Rush to finish

Over the past few days there has been talk of the Republican “listening tour” in Virginia. The “listening tour” was spearheaded by Eric Cantor of Virginia’s 7th District. The “listening tour” was headlined by himself as well as Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush. All three of them several times have acknowledged the importance of the “listening tour”. Why do I keep saying “listening tour” and using quotes? Because now the language is changing. Rush Limbaugh on his radio show said that the Republican Party does not need a “listening tour”, but instead a “teaching tour”. He says that instead of the party listening to its constituents and adapting; it should instead be informing the constituents of true Conservative principles. For a party that was up in arms, yelling that Obama was “preachy” and “professorial”, I hope they are quick to see that it has now become a Conservative plank to “teach” and not to “listen”.

Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, you should be offended when a party leader says elected officials of the party shouldn’t be listening to their constituents to better address the needs/wants of the people. But this type of language is safe for Rush to use since he is not an elected official. Eric Cantor, just as other GOP leaders have in the past few months, has backpedaled and bowed down to the party leader Rush Limbaugh, saying that the “listening tour” is not really a “listening tour” (hence the quotation marks). Why are the Republican officials listening to Rush, a talking head, and not their constituents? Rule No. 1 for a politician should be that when their constituents are not being represented to their liking, they risk loss of support and may be removed in the next primary election or, even worse for the party, the general election.

The United States is a republic where officials are elected to represent the people. The people elect their officials to make decisions in the best interest of the constituents. NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE IDEOLOGY. Defending an ideology to the death risks losing both the ideology and the party. I personally would rather be alive with only one leg than dead with both. It is doubtful a “listening tour” would turn these hard Conservatives into bleeding heart liberals, but it is highly likely it would increase the Republican base, promote reelection, and keep their ideology and principles alive. A small change now would prevent the even larger change that will be needed if the party and people separate much more.