by Mike Dorning
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell warned todayPthat ideological conservatives and particularly radio commentator Rush Limbaugh have gained a hold over the Republican party that risks driving the GOP into an extended exile from power.
Powell's warnings about the shrinking appeal of the Republican Party were cast in unusually personal terms as Powell answered charges in recent weeks from two champions of the Republican right, Limbaugh and former Vice President Dick Cheney, that Powell is no longer a Republican.
"Rush will not get his wish, and Mr. Cheney was misinformed," said Powell, a military adviser to President Ronald Reagan, Cabinet member for President George W. Bush and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Bush's father. "I am still a Republican."
Speaking on the CBS Sunday morning show, Face the Nation, Powell, a political moderate who repeatedly clashed with the former vice president while in George W. Bush's administration, bristled at his critics' charge that he had left the party, suggesting it revealed high-handedness on their part.
"Neither (Cheney) nor Rush Limbaugh are members of the membership committee of the Republican Party," Powell said. "I get to make my decision on that."
Powell's public retort adds fuel to an often-acrimonious and ongoing conflict between moderates and conservatives in the Republican Party that has left some centrists feeling alienated. After 28 years as a Republican senator, Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter last month switched allegiances to the Democratic Party, citing GOP hostility to his vote in favor of President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package. Maine's two moderate Republican senators also have expressed public misgivings about the atmosphere.
Powell reflected those feelings in the television interview, criticizing "dictates that come down from the right wing of the party."
Cheney said on Face the Nation" two weeks earlier that Powell had "left the party" when he endorsed Obama for president late last year. "I assumed that that is some indication of his loyalty," Cheney said of Powell.
Limbaugh began the drumbeat earlier on his own radio show.
"What Colin Powell needs to do is close the loop and become a Democrat, instead of claiming to be a Republican interested in reforming the Republican Party. He's not. He's a full-fledged Democrat," Limbaugh said in his May 6 show.
Powell targeted Limbaugh for the most severe criticism, accusing the radio host and his followers of using intimidation to stifle competing voices in a necessary debate within the Republican Party on its future direction after disastrous electoral losses. Limbaugh, he said, "shouldn't have a veto over what someone thinks."
He cited the experience of Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who in March described Limbaugh as a mere "entertainer" with an "incendiary" radio show. Within 24 hours of a Limbaugh radio show attacking Steele for the comments, the party leader publicly apologized and hailed him as "a national conservative leader."
Two Republican congressmen also in recent months have quickly reversed themselves and apologized to Limbaugh after making similar criticisms, Powell noted.
Powell, who like Steele used the word "entertainer" to describe Limbaugh, said, "If he's out there, he should be subject to criticism."
Powell urged the party to undergo a wide-ranging "after-action review" following losses in the 2006 and 2008 elections that demonstrate a "leakage (that) cannot continue if the Republican Party is going to play a major role in the life of our country."
Powell, who once considered seeking the Republican presidential nomination and has been featured prominently as a surrogate over the years by GOP candidates seeking to broaden their appeal, cited polls showing plummeting numbers of people identify themselves as Republicans and its dwindling competitiveness in most regions of the country.
The party's victories have become increasingly concentrated in the conservative South.
Republican performance in attracting voters outside the South in presidential elections since 1992 has reached its lowest level ever for five consecutive elections, the National Journal has noted. In the last election, only 42 percent of voters outside the South cast their ballots for Republican Sen. John McCain in the presidential election.
"The Republican Party has to take a hard look at itself and decide what kind of party are we," Powell said today. "Are we simply moving farther to the right and by so doing simply opening up the right of center and the center to be taken over by independents and to be taken over by the Democrats?"
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Comments
The republican party will continue to fade as long as they have a narrow view of events funneled to them through a Beck/Limbaugh corridor. A two party system is slow suicide for a country unless the parties have divisions within themselves. The republicans have galvinized themselves around a central programming representing outright propaganda at times. Democrats have defensively postured themselves around this same formula and if the pendulum no longer sways, and we have political jumps from left to right then this democracy is in dire straights. It's sad to see Colin Powell (or anyone for that matter) not being allowed to chose for oneself what political affiliation to be allowed into. So much for the rhetoric of "fighting for our freedoms"... seems to me maybe Bin Laden won if this is to remain the case. A democracy has to have more than two opinions rising or else our nation will only fall into camps of pro-life/pro-choice, pro-capital/pro-social, etc. If the Republican party only becomes a cult of the select, then so help us all.
Posted by: T Wise | May 24, 2009 8:59 PM
If the pugs want any kind of chance to win the next POTUS election, I think Powell is their man. I can say this smart advice openly, as I am sure it will not be headed.
Posted by: Xcellentform | May 24, 2009 9:03 PM
I know Obama has reneged on several promises he made to the left (stop rendition, bring troops home, sign union law, renegotiate NAFTA, etc, etc) but he definitely campaigned on a far left agenda. How Powell could endorse that and still claim to be a Republican, I don't know. Maybe he is smarter than all of us. Maybe he knew all along that Obama's campaign promises were not to be taken seriously.
Posted by: Herbie H. | May 25, 2009 12:23 AM
Colin Powell says he's a "republican" but when it came to supporting a moderate republican running for president, Powell turned around and endorsed Obama.
Powell is an agitator. Sent out to disrupt the republican party..split it.
Any thought that Powell would receive any nod toward a presidential run is laughable...too old and too democrat. His loyalty isn't to republicans, but to people of his own race.
Sorry, McCain is a moderate and Powell refused to support him.
Powell is now the voice of the democrats who seek to instigate.
Posted by: Gil | May 25, 2009 2:57 AM
What you fail to mention Mark, is the Democratic party is losing folks too, something like 6-8%. It appears more voters are becoming independent and when the tax revolters (tea-baggers, Calif, voters) gain momentum as they reject this fiscal irresponsibility of Obama and the Dems we will see a change we can believe in, not government chains, and that is the true conservative movement. Powell is a non-factor as he has made himself clear that he supports these failed policies and will reside on their ashes.
Posted by: bubba Porter | May 25, 2009 5:09 AM
Powell said that there should be two parties debating...who is he to say there should be only two parties? I thought everyone was welcomed to join in the debate no matter your belief. Time for other parties to raise their voices against this viewpoint that the only citizens with ideas are Republicans and Democrats.
Posted by: lochnessmonster | May 25, 2009 7:11 AM
What kind of Republican endorses a Democrat for President? How can Powell say he is still a Republican when he endorsed the most radical, left wing candidate for President that has ever run?
The Republican Party is doomed to fail as long as they hold no core, guiding principles. The Party stands for nothing, means nothing and will be nothing as long as the RINOs hold any power.
Ridge calls for debating the Party on the other side of the aisle, but debate on what? The Moderates such as Powell and Ridge, stand for nothing. They don't want to take a position on the "touchy" social issues such as abortion, gays in the military, or same sex marriage. Instead, they have adopted the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" approach. We have seen what a George Bush-moderate fiscal policy can do- leave your economy in ruins, so there is no debate there either. So what's left to debate- the War on Terror? Powell and Ridge have already adopted the liberal position of closing the prison at Gitmo, so there is no debate there either. They don't want to acknowledge that Islam, specifically the radical sects, have declared war on the West, and also prefer to handle it as a criminal law case.
So what is there to debate with Moderates in control? Nothing. At least with Conservatives, you know where we stand on every issue and we can begin a debate and see what positions the market adopts.
Posted by: Conservative for Life | May 25, 2009 9:19 AM
Hard to believe after backing Obam's fading Change.
Posted by: Inky | May 25, 2009 9:53 AM
It's good to see that the right doesn't get it. It does my heart good to see these posts willing to marginalize themselves further. Don't listen to the drive-by media guys.......there is nothing wrong with your party. In fact it is stronger than ever. Keep up the good work.
Posted by: bill r. | May 25, 2009 10:02 AM
As many have noted, the Republicans had a moderate running for president, just the kind of Republican Gen. Powell likes and he supported the far-left Obama. Perhaps it strictly was because of the historic nature of the Obama candidacy, but McCain is a moderate. Folks like Limbaugh have had a big say for years now. Limbaugh is a leader of the conservative movement, not the Republican party. The GOP is not more conservative than is it was 20+ years ago under Reagan. Both Bushes were/are more liberal than Reagan.
The reality is that the middle is getting squeezed in both parties, The Democrats continue to move to the left. Conservatives wield a large voice in the GOP, but none or very few of the conservatives are more conservative than past conservative Republican leaders.
Posted by: John D | May 25, 2009 3:04 PM
Jim Geraghty at NRO has Powell's number--which is perhaps why the Democrats who write for The Swamp won't cite Geraghty:
"My first thought on former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s response to Rush Limbaugh and former Vice President Cheney was a chuckle that he sought to influence the future course of GOP by appearing on... "Face the Nation." Put aside any allegations of [liberal] bias on the part of Bob Schieffer; few Republicans watch the Sunday morning political chat shows, even fewer on Memorial Day weekend, and still fewer watch the CBS offering.
If Powell genuinely wish to persuade Republicans to alter course, and not just get praise from liberals in the vein of “why can’t those extremist right wingers be more sensible and moderate like you?” he probably ought to appear on a show that a significant number of Republicans actually watch. In fact, why make the argument in the friendly confines of a mainstream media television studio? I understand Powell lives in McLean, Virginia; the state party convention is next week. Why not take the case to actual Republicans, instead of to a guaranteed-to-concur inside-the-beltway anchor?
On Sunday, Powell spent a lot of time citing all the statistics of the GOP’s share of the vote declining, but really didn’t get into what his recommended solution is, other than being “more inclusive.” But what does that mean? Who is currently excluded from the party who ought to be allowed in? Who’s disallowing them?
...
The Powell vision, to the extent he articulated it, was “sharing the wealth,” “close Guantanamo” and “be inclusive.” I would offer this thought for those who wish to steer the Republican party in a dramatically different direction – your message can’t be, “why can’t Republicans be more like the Democrats” and then be surprised that people charge that you’re a closet Democrat. In the interview, other than a mild criticism of Obama for pledging to close Guantanamo Bay before having a plan on how to do it, Obama doesn’t really spell out anything he would do different than the current Democratic administration. ... a slogan of “Me Too” would not get them [the GOP] anywhere; it would amplify the question of whether a challenging party synonymous with the incumbent had a point to its existence."
Posted by: Former Democrat | May 25, 2009 4:05 PM
I believe that Powell should do as Specter did and change sides and become a democrat because he sure isn't a republican.No real republican would endorse Barry, the only thing is their both black.He stabbed Senor McCain in the back another Brutus.
Posted by: Edward Koziol | May 25, 2009 7:16 PM
I believe that Powell should do as Specter did and change sides and become a democrat because he sure isn't a republican.No real republican would endorse Barry, the only thing is their both black.He stabbed Senor McCain in the back another Brutus.
Posted by: Edward Koziol | May 25, 2009 7:16 PM
Sorry Colin, the Grand Poobah of the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh has spoken. You are no longer a Republican. He is the sole judge and arbiter. Your years of service don't matter. Discussion and debate is not tolerated in the Republican Party. Rush has spoken. Let it be written, let it be done.
Posted by: Rule by Radio Host | May 26, 2009 12:25 PM
No real republican would endorse Barry, the only thing is their both black.He stabbed Senor McCain in the back another Brutus.
Posted by: Edward Koziol | May 25, 2009 7:16 PM
Gosh....I guess that means 54% of Americans are black. I guess you voted for the white guy. Huh white guy?
Posted by: bill r. | May 26, 2009 4:58 PM
Colin Powell may be a Republican, but he's no conservative. He sounded like one back in 1996, but he doesn't any more.
I wonder how he feels about Obama now that his administration has told our soldiers to read captured terrorists their Miranda rights on the battlefield?
Posted by: ItsOnlyMe | June 11, 2009 10:43 PM