Limbaugh warns Palin about GOP leaders

As Republicans launch their re-branding effort, "National Council for a New America" (could they get a more boring name?) leaders of the party are falling to one side or the other. On one side are the people who believe in strong conservative principles, Reagan-style politics, very limited government and individual freedom. The other side are the people who more or less say they believe in the same ideals; however, they believe running on that platform will never win elections. They believe the "old way" is dead and we need to change the party and adapt it in order to win elections.

I thought Jeb Bush would have been a good VP pick for Palin if she ever decided to run for President. His remarks at the National Council for a New America (NCNA) kickoff event made me re-think that idea.

"Bush, in particular, expressed admiration for President Obama's political skill, and told the crowd not to get mired in "nostalgia" for past GOP dominance."

That's fine if those are Bush's personal views. But that is not the right message to send to Republicans in a concerned effort to rebuild the party. Color me unimpressed with NCNA so far. For Bush to make such a pro-Obama and anti-GOP comment at this point after everything we've seen Obama do in his first 100 days in office - makes think Bush has lost his mind.

Republicans need to be fired up and ready to return to our roots in order to stave off this encroaching socialism. If a Republican is not just a little upset about what's going on in our government, something's wrong. If a Republican is praising Obama and doesn't recognize the threat to freedom he presents and the soaring taxes we'll have to endure, something's wrong.

Earlier this year Bush stated that he would not run for Florida's Senate seat in 2010, a seat that will be vacated by Mel Martinez (R) who is retiring. Bush's decision prompted many to speculate that he wasn't going to run for President in the short term, either. Him being a member of NCNA's panel and expressing those views makes me think he does have ambitions to run in the short term, but he wants to shape the party first and hone his platform. He's distancing himself from his father and brother's political views with those statements. I'm reading a lot into it but I believe that has to be one of the reasons he's part of NCNA at this point in his career.

Palin accepted an invitation to be on NCNA's panel of experts along with Bush, Eric Cantor, Mitt Romney, John McCain, Bobby Jindal and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.

Rush Limbaugh didn't like Bush's statements either, and warned Palin that these are people in the GOP who could dislike her and her political views.

"Something else you have to understand is these people hate Palin too," the conservative radio host said Monday. "They despise Sarah Palin, they fear Sarah Palin, they don't like her either. She's, according to them she's embarrassing. McCain said, 'I was there with Ronald Reagan'…. No Reagan voter ever believed McCain was a Reaganite.

"And I think… a lot of this is aimed at Sarah Palin. When you strip all the talk — It's 'the Reagan era is over, stop all this nostalgia and stuff.' Clearly, in last year's campaign, the most prominent, articulate voice for standard, run-of-the-mill, good old-fashioned American conservatism was Sarah Palin. Now, everybody on this [NCNA] Speak to America tour has presidential aspirations. Mitt Romney there, he wants to be president again. Jeb may someday.

I think it's not only a warning to Palin, but also to any Republican who agrees with her - that is, the hardline conservative Reaganite Republican.