Ralph Reed Accepts Rush's Apology

Remember Ralph Reed? Sure you do! The disgraced prince of the Christian right, he was famous for bilking his followers while basically following the Jack Abramhoff model of corruption to a T. He's basically a dick, and, more importantly for the purpose of this post, possesses one as well (as far as I know, anyway).

Today, Reed decided to weigh in on the Rush Limbaugh "slut" controversy. To disprove my claim that Republicans, by and large, can't condemn Limbaugh's repulsive behavior? Of course not! He's here to accept Limbaugh's apology and move on:

Rush: apology accepted. Let's move on and talk about the issues. We're with you.

Why, exactly, Reed thinks he gets to "accept" Rush's apology is not altogether clear. As a suspected penis-bearer, the insult wasn't exactly directed at him, so one would think absolution was not his to give.

But this whole "viewing women as human" thing is distracting me, as usual. The important thing is that Reed is ready to move on and get back to standing with Rush. Who's with him? I'm sure we'll find out in the weeks to come that it's "the majority of the GOP".

Tip Off

Last week, I noted the most amazing thing about the Rush Limbaugh "slut" saga is that the GOP could barely manage a peep against him. Now TPM is advertising a "tipping point", as "GOPers Start To Turn On Rush Limbaugh." Forgive me, but I just don't see it.

The only two politicians they cite who really can be said to have "condemned" Limbaugh are Carly Fiorina (who I already mentioned) and Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) (locked in a tight battle with Elizabeth Warren). Beyond that? It's basically nothing. John Boehner murmers that Limbaugh's comments were "inappropriate" -- roughly as offensive as a Democratic fundraising letter. Rick Santorum called the statement "absurd" but observed that "an entertainer can be absurd". Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) (who in a sense is responsible for this whole mess) barely managed to sneak in a word against Limbaugh as he tried desperately to play the victim. And Mitt Romney? "It's not the language I would have used." Feel the outrage!

No, there's no tipping going on amongst the GOP. They're still as much in thrall of Rush as ever.

GOP Can Barely Make a Peep About Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke a "slut" and "prostitute" after she testified before Congress about the cost of birth control, and said that she should film her sexual activity and "post the videos online so we can all watch."

People are shocked. I am not. This is Rush Limbaugh. You know what you're getting, and what you're getting a misogynist jackass. Anyone who is surprised by this is someone who wants to pretend that Rush Limbaugh is something that he's not.

But there is something else that Rush Limbaugh is: an important player in the conservative movement. A "giant", as Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) put it. The Republican Party is effectively unable to criticize him -- they're in thrall to him.

And so we see just how muted the GOP can be when one of its leading lights calls his political opponents "sluts": they say virtually nothing. Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) demurs when asked if Limbaugh should apologize, instead offering a bland "it was inappropriate" (just as inappropriate, in Boehner's view, as Democrats raising money off the remark. Why, exactly, that is "inappropriate" behavior on the part of the Democratic Party at all -- much less to the same degree as calling a woman a "prostitute" just because she uses birth control -- is left unsaid).

Other conservative organizations are demonstrating the same cowardice. Rae Chornenky, president of the National Federation of Republican Women, "doesn't want to discuss [it]", calling it "a sideshow." Alci Maldonado of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly tried to change the subject to the (spurious) freedom of religion argument, and Frances Rice, chairwoman of the National Black Republican Association, refused to comment on Limbaugh's statement at all. Failed GOP Senate candidate Carly Fiorina managed to call the language "insulting" and "incendiary", for which she was called to the carpet by Red State editor Erick Erickson, who said Fiorina "just [does] not get it" -- "it" being that Limbaugh was being sarcastic (women -- no sense of humor, amiright?).

For the most part, it seems that the modern GOP can be divided into two categories. People who agree with Limbaugh that the vast, vast majority of women are sluts and prostitutes whose sexual activity should be a matter of public record. And people who don't agree, but are too afraid to challenge the emerging orthodoxy within their party's base.

Influential Roundup

I had class today, and one of my students remarked that the Derrick Bell piece I assigned (Serving Two Masters: Integration Ideals and Client Interests in School Desegregation Litigation, 85 Yale L.J. 470 (1976)) was one of his favorites of the year. Of course it was -- Bell was a brilliant thinker who will be missed.

* * *

Rush Limbaugh won't apologize to LRA victims after defending the terrorist cult group as simply a group of Christians that Obama wanted to oppress.

Tom Friedman assesses Barack Obama's foreign policy successes and failures.

The momentum to recall Scott Walker may have stalled, but it is still looking like a razor-tight race.

Some people have promoted this attack on nation-states as "the idea that will not die", but I'm supremely unconvinced. It is hardly the case that multi-ethnic states -- even those without weak governmental structures -- have been paragons of stability and harmony. And there are plenty of post-national movements that still have quite their share of blood on their hands.

San Francisco is a very, very strange place.

85-year old state senator releases a Rocky ad. Oh for cute.

Re: Occupy DC: "When the Jews show up, you know it's serious."

The mystery of why Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is seen as some sort of wonk, rather than a nutjob hack, endures.

And The Award Goes To....

Rush Limbaugh, to my knowledge, is the first conservative to rise to the defense of the LRA on the grounds that they're "Christian". Hey, if you guys want to claim them -- more's the worse for you. But if I were Christian, I'd be extra motivated to ensure Joseph Kony either spends the rest of his life in prison or takes two to the head. Just sayin'.

Fake but Accurate!

Limbaugh takes a page from Rather: "So we stand by the fabricated quote because we know Obama thinks it anyway."

Limbaugh is not MLK

Adam Serwer nails it re: the GOP meltdown over Rush Limbaugh's failed bid to become part-owner of the Rams.

The logic is simple. The NFL has many Black players, and many Black fans. Limbaugh has a history making a racist remarks. The latter is not healthy for an entity with the former's characteristic. Hence, no ownership for Limbaugh. This is only difficult to understand because some people still can't fathom that racism exists except when it is a convenient cudgel to bash their political opponents.

UPDATE: You know, I thought about making a Montgomery Bus Boycott reference, but I presumed the thought of red-blooded conservatives boycotting the NFL over this was just too darn crazy...

Rush Limbaugh Reads Naomi Klein!

Rush Limbaugh raises the specter of boycotting GM because it is now owned by the government (and thus, the Obama administration). Not being a fan of boycotts in general, I'm not a fan of this one specifically, though I am curious why a boycott of American government-owned corporations would be less justified than a boycott of Israel (obviously Limbaugh's reasons aren't particularly strong, but would a similar boycott with more left-friendly motives pass muster?).

But let's put that aside, and instead parse this bit:

Limbaugh reassures any GM workers who might be listening that the boycotters aren't angry at them. "They don't want to patronize Obama. They don't want to do anything to make Obama's policies work!" he explains. "This is an untold story, by the way. Of course, the government-controlled media is not gonna report anything like this but there are a lot of people who are not going to buy from Chrysler or General Motors as long as it is perceived Barack Obama is running it, because people do not want his policy to work here because this is antithetical to the American economic way of life."

Klein, of course, likewise claimed that her boycott was targeted at the policies, not the people, which presumably is supposed to shield her from their ire and insure it is instead directed at the proper source. Now, raise your hand if you doubt GM workers are really going to care one flying fig that Limbaugh says he doesn't harbor any ill-will towards them, when it is their jobs that will be lost and their families who will suffer, and blame the Obama administration instead. Okay great. Now, anybody who thinks Israeli families will think differently, lower your hands. Everybody's hands should still be up.

Via Balloon Juice

Cornyn Hits Back at Limbaugh

I have to say, of all the Republicans I thought might take on Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich for calling Sonia Sotomayor racist, Sen. "Big" John Cornyn (R-TX) ranked near the bottom of the list. But shows what I know:

"I think it's terrible," Sen. John Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told NPR's "All Things Considered" Thursday. "This is not the kind of tone any of us want to set when it comes to performing our constitutional responsibilities of advise and consent.”
[...]
"We are all a product of our upbringing and who we are and I think it’s a fact people do have different backgrounds, but I don't think those background ought to determine what the law is," Cornyn said to NPR of Sotomayor's Berkeley comments.

The NRSC chief also brushed off the Limbaugh and Gingrich statements while noting neither man holds an elected office.

"Neither one of these men are elected Republican officials. I just don't think it’s appropriate. I certainly don't endorse it. I think it’s wrong," he said.

We'll see if he walks it back after the inevitable right-wing outcry. But still -- well-said, Senator.

I Didn't Realize He Had a Choice in the Matter

CNN headline: Steele: I agree with Rush Limbaugh. No kidding.

Steele versus Limbaugh

Michael Steele calls out Rush Limbaugh:

Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said in an interview with CNN that he, rather than Limbaugh, is "the de facto leader of the Republican Party."

And Steele described Limbaugh as a performer.

"Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. Rush Limbaugh's whole thing is entertainment," Steele said. "Yes, it is incendiary. Yes, it is ugly."

Last month, Steele, a former lieutenant governor of Maryland, was elected chair of the RNC. He is the first African-American to lead the Republican Party. At the time of his election, Steele said that "Rush will say what Rush has to say; we'll do what we have to do."

Limbaugh, of course, is not happy, and is making his displeasure known:

Yes, said Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, I’m incendiary, and yes, it’s ugly. Michael Steele, you are head of the RNC. You are not head of the Republican Party. Tens of millions of conservatives and Republicans have nothing to do with the RNC and right now they want nothing to do with it, and when you call them, asking them for money, they hang up on you. I hope that changes. I hope the RNC will get its act together…

It seems to me that it’s Michael Steele who is off to a shaky start….

Fun. Any fratricide in the GOP ranks is good news for Democrats.

I expect this to shake itself out without any major explosions, but assuming Steele pushes things and presses his fellow Republicans to take a firm anti-Rush (or at least, Rush-is-a-non-entity) stance, it will be a fascinating display to see where elected Republican officials line up. Despite all assertions to the contrary, it's clear that Democratic criticisms that the GOP has been captured by loons like Limbaugh are having their mark -- Republicans realize that to the extent they are seen as in Limbaugh's thrall, they'll never break out of minority status. But of course, Rush still has plenty of boots in the base. The temporary disunity Steele would provoke might be well worth it if he manages to wrench his party back into the mainstream. Of course, if he picks a fight with Limbaugh and loses, the party likely will be moribund for a generation.

The Giant Speaks

"Conservative giant" Rush Limbaugh gives his idea for a bipartisan stimulus plan:

Limbaugh, who has sharply rebuked the president's more than $800 billion stimulus plan and admonished congressional Republicans for not doing more to stop it, says Obama should make a "genuine compromise" with Republicans wary the bill doesn't include enough taxes and calls for too much government spending.

Instead, Limbaugh proposes that 54 percent — about the percentage of the vote Obama won in the presidential election — of the stimulus bill go to the infrastructure spending the Democrats are proposing while the remaining 46 percent go to the tax cuts pushed by Republicans.

“In this new era of responsibility, let's use elements of both the Keynesians and the supply-siders to responsibly determine which theory best stimulates our economy — and if elements of both work, so much the better,” Limbaugh told listeners Monday. “…The American people are made up of Republicans, Democrats, independents, moderates, whatever they want to call themselves, but our economy doesn't know the difference. Our economy should not be focused on whether or not one party gets reelected. This is about jobs now.”

Look, I can be a sucker for bipartisanship and cooperation. But this has to be taking it to a new level of stupidity such that even I'm not moved (to be fair, this might be Limbaugh's first effort at pretending to want a compromise, so....). The popular vote percentages that Obama and McCain received are not even remotely connected to the optimal mixture of tax cuts and infrastructure spending that should go into a stimulus package. It's at such a high reading on the stunt-o-meter it's breaking the machine.

And of course, the idea that some tax cuts might be a useful part of the stimulus is not indifferent to what types of tax relief are likely to be most optimal -- Republicans seem, to a person, solely in favor of cuts to the wealthy that will likely have the least positive impact on the economy. I'm not opposed to cutting taxes per se, but the cuts have to be targeted so as to put cash in the wallets of working class Americans -- and that ain't the estate tax or the capital gains tax.

Back Into Line

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) is a very conservative Congressman. He also criticized Rush Limbaugh. This did not make some of his colleagues happy. And one day later, he's running for cover. Take a look at this press release:

Now more than ever, we need to articulate a clear conservative message that distinguishes our values and our approach from those of liberal Democrats who are seeking to move our nation in the wrong direction. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Newt Gingrich, and other conservative giants are the voices of the conservative movement’s conscience. Everyday, millions and millions of Americans—myself included—turn on their radios and televisions to listen to what they have to say, and we are inspired by their words and by their determination. At the end of the day, every member of the conservative movement, from our political commentators and thinkers to our elected officials, share an important and common purpose in advancing the cause of liberty, reigning in a bloated federal government, and defending our traditional family values.

The emphasis is my own. "Conservative giants"? Hey, you said it, not me.

Via Balloon Juice, who notes that we can add Limbaugh to the long list of persons Republicans cower in fear of. A lot of conservatives I know try to dismiss folks like Limbaugh and Hannity as basically prop acts out for entertainment. Wrong-o. These people are major players in your movement -- "giants", I'm now told. You have to deal with the consequences.

Rush Limbaugh: Still Classy

Who is stunned to hear this?

"It's -- you know, it's just -- it's just we can't hit the girl. I don't care how far feminism's saying, you can't hit the girl, and you can't -- you can't criticize the little black man-child. You just can't do it, 'cause it's just not right, It's not fair. He's such a victim."

The "little black man-child." Mmm-hmm.

Via Feministing. And remember, Limbaugh is the top guy CNN cites for why John McCain can't pick a pro-choice running mate. He's got influence, people -- not just with his listeners, but with the GOP establishment.

Yay Limbaugh

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) has introduced a resolution to commend Rush Limbaugh for his support of the troops. This, less than a week after his "phony soldiers" remark. By all means, Speaker Pelosi, bring this baby to a vote. Either Republicans will break en masse against Limbaugh, insuring some nice fratricidal remarks from the base, or they'll vote to honor him, making them laughing stocks and providing a stark contrast to their "support the troops" mantra (not to mention pushing "General Betray Us" permanently from the political conversation).