So many misconceptions, so little time: Where to start?
FR is not nearly as 'kooky' as it used to be. It's been sanitized (thanks to plenty who share your pov and have been able to influence what is and is not acceptable). You must love it.
And so I intimated to ArneFufkin, but it's not yet certifiably kook-free, as your post so eloquently illustrates.
He's not obligated to toe the party line (although he mostly does) 24/7, and there is no rule that says he can't poke some fun at Bush or any other conservative whether they deserve it, or not.
And by the same token we're free to comment on what Rush says and his motivation for saying it. The First Amendmant cuts both ways.
Also: has it occurred to you that he might be using the absurd to illustrate the absurd(er)? Maybe his idea was to draw conservatives together and compel them to stand behind Bush and the GOP by giving us a dose of what is down the road.
That's just plain silly! He might do that for an hour or so, but not day after day for weeks on end.
If Rush can manipulate us so easily, what's it say about our ability to cope when it's coming from the real enemies of conservatism?
Say what? Umm… we really don't have to cope with said enemies of conservatism in any meaningful way. Freepers vote, and that's about it. Oh, a few engage in sporadic demonstrations, but that's on the fringe and inconsequential to the polity. Unless much has changed in my absence, Freepers are not the ones engaged in the hand-to-hand combat in the grass-roots political trenches.
(Rush isn't the enemy.)
Oh yeah? Well, you could have fooled me and if he isn't he a reasonable facsimile until the real article comes along.
When Bush talks like a liberal y'all tell us to watch what he does instead. When he acts like a liberal y'all defend him by quoting what he said. That strategy served the Clintonoids well too, but it only works on someone dumb enough to be a fan of a politician.
The old quidnunc would have said that statement was just plain jackass-ignorant, but the new me is a kinder gentler me so I won't say it.
Whatever, son. Did you get a warning like ol' Arne did? It would be hilarious to see you two tiptoeing around, afraid to make profane and insulting comments. FR may be changing for the better.