# To the GOP: why are some still licking the boots of Rush Limbaugh? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 30, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688 "2009-01-30T05:21:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Long_Time_First_Time)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/241 "2009-04-22T15:15:32Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I’m starting to wonder if the Republican Party is running some sort of giant in-joke to make Rush think he matters. > > “Let’s all say something slightly insulting about him and then grovel!” > > I just can’t figure out what the punchline is. I think it gives some future Republican the opportunity to have a Sister Souljah moment. If somebody, say, running for president took down Limbaugh and refused to walk it back it would immediately give them legitimacy in the eyes of the 80% of the population that are not ditto-heads. Now, the “base” might grumble a bit, but at the end of the day they’d fall in line. I mean, who else are they going to support? ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/242 "2009-05-06T21:02:28Z")
Does anyone still doubt that [Rush is the leader](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/06/cantor-bows-to-rush-this_n_197776.html) of the Republican Pary? > [@](#): > > Rep. Eric Cantor led a much-publicized GOP listening tour this past weekend – or so we all thought. > > “What we’re trying to do here today is kick off a series of town hall forums so that we can get back to **listening to the people** ,” Cantor told CNN on Sunday morning as he kicked off the rebranding effort. > > “ **Listening to people** can make a difference,” declared Mitt Romney while sitting on stage with Cantor during the first event. “That’s what we’re talking about here, we’re **listening to people**.” > > Fellow GOP luminary Jeb Bush sounded like an echo: “I’m actually optimistic [about the future], if we have the humility to start **listening and learning** …” > > _ **But then Rush Limbaugh spoke up. “We do not need a listening tour,” the conservative radio king made clear on Monday. “We need a teaching tour. That is what the Republican Party, or, slash, the conservative movement needs to focus on. Listening tour ain’t it.”** _ > > And so it was on Wednesday morning, when Eric Cantor appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, that he cleared the matter up. **“You know, Joe, really, this is not a listening tour.”** Fun video at the link. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/243 "2009-05-06T21:25:35Z")
> [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](#): > > I think it gives some future Republican the opportunity to have a Sister Souljah moment. If somebody, say, running for president took down Limbaugh and refused to walk it back it would immediately give them legitimacy in the eyes of the 80% of the population that are not ditto-heads. Now, the “base” might grumble a bit, but at the end of the day they’d fall in line. I mean, who else are they going to support? That’s not a horrible plan, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/244 "2009-05-06T21:37:56Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Does anyone still doubt that [Rush is the leader](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/06/cantor-bows-to-rush-this_n_197776.html) of the Republican Pary? > > Fun video at the link. Anyone know what comes after the video/story ends? It cuts our right after Cantor says “You know, Joe, really, this is not a listening tour.” Do they call him on it? Does he go on in a Palinesque fashion describing what it really was? ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/245 "2009-05-07T05:58:02Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Anyone know what comes after the video/story ends? It cuts our right after Cantor says “You know, Joe, really, this is not a listening tour.” Do they call him on it? Does he go on in a Palinesque fashion describing what it really was? I searched around for a longer video but I haven’t found one yet. If someone else comes across more of what Cantor said, please post. Meanwhile, back at the loony bin, Rush is all kinds of [pissed off](http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/republican-party/limbaugh-blasts-colin-powell-suggests-he-should-leave-gop/) (American meaning) at Colin Powell now. First, here’s what Colin Powell said: > [@](#): > > In a speech to corporate executives, Powell claimed that “the Republican Party is in deep trouble” and directly blamed Rush, saying that the talk show host “diminishes the party” and corrupts our public life with “a kind of nastiness that we would be better to do without.” Rush responds: > [@](#): > > “I don’t care what Colin Powell says,” Limbaugh responded on the air this afternoon. “This kind of stuff is said about me three times a day … and Colin Powell is just another liberal.” > > Limbaugh brought up his earlier claim that Powell’s endorsement of Obama was about race. “He’s just mad at me because I’m the one person in the country who had the guts to explain [the endorsement],” Limbaugh said. “There can be no other explanation for it.” > > Perhaps most tellingly, Limbaugh appeared to call on Powell to leave the Republican Party: “What Colin Powell needs to do is close the loop and become a Democrat.” So the leader of the Republican Party is calling on one of the most respected\* Republicans to leave the party. Nice. Seriously, Rush is becoming my hero. He’s going to single-handedly destroy the Republican party (well, he has a lot of help, but still) and I can’t think of a more noble goal. \*barf alert, to borrow a phrase from the freepers. Powell really does not deserve the respect he’s accorded, though it was nice of him to endorse Obama. He is respected though, by people who don’t know his background, and so hey, if Rush disses him, it’s only to the good. And, for once, I have a feeling Powell will NOT suck up and apologize to Rush, which will be quite refreshing. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/246 "2009-05-07T06:49:45Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Powell really does not deserve the respect he’s accorded, though it was nice of him to endorse Obama. He is respected though, by people who don’t know his background… I’ve never looked too closely at Powell, but I have regarded him with respect. Would you touch on the above – do you mean there are closeted skeletons, that his role in the Iraq war was unseemly, something more, or some combination? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/247 "2009-05-07T12:42:40Z")
I think it was probably the “look at all the WMDs in these drawings of trailers” show that he hosted. ---
**Author:** ![Alienhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Alienhand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alienhand)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/248 "2009-05-07T13:18:09Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Anyone know what comes after the video/story ends? It cuts our right after Cantor says “You know, Joe, really, this is not a listening tour.” Do they call him on it? Does he go on in a Palinesque fashion describing what it really was? [youTube link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEVGIcQ34O4). Scarborough jumps on the Limbaugh bandwagon. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/249 "2009-05-07T13:29:12Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > I’ve never looked too closely at Powell, but I have regarded him with respect. Would you touch on the above – do you mean there are closeted skeletons, that his role in the Iraq war was unseemly, something more, or some combination? Hi, I have to leave and won’t be home until after 11pm tonight, so I don’t and won’t have time to answer your question, but besides, yes, the helping us get into Iraq thing, there’s Mi Lai. Look up Powell and Mi Lai. Plus, in the “Shut the Fuck Up George” thread here (I started the OP), someone else (sorry, can’t remember who) came in with some great information another time when I didn’t have time to respond. I should have included a link, sorry. Thanks for your link Alienhand, I’ll check it out later tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/250 "2009-05-07T13:32:37Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > I’ve never looked too closely at Powell, but I have regarded him with respect. Would you touch on the above – do you mean there are closeted skeletons, that his role in the Iraq war was unseemly, something more, or some combination? He was in charge of the investigation into the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, and there’s some evidence that he basically swept the whole thing under the rug (being under orders to do so). I couldn’t say if it’s true or not- but that and the “Bush’s accomplice? Bush’s unwitting dupe?” WMD thing are the two big stains on his rep. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/251 "2009-05-07T13:50:56Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > That’s not a horrible plan, you know. Hell, I said during the election that if some Republicans would have actually flat out stated that Bush was a fuckup, they should have stood up and pointed out that he was useless, they didn’t do their jobs, and oh-my-god-we’re-sorry I might have considered some day voting for a Republican again. Nope. Party loyalty (or, it appears now, base loyalty) above all. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/252 "2009-05-07T13:53:55Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Hell, I said during the election that if some Republicans would have actually flat out stated that Bush was a fuckup, they should have stood up and pointed out that he was useless, they didn’t do their jobs, and oh-my-god-we’re-sorry I might have considered some day voting for a Republican again. > > Nope. Party loyalty (or, it appears now, base loyalty) above all. > > -Joe Well, funnily enough, [Rush kind of did that himself](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-derych/rush-tells-his-audience-_b_33690.html) a little while ago. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/253 "2009-05-07T14:00:27Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, funnily enough, [Rush kind of did that himself](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-derych/rush-tells-his-audience-_b_33690.html) a little while ago. Nah, what he did there was basically say that the Republican party wasn’t worthy of him. It was all about how great he is, not how bad the other guys were. And notice that he didn’t hang it up because it was all hopeless. He kept on with the same shit as always. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/254 "2009-05-07T15:05:23Z")
Thanks ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/255 "2009-05-07T16:05:08Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > [Weasel Ron Paul Also Scared To Disagree With Wingnut Princess Rush Limbaugh](http://wonkette.com/406759/weasel-ron-paul-also-scared-to-disagree-with-wingnut-princess-rush-limbaugh/) Wonderful comment from that page: > [@](#): > > This is better than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic — this is fighting over _who’s in charge_ of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/256 "2009-05-07T16:28:36Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > He was in charge of the investigation into the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, and there’s some evidence that he basically swept the whole thing under the rug (being under orders to do so). I couldn’t say if it’s true or not- but that and the “Bush’s accomplice? Bush’s unwitting dupe?” WMD thing are the two big stains on his rep. Found [the post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10525172&postcount=133) **Equipoise** was referencing about Powell by **crowmanyclouds**. Great post, well cited, and apparently left **Starving Artist** with no response - the Straight Dope equivalent of a victory as people here rarely have the grace to admit that an opponent was correct. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/257 "2009-05-07T18:21:16Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Great post, well cited, and apparently left **Starving Artist** with no response - the Straight Dope equivalent of a victory… I’m busy today and don’t have time to back into the situation there, nor do I remember enough of the particulars to respond to it now. However this is a perfect example of why I often mention it if I’m going to be busy, leaving for the night, etc. - a practice that seems to irk certain people around here. Other times I do it because I think the other poster(s) are waiting for a response and I think it’s a polite thing to do. It should not be automatically assumed that just because I’ve not posted an answer to an assertion or cite that another poster makes, that I’m ‘left with no response’. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/258 "2009-05-07T18:47:51Z")
Well, **CMC** ’s post has been up since December. You must be composing a _really_ good response. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/259 "2009-05-07T19:54:31Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, **CMC** ’s post has been up since December. You must be composing a _really_ good response. New and Improved, now with 15% more straw and 80% more monkey pooh! -Joe ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/260 "2009-05-07T21:42:48Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, **CMC** ’s post has been up since December. You must be composing a _really_ good response. Probably he needs time to look through all of his archived right wing spam or the opinions from right wingers so later he will come to us with his amazing wise points that he will claim are original. 😃 But just to make it \*\*unfair \*\* 😉 to **Starving** , I do notice that he never replied to post #158 in this thread, in it there is a completely original point of mine that once again was never replied to by a right winger, and while the post did not have his name, it was indeed made as a reply to the previous silly post of Starving Artist that claimed once again that Fox and Limbaugh are the only media right wingers can rely on. (Making his latest claim in a different thread that he does not follow them even more suspicious) And he just repeated the false claim from Fox and Limbaugh that the fairness doctrine was coming and it was going to silence Limbaugh, O’Reilly and Hannity as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688.md?page=14)