What concerns me is that Republicans and conservatives are allowing Limbaugh to participate in what should be serious debates (e.g., “What’s the future of the GOP?” and “What policies might bring voters back to the Republican Party?”) in his capacity as an entertainer. That immediately puts genuine thinkers and policy wonks at a massive disadvantage, since Limbaugh’s shtick is to be a marginally-informed blowhard who ridicules anyone who knows more than he does as either an out-of-touch pseudo-intellectual or a sinister political operator.

Jon Stewart’s use this approach to devastating effect: if you try to debate him in a serious way he sneers at you for thinking he’s anything more than a goofy comedian, and if you try to dismiss him with ridicule or wit you get torn to pieces because he’s so much better at that than you are. But at least liberals and Democrats never tried to anoint Stewart their leader, or looked to him for policy ideas or political strategy. Putting a showman in charge of your political movement is a hideously bad idea, because you end up being led by someone who can dismiss all reasoned criticism by making fun of it.