Sarah Palin helped push the Republican Party farther to the right this election – a polarization which could lead to the downfall of the party, insists Colin Powell.

Oh, and he also says Republicans should stop listening to conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh and we need to rethink the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

“Gov. Palin, to some extent, pushed the party more to the right, and I think she had something of a polarizing effect when she talked about how small-town values are good,” Powell told CNN in an interview that will air Sunday. “Well, most of us don’t live in small towns. And I was raised in the South Bronx, and there’s nothing wrong with my value system from the South Bronx.”

He adds: “It was that attempt by the party to use polarization for political advantage that I think backfired.”

If the GOP doesn’t wake up and realize the far-right wing can’t carry the rest of the party, Powell – who created shockwaves throughout the political establishment when he endorsed Barack Obama for president, albeit, late in the game – thinks they could become obsolete.

“There’s nothing wrong with being conservative … but if the party wants to have a future in this country, it has to face some realities,” like it has to woo blacks and Hispanics, who are quickly becoming the majority in this country.

“I think the Republican Party needs to stop shouting at the world and the country … the party has to take a hard look at itself.”

Here’s video from the aforementioned interview.