I’m not sure there’s much of a legal case there, but then, this whole thing is about creating a distraction and negative publicity for the GOP. The Dems have gotten what they wanted, and I don’t think this will go much further. Rush will probably get new sponsors, but even if he doesn’t do so immediately, he probably can afford to stay on the air by himself for awhile.
One thing we have to remember is that Rush is an entertainer, not a political leader, and in recent years it has seemed to me that he has been moving more and more towards the shock-jock side, that is, just speaking off the top of his head without much consideration for where his words will land him. And he has been getting much more foul-mouthed and much less witty, which I do not find attractive for his positions - and I don’t care that the Dems do it and get away with it.
He could have said exactly this same thing in an entirely different way, which would have revealed the Dems with their phony “coed” to be precisely the liars and manipulators they are. Instead he gave them a sound bite they can use to summon up the old “harsh, puritanical, women-hating GOP” trope.
I think Gingrich handled this well, refusing to be drawn into it and focusing on the real issue. But then, he’s had some experience with Rush’s off-the-top-of-his-head statements, when Rush called him “anti-capitalist” for revealing the actual nature of Romney’s business (which Romney was trying to portray as a productive and not financial business, and certainly not one in a somewhat shadowy area of finance). That was the attack that really gave Romney a boost and the meme that was picked up by Romney, Santorum and the Dems...even though Rush backed off on it a few days later - after the damage was done.
I used to listen to Rush faithfully, but in recent months, I find that I have been listening less and less, partly because of his increased tendency to a sort of nastiness (which he never had before) and partly because I have also noticed that sometimes his information is not current. I haven’t listened to Dennis Prager - I’ll have to see if he’s on around here.
I don’t listen to any radio show, I don’t listen to Rush Limbaugh and I don’t care what he says. I equally don’t think that whatever he says on his show is of national importance.
To invite a presidential candidate and as first question to ask him what he thinks about a radio incident, it’s an outright insult and disrespect shown to the guest.
Newt did right to slap that insolent David Whatseverhisname.