Limbaugh's latest attacker: RNC's Steele

The Politico ^

[Sub-Driver]

Limbaugh's latest attacker: RNC's Steele By: Jonathan Martin March 2, 2009 12:07 PM EST

On the same night he was offering the keynote address to the Conservative Political Action Conference, Rush Limbaugh drew criticism from an unlikely source: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.

In a little-noticed interview Saturday night, Steele dismissed Limbaugh as an “entertainer” whose show is “incendiary” and “ugly.”

Steele’s criticism makes him the highest-ranking Republican to pick a fight with the popular and polarizing conservative talk show host.

But the new RNC chairman’s extraordinary comments won’t sit well with the millions of conservative listeners Limbaugh draws each week, and Steele aides scrambled to limit the damage Monday morning by trying to change the subject.

“Rahm Emanuel and the Democrats know they lose an argument with the Republican Party on substance so they are building straw men to attack and distract,” said RNC spokesman Alex Conant.

“The feud between radio host Rush Limbaugh and Rahm Emanuel makes great political theater, but it is a sideshow to the important work going on in Washington. RNC Chairman Michael Steele and elected Republicans are focused on fighting for reform and winning elections. The Democrats’ problem is that the American people are growing skeptical of the massive government spending being pushed by Congressional leaders like Nancy Pelosi.”

Limbaugh, asked to respond, said he’d save his counter-attack for his listeners.

“I’ll handle it on the radio,” he wrote in an e-mail.

In an interview on CNN with D.L. Hughley, Steele assured that he, not Limbaugh, was in charge of the party before saying that he wanted to put the right-wing talker “into context.”

“Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer,” Steele said. “Rush Limbaugh, his whole thing is entertainment. Yes it’s incendiary, yes it’s ugly.”

[Obadiah]

Oh come on. Don’t try to candycoat it. Of course Steele was not referring to his CPAC speech. It’s worse than that. Steele was referring to Limbaugh’s show!

[LikeLight]

groan...

dittos

[lonevoice]

Awesome post at #68! My email to Steele is on its way. I'll call the switchboard too.

I’m as mad as you are, but why not “screw Steele” rather than screw the GOP”? Let’s take our wrath out on Steele, specifically. Deluge him specifically with “either apologize and retract or resign” and don’t let up until the wiser heads in the GOP leadership have held his feet to the fire long enough to force him to crawl to Rush with his tail between his legs.

And if the rest of the GOP leadership won’t sit him down and have a “Dear Michael” talk with him and straighten him out, well, then, I agree, “Screw the GOP.”

But the first step is to try to turn this to our advantage—show our strength, bring Steele to his knees by our outcry, make it another nail in the coffin of RINO dominance in the GOP? Sure, it may not work. But politics is all about leveraging what can be leveraged. And Rush is a monster of a lever to employ here.

[marron]

Steele dismissed Limbaugh as an “entertainer” whose show is “incendiary” and “ugly.”

I had higher hopes for Steele. He didn't just "dis" Limbaugh, he just diss'd me and about 20 million others. That, and he exposed himself as a lightweight.

Unlike some talk show hosts who seem to follow Repub talking points, Limbaugh is usually out ahead of them. Limbaugh is right way more often than the RNC leadership. For an entertainer, he is a pretty sharp analyst and philosopher. He is one of a kind. I don't agree with every word that comes out of his mouth, but he is right way more often than he is wrong.

The "ugly" remark is dishonest and way off base. Limbaugh is usually sharp in his analysis but I've seldom if ever heard him treat any listener with disrespect including and especially listeners who disagree with him.

[jla]

Wouldn’t it be poetic justice that SarahPAC received more donations in March than the entire Republican party did.

Not only March but the other eleven months as well!

[browardchad]

Unfortunately Steele picked a fight with someone who has a big megaphone.

Limbaugh has more class than to single out Steele, and I doubt he's surprised by his remarks. I'm not.

To hell with the GOP. They're gone. Over. Done.

[goodwithagun]

Time to send another flaming email to Steele. The first was regarding Specter, Snowe and Collins. The republican party has lost my support. Do we need a RNC headquarters tea party? Dems aren’t the only ones spending our money on horseshoe crab research.

[gogogodzilla]

The Republican party, as a place for conservatives, is dead.

[Canedawg]

Steele’s a sellout.

And we’re not buying his crap.

[beaversmom]

Does Rush refer to his own views as incendiary and ugly? You are confounding different statements. One was about Rush being just an entertainer. That can be debated and is not necessarily an insult. One was saying his views are incendiary and ugly. That’s a pretty strong negative opinion.

[Tribune7]

Conservatives will not stick together.

Conservatives will stick together and even stick with mods if it makes sense. Mods will not stick with conservatives.

[Kent C]

to: beavermom..

Me:
“I’ll make a prediction that Rush will have no big problem with Steele’s comments”

Ok. Just heard Rush on that and while he didn’t make a big thing of it, he did make ‘chide’ Steele on this...

[jimt]

The man stepped on his crank with golf shoes.

[Gene Eric]

>> In a little-noticed interview Saturday night, Steele dismissed Limbaugh as an “entertainer” whose show is “incendiary” and “ugly.”

If this is true, I want Michael Steele to fail.

If not, Steele needs to correct this tripe.

[Domandred]

Steele basically called conservatives ugly and incendiary. We aren’t welcome. Not a dime and good luck on ever voting GOP again. Let em cling to Obama’s coat tails on the trip down the collapse of the United States.

[TXBubba]

Come again, I have no clue what you just said?

[nutmeg]

Oh come on. Don’t try to candycoat it. Of course Steele was not referring to his CPAC speech. It’s worse than that. Steele was referring to Limbaugh’s show!

It wasn't that clear to me just what he was referring to in that video. But, OK, I'll send Steele an e-mail asking him to clarify his position on Rush in general, and see what he says.

In the meantime, all this talk on FR (not you, specifically, Obadiah, but a LOT of FReepers) of a 3rd party, never voting GOP again, and hating Michael Steele is music to the libs' ears...

[donna]

Here’s an idea:

The only way to maintain a conservative site is to start banning Michael Steele supporters.

[marron]

Just heard Rush on that and while he didn’t make a big thing of it, he did make ‘chide’ Steele on this...

Thus he refutes Steele's "ugly" comment. Limbaugh is a classy guy. He teases, he has a rapier wit, he is a good satirist, his analysis is sharp, but he is never ugly.

[Kent C]

“Does Rush refer to his own views as incendiary and ugly?”

I took Steele’s comments there as summarizing what some people think, not what he thinks, and there is nothing that I know of, in any of his earlier comments about Rush that would point to that. He’s been supporting to Rush and conservatives that most others in the Party.

And I would think that Rush loves and would acknowledge that he is incendiary and ugly to liberals.