This is awesome.

This isn’t just a party committing suicide anymore. This is a party that’s just drank two gallons of high-test gasoline and is preparing to swallow a lit match.

Wow. I was way off. I thought it would take at least a couple of days.

The question now is whether Steele’s terrified, abject apology will save his job or not…

Bwhahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seeing them implode is pretty funny. Just hope the wingnuts won’t go berserk… too much.

Can someone explain to me how, exactly, Rush Limbaugh is in charge of the Republican party? 

I mean, he’s a talk radio host.  I doubt he’s a billionaire who’s secretly bankrolling the entire conservative universe.  I doubt he has much if any formal political expertise.  He’s just a bloviating druggie bigot!  Who the fuck gives a shit?  Why does he have this kind of power?

Just hope the wingnuts won’t go berserk… too much.

I have a feeling the next McVeigh was at CPAC…or at least a fan of the speakers there.

I thought Rush’s whole shtick was that he’s an ‘entertainer’, which is why he’s allowed to say any sillyfuck racist thing he likes and you’re not allowed to think that’s wrong.

But yeah, I was wondering when Steele was going to have his black Republican “nope, you’re still a n*****” moment.

I kinda feel for Mr. Steele here.

The Republicans will never be a good opposition party as long as they keep bowing and scraping to their old white right-wing fucker masters and their entourage of lunatics.

Two high-stationed Republicans tried to break free, two get whipped by the Master. Three high-stationed Republicans dare to agree with the one the Master said must fail, no matter what the cost, and the Master calls for their heads.

Face it: if the Republicans ever want to be a viable opposition party, they NEED to abandon the likes of Hannity, O’Reilly, and Limbaugh. But they won’t, because they’re too scared of being without the poisonous votes that the Master brings.

It’s sad, honestly, but what can you do?

Wow. Just…. wow. I have nothing else to say, really, as much as I love to see Republicans grasping at straws (crazy, incompetent straws) there’s still enough hateful and crazy people out there that this party may very well weather this and come back swinging. It’s a nightmare of mine, one that keeps me from enjoying the scheudenfraude to it’s full extent.

But I’ll have a little anyway

I kinda feel for Mr. Steele here.

I just want to know what the fuck he was thinking when he took the job.  Maybe it’s just because I’m more familiar with him, but I’d rather be watching Ken Blackwell in that position.  At least in that case I’d know that the answer was: he wasn’t, because’s he’s a moron.  Steele at least gives the impression that he should have seen this coming and had too much self-respect to play along.

Also:

“So I am an entertainer and I have 20 million listeners because of my great song and dance routine,” Limbaugh said.

Yes.  This has been another edition of short answers to stupid implied questions.

I said this over at Washington Monthly, too, but I love how the president can throw one little pebble in the pond (that paraphrased report from a few months ago that the Republicans needed to stop getting policy from Rush Limbaugh) and it keeps rebounding and rebounding without any further encouragement.  His opponents can’t stop themselves from self-destructing.

I hope I never get on Obama’s bad side.

“Can someone explain to me how, exactly, Rush Limbaugh is in charge of the Republican party? “

His listeners are drones that do what he commands. See the Republicans listen to Faux News and Rush Limbaugh see if Rush gets dissed complaines and then gets dissed more he complains to Faux News and Faux News along with the Rush viewers bomb the Republican’s chance of being releected.

“Can someone explain to me how, exactly, Rush Limbaugh is in charge of the Republican party?

I mean, he’s a talk radio host.  I doubt he’s a billionaire who’s secretly bankrolling the entire conservative universe.  I doubt he has much if any formal political expertise.”

He’s the defacto leader, not because he has any official position, or is any great political expert, or any sort of intellectual powerhouse.

He has power because he has listeners.  Listeners who would rather let El Rushbo do their thinking for them, at least as far as political concerns go.  And the Republicans are so fucked up that some idiot with delusions of grandeur like Rush can use his sway to control the party.

I guarantee you, if Rush put out a call on his show for people to make explosive vests, strap them on, and go after Obama, there would be people who would do it. All in the name of God, Country, Apple Pie, and Rush Hudson Limbaugh III.

“He’s just a bloviating druggie bigot!”...yes, he is… 

“Who the fuck gives a shit?”...his sponsors do, and his radio network does, ‘cause he gets paid a helluva lot more than the POTUS. 

“Why does he have this kind of power?”

For me, it just comes down to the universe being fucked up, but YMMV…

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! ROFL!!

This is so much fun to watch. Rahm Emmanuel is fuckin’ brilliant!

Steele at least gives the impression that he should have seen this coming and had too much self-respect to play along.

According to some very recent actions… maybe not.

From the previous thread:

HUGHLEY: Like Rush Limbaugh, who is the de facto leader of the Republican Party.
STEELE: No, he’s not.
HUGHLEY: I will tell you what …
STEELE: I’m the de facto leader of the Republican Party.

Looks like Steele just learned the difference between de facto and de jure.

I mean, damn.  The RNC Chair just apologized for impugning a talk show host’s leadership of his own party.  The one he was just recently elected to lead.  Amazing.

Great point, mnemosyne.  That is a pretty damned impressive skill Obama has, getting opponents to slit their own throats like that. 

Works pretty damned well with his whole political rope-a-dope strategy- lean back, sit tight, let them exhaust themselves throwing useless punches, wait till they lean too far in and WHAM, knock ‘em out. 

The best part: everyone sees him do this.  It’s his signature style.  Everyone knows he’s going to do it.  And yet they still keep falling for it. every. damned. time.

I’m thinking he must have studied old Ali fights while he still in college, maybe as an undergrad at Occidental?

At this point, it’s time to start looking closely at the Libertarian and Constitution parties, because Republican fundraisers and organizers will soon be looking for a new ship to jump to.  It would be wise to look the conservative alternative parties over closely and see how Democratic and Green candidates are likely to do against them in elections (and work with them in Congress), because soon nobody will care who is head of the Republican party.

Do you really think they’re going to become like the Whigs, Dr. Psycho? I’d like to think so but I’m gonna wait until 2012 to say so for sure.

Just recently, the local college newspaper ran a column in which some smart aleck said nobody misses the Whigs.  My reply:

“The Whigs were in favor of abolishing slavery, restraining the power of railroads and canal companies, avoiding foreign military adventures, avoiding budget deficits….

“God, how I miss them!”

It’s fun watching these guys having a size war over who gets to be king of the losers.

But there’s another angle, which is that Limbaugh has in the past been pretty careful to defend himself against charges of all kinds of bigotry and anti-americanism by claiming that he’s just an entertainer. Now he’s defending himself against those charges (now from members of his own party, rather than from sane americans) by claiming that the people making the charges are poopyheads and he’s going to beat them up.

He might be off/on his meds again, or he might really think this is a power vacuum he can step into. In which case I wish him luck, because his owners would still like to win elections.

If the Republicans are so intent on licking the balls of a thrice-divorced drug dealer/addict, they should just actually elect him to something and let him display epic fail for all the world to see - at least that part of the world that already hasn’t noticed his epic failure.

good prediction, mr. chief of staff.

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/emanuel-limbaugh-voice-gop

Too, too, too funny. Pass the popcorn.

“But there’s another angle, which is that Limbaugh has in the past been pretty careful to defend himself against charges of all kinds of bigotry and anti-americanism by claiming that he’s just an entertainer.”

Thanks, paul, I was thinking the same thing when I heard his statement.

I think it’s working out well that Obama called Rush out as their leader.  Rush can’t possibly defer to Steele; it’s not in his nature.  And Steele has to defer, which “emasculates” him. 

Which means no Black Republicans can ignore this.  And, as a result, maybe White Republicans will have fewer Black Republicans to point to as “proof” that the GOP is not racist.  They can couch it in “leadership potential” terms all they like. 

When they picked Steele, he should have been the right person.  If they picked him for his race, then they’re shooting themselves in the foot with their anti-AA stance.  If they didn’t, then they’re basically admitting they’re fishing in a shallow sad pool.

I thought the “great song and dance routine” line was a bit of a dog-whistle-y thing to say in this context.

I think we need to take Michael Steele and Harry Reid, throw them both in a burlap sack, and give them a bipartisan blanket party. Howard Dean gets the bat with nails in it.

I’m thinking he must have studied old Ali fights while he still in college, maybe as an undergrad at Occidental?

Actually, DR of the Congo nee Zaire is only, like, two countries away from Kenya. The implication that he attended to the Rumble in the Jungle while growing up in Kenya (you know, where he was born) is too obvious to ignore.

It’s only a little over a month ago that Limbaugh got Congressman Phil Gingrey to do a similar volte-face.

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/01/28/gingrey-limbaugh-forgiveness/

Stop laughing at Steele.  Waking up to a horse’s head in your bed is not a laughing matter.

The truth is Rush had his minion plumber crew broke into Michael Steele’s “Crib” and held his most precious possessions hostage.  Without them, Mr. Steele would not have been able to “Rock tha House” at his next appearance, or “Gig”.  So he had to make the statement.

But at least we can all look forward to Mr. Steele’s next appearance where he’ll “Puff” the image of the “G-Owe-Pizzy” with his white sequined glove, his neon handkerchief headband and his Alfonso Ribiero Breakin’ Board.

Next month: he is sad to discover that Soul Glow is not a real product.

Face it: if the Republicans ever want to be a viable opposition party, they NEED to abandon the likes of Hannity, O’Reilly, and Limbaugh. But they won’t, because they’re too scared of being without the poisonous votes that the Master brings.

They can’t abandon Faux Noise, Limbaugh, O’Reilly, et. al.  They maintain power through the ignorance Pravda provides them. 

We’re all laughing at them now b/c they are not even trying to make competent arguments anymore.  There AREN’T any to make.  All they have left is name-calling and lies, and they need to have their lies repeated on a loop 24/7 in hopes that they can continue to misinform and Goebbels their base.

Most of America likes their Black President.  In the past month, most of America’s opinion of him went up, while most of America’s opinion of the Republicans went down.

So now the MSM has to claim that polls aren’t the barometer of the American people, but the Dow Jones is.  Most Americans have next to nothing, if anything at all, invested in the Dow.  That’s why capital gains tax cuts are relief to the rich—the poor and, increasingly, the middle class don’t own stocks.

They have their wonky Rasmussen poll, and boy is Fox pushing that, but most Americans like Obama and are willing to give him the time he needs to do the work.  That’s not the story the MSM’s corporate masters want to push, so they try to say other things, but apparently Americans haven’t totally been enslaved by TV yet.

I am a bit creeped out at how our politicians grovel before Rush, b/c it would be nice to think that we were just being moonbats about Rush being the leader.  But we’re not.  Every politician who has “crossed” Rush has apologized to him the next day.  If that’s not power and leadership, I don’t know what is.

Funny thing: the Google ad I’m currently reading right under the comments says “Rush Limbaugh 2012”.

Oh FSM, please yes! Limbaugh/Palin 2012. I’d pay to see this. The GOP won’t recover for a decade.

This is so much fun to watch. Rahm Emmanuel is fuckin’ brilliant!

I’ve had my frustrations with the guy (used to be my congressman), but I gotta admit that interview he did f’-in rocked.

We’re all laughing at them now b/c they are not even trying to make competent arguments anymore.  There AREN’T any to make.  All they have left is name-calling and lies, and they need to have their lies repeated on a loop 24/7 in hopes that they can continue to misinform and Goebbels their base.

Someone on CNN last night, IIRC Andersen Cooper, said the problem with the right-wing noise machine is that it has become so loud, conservatives can’t hear anything outside of it anymore (i.e., reality).

Steele’s job is twofold:  First it is to be a prominent black face for the GOP while the Democratic Party is headed by a black man (“look, we’re not racist”), and second it is to take the blame for the catastrophic beating the GOP has taken and will continue to take for some time to come.  The fact that the base will be able to blame their problems on a black man’s “incompetence” is part of what makes Steele attractive in this role.  The worldview of the base in reinforced, and Steele takes the fall, leaving a spot for someone from the A Team (read: White Christian Upper/Upper Middle Class Male).

The GOP leadership knows they are in for a rough time and all they can do is keep their powder dry.  In the meantime, keep the real talent safe from criticism and put a face out there who can take the fall without damaging the core brand.

My question is, does Rush not realize that he’s contributing to the disintegration of the Republican party, or does he just not care?  He knows full well that publicly humiliating political figures decreases their power - that’s the whole point.  But does he not realize that humiliating one GOP figure after another, including the head of the RNC himself, hurts the party as a whole?  Does he not get it that every time he does this, he’s playing into Obama’s hands?

Or is he so petty and determined to cling to his alpha-male status that he’s willing to burn the political machinery of the conservative movement to the ground if they don’t kiss his ass?  I’ve often thought that he considers politics to be a game - refusing to consider the people he hurts because it’s all about your team winning (even if the other team “losing” means catastrophic damage to the country) - but this looks an awful lot like he’s willing to hamstring his team if they don’t make him captain.

I am a bit creeped out at how our politicians grovel before Rush, b/c it would be nice to think that we were just being moonbats about Rush being the leader.  But we’re not.  Every politician who has “crossed” Rush has apologized to him the next day.  If that’s not power and leadership, I don’t know what is.

This.

My entire family to the last man jack of them is at least nominally Republican. So is my BF (he voted Obama, though!). If I said to ANY of them that Rush had ANY power in the Republican party, they’d all wet themselves laughing. They don’t listen to Rush, don’t like Rush, don’t respect him because they hate Screaming Heads. Everytime I see this “Rush Owns The Republicans”, I have to think that 1) we’re moonbats to even consider such a ridiculous thing, and 2) the Repulicans I know personally would think me a moonbat just for READING such a crazy thing.

And, yet….! Yet….! What is power if this isn’t it? You can spin this as Steele just saying what he is to keep the guy happy and not piss off the listeners, but you can only spin it that way if you raelize that the “controversy” is that Steele said that HE leads the party and not Rush. Steele’s apology is basically backtracking that sane, obvious statement. Imagine the approbrium if, say, the same thing happened but it was, say, Obama and Soros. The headlines would be HUGE.

If this isn’t “power”, I don’t know what is.

We should put some designs on Cafe Press that say “Fuck the Jewish Carpenter - My Boss is a Thrice-Divorced Drug Addict” with an unflattering picture of corpulent bloviate incarnate on it.

See how many wingnuts buy them.

My question is, does Rush not realize that he’s contributing to the disintegration of the Republican party, or does he just not care?

Look, the man has an ego the size of Alaska. He doesn’t like it when some people (such as Steele) make him feel less powerful or inferior. The guy is fucked up psychologically. So no, he doesn’t care.

In the meantime, keep the real talent safe from criticism and put a face out there who can take the fall without damaging the core brand.

I’m sure that’s what they’re thinking, but here’s the problem:  who is the real talent?  Romney?  Giuliani?  Sanford?  Gingrich?  Who’s the Great White Hope of the Republican Party? (pun absolutely intended)

That’s part of the reason for Limbaugh’s power—there really is a power vacuum at the top of the GOP.

“Or is he so petty and determined to cling to his alpha-male status that he’s willing to burn the political machinery of the conservative movement to the ground if they don’t kiss his ass?”

This.  Limbaugh is the fat kit who had issues in school because he was fat, got picked on, became a bully to get them back, and he’s now the biggest bully in America, still getting people back for what life did to him. 

He probably doesn’t care if the Republican Party goes down in flames and stays there for years.  This is his moment.  He couldn’t have seized this if the party was even as strong as it was a few years ago.  But it isn’t.  Between McCain’s lame candidacy, the choosing of Palin as VP, in the wake of 8-years of incompetent presidential “leadership”, and then the economy finally getting so bad they can’t spin the truth away, the Reichwing has set itself up for an American Adolf to come along and use it.  (If they had just given him the choice sports announcer job he wanted, everything would have been okay…just like if people had loved Hitler’s painting, we would never have heard of him.)

And what is power anyway?  It’s the ability to get what you want, when you want it, inspire people to fear you, to use people (who do not want to be used - this is key) as your puppets.  And for some of the power mad, the more public the humiliation the tastier it is.  Rush seems to be one of those sick fucks who really gets off on the public power trip.

Bullying some little guy outside the limelight offers little satisfaction.  But getting the head of the RNC to be your bitch?  Getting members of congress to apologize for daring to speak the truth?  That’s more like it.

Ultimately the joke will be on Rush and the Republicans, but in the meantime, while I want to cheer on their self-destruction, I can’t help but think there are forces being unleashed that will be very difficult to stuff back into the bottle…

Oooh, I have an even better t-shirt Idea - the worst looking Rush Limbaugh pic you can find, with the caption: Seven Deadly Sins - Collect them All!

My question is, does Rush not realize that he’s contributing to the disintegration of the Republican party, or does he just not care?  He knows full well that publicly humiliating political figures decreases their power - that’s the whole point.  But does he not realize that humiliating one GOP figure after another, including the head of the RNC himself, hurts the party as a whole?  Does he not get it that every time he does this, he’s playing into Obama’s hands?

The man runs on pure narcissism and delusions of grandeur.

But does he not realize that humiliating one GOP figure after another, including the head of the RNC himself, hurts the party as a whole?

He’s humiliating Michael Steele, though.  A black man. 

Rush is no race-coward!  He’s not afraid to call it like it is! 

As for Obama, he’s black.  Rush is no race coward, and therefore is incapable of being pulled into B. Hussein’s plans.  B. Hussein must be pulled into RUSH’S plans.

As for the white GOPols who grovelled before him?  That is only right, as Rush is highly entertaining and always correct.

As for Obama, he’s black.  Rush is no race coward, and therefore is incapable of being pulled into B. Hussein’s plans.  B. Hussein must be pulled into RUSH’S plans.

Heh.  I hope he keeps thinking that.

Crooks and Liars is reporting that Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming is refusing to denounce Limbaugh.

I can’t help giggling.

Rush is really starting to fray around the edges.  He has always be loose with the truth but he recently said “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” was in the Preamble of the Constitution.  Today (I listen to the maniac every chance I get) he was saying how the high point of wonderfulness was October 2007.  He then asked, “What happened?”  He answered himself by saying the Democrats won the election in November 2007.  What’s a year among fellow psychos?

What election did the democrats win in 2007???  Congress turned over in 2006 and 2008 elections!

I think he’s on drugs again. Something is really getting to him—between messing up simple facts and the weight gain.

As much as I love watching a ship sink, we can not forget that there are at least 30 percent of American’s who will vote for these nuts. The power that Rush controls scares the bejeezus out of me and I’m in NC. So let’s laugh and enjoy it but keep our eye on them because they are a sneaky damn crowd.

Good on D.L. Hughley if he planned this, by the by.

I think he’s on drugs again. Something is really getting to him—between messing up simple facts and the weight gain.

I hear the GOP has an experienced exorcist available.

Brother Steele, cracked & split like a yolk.  For all to see.