Sounds to me like Rush had too much faith in the conservative base who didn't live up to his expectations. So why should he be faulted for that?
So who you want in your locker room at halftime, the coach who tells you you're only down 21 points and tries to motivate you or the coach in the locker room who says you're down 21 points so just do what you can to stop them from scoring more?
That's all Rush is, a political motivator..........If Republicans and so called conservatives don't live up to his expectations then it's no fault of his own.........
You sound like me about 16 years ago with your faith in him. His big mistake was believing that voters wanted a shutdown, average voters are not his loyal ditto-head. The problem isnt necessarily that Republicans went into that battle, the problem was believing a shutdown would be popular congressional Republicans bragged on camera that they would do it, while Clinton played the opposite act. Dick Armey has admmitted that was mistake.
Over the years Rush has spun that story so many different ways like the Grandma who reads you a kids story over and over by changing the details each time so you never get bored of it. It all depends what he is trying to 'motivate' his audience for as you say,
More lately Rush sometimes comes up with the craziest themes on his show. A few months ago he got off on a theme how Palin is hated by Conservative women because she is attractive, for two days in a row. No-one least of all those counting on Palin running (then) could understand what he was trying to do.