of 1994, leading to the GOP takeover of Congress. But at that time his message -- and that of the GOP conservative candidates -- had focused on limiting government intervention into our lives.

By abandoning its core principles of individualism and limited government in the decade since, the Republicans in Congress have been fired by American voters. Likewise, by focusing stupidly on the alleged "rights" of embryos rather than the actual rights of living citizens -- and by substituting cruel personal attacks for principled arguments -- Rush Limbaugh has now helped engineer his party's crushing defeat.

My further thoughts about the philosophical collapse of the Republicans can be found here.

UPDATE -- While we're spreading around blame, we can equally blame the Libertarian Party for throwing the U.S. Senate to the Dems by siphoning off enough votes to defeat the GOP candidate in Montana. Hope you idiots enjoy the next few years under the Socialist Party.

UPDATE #2 -- One of my favorite pundits, Charles Krauthammer, carefully studies the cloud formations after the election and finds several silver linings. I feel better. Well, for the moment....