Rush Limbaugh’s recent comments about the Obama presidency have created a comical, yet unnecessary, media fire storm.  The words, “I hope he fails,” sparked a predictable backlash against Limbaugh and conservatives because, like so often, liberals misunderstand the point and take words out of their proper context.

Liberals’ latest failure resulted from the following sequence of events (much of which is omitted when commentators and columnists quote Limbaugh’s words): 

Limbaugh responded to a request from a major American print publication that asked him (and other commentators, politicians, scholars, businessmen, etc.) for 400 words on their hope for the Obama presidency.

At that point, many commentators (like one of my many liberal hometown columnists, Leonard Pitts, Jr.) simply quoted the four most controversial words from Limbaugh’s ensuing monologue (”I hope he fails”) and unleashed a barrage of critiques, insults, and jabs.  Pitts, for instance, called Limbaugh’s comments “a calculated outrage” and referred to Limbaugh and his listeners as “clowns.”  (Remember: when liberals want to raise the dialogue, they resort to name-calling.)

Pitts didn’t stop there.  He attacked Rush’s patriotism (”Do you ever say that about your president if you are an American who loves your country?”), called him a liar, an opportunist, and accused him of perverting conservatism.

Like other liberals, however, Pitts not only misquoted Limbaugh, he also fundamentally misunderstood him.

What Limbaugh Really Said

Rush’s response to the publication’s inquiry was far longer and deeper than Pitts’ quote.  Here are the two most relevant paragraphs of his ensuing monologue: 

Now, we’re caught in this trap again.  The premise is, what is your ‘hope.’ . . . . I disagree fervently with the people on our side of the aisle who have caved and who say, ‘Well, I hope he succeeds.  We’ve got to give him a chance.’  Why? . . . . 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 . . . . I don’t want them to succeed.

. . .  

[W]hat he’s talking about is the absorption of as much of the private sector by the US government as possible, from the banking business, to the mortgage industry, the automobile business, to health care.  I do not want the government in charge of all of these things.  I don’t want this to work.  So I’m thinking of replying to the guy, ‘Okay, I’ll send you a response, but I don’t need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails.’ . . . . [W]hat is unfair about my saying I hope liberalism fails?  Liberalism is our problem.  Liberalism is what’s gotten us dangerously close to the precipice here.  Why do I want more of it?

Notice that Rush repeatedly emphasized Obama’s policies and the fact that those policies have proven to be counter-productive for the country.  Thus, he expressed a desire for those policies to fail.  Obama, unfortunately, embodies those policies, and any discussion of Obama succeeding or not succeeding inevitably is linked to his policies and promises. 

Consider the implication of an Obama “success.”  If Obama succeeds, the inference is that his policies will have succeeded, his agenda will have been fulfilled, and his administration’s goals will have been attained. 

If that is what people want, then it is tantamount to a desire to see extreme liberalism and socialism succeed.  Wishing success for Obama extends beyond mere moderation or “hope” and effectively embraces liberalism.  As Americans, we need to move beyond the historic nature of Obama’s election and focus on substance.

As conservatives, Rush and people like me do not want socialism in this country.  We do not want nationalized health care, tax increases, global warming-based regulation, government ownership of banks and auto companies, or redistribution of wealth through the tax system.

By hoping that Obama fails, we are explicitly hoping for his liberal policies to fail.    

Pitts Misunderstood Limbaugh

Despite Mr. Pitts’ protestations, hoping that Obama and his policies fail exhibits a far greater love and patriotism for America than does blindly wishing him well. 

Liberal policies have never worked.  Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal (which Obama is currently trying to emulate with this $800 billion “stimulus” bill) prolonged the Great Depression by seven years.  Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society increased government dependency and destroyed African American families.  The states of Michigan and California can attribute their dire financial straits to Democratic leadership.

Small-government conservatism has quite the opposite effect, and, thus, Limbaugh and other conservatives have every reason to hope that conservatism (and not Obama and his policies) succeeds.  Ronald Reagan’s massive tax cuts in the early 1980s created the largest economic boom ever at the time, and George W. Bush’s tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 moved more people up the class ladder than ever before. 

Obama’s promises expose liberalism for what it is: an emotionally-induced, identity-based political ideology that undermines American values, wealth, and prosperity.  It has nothing on which to stand except its own rewritten and revised history.  Conservatism, wrote R.J. White, “is less a political doctrine than a habit of mind, a mode of feeling, a way of living.”    

The left has motives, feelings, and self-described meaning.  Conservatism is based on ideas–universal ideas–that work every time they are tried.  The left wants government centralization, multi-culturalism, and economic turmoil.  Conservatism offers individual liberty and opportunity.  The left has Saturday Night Live, Jon Stewart, and Chris Matthews.  Conservatives have true intellectuals like Ann Coulter and, yes, Rush Limbaugh. 

To wish that Obama fails illustrates a courage that is lost among all of this Obama-inspired hype.  To wish that he fails highlights one man’s reliance on the basic principles that made America great.  Conservatism transcends time, cultures, and politics.  We owe it to our sons and daughters to continue to fight for it.

If that means that we have to hope that a certain President and his New Deal, Part Two fail, then so be it.       

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