Rush's CPAC Speech...

[Criminal Rock]

Source (http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_030209/content/01125106.guest.html)

Limbaugh is a total clown. How anyone can simply overlook the way he grossly mischaracterizes any opposing philosophy is beyond me.

For example,

We want the country to succeed, and for the country to succeed, its people -- its individuals -- must succeed. Everyone among us must be pursuing his ambition or her desire, whatever, with excellence. Trying to be the best they can be. Not told, as they are told by the Democrat Party: You really can't do that, you don't have what it takes, besides you're a minority or you're a woman and there are too many people that want to discriminate against you. You can't get anywhere. You need to depend on us.

Or

Yet, as I listen to the Democratic Party campaign, why America is still a soup kitchen, the poor is still poor and they have no hope and they're poor for what reason? They're poor because of us, because we don't care, and because we've gotten rich by taking from them, that's what kids in school are taught today. That's what others have said to the media.

Pick any topic, it's practically the same result every time.

[shoe1985]

and yet, people rush to him when he speaks. It has been 3 months in Obama's Presidency. I voted for him because I thought he had great ideas, and he is following through with those ideas. We knew these were his plans before the election, so, these people need to stop bitching. This is what the majority of Americans wanted. They are sick of being screwed over by the rich, as we have seen in the housing market, and they want someone fighting for them and not the upper class. Now the upper class is about to feel what these two other classes have felt for a long time.

[gayzilla]

Rush needs to go back on the heroin

[Potter82]

Rush Limbaugh is a gift to the democrats in my opinion.

The Democrats are clearly trying to portray him as the de facto leader of the Republican party, a very clever strategy in my opinion - it's always good to portray your opponents as belligerent, know-nothing, hypocritical reactionaries and to many that is what the man represents. What many fans of Limbaugh fail to understand is that outside of his fan base, the man is extremely unpopular, especially among women and minorities (I read recently that only 30% of women have a favourable opinion of the guy).

The thing is the Republicans haven't given the public any reason to dismiss this theory; they go out of their way to praise him and kiss his ass, especially lately. If they don't do something to distance themselves from him soon, it is going to cost them. I've never listened to the guy but it's clear that he is a showman, not a politician - hitching your political future to such a person is doomed to fail because his priorities are just so different - mainly, he'll do what's best for his career, not for what's best for the Republican party - which is why I hope he doesn't go away any time soon :)

[gayzilla]

And it's like the Republicans have also tried to disown any moderate leaders of their party. Rudy Guilianni is a decent politician who I could see myself supporting, but because he's socially liberal, they hate him.

Limbaugh and Sara Palin are the best gift to Democrats.

[RicochetShaw]

And it's like the Republicans have also tried to disown any moderate leaders of their party. Rudy Guilianni is a decent politician who I could see myself supporting, but because he's socially liberal, they hate him.



Any notion of Giuliani being moderate has been dead for at least a year. The dude's a bigger war-monger than Cheney.

[Criminal Rock]

Have any of you seen the speech yet? Anyone notice the crowd reacting to Limbaugh's generalities and political mantra, and how he uses it to associate the Republican party with anything and everything positive?

We love and revere our founding documents, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. [Applause] We believe that the preamble to the Constitution contains an inarguable truth that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life. [Applause] Liberty, Freedom. [Applause] And the pursuit of happiness. [Applause] Those of you watching at home may wonder why this is being applauded. We conservatives think all three are under assault. [Applause] Thank you. Thank you.

Doesn't take much to tug their heart strings...

[someguy]

I really don't care about what he says, as long as the conservatives continue to pimp him out I'm happy. They've become so out of touch with reality that they don't realize the public actually doesn't like Limbaugh at all for the most part and his rhetoric/what he does is the exact reason why Obama got elected. Nostalgic Republicans and conservatives are pushing him out in hopes that they can go back to their 'glory days' of smearing when Clinton got in office. I think that the public is done with that type of attitude.

For now the Republicans will continue to push in the far right direction without realizing that they're continuing to alienate more and more people every day. I don't mind it though, the more these people fade into irrelevancy the better.

[Brando @$$ Fat]

Rush Limbaugh is such a monolith within the party because he was the first grotesque slob to truly emerge from talk radio. Hannity, Beck, Ingraham, etc are just polished and inauthentic versions of Rush. He's the original close-minded hack. Since talk radio is the lifeblood of the party, it's natural that they'd defer to Rush for guidance and strength after having their asses handed to them last November.

Surely enough, it was when Rush wasn't the voice of the party, around 2001-2005, that the party was winning elections. This was because they were less exclusionary and willing to accept liberal Republicans who shared their fondness of Big Brother like Rudy Giuliani, George Pataki, Arnold Schwarzeneggar, Dennis Miller, etc. Rush wants to fuse every element of the party into one ideology: Jesus freaks with a hard-on for warfare and unregulated capitalism. They will lose with this platform. Thank god for Rush.

[gayzilla]

Any notion of Giuliani being moderate has been dead for at least a year. The dude's a bigger war-monger than Cheney.

I should clarify, he's moderate on social issues. Well, on some he's downright liberal.

[Badbird]

Have any of you seen the speech yet? Anyone notice the crowd reacting to Limbaugh's generalities and political mantra, and how he uses it to associate the Republican party with anything and everything positive?


There was another speech like that recently. I can't remember, it might have been one of Sarah Palin's especially hateful and patronizing stump speeches during the election. It was like she had an applause sign whenever she said "Libruls! Dur hur!"

Rush is a tool, and so is Coulter, Hanity, Bill O, and Beck. All they have to peddle is spite and anger and hate. Well, not so much Beck. He mostly just cries a lot.

The fact that the conservative "movement" has to put characters like Bobby Jindal and Michael Steel in the spotlight and say "See! See, we have diversity too!" Shows that they just don't get it, and never will. These morons live outside reality.

It's time for everyone just just stand up and tell these clowns to fuck off. If they really think America wants what they have to offer, then why did they get creamed in the election?

[Homyrrh]

All the bitching about Rush is just want he wants, just what the GOP needs and, personally, quite amusing. Yeah, he's a Republican so he MUST be a automatic tool, but heavens forbid someone has enough power and audacity to unify a party...and he isn't the Messiah from Chicago.

Who else does the GOP have? Palin? Jindal? Romney? Giuliani? Pffft...Rush can be an idiot (and this isn't necessarily a scarce phenomenon), but it's foolish to think that half of what the guy says isn't just a way to justify his $400 million. Life is a business, especially politics, and he's the CEO of the GOP.

Shit, give me $400 million and I might consider saying something bad about capitalism or keeping a straight face as I read the national deficit projections for the next decade.

[shoe1985]

My problem with the Republican party is simple, they don't have someone that can take the reins and go with it. Palin is an idiot, and without the oil in Alaska, the state would be in a lot of trouble. Jindal had a terrible speech, and did nothing to stand out. Romney should have been the nom for President because he actually understand business, but I have heard from Republican friends that he doesn't fit in with them. Giuliani is living in the past. Yes, 9/11 was a terrible event, and we will never forget it happened. What else do you have to offer? Drill, Baby, Drill?

Nobody has stood out from the pack, but following this generic approach. It is the same people too, except for Jindal, but he offered the same old thing.

What shocks me the most is how we have not had one Independent stand up and take charge. We always seem to hear how we live in a two party system, but when no Independents are stepping up, what do you expect?

[Jon Lyrik]

The GOP doesn't need Rush. Only if they never want a plurality ever again.

The guy is just a giant ballbuster, I don't really care about him, but the public hates him. Unifying is not what the guy does. He's a gadfly for his own profit.

[Potter82]

Now this should be good; headline "Limbaugh's latest attacker: RNC's Steele"

In a little-noticed interview Saturday night, Steele dismissed Limbaugh as an “entertainer” whose show is “incendiary” and “ugly.”


http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/19498.html

we now have the official leader of the Republican party attacking the de facto leader of the party. This is going to be good. My prediction is that within a few days, after receiving many frothing at the mouth wingnut demands for an apology, Steele will apologize and retract his comments about Limbaugh (or say he was misquoted or taken out of context) and will promptly begin kissing Rush's ass.

Whether or not he does apologize, this will just create another schism within the party and will surely harm Steele's credibility and in turn, will give Rush and co. an even bigger voice within the party which will further lead to their marginalization on the national stage.

The democratic strategy of casting Limbaugh as the leader of the GOP is working great so far; it has succeeded in exploiting the tensions within the party & as casting the Republicans as a bunch of bitter extremists who refuse to tolerate any idea/position not in line with their increasingly inflexible and narrowing ideology - and the best part is that the GOP has played right into their hands. At this rate, the GOP will be too busy purging their party of RINOs to actually focus on winning an election.

Does anyone remember when the GOP used to be regarded as being controlled by diabolical geniuses? what the hell happened?

[Homyrrh]

Now this should be good; headline "Limbaugh's latest attacker: RNC's Steele"

In a little-noticed interview Saturday night, Steele dismissed Limbaugh as an “entertainer” whose show is “incendiary” and “ugly.”


http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/19498.html

we now have the official leader of the Republican party attacking the de facto leader of the party. This is going to be good. My prediction is that within a few days, after receiving many frothing at the mouth wingnut demands for an apology, Steele will apologize and retract his comments about Limbaugh (or say he was misquoted or taken out of context) and will promptly begin kissing Rush's ass.

Whether or not he does apologize, this will just create another schism within the party and will surely harm Steele's credibility and in turn, will give Rush and co. an even bigger voice within the party which will further lead to their marginalization on the national stage.

The democratic strategy of casting Limbaugh as the leader of the GOP is working great so far; it has succeeded in exploiting the tensions within the party & as casting the Republicans as a bunch of bitter extremists who refuse to tolerate any idea/position not in line with their increasingly inflexible and narrowing ideology - and the best part is that the GOP has played right into their hands. At this rate, the GOP will be too busy purging their party of RINOs to actually focus on winning an election.

Does anyone remember when the GOP used to be regarded as being controlled by diabolical geniuses? what the hell happened?
http://www.thirdwayblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/stewie.jpg

[Criminal Rock]

All the bitching about Rush is just want he wants, just what the GOP needs and, personally, quite amusing. Yeah, he's a Republican so he MUST be a automatic tool, but heavens forbid someone has enough power and audacity to unify a party...and he isn't the Messiah from Chicago.

Who else does the GOP have? Palin? Jindal? Romney? Giuliani? Pffft...Rush can be an idiot (and this isn't necessarily a scarce phenomenon), but it's foolish to think that half of what the guy says isn't just a way to justify his $400 million. Life is a business, especially politics, and he's the CEO of the GOP.

Shit, give me $400 million and I might consider saying something bad about capitalism or keeping a straight face as I read the national deficit projections for the next decade.

Firstly, even you must acknowledge that a lot (and I mean A LOT) of what Limbaugh says are false mischaracterizations, and are full of ignorance and bigotry. You're a smart dude, I'm sure you've noticed this.

Secondly, we aren't calling Republicans tools, we are calling Rush a tool. The guy is a slut for money, he'll say pretty much anything to the conservative base for it... doesn't matter if it's false, mischaracterized, or the same generic "We want freedom! Liberals want Socialism!" sound bites... as long as it's what conservatives want to hear, and as long as those people keep filling his pockets with gold, it really doesn't matter to him what he says. Hence, why we call him a tool...

Personally, I don't see how he's bringing the party together more so than he is exposing the bigots/clowns of the party. I think once the Republicans recognizes this, and how bad the guy is making them look to younger/newer republicans, new voters, non-affiliates, etc., they'll drop him faster than you can say 'Freedom Fries!' and he'll be back in his studio bitching about minorities and sucking the conservative dick... or the "cigar" as some like to call it.

BTW, here is the CPAC speech in full for those interested.

Video 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qtvtBGWgBc)

Video 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8NgDRKXyH8)

[Potter82]

Now this should be good; headline "Limbaugh's latest attacker: RNC's Steele"

In a little-noticed interview Saturday night, Steele dismissed Limbaugh as an “entertainer” whose show is “incendiary” and “ugly.”


http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/19498.html

My prediction is that within a few days, after receiving many frothing at the mouth wingnut demands for an apology, Steele will apologize and retract his comments about Limbaugh (or say he was misquoted or taken out of context) and will promptly begin kissing Rush's ass.

yeah quoting yourself is cheesy but I fucking nailed this one.


http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/19517.html

"Steele to Rusy: I'm sorry"



Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele says he has reached out to Rush Limbaugh to tell him he meant no offense when he referred to the popular conservative radio host as an “entertainer” whose show can be “incendiary.”

“My intent was not to go after Rush – I have enormous respect for Rush Limbaugh,” Steele said in a telephone interview. “I was maybe a little bit inarticulate. … There was no attempt on my part to diminish his voice or his leadership.”

The dust-up comes at a time when top Democrats are trying to make Limbaugh the face of the Republican Party, in part by using ads funded by labor. Americans United for Change sent a fund-raising e-mail Monday that begins: “The Republican Party has turned into the Rush Limbaugh Party.”


HAHAHA, what fools

[Jon Lyrik]

The Republican party is so disorganized right now, it's sad.

[Homyrrh]

Again, just throwing this out there for conversation...$400 million. That's 400,000,000 dollars. Like if I was given a dollar a day every day since Jesus was born...

[Brando @$$ Fat]

Again, just throwing this out there for conversation...$400 million. That's 400,000,000 dollars. Like if I was given a dollar a day every day since Jesus was born...

Please quit throwing this figure out. Rush believes the things he says. He's not unleashing stupid bullshit on the American populace because he has a sweet paycheck. Just watch the video of his speech and you'll see that on more than one occasion his piggly face gets all caught up in emotion as he reflects upon the awful things that liberals have done.

[Cop No. 633]

Please quit throwing this figure out.

How can he? It's the Republicans' one true God. The All-Ighty-Ollar. They'll probably be his dying words.

[Preston_79]

I can't believe so many left leaning Schmoes even watched Rush. Sounds like many of you listen to these people you hate on the radio as well, Beck, Hannity, O'Reilly, Ingrham. Why? Know thy enemy? I don't waste my time listening to people I think are just tools of the Republican party.

[Brando @$$ Fat]

I can't believe so many left leaning Schmoes even watched Rush. Sounds like many of you listen to these people you hate on the radio as well, Beck, Hannity, O'Reilly, Ingrham. Why? Know thy enemy? I don't waste my time listening to people I think are just tools of the Republican party.

The speech was broadcasted on all the major 24 hour news networks.

[The Heart Collector]

All the bitching about Rush is just want he wants, just what the GOP needs and, personally, quite amusing. Yeah, he's a Republican so he MUST be a automatic tool, but heavens forbid someone has enough power and audacity to unify a party...and he isn't the Messiah from Chicago.

Who else does the GOP have? Palin? Jindal? Romney? Giuliani? Pffft...Rush can be an idiot (and this isn't necessarily a scarce phenomenon), but it's foolish to think that half of what the guy says isn't just a way to justify his $400 million. Life is a business, especially politics, and he's the CEO of the GOP.

Shit, give me $400 million and I might consider saying something bad about capitalism or keeping a straight face as I read the national deficit projections for the next decade.



i don't understand your point. that because rush limbaugh has made some money, we should look at him as some sort of intelligent person? because he made a profit?

who gives a shit? why should we care about how much money rush limbaugh makes? i don't know if you are aware of this (probably not, since you have republican sympathies), but civilized people don't measure others' worth or value based on the size of their checkbook or their viewership.

two thirds of america have a negative view of him, he is completely incapable of maintaining a relationship, his image is destroying the perception of the republican party, and he's a sad, drug-addicted, hypocritical little toad.

oh but i guess he made 400 dollars!!! money buys respectability and achievement!!! i am homyrrh!!!!

[Homyrrh]

i don't understand your point. that because rush limbaugh has made some money, we should look at him as some sort of intelligent person? because he made a profit?

who gives a shit? why should we care about how much money rush limbaugh makes? i don't know if you are aware of this (probably not, since you have republican sympathies), but civilized people don't measure others' worth or value based on the size of their checkbook or their viewership.

two thirds of america have a negative view of him, he is completely incapable of maintaining a relationship, his image is destroying the perception of the republican party, and he's a sad, drug-addicted, hypocritical little toad.

oh but i guess he made 400 dollars!!! money buys respectability and achievement!!! i am homyrrh!!!!

Is this really necessary? I can hardly even consider replying with both courtesy and rationale to such a flagrant post. I can't be the only one who's reading this...how are you even allowed ot stay on this site after so many posts like this? My posts are pretty much contradictory to 4/5 users on here, but any other given user has a sense of place and communal decency when we engage in debate. Please grow up.

Otherwise, my point above, if unclear to anyone, was that while Mr. Limbaugh can have irrational, downright incorrect views (read: Donovan McNabb debacle), he has a $400 million contract that asks in return, in addition to radio air time, for exposure. The more he's exposed and the more sensationalized the propagation of his message, the more exposure he gets, them more he "earns" his $400 million from the contract with his employer, and the more said employer benefits. This point cannot be argued; it is business, not politics. His profession is fundamentally based upon being bold and unapologetic, whether right or wrong.

Ultimately, Limbaugh is a great speaker, at least apparently better than Bobby Jindal or most other orators in conservative politics. His opinions are often very rational...but most are caught-up, very understandably, is his quite often controvesial and extreme way of promoting them. He said he wanted Barack Obama to fail...when I heard this, I thought "Wow, Rush, that's really American...", then read the entire transcript about how he really just disagreed with absorption of the private sector by the federal government on such a large scale--he wanted the stimulus to fail.

At the end of the day, the left condemns Rush because, frankly, he's one of the very few "strong" figures in the GOP...especially with the deflation that was Jindal's speech, who else has any semblance of a spine and isn't willing to pander to a vocal leftist contingency? Liberalism has its Nancy Pelosi's, Noam Chomsky's, Barack Obama's, etc., all individuals who have some equally extreme version of a leftist platform that Rush has on the other side, but who is the one individual who gets the flak?

[Preston_79]

The speech was broadcasted on all the major 24 hour news networks.


Oh I see. No one had a choice. Good thing I was in self induced coma that day.

[Cop No. 633]

Liberalism has its Nancy Pelosi's, Noam Chomsky's, Barack Obama's, etc., all individuals who have some equally extreme version of a leftist platform that Rush has on the other side, but who is the one individual who gets the flak?

Wanna know the key difference? Those people you mentioned went to college and got an education. How are you even comparing a one-time professor (Obama) and Doctor (Chomsky) to a talking head? Rush just rants on the radio. They're not even in the same category outside of their opposing political views. If you put them in a debate, it would be a laughing stock.

I know the rest of your post wasn't for me, but this part was just too obvious to pass.

A little about Rush from wikipedia: Limbaugh graduated from Cape Central High School, in 1969. His father and mother wanted him to attend college, so he enrolled at Southeast Missouri State University. He dropped out after two semesters and one summer; according to his mother, "he flunked everything", even a modern ballroom dancing class. As she told a reporter in 1992, "He just didn't seem interested in anything except radio."

[Brando @$$ Fat]

Oh I see. No one had a choice. Good thing I was in self induced coma that day.

It wasn't a stretch for anyone who didn't feel like turning the channel to not do so. No one was forced to watch the entire speech, but since bits and pieces were played on the networks it didn't seem worthwhile to turn the channel because of one brief inconvenience.

[The Heart Collector]

yes, Homyrrh. It's necessary. It's necessary because being like that is the only way to get you to actually make a complete post (like the one you followed mine with) instead of cryptic jokes or bizarre non-arguments (like the ones I was complaining about).

Rush Limbaugh makes money because there is an audience for his idiocy. The people that listen to him are already there. Critizing him, giving him public exposure, etc, none of that is playing into his hand or anything of the sort. It's the opposite. It's been shown that Americans have an unfavorable opinion of him, and that Americans in general don't want Obama to fail, so his unpopular (but somewhat reasonable view) that he does not want Obama to succeed is not going to make him any more popular or give him more of an audience. He is basically going directly against the national mood. If it solidies his base at the expense of making the Republican Party seem like extremist lunatics, then great. Wonderful!

Even then, the size of his audience and his contract is irrelevant in this discussion, since the subject of the discussion is how much of a stupid ignorant asshole he is. The way you have been framing your posts is like we should give him some credit for the fact that a bunch of racist morons listen to his show or that if we talk about him, he'll get "power". We want Rush Limbaugh to have power. We want the Republican Party to follow him as he dives off a fucking cliff, which is what he is going to do, because the party is not going to go anywhere by following Rush Limbaugh.

Besides that, I have to assume you have never read a word of Noam Chomsky considering you 1) compared him to Rush Limbaugh 2) said that he is a figure in Liberalism.

[Potter82]

I can't believe so many left leaning Schmoes even watched Rush. Sounds like many of you listen to these people you hate on the radio as well, Beck, Hannity, O'Reilly, Ingrham. Why? Know thy enemy? I don't waste my time listening to people I think are just tools of the Republican party.

Personally, I don't listen to these people, but I know of them; I've seen various clips and read various exerts and most importantly, I know who they represent and who supports them.

I couldn't bring myself to listen to talk radio or watch Fox News - it would just grate my nerves.

If democrats seem to bring up Limbaugh so often that is because it's intentional; they are deliberately trying to paint him as the leader of the GOP so they will bring him up as often as they can.

He is the right's Michael Moore though the left was never, ever stupid enough to take their marching orders from an entertainer.

[Criminal Rock]

I can't believe so many left leaning Schmoes even watched Rush. Sounds like many of you listen to these people you hate on the radio as well, Beck, Hannity, O'Reilly, Ingrham. Why? Know thy enemy? I don't waste my time listening to people I think are just tools of the Republican party.

Well, personally, I enjoy keeping myself educated on current political talking points. And to correct your assumptions-- No, I don't watch nor do I listen to their shows. At least, no more than I watch Larry King or Chris Matthews.

I discovered and watched Limbaugh's speech by pure happenstance while sifting through the list of channels I watch... which aren't many... Besides, it's interesting to know what's going on with this because the GOP are essentially casting themselves in Limbaugh's shadow, and knowing what Limbaugh stands for and how vastly unpopular he is with the general public, it could very well backfire.

Makes for good discussion, no?

[Potter82]

All the bitching about Rush is just want he wants, just what the GOP needs and, personally, quite amusing. Yeah, he's a Republican so he MUST be a automatic tool, but heavens forbid someone has enough power and audacity to unify a party...and he isn't the Messiah from Chicago.

Who else does the GOP have? Palin? Jindal? Romney? Giuliani? Pffft...Rush can be an idiot (and this isn't necessarily a scarce phenomenon), but it's foolish to think that half of what the guy says isn't just a way to justify his $400 million. Life is a business, especially politics, and he's the CEO of the GOP.

Shit, give me $400 million and I might consider saying something bad about capitalism or keeping a straight face as I read the national deficit projections for the next decade.

I have no doubt this bitching about Rush is helping him personally, the thing is, it isn't doing the GOP any favours. The idea that he can unify the party should scare the hell out of them precisely because he is an entertainer and precisely because his interests do not necessary match those of the Republican Party.

He benefits as an entertainer by saying controversial, sensationalist, bombastic statements that appeal to some on a gut level but his opinon on a matter changes as often as the weather, there is no consistentcy at all, the only consistency is the desire to provoke an emotional sentiment in order to increase ratings.

That and does he have a solution to this financial crisis? to the energy crisis? to the issue of health care? of course not because why offer constructive, new solutions which could be prone to criticism when you can just criticize everything under the sun. It's just so much easier to criticize everytong and it's much better at provoking an emotional response, especially a hysterical sense of outrage. You can't run a party or country on hysterical emotionally driven criticism/outrage and really that is all he has to offer anyone.

Also, this guy has one audience; white males - the only demographic the Republicans have no problem with.

Does he appeal to women? asians?, muslims (hehe)? hispanics (HA!)?, blacks (HAHA!)?, gays (LOL!)?, people who aren't christians? union workers? highly educated people (aka elitists)?, and any one else who isn't a Reagan loving white anglo saxon protestant? Do the Republicans honestly believe that embracing Limbaugh will help them win over these demographics - which they need to do if they ever hope to win another national election? If so good luck with that.

In regard to the $400 million, while impressive, I say it's somewhat irrelevant.

I certainly don't think his opinon on politics should carry any more weight than other successful entertainers like Sean Penn, Michael Moore, or Bono.

[Jon Lyrik]

Holy shit, is Homyrrh suggesting Obama and Pelosi are as far left as Limbaugh is right?

THERE IS NO POWERFUL LEFT-WING IN THE COUNTRY ANYMORE.

Period. And there hasn't been since at least the 70s. In the west, there's nothing left-wing about American politics. Noam Chomsky has no power except among a small group of intelligentsia. Obama and Pelosi would be centrist in any other country west of Warsaw.

As for Limbaugh, yes, duh, he's an instigator out to line his pockets. But for the ebbing Republicans to take the guy seriously and parade him...no. Rush isn't much to me because I know his game, but if the Republicans want to be taken seriously (do I have to seriously pull up maps to show the assbeating they got a few months ago?), unifying the party isn't enough. They have to at least give some attention to the large minorities that they have ignored or even used as scapegoats in the recent past. And it has to be something that seems genuine (it doesn't actually have to be so, it's politics). Do you want to dispute that they've basically been relying on angry 30+ white males since Nixon? You simply can't win elections that way anymore.

At the same time, though, their base has become so rabid and insane (ever since the black guy won the Democratic primary) that they need to utterly cowtow to them even if there are some more moderate people left trying to keep things cool. Now, the Democrats, despite still largely being ineffectual dimwits, have been relatively kind to the real wingnuts in Congress (there aren't any Hastert-like gavel-bangings), but the Republicans by and large aren't reaching out themselves to unify. I just don't know how the party can move forward from this except with some intelligence and moderation.

[Criminal Rock]

My prediction is that within a few days, after receiving many frothing at the mouth wingnut demands for an apology, Steele will apologize and retract his comments about Limbaugh (or say he was misquoted or taken out of context) and will promptly begin kissing Rush's ass.

Looks like you were correct on both (http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200903040033?f=cf_clips) predictions, sir...

[Homyrrh]

Regardless, THC, it was entirely out-of-line. There's obviously no personal offense taken from anything on a message board, but it was an obvious disregard for both expected courtesy and adherence to JoBlo forum policy.

Comparing Limbaugh to Chomsky on an intellectual level is a comparison I could never hope to pass; one indeed had two failing semesters of college and the other revolutionized linguistics and political ungratefulness. Chomsky has held a distinguished position at MIT for five decades while Limbaugh has, well, not. However, and I apologize for any lack of clarity, on the level of extremism, a comparison can be easily made. After all, Limbaugh asserts that policies that move toward socialism are assaults on capitalism while Chomsky claims just about all power is invalid. Perhaps "liberal" isn't as fitting a term as "anarchist".

Also, if President Obama both supports partial-birth abortion and idealizes socialist economic policy, what is it that prevents him from being considered as liberal as Limbaugh is conservative? That he isn't a pacifist? That he has some semblance of a religious conviction?

OH, and again, $400 million is a very relevant figure. Rush's emboldened arrogance and extremism grow with his popularity and size of contract. That's how he pulls 13-20 millions listeners in every week for his station. Sixty-two percent of polled Americans would not decry the man if he didn't take intentional steps to ensure that such numbers knew his name, his message, and his medium. If this is not relevant to any individual, then you just do not understand the fundamental nature of the ubiquitous prioritization of business over politics...or most anything. Even with the grave majority of leftist disposition on this message board, who has never heard, seen, or even been generally exposed to Rush Limbaugh?

And two further thoughts:

-Michael Steele is to the GOP what pedophiles are to Rikers Island.
-Rush Limbaugh is pretty much the de facto head of the GOP...mostly because he simply embraces it. What other candidates are there for this position? The president would be the Democratic commander-in-chief whether or not he was the country's, but Conservative America lacks a legitimate unifying figure (which, yeah, definitely shouldn't be Rush for a multitude of reasons)

*Off-topic, does anyone know why I might not be able to view the JoBlo site with a wired connection? I can only access JB from my wireless VPN...