Republican National Convention Chairman Michael Steele is getting the business from all sides after apologizing to radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. It should have forward thinking Republicans doubled over in agony. The idea that presents itself goes like this. Is Steele really that weak or is Rush the political Godfather of the Republican party?

Late last week on Breaking the News with DL Hugely, Steele defiantly stated that he was the defacto head of the Republican party and that Rush Limbaugh’s comments were incendiary and ugly. To say the least, I was excited, a good fight had come to town and I wasn’t going to have to contact my cable operator to get in on the action. But like a boxing match in the early days of Mike Tyson’s career, it was over before it started.

Kneel Before Rush

When Rush Limbaugh went on the air the next day, he took Steele to task and like a political rookie with no constituents other than his own backside, Steele up and apologized. So their were two big questions coming out of this.

First was Michael Steele that inept or politically ignorant to challenge someone who had absolutely no skin in the game and the ear of a considerable portion of his party. Uh, yes; yes he was.

Two, does Rush really carry that much juice that he can make Republicans cower in their boots while gushing apologies for even thinking anything contrary to the Limbaugh agenda. This last remains to be seen. With a party this is in serious trouble and beginning to splinter, Limbaugh may very well be the wedge that splinters the party into a new direction.

The biggest problem faced by Republicans will be attracting voters beyond their dwindling base. The antics of Limbaugh can only hamper these efforts, so the first challenge of the next real Republican leader will be to deal with the Limbaugh question.