Tonight's results demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt that when given a chance to vote against a candidate you said would "destroy the Republican Party," many conservative primary voters will ignore the endorsements, the media narrative and the delegate count and cast their ballots instead for ... a candidate you said would "destroy the Republican Party."
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Congratulations, Rush Limbaugh
12 Feb 2008 08:38 pm
Comments (18)
Rush is Slouching Towards Gomorrah, slouching towards McCain, coyly and furtively making his way to the new center of power in the GOP. As is Ailes and Hannity and the other homophobes and demagogues of Talk Radio and FOX.
What happened to those vows of standing firm, defending those immutable values that are the foundation of America's greatness?
Well, the Far Wrong (formerly the Far Right) has been busy parsing the meaning of alignment vs. agreement, and struggling to find a word for "compromise" that sounds uncompromising.
No wonder McCain can't stop smirking.
Rush is Slouching Towards Gomorrah, slouching towards McCain, coyly and furtively making his way to the new center of power in the GOP. As is Ailes and Hannity and the other homophobes and demagogues of Talk Radio and FOX.
What happened to those vows of standing firm, defending those immutable values that are the foundation of America's greatness?
Well, the Far Wrong (formerly the Far Right) has been busy parsing the meaning of alignment vs. agreement, and struggling to find a word for "compromise" that sounds uncompromising.
No wonder McCain can't stop smirking.
Exactly how else are they going to voice their displeasure, Ross? Jeez...what a spiteful post.
Ross, how does that exit poll prove anything?
The fact is that more people voted for Barack Obama in Virginia than all the Republicans combined.
That seems to confirm what Rush said: "A lot of people aren't going to vote. You watch."
And don't tell me it's because the race wasn't competitive. It was a much closer contest than the one on the Democratic side.
Indeed, WTF is Ross's point? Rush Limbaugh came out strongly against both Huckabee and McCain. So the fact that one of them wins repudiates Rush? In point of fact, we may look at the "strongly conservative" vote which has Huckabee over McCain by huge, gaping margins (70% to 21%) and the two about tied with self-identified "somewhat conservative voters".
Do we get to allow for the fact that they are the only two even-remotely-viable candidates in the race? Good Lord; I must be misunderstanding because I thought Ross had a better handle on basic logic than this displays.
Maybe be a little less cute in the interest of actually making a cogent point?
Agreed. What were conservatives supposed to do, sit at home and neglect their constitutional right to vote just because they're not crazy about either guy?
And Mr. Limbaugh is an entertainer, not a politician. He never defeated Bill Clinton either, but that hasn't seemed to hurt his ratings or bottom line. Whatever his faults, Rush would rather be right than powerful.
Matthias writes: "And Mr. Limbaugh is an entertainer, not a politician. He never defeated Bill Clinton either, but that hasn't seemed to hurt his ratings or bottom line. Whatever his faults, Rush would rather be right than powerful."
No, he'd rather be rich and strung out on hillbilly heroin while taking sex vacations in the Dominican than anything else. What he really is is a completely corrupt bag of shit who thinks he doesn't stink. But he does, and his devoted listeners are a pack of mindless morons. Limbaugh's a clown without a single positive personal quality.
Actually, Matthias is exactly right--Rush is primarily an entertainer, not a political operative. Ditto Dan Rather, Tim Russert and all the other media bozos so many people love to hate.
To the extent that Rush and his alter egos on the left are forever emoting hysterically and demonizing political opponents, they coarsen the atmosphere and little else. Anyone who's lived outside the US for any length of time or has in some other way developed a broader perspective, American politics seems to run consistently between pretty narrow ideological banks. The idea that our "right wing" is really very right, or the "left wing" very left, is manifestly incorrect. Right now we have three or four potential Presidents any one of whom a big majority of voters would be okay with. Not bad.
Tempted to side with MLAJ for once. Although I wouldn't go that far.
Still the statements he's "an entertainer" and that he'd "rather be right than powerful" don't connect in any logical way. It'd make more sense to say that as an entertainer he'd rather have fame or money than power. Where MLAJ is correct is that often a desire for fame and money translates to a desire for the access to all the sleaze those things can bring. That may not be the case for Limbaugh, maybe he only wanted fame so he can help Laotian dissidents or elderly war veterans, but still his lifestyle makes it plausible he wants to satisfy base desires instead.
Right now we have three or four potential Presidents any one of whom a big majority of voters would be okay with. Not bad.
Uh, yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and draw the opposite conclusion from that.
Hasn't McCain already destroyed the Republican Party? He has no chance of beating Senator Obama and Senator McCain's inability to manage a campaign probably means that the Democratic party will have more than 60 seats in the Senate in 2008.
However, it would probably be better to say that the incompetence and stupidity of the Bush Administration is what really destroyed the Republican party along with the incompetence of former Speaker Hastert and former Majority leader Frist.
However, it would probably be better to say that the incompetence and stupidity of the Bush Administration is what really destroyed the Republican party along with the incompetence of former Speaker Hastert and former Majority leader Frist.
True enough, although you're speaking the language of integrity, whereas people like Rush Limbaugh are just counting the votes. Bush & Co's stupidity and incompetence was abundantly in evidence in 2004. Anyone with eyes to see knew the party was being decimated during his first term.
I'm puzzled by Ross's point also. Is Rush to be blamed for Romney dropping out? How else were voters supposed to express displeasure with McCain other than voting for Huckabee or staying home? Plenty apparently stayed home, and evangelicals turned out for Huck....there were only two candidates. What does that have to do with Rush? I don't like Rush or anybody that ardently polemical, but it's certainly not his fault that there were only two candidates.
Hey, if I could destroy the Republican party by voting for McCain... Hmm. Nah.
Ross, I'm not sure what your point is. That conservatives are ignoring Rush?
I'm looking at Byron's results and I see McCain cleaning up w/moderates(64/30), but not winning the majority of anyone who calls themselves conservative. In fact, he's getting slaughtered...by Mike Huckabee, not exactly Reagan II...by those who call themselves very conservative.
Reports of Rush's death are greatly exaggerated. Rush endorsed Pat Buchanan in 1992, who did not win the nomination. Rush favored Phil Gramm and Steve Forbes in 1996, neither of whom one the nomination. Rush is a beacon, not a kingmaker.
Whatever his faults, Rush would rather be right than powerful.
Right now, though, it looks like he's neither. Which I think is Ross's point.
Rush may be "an entertainer" - though he has also been a defacto capo, perhaps THE capo in terms of the conservative movement. He's shared the stage with presidential nominees. And the thinking is that he has the clout to be the kingmaker - or unmaker. This election is exposing all of that as fallacy. He has neither the reach to make the king - Romney - nor unmake the heir apparent, McCain.
In other words, what's been happening has exposed Rush as little BUT an entertainer - and I suspect that even he, until recently, thought he was something more than that.
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It's just that we're at war with Eastasia right now. In November we'll be at war with Eurasia, and will always have been.
Posted by Bill | February 12, 2008 9:31 PM