Republicans Being 'Hip'

As an American, I was kind of excited that Michael Steele was named the chairman of the Republican National Committee this spring. I thought that he might possess some views that could get the GOP away from it's tendency of doing everything it can to cater to southern, white, and old men. But then again, I didn't realize how phony Steele would be.

Conservatives don't like the word "empathy." And so when President Obama offered that word as a characteristic he'd like to see in a replacement for Supreme Court Justice David Souter, there was a right-wing uprising that connected the President's word choice with activist, law-making judges. Always looking for ways to show how cool he is, Mr. Steele riffed galore on the concept of empathy while guest-hosting Bill Bennett's radio show on Friday.

STEELE: Good morning y’all, we’re back in the house. We’re talking a little bit of Constitution and a little bit Supreme Court. And a whole lot of saving America’s judicial system and saving our rights as citizens and not having empathetic judges decide cases, but rather judges who are actually understanding the rule of law and what the Constitution and those laws are all about. And how to apply the facts to the law and the law to the facts. And adjudicate my case. I don’t need some judge sitting up there feeling bad for my opponent because of their life circumstances or their condition. And short changing me and my opportunity to get fair treatment under the law. Crazy nonsense empathetic. I’ll give you empathy. Empathize right on your behind. Craziness.

Yes, this is a radio show geared toward the right, but it's not like Steele changed his act for this radio show. He's always this crazy. And perhaps it's not so much that he's crazy as he is desperate. He came in knowing he had to do something different in order to make young people like him and like the party. But that's all it is -- "different." It's not well-conceived; it is actually almost phony.

With a generation like the Millennials, I think "phony" might actually be worse than intolerance and hyper-individualism. Not only do the Republicans now look stupid for letting this guy represent them, but they've actually maintained those traits that are antithetical to the values of today's young people, thanks to the leadership of Lord Limbaugh. Double-whammy.