More On Limbaugh

This entry was posted by owl and bear on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 at 11:33 am.

The thought of Limbaugh/Jindal vs. Obama/Biden in 2012 makes me so very giddy.

I’ve talked about the “Limbaugh is boss” strategy, and how it brilliantly uses the daytime talk show host’s vanity to draw attention to his special brand of Republican philosophy.

Recap: When Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel appeared on Face the Nation this weekend, he told Bob Schieffer

Whenever a Republican criticizes [Limbaugh], they have to run back and apologize to him and say they were misunderstood. He is the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party.

At pretty much the exact same time, Republican party chairman Michael Steele appeared the relatively obscure D.L. Hughley show to defend his position as the elected leader of the party. On the show, Steele pretty much correctly outlined the differences between his job and Limbaugh’s. The “hang time” between when Limbaugh complained and Steele apologized was a mere three hours. Steele said exactly what Emanuel predicted:

I realized words that I said weren’t what I was thinking.

Now, Louisiana governor and Limbaugh man-crush (don’t try to visualize it) Bobby Jindal has expressed his deep admiration for Rush. To Larry King, the journalistic beacon of integrity, Jindal said

I’m glad [Steele] apologized…I think Rush is a great leader for conservatives. I think he articulates what a lot of people are concerned about.

Mmm hmm.

Here’s where it gets interesting. By now, the Republicans are looking to end the hilarity, and there are really only two ways out: either Limbaugh can suck it up and stop complaining when elected Republicans assert their authority, or the Republicans can suck it up and stop complaining when people call Limbaugh the de facto party leader.

Well, Rush isn’t going to stop drawing attention to himself, so the Republicans are going to have to lay down. Republicans will soon realize that the only way to make this disappear is to temporarily align them with the extreme, sometimes racist, always incendiary views of Mr. Limbaugh.

They’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t, but they’re a little more damned if they keep trying to flush Rush.

Watch it happen.