Rush Limbaugh: May Not Support GOP Nominee

newsmax.com ^ | January 22, 2008 4:34 PM | staff

[kellynla]

Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh stunned his listeners by announcing that he might not support the Republican presidential nominee in this year’s election.

Limbaugh said on Monday’s show: "I can see possibly not supporting the Republican nominee this election, and I never thought that I would say that in my life."

The reason: “You don’t have a genuine down-the-list conservative” among the GOP candidates.

“Wherever you go here in this roster of candidates, you're going to be able to point out ‘not conservative, what he did there is not conservative’” Rush said.

The Republican front-runners want the nomination “because it's their turn,” he also stated. “We tried that in '96 with Bob Dole and now they're running the same scenario…

"I'm telling ya, it's gonna come down to which guy do we dislike the least. And that's not necessarily good."

After Rush’s pronouncements, Los Angeles Times blogger Andrew Malcolm wrote: “Across the country, people were dropping their coffee cups, choking on sandwiches, fainting and driving off the road. The king of conservative talk radio not supporting the Republican nominee?”

But Limbaugh’s remarks are not quite so surprising in light of statements he made about GOP candidates Mike Huckabee and John McCain last week:

“I'm here to tell you, if either of these two guys get the nomination, it's going to destroy the Republican Party. It's going to change it forever, be the end of it. A lot of people aren't going to vote. You watch.”

[taxesareforever]

I heard on Mark Levin tonight that 40% of the democratic delegates will be from the elites in the demorat party itself. Does anyone know how many of the GOP delegates will be chosen by the party elites themselves?

[KingofZion]

I agree with Rush. As much as I hate Hillary (and Obama would be a disaster, too) I will vote libertarian if the nominee is Huchabee. I can’t support a nominee who believes in raising taxes and spending but does not believe in the theory of evolution and thinks the earth was created 6000 years ago.

[Senator Goldwater]

You know, its funny, but the drive-by’s would all tell us how impossible it would be for Cheney to win it.

But he’d mop the floor with those rank amateurs on the Democrat side.

Can you see that debate with Piano Legs? She’d become apoplectic.

I could see the bumper stickers now:

Cheney 2008: You don’t know Dick.

[LachlanMinnesota]

Whom would you suggest? Is Rush’s role to be a king maker? I don’t think so.

[Jaguarmike]

You’re making too much sense.

We are at war. Our obligation should be to the troops, to make sure that those who died in Iraq did not die in vein. That’s exactly what will happen if Hillary Clinton or Barak Obama become the next Commander In Chief. Remember who their constituents are - a kook Left base, many who WANT to see the US humbled.

Failure to complete the mission has come back to bite us. It emboldens our enemies. It did after Vietnam, and it did after Somalia.

I don’t like McCain’s campaign finance reform. I don’t like Rudy’s stand on abortion. But I know where both stand on Iraq and the War On Terror. And if either one of them are the nominee, I’ll vote for them.

[lonestar]

Anybody who has to depend on Rush --or any other radio/TV personality--to get exposure, probably should not be in the race for POTUS.

"Well, if Rush had made my name a household word, I could have been the most powerful person in the world!"--doesn't make sense.

I'm a Fredhead but I didn't expect Rush to campaign for him --especially harder than Fred campaigned.

I don't believe in campaign welfare! :)

[DB]

“McCain is wrong on policy, dangerous to national security (I think he’s nuts), and will destroy the Republican Party. I cannot support him under any condition.”

“Life long conservative Republican here. Will never vote McCain.”

Ditto.

[FreePoster]

If they couldn’t do it without Rush, then they weren’t strong enough candidates to begin with.

You could say that about any particular supporter. But Rush could have been a highly effective supporter, especially in early 2007 when things were just getting going.

[mountainfolk]

Rush is heading for a big fall. He has become so full of himself lately that he is getting hard to take. His program has turned into a three hour pity party about himself and his reactions to whatever and whomever. I have been a fan and defender of Rush since he first went national but he is sorely in need of some tough love. Or maybe a long vacation. Without Republicans Rush would not have achieved his present audience. Conservatives on their own do not have a base and hence do not have candidates to offer to the electorate. I doubt that I am alone in being quite irritated with spokesmen of every political stripe who seem to think they have the key to Conservative wisdom. I am a proud Republican and will vote for the party candidate in November. I will not be holding my nose or voting for the lesser evil. The person who emerges from the primaries at least had the guts to get out and campaign hard for the nomination so that puts them ahead of talking heads, media, and keyboard warriors. I will not give the socialist democrat party control of this Republic without a fight.

[ari-freedom]

Hillary believes in evolution. have fun

[libbylu]

you are wrong. He has said good things about Romney. I heard him!!!!!! He said “mccain and huckabee would destroy the republican party”, it is still up on his website.

[Liberty Valance]

I think even Rush would agree that ...
pigs flew today ... ;o)

[GovernmentIsTheProblem]

“Rush could have backed Hunter or Thompson, the only 2 real conservatives in the race but he chose not to. Rush really disappointed me this time around. The Golden EIB microphone ain’t so golden anymore.”

Republicans are so stupid they need RUsh to tell them the right thing to do?

Is that your position?

[Psycho_Bunny]

I have no intention of supporting any of the flakes left in the running.

[RavenATB]

“Any of the RINO’s will be better than Hillary as President.”

Question for you regarding your statement: are you more interested in the long-term good of the country, or the preservation of moderate Republican power?

When was the Republican Party more together and energized than in 1994, two years after Clinton took the White House.

And when has the Republican Party been more dejected and negative about their future than they are right now after seven years of a “moderate” Republican in the White House?

[libbylu]

you guys put way too much on rush. You are thinking about him like the libs do. He does not fill minds full of mush with his walking orders, good grief.

[FreePoster]

Dick Cheney/ Ann Coulter

Now you're talking. Time Magazine would run out of demonic images to put on their covers.

[Jaguarmike]

I’m curious about why Rush would support Guiliani, who is quite liberal on gun control, abortion, gay marriage, even immigration.

[Edit35]

Rush could have backed Hunter or Thompson, the only 2 real conservatives

C'mon. Rush is a lot of things, but he is not suicidal like many of the Hunter-or-nobody crowd.

There is so much more to winning in politics than just selecting the most rock-hard take-no-prisoners conservative.

Heck, by that measure, Rush should have supported Pat Buchanan in 1992 or 1996 -- but he didn't.

It wasn't the media's fault that Duncan didn't catch on. It wasn't Rush's fault that Fred couldn't connect.

They are two fine conservative men who simply did not have that undefinable winning ingredient that most people want to see before supporting them for US President.

[GovernmentIsTheProblem]

“Cheney 2008: You don’t know Dick.
“

I almost spit up my coffee!