Conservatives Rise Up, Hit Local Streets

This week, even his most ardent haters had to be stunned at Rush Limbaugh's remarkable political sway. The conservative radio host, who broadcasts from a "bunker" in Palm Beach, got an "Obama bump" when the prez dissed him publicly, casually remarking that Republicans ought to stop listening to his show. Turns out, the president's words may have had the opposite effect. 

Days ago, Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, agreed that Limbaugh didn't deserve much attention. "I'm the de facto leader of the Republican Party," Steele said.  A day later, he was eating his words and issuing Limbaugh an apology. The New York Times ran a piece titled  "What to Do About Rush?"  Of course, the attention only emboldened the radio host. Yesterday, Limbaugh dared President Obama to a debate and even called out Rahm Emanuel for his past as a "ballerina."

Although liberals may not like Limbaugh's style or be able to follow his logic (he wants the president to fail, but not the country?), they have trouble fighting the underlying source of Limbaugh's power: It really, really doesn't feel so good for our government to be spending zillions of taxpayers' dollars.

Last weekend, local conservatives took their message to the streets with a "Tea Party" demonstration at the corner of North Federal Highway and East Oakland Park Boulevard. You could say that one of the movement's de facto leaders is blogger Daria DiGiovanni, who goes by the handle "Palin Drone" and is "smitten" with former VP candidate Sarah Palin. On her blog, Giovanni directs conservatives to local protests, Facebook groups, and meetups. (The picture above is cribbed from her site -- it's from last week's protest.) The group plans to demonstrate again this Saturday, March 7. If you see DiGiovanni, you can congratulate her -- she wrote a book, sent it to Palin, and received a signed response letter in the mail.