Yesterday, Rush Limbaugh claimed that given Tuesday’s election results, he felt “liberated” that he didn’t have to “carry water” for those Republicans who don’t deserve to have their water carried for them. Does this mean Limbaugh will now stop the hateful rhetoric, or does it just mean he is trying to cover for his outrageous and disgusting display regarding the Michael J. Fox commercials? Claire McCaskill, who won her bid for Missouri Senator on Tuesday, even went so far as to credit Limbaugh for the sudden inrush of cash pledged to her campaign following the Fox vs. Rush controversy. Time will tell whether this is just guilt, or if he really is going to turn over some new leaf. He always says he’s just a big teddy bear. Now is his chance to show it. How about you become a moderate conservative, Rush? How about you attack the Democrats only when they really deserve it? And there are bound to be those who will deserve it. How about being an equal-opportunity critic? How about criticizing anyone who doesn’t hold down traditional conservative values? You could do it for the good of the country, Rush… You really could.
I listened to Sean Hannity for a few minutes during lunch. This guy is just pure poison. The words coming out of his mouth were pure and utter hatefulness and negativity. I actually felt kind of sad for him. It’s as if he knows no other way. He started going on about how this conciliatory talk is going to be temporary, just wait and see… Pelosi will start showing her true colors. Liberalism is an evil that is going to wreck the country. The Democrats are all about entitlements, and won’t give a damn about national security. Yeah, Sean… That’s why one of Pelosi’s “First 100 Hour Goals” is implementing all of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations. Hannity did not even mention that as one of Pelosi’s goals when he spoke about the others. Instead he went on about how the Democrats will try to put through government-sponsored health care again, and it will be the end of the party because it was such a disaster last time. The Democrats will overplay their hand and misinterpret the election. On and on it went. He mentioned Reagan’s name at least six or seven times. Reagan conservatism. It seems like Reagan conservatism isn’t too far from what we’ve experienced over the last six years, so I think if Hannity is going to go looking for a model to turn this thing around, Reagan is probably not the one he should model his new party after. Let’s do a little checklist to see how similar these two administrations are… Record deficits? Check. Massive military spending with little oversight? Check. Scandal? Hmmmm… Trading arms for hostages, check.
Hannity also spoke about how since Democrats had won, there was no talk about stealing elections and that there were no complaints about voting issues, and that Democrats would never have been this honorable in defeat. Well, if I recall correctly, it was Bush who first filed court papers over the 2000 election. And remember when the GOP sent buses of operatives to Miami-Dade county to stage a protest outside the recount room and intimidate vote counters? At the time, Bush recount spokesperson Jim Wilkinson said there was nothing orchestrated about the protest. Later, of course, we found out that the whole damn thing was staged. The Washington Post printed this screen grab from the video of the event and listed the following people as being in the picture:
- Tom Pyle, policy analyst, office of House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.).
- Garry Malphrus, majority chief counsel and staff director, House Judiciary subcommittee on criminal justice.
- Rory Cooper, political division staff member at the National Republican Congressional Committee.
- Kevin Smith, former House Republican conference analyst and more recently of Voter.com.
- Steven Brophy, former aide to Sen. Fred D. Thompson (R-Tenn.), now working at the consulting firm KPMG.
- Matt Schlapp, former chief of staff for Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), now on the Bush campaign staff in Austin.
- Roger Morse, aide to Rep. Van Hilleary (R-Tenn.).
- Duane Gibson, aide to Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) of the House Resources Committee.
- Chuck Royal, legislative assistant to Rep. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).
- Layna McConkey, former legislative assistant to former Rep. Jim Ross Lightfoot (R-Iowa), now at Steelman Health Strategies.
So let’s not kid ourselves about who complains when things don’t go their way, OK Sean?
How about this, Sean. Instead of getting on the radio and preparing your loyal listeners for the horrible reality of liberal rule, where the “conservative Democrats” will not get a seat at the table, how about taking a wait-and-see attitude? Isn’t that what you and Bush asked us Democrats to do when your party swept into power? I see how different it is when the shoe is on the other foot. I guess doing this wouldn’t make good radio, right Sean? I think the question you have to ask yourself is, which is more important? My ratings or my integrity?
Hmmm… I think we discovered the answer to that question the day you arrived in talk radio.