At CPAC, Rush Limbaugh used a football analogy to explain why he wants President Obama to fail. Ignoring for the moment that sports analogies, in general, are not very good in these types of situations, what did his mean?
Limbaugh said that he is a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. He wanted them to win the SuperBowl. So, when the Cardinal kicker came on the field with only a few minutes left in the game and a chance to help the Cardinals win, Limbaugh wanted him to fail. And that, he said, is why he wants President Obama to fail.
So, why is this such a bad analogy? It's bad because he divides America up into teams which win and lose. He wants his team, the conservatives, to win and the other team, which he calls the liberals to lose.
If we were going to use a football analogy at all, we would use one where we were all on the Steelers football team. That is because we are all citizens and, as citizens, we are not supposed to be spectators, but participants.
As citizens, we are all in this together and ultimately on the same team.
So, what Rush Limbaugh is really saying when he says that he wants the President to fail is that he wants us to fail. It is as if the middle linebacker of the Steelers, while the offense is on the field, says to his fellow defensive players: "I don't like that quarterback, Obama. He's calling all the wrong plays. When he should be calling a run, he calls a pass. When he should be calling a screen play, he goes for the long bomb. So, I hope on this series and every offensive series he gets sacked, fumbles or is intercepted. Then, we can take the field and we will score all of the touchdowns."
This is a possible approach to playing football, but a stupid one.
What Limbaugh and, apparently, those who agree with him and cheered him at CPAC fail to do is make the distinction between opposition and loyal opposition. He and they demonize those with whom they disagree to the extent that he and they no longer consider their opponents their fellow citizens, but their enemies. As long as a majority of their fellow citizens agree with the President and his policies, this will backfire.
We should not make the same mistake. In the comments to the frontpage diary about Limbaugh and CPAC I see comments comparing him to Hitler and Goering. This is wrong. Whatever you think of him, and however much we disagree with him, he is still an American citizen, like it or not. To demonize him and the members of CPAC who cheered him is falling into the same trap they have fallen into and will come back to bite us.