Um, you’re welcome?
Well he did later say “Ideally, both will eventually be replaced.”. He’s said he wants both parties to disappear in response to Evil Captor in another thread, too.
Problem is they’d just be replaced by the same people in a slightly repackaged form. Fat lotta good that would do.
Those “people” are on the aggregate no better or worse than Americans on the aggregate. If the problem is the “people” then the only answer, really, is to swap out the entire population of the country.
I think what’s being proposed is that the extreme right wing of the Republican Party be marginalized, in the sense of having the same sort of influence over the agenda of the GOP that the extreme left wing (i.e., actual socialists) has over the Democratic Party, i.e., none. Each party would shift slightly to its left, and we will have an ongoing debate between two centrist parties, one left of center, one right of center, neither in acrimoneous opposition to the other.
This will require an excess of vision and courage on the part of the GOP, I’m afraid, but that minor change is what is being called for, I believe: simply to decide “We are a party of smaller government than the Dems, more fiscal restraint, lower taxes, more state and local choice available, a less active role in extra-national issues (perhaps), BUT we do accept that Rowe v. Wade and Obamacare are the law, that Christianity is no more the state religion than Hinduism or atheism, that a path be found to legalized immigration that is inclusive and humane.” If they wish to argue that rather than tax the “job creators,” we should tax the “job performers” more heavily, well, I think that’s a loser of an argument, but let us have that argument, by all means.
My objection to the Dems, certainly to that of many self-identified Dems on the website, is that they are not irrevocably bound to rejecting the GOP on principle, as I am. I think that there are votes to be picked up, as well as lost, in rejecting the racists, the states’ rights freaks, the paranoid militia nuts, the birthers, etc.
:eek:
That’s…
That’s just WRONG.
And I just ate.
Excuse me, I need to go
retch retch retch
Yes, ‘Ha!’ included ‘Thank you.’ 
(Got one with the belly button? 
)
True, there would have to be a major DNFTT effort from the Republican Establishment. Who are in something of a quandary when doing that, not so much with Rush as with the Tea Party since like good members of The Establishment they really are not ready to get down into the trenches to fight a challenge from the rabble-rousers.
No need to get that radical. Just let him find out his bargirl was no girl and then let the World find out. That would be sufficient.
There’s also a major flaw in the pledge itself. It can only work if there are only a few dissenters. If the Republican Party has the discipline to all work together, something that seems to be a big strength, there’s nothing Norquist can do, as he can’t primary everyone. Even if there are a few stragglers, the pledge is still toast.
The real downside is only if those who signed the pledge think their constituents want them to keep it. It looks bad on them to go back on their word. That’s why they need to so what you suggest–find a technical way out. (It’s not like Norquist would let an individual congressperson get away with such a technique, I’d think, even if only to save face on his side.)
We could do that all at once, just slice a little fat off China, they won’t miss it.
The issue is that “actual socialists” are not, on the world scale, all that extreme. For instance, Francois Hollande of the actual Socialist Party comes in just left and less authoritarian of centre. The American centre appears to be, perhaps, to the far right of the scale and a matter of difference only in authoritarianism. The Bull Moose party would be incomprehensible to Americans today.
Is the problem just Rush or the whole hate radio thing? There are right wing hate radio programs across great swaths of the country. Maybe Rush is the biggest, but cumulatively, the other programs have to have more listener-hours.
BTW, while it seems likely Rush will abuse himself to death over the next few years, sometimes we’re surprised by longevity in individuals. He might still be broadcasting 25 years from now. (If he hasn’t alienated his last sponsor by then.)
Limbaugh himself courts about 15-20 sponsors. As I recall, the program is transmitted to local stations free of charge with the proviso that the station air all national sponsor spots included in the five scheduled breaks per hour. Some of the breaks include public-service announcements or “joke” ads that EIB allows local affiliates to fill with local spots, promos, news, etc. Local radio station policies vary, but sponsorship is often limited to one of those “this hour is brought to you by…” liners at the start of the broadcast, while the spots aired during the program are part of the usual rotation (i.e. a business only buys the right to have an ad aired X times during the week, and unless he/she negotiates a separate deal for particular programs or specifically requests a spot not air on a certain day/time-period, placement is fairly scattershot).
Based on my most recent listening, Limbaugh is scraping the bottom of the barrel for national sponsors. I think I heard an ad for Hotwire.com, but the rest was a mash-up of other conservative hucksters, online remedies, goldbugs, and the Sleep Number bed–not exactly Tier 1 advertising. And on my local affiliate at least, I hear a lot more station promos nowadays, but that’s just anecdotal.
True, but Rush Limbaugh != Keith Richards. Could be a heart attack, could be COPD, could be a stroke, but something’s going to get that boy. For all we know, he could already be HIV positive from some Dominican lolita du jour. Now wouldn’t THAT be a fine reveal on TMZ.
You’d be amazed how long these guys can last, with proper access to top tier medical care. So don’t count on death intervening any time soon.
Doctor, I called it on Amy Winehouse and Hunter S. Thompson. I shan’t back down on my prognosticating proclivities at this juncture.
Point of order. Thompson died by over-dose of bullet, not drugs or alcohol. That fucker would have never died of either of those.
Tsk. Classic case of confirmation bias.
Isn’t this as it always was, and always shall ever be?
If I had a product that was juuuuust this side of legal, and relied upon gullible folks or people who did not have great powers of logic or critical thinking… I would advertise on Limbaugh’s show.