Conservative Shock Jocks

David Brooks has been described as the liberals' favorite conservative, and that's true here. Today's column, The Wizard of Beck, is illustrative of why. Brooks today takes on the voice of the Republican Party: the wackos on Faux, though he never mentions Faux by name. He's courageous, but not that courageous.

Of course, if you're a Republican trying to make the case that the GOP is not as wacko as Hannity, Rushbaugh, O'Reilly, and Beck (and there are many more), the first thing you have to do is blame the Democrats for the perception that it is. Thus:

[The shock jocks] still ride the airwaves claiming to speak for millions. They still confuse listeners with voters. And they are aided in this endeavor by their enablers. They are enabled by cynical Democrats, who love to claim that Rush Limbaugh controls the G.O.P.

It's the Democrats' fault.

But then he goes on to say:

The Republican Party is unpopular because it’s more interested in pleasing Rush’s ghosts than actual people. The party is leaderless right now because nobody has the guts to step outside the rigid parameters enforced by the radio jocks and create a new party identity. The party is losing because it has adopted a radio entertainer’s niche-building strategy, while abandoning the politician’s coalition-building strategy.

Gee, I'd say that sounds like Rush Limbaugh controls the GOP.

I'd say that, but I wouldn't want to be an enabler.

Addendum: Was Brooks's column part of a wider conspiracy of non-Faux Republicans to try to take the party back? Within the past few days Sen. Lindsay Graham was taking the same tack.