The GOP’s burgeoning civil war

The GOP’s burgeoning civil war By: James Kirchick March 23, 2009

Watching the various spats among conservatives, it’s difficult to tell whether one is witnessing a series of lively political disagreements or an episode of “Monday Night Raw.” In one corner, there’s former Bush administration speechwriter David Frum versus talk radio king Rush Limbaugh. In another ring, Limbaugh is taking on former House speaker-turned-conservative guru Newt Gingrich. And in the Royal Rumble, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is battling, well, pretty much everybody in the GOP.

Rush Limbaugh calls on conservatives to take back nation

• Story Highlights
• “We want every American to be the best he or she chooses to be,” he says
• Limbaugh says conservatives need to choose right candidate to take back nation
• Limbaugh criticizes President Obama for inspiring fear in Americans to push agenda
• Opponents had put out political ad implying Limbaugh was de facto head of GOP

(CNN) — Rush Limbaugh brought a cheering crowd to its feet several times Saturday in Washington as he called on fellow conservatives to take back the country in the keynote speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

“We conservatives have not done a good enough job of just laying out basically who we are because we make the mistake of assuming that people know. What they know is largely incorrect, based on the way we’re portrayed in pop culture, in the drive-by media, by the Democrat party,” the conservative talk show host told a mostly-young crowd of energized supporters.