Posted on 05/20/2010 4:17:22 AM PDT by Second Amendment First
THERE are many theories for why very conservative Republicans seem to be doing so well lately, taking their party’s Senate nominations in Florida, Kentucky and Utah, and beating Democrats head-to-head in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia. Some attribute this to a generalized anti-incumbent mood. Others say it reflects the tendency of parties in power to falter in midterm elections. Recently it has been fashionable to ascribe right-wing success to the Tea Party movement. Related
But the most obvious explanation is the one that’s been conspicuously absent from the gusher of analysis. Republican success in 2010 can be boiled down to two words: Rush Limbaugh.
Mr. Limbaugh has played an important role in elections going back to 1994, when he commanded the air war in the Republican Congressional victory. However, he is more than simply the mouthpiece of the party. He is the brains and the spirit behind its resurgence.
How did this happen? The Obama victory in 2008 left Republicans dazed, demoralized and leaderless. Less than six weeks after the inauguration, in a nationally televised keynote address to the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, Mr. Limbaugh stepped into the void with a raucous denunciation of the new president’s agenda and a strategic plan based on his belief that real conservatism wins every time. He reiterated his famous call for Mr. Obama to fail and urged the party faithful to ignore the siren song of bipartisanship and moderation and stay true to the principles of Ronald Reagan.
Democrats responded by branding Mr. Limbaugh — whom they considered self-evidently unattractive — as the leader of the opposition. The day after the conservative conference, Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, went on “Face the Nation” and described Mr. Limbaugh as the “voice and the intellectual force and energy” of the G.O.P.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Hee hee hee
bttt
Rush is no party leader. Rush is a talk show host. But he is a true journalist with real facts. A facet obviously lost to journalism students of the NY Times.
Yep. Arlan Specter headed left while Rush stayed true to his conservative values. Low taxes. Limited government. Strong defense. The power of the individual.
Mega Dittos Rush.
Wow, bet the newsroom at NY Slimes is busy digging up dirt on Zev Chafets today
If it is News, how did this ever get by the Editors?
These people and their friendly neighborhood RINOs are schitzo.
All we heard about from them after the ‘08 elections is how irrelevant Limbaugh and co. are, how conservatism is dead and how “moderates” are the way to victory for the GOP.
Chafets must be the guy from the Times Rush spoke of a while back who came down to the Florida office to interview him. He said the guy was nice and respectful and, IIRC, he enjoyed the interview. I did not realize Chafets was writing a book. This column was a good one...
I have to admit this is the first time I have followed a NYT link but the article is pretty good. I don’t see Rush as that much of a controlling force but he was in position to voice what many or most were thinking when it mattered. I think the Left and especially the Kenyan’s au pairs have determined that giving Limbaugh any publicity at all, no matter how they construct it is detrimental to their own well being. Thus they choose discretion as the better part of political valor.
On the Op-Ed page...
Chafets is illogical.If Limbaugh’s influence is so overwhelming in the current elections, how come he was unable to derail Obama?
From wiki:
Zev Chafets,(born 1947[1]) is an American-Israeli author and columnist who was born and raised in Pontiac, Michigan. After graduating from the University of Michigan, moved to Israel. He spent a decade in the army, government service and politics. In 1977, he was appointed Director of the Government Press Office, a post he held for five years during the administration of Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Chafets was an active participant in the Egytian-Israeli peace process and a delegate to the first Israeli Egyptian peace negotiations. He was the founding managing editor of the Jerusalem Report magazine and is the author of twelve books of fiction, media criticism, and social and political commentary, three of which have been named Notable Books of the Year (by the New York Times). He is also the recipient of the 2008 Wilbur Award for his book A Match Made In Heaven. He was a regular columnist for the New York Daily News from 2000 until 2004. Today his columns appear frequently in major newspapers around the world, including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Post. He is a frequent contributor to the New York Times Sunday Magazine. In 2008, his NYT Magazine cover story on Mike Huckabee was a finalist for the National Magazine Award. Chafets is a spirited political polemicist. A strong supporter of Israel, he has been a vocal critic of Arab dictatorships, Islamic radicalism, extremist groups such as Hizbollah and Hamas, and what he perceives as a pro-Palestinian bias in academia and the media. He is also well known for his opposition to the role of religious political parties in Israel.
LLS
I’d lean more toward Beck than Rush.
LLS
Because, if you read the article, Rush came to the fore AFTER the election, not before it. He rallied the troops AFTER the election to get back in the battle. Prior to the election McCain was the dominate voice in GOP circles.
I have read other pieces in the Times with his byline that I liked...now I understand a bit more.
Beck is not the leader of the GOP opposition, he is the leader of the resistance to both parties Progressives tendencies. Different things
We could use a few more writers like Zev.
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