Posted on 08/14/2015 5:39:49 AM PDT by C. Edmund Wright
Did we just see Erick Erickson’s Red State draw a red line in the sand in front of Rush Limbaugh? And if so, is it another aspect of the booming dynamic known as “the Trump effect?”
That very case can be made – as Erickson used Red State’s daily email blast lead story from Dan McLaughlin on Wednesday to fire shots across the bow of all talk radio hosts who are in any way supporting Donald Trump. And while Erickson does not have the by-line on this indictment, it is right in line with his recent dis-invitation of Trump to speak at the recent Red State gathering. (snip)
(snip) gauntlet is thrown down on all talkers with the bombastic warning that “all those in a position of leadership…. cable and talk radio hosts, pundits, columnists, bloggers – (who are) actively encouraging the Trump phenomenon, you are neither a conservative nor a Republican anymore and should not expect anyone to take you seriously again.”
There’s nothing else to add to that, other than to notice that a direct endorsement of Trump was not a requirement here – no – merely the encouragement “of the Trump phenomenon” is in and of itself damning.
And just in case anyone still missed the main point of the article, it closed with the harsh notice that “Donald Trump’s feckless campaign is a millstone…. take it off your necks, or be drowned by it.” The close was dramatically stark on purpose.
Translation: Those talk leaders who now speak well of Trump’s campaign are heading for a major embarrassment down the line….and ole Erick will be there to remind them.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Love to know your thoughts PING.
CEW ping ...
It looks like I won't ever have to listen to {or turn off} erick the red in a substitute role for Rush. Thankfully!!!
We’ve all heard of Rush Limbaugh, but wasn’t Erick Erickson a psychologist who died about 20 years ago?
prolly right...and a point I made at the very end of the piece. Great minds.....:)
Bring it on Eric. We are ready to rubble. You are trash now but when we are through with you you will be ashes in a whirlwind.
Well EE is no Rush Limbaugh, that's for sure - but he's not insignificant either. He just held a big event in Atlanta and every candidate - including Trump - really wanted to speak at that event. That's not something everybody can claim.
Again, my take is that Rush is much bigger than EE, that the truth of Trump is somewhere between what Rush is saying and what EE is saying...and that it will be fun to watch this play out.
Nah, he is a party hack from Georgia.
He has even substituted for Rush on occasion.
so let me ask you....serious honest question.....how will this play out if Trump goes liberal on some key issue at a key moment....or otherwise implodes for any number of potential reasons? EE can’t compete with Rush, but even David Limbaugh is much more circumspect on Trump than his brother. If EE is proven even somewhat correct....it’s all on the record now. There will be no escaping the scoreboard.
This is pure liberal mob tactic. It will backfire, IMO. There’s always this circular firing squad and idealogical purity test and he/she who claims to be the administrator of it first seems to be the one who can claim the higher moral ground. Trust in Rush versus trust in EE is, oh, 200:1.
Note very carefully that Rush and Levin have not >>endorsed<< Trump. No way. They are simply being open to him, and pointing out that Trump is in no way idealogically pure. And leaving it at that. Levin isn’t even endorsing Cruz, perhaps the most idealogically pure candidate, as well as a super intelligent man.
When someone tells me I am not allowed to think something that emanates from their mouth and is as shallow and self-serving as this EE rant, I react negatively. That’s MY conservative value.
Trump is willing to try to bring America and the Republican Party back to life. Jeb will say a few words at the burial service of each - any questions?
i”m sorry, did you not read the article and miss the entire point on purpose? Or are you obsessed with Jeb and not able to think outside any other topic. Spoiler Alert: Jeb was not mentioned at all in this piece - nor was there any opinion in this piece other than I believe that EE had Rush in mind when he published Wednesday’s lead story on RS.
Erickson: “all those in a position of leadership… actively encouraging the Trump phenomenon, you are neither a conservative nor a Republican anymore and should not expect anyone to take you seriously again.”
_______________________
We have a saying around here about one’s alligator mouth overloading one’s hummingbird a$$. Republicans per se are dead to me as of 2012, but since when are conservatives obliged to conform to, or even tolerate, the utterances of some self appointed commissariat?
Thanks for the writing and presenting the article.
Actually you are right about Levin, but Levin's treatment of Trump and Rush's are totally different. You're talking to someone who's been listening since day one of his national show literally - and has much closer ties to the show than you can ever imagine....and Rush has been very dismissive of criticism of Trump, even as he had admitted it is there. Trump has dominated Rush' air time, and that is not true of Levin at all.
This is not a legal document...talk radio's impact has little to do with whether they've technically endorsed or not, and a HELLUVA lot to do with the flavor of their air time. They charge by time and mentions, and by that count, Trump has gotten tens of millions of dollars of in kind donations while the man most like Rush philosohically - Cruz without a doubt - has gotten very little.
You didn’t ask me, but it is a mathematical certainty that Trump go and touch some liberal third rail.
Because at first, he was a 1-issue candidate. His immigration position is the only one so far uttered that has anything in common with most conservatives. Screw “tone”.
So now, as time goes on, 2 issues, then 3, then 4. Sooner or later, he WILL express something that reaches towards libdom. It is a certainty.
There is *nothing* productive about obsessing about every squiggle in this election process. It’s just too early. That’s my view. We don’t “owe” the electoral process this much angst. Yes, I understand the country is in pitiful shape and getting worse and perhaps past some sort of tipping point. I believe it will take a shock to flip it around and I pray for that. Not all shocks are created equal. But the magnitude of events exceeded my ability to control it with my worry 57 flops ago.
If Erick wants to rumble with Rush, call him out or draw lines in the sand, he’s gonna’ lose & badly.
Members of my family and I have been listening to and talking about Rush/Trump & we are very interested in what we’ve been hearing. Rush has certainly not endorsed Trump, but he also talks about & holds forth on what is positive about him - as one small example, the way Trump destroys being “PC”. Those candidates (Rand Paul, Rick Perry) who want to spend their time trying to drag Trump down are sinking in the polls .... they should avail themselves of the path Trump is clearing through the jungle of enemedia to explain why THEIR policies and plans would be better than any of the other candidates.
For whatever reason, EE has fallen into the Trump sinkhole along with Paul/Perry. Dissing Trump seems to be a personal vendetta for him. It shows he’s a small, small man and Rush/Trump are large and in charge. Have at it EE ..... loser.
I have “unsubscribed” three times from Red State yet continue to get it. I refuse to give my time to someone who considers himself so high and mighty that he can select who will speak over the selections of the American People. I will no longer read or listen to E.E. on any subject whatsoever.
While I sometimes find myself aghast at Trump, he’s clearly shaking the power structure around and to my mind, that’s a good thing. Erickson, on the other hand, is an example of The Problem. Insular and easily seduced by the proximity to “people” in Washington.
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