Posted on 01/22/2008 9:14:16 PM PST by 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.”
I’m glad to be encouraged on that. He’s currently the one I’m considering.
It’s not that undefinable, it’s called being able to persuade people.
A candidate is more than just his checklist of issues. It’s the entire package. Executive skills, ability to inspire people, drive, etc. So many here on FR are obsessed with positions on issues as though that is the only measure of a candidate.
The primaries are the proving grounds. You prove you have what it takes to take on the Democratic nominee by winning the Republican primary. If you can’t do that, then you would have probably fallen on your face in November anyway.
Thompson was my first choice, and I’m disappointed that he did not prove to be the campaigner I had hoped for. But better we find out now he doesn’t have what it takes than we find out in November.
He lost because he didn’t have what it takes. It’s not the voters’ fault, it’s not the media’s fault, and it certainly wasn’t Rush’s fault.
So many
Depending on the matchup, I’m not sure the R Presidency is in all cases better for the country than the D. I’m not decided on every potential combination. I dread McCain being one side of it. I don’t think he’ll get the nomination, though. If he does, I will feel something’s rigged big-time.
Can you briefly summarize why you’ll vote for romney? I’m in shock about Fred, and am against 3rd party because of what happened in ‘92.
Really helpful post, thank you.
Anyway, I dont think he is hostile to conservatives at all, (most is imagined, but understandable), especially since McCain and Huck do have REAL hostilities toward conservatives, and have campaigned against us, using liberal speak.
Not to mention McCain’s consistant and open hostility for a decade in the Senate.
One other possible impact of Bill Clinton...if his health problems cause him to die during Her Thighness’s 1st term, she will be reelected on the sympathy vote.
I’ve felt that Romney would be the strongest candidate against any Democrat. Rush is simply admitting that neither Mitt or any other Republican is a perfect choice. But I predict that when Mitt wins Florida by 5% over McCain and Rudy, then everyone, including Rush, will admit what a lot of us at FR see now that Fred is out—Mitt is the best remaining option—and not that bad a choice at that.
I really wish we had just one thread that we could read, or a website that describes all the pros and cons of the contenders, to analyze them. For me McCain isn’t even an option or a consideration. For various reasons, I’m not voting for rudy. If I were to have to pick tomorrow between mitt and huckabee....I have NO IDEA which to choose yet...and there’s not a lot of time to make a decision.
What’s this all about?
I was told (today at 7:46:43 pm) that Rush endorsed Romney today.
Because he couldn’t win because Rush et. al. wouldn’t give him exposure because he couldn’t win because Rush et. al. wouldn’t give him exposure because he couldn’t win because Rush et. al. wouldn’t give him exposure because he couldn’t win because Rush et. al. wouldn’t give him exposure because he couldn’t win because Rush et. al. wouldn’t give him exposure because he couldn’t win because Rush et. al. wouldn’t give him exposure because he couldn’t win because Rush et. al. wouldn’t give him exposure because he couldn’t win because Rush et. al. wouldn’t give him exposure because he couldn’t win because Rush et. al. wouldn’t give him exposure because he couldn’t win because Rush et. al. wouldn’t give him exposure because he couldn’t win because Rush et. al. wouldn’t give him exposure because he couldn’t win because Rush et. al. wouldn’t give him exposure because he couldn’t win
I really wish we had just one thread that we could read, or a website that describes all the pros and cons of the contenders, to analyze them. There is... http://www.issues2000.org/Mitt_Romney.htm From here you can analyze any of the candidates to your heart's desire.
Seeing as how all of our remaining primary candidates would fit right at home in the Democratic Primaries, I’d say the Democrats have already won.
Is Mitt08 pro-China with a dog named Bain yet in the fight, just like Mitt07?
“We need to all get together and support the eventual GOP nominee, unless we want to live with Hillarycare for the next 20 years or more.”
Because Romneycare or McKyoto or whatever would be so much better?
No thank you.
The GOP was never so energized as it was in 1994.
Think about it.
“And RG hates the Dims and the MSM, fought them relentlessly in NY for his policies.”
How do you figure?
He was a gun grabbing nanny stater.
Manhattan is 15% Republican, for example.
Rudy is a left-wing little-r republican.
I think the problem was they agreed with Thompson on practically everything but didn’t think he had what it takes to cut it. And he didn’t. How could you justify pushing hard for someone’s campaign when the candidate just wasn’t into it?
well what do you mean by 3rd party candidate? Bloomberg is the only one who can actually make a difference but I don’t think we’d be happy with that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.