March 03, 2009

3/3: Steele Starts Fight With Limbaugh, Loses

In the verbal scuffle between RNC Chair Michael Steele and conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, the rightroots stand firmly behind Limbaugh. Righty bloggers are blasting Steele for describing Limbaugh's style as "ugly" and "incendiary"; several bloggers are even suggesting that Steele is no longer fit to lead the RNC. Erick Erickson complains: "[I]f Steele actually wants to support Obama, as Rush rightly pointed out, why the hell is he Chairman of the RNC instead of the DNC? And why should people give money to the RNC if they are going to be apologists?"

Liberal bloggers, of course, took great pleasure in watching the Limbaugh-Steele fight. As soon as Steele criticized Limbaugh, liberal bloggers asked "How long before Steele apologizes to Rush?" and "What's the over/under on how many days it takes Steele to apologize?" Once Steele apologized to Limbaugh, lefty bloggers made fun of the RNC Chair for backing down, calling him "castrated" and "a quivering lump of gelatin". Jed Lewison declares: "What this episode proves beyond any shadow of a doubt is that the GOP belongs to Rush Limbaugh and the dittoheads, and anybody who dares cross them had better get in line."

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Liberal bloggers (Hamsher, Waldman, Bowers, Sudbay) are accusing Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) and other members of the New Democrat Coalition of shilling for the banking industry as they try to "limit the scope of the bankruptcy bill as much as possible." Markos Moulitsas asks: "Does Rep. Ellen Tauscher really want a primary challenge this bad?"
• Conservative bloggers (Malkin, McLaughlin, Hinderaker) are mocking Obama after it was revealed that U.S. Trade Rep.-designate Ron Kirk owes $9,975 in back-taxes.

LIMBAUGH-STEELE: The Rightroots Stand With Rush

Conservative bloggers are blasting Steele and defending Limbaugh:

• NRO's Mark Steyn: "In two brief soundbites, Mr. Steele has managed to suggest to his own party base that he has a lazy disposition that reflexively shares the liberal biases, and to allow the wider world to portray him as a craven squish. This is not encouraging. At the very minimum, he does not appear ready for primetime."
• Dan Riehl: "It's not easy watching a black guy stumble around in the dark, but really, I'm trying. [...] The Republicans finally get an RNC Chairman of color and all they got was another dumb, potentially too moderate, gutless wonder of a Republican in the end. If nothing else, there is equality in that. How utterly sad."
• AmSpec Blog's Jeffrey Lord: "[W]ho is Michael Steele and what does he really believe? Not, apparently, conservatism. If the new GOP national spokesman doesn't have the horse sense to understand he needs to know when he is being baited to accept liberal templates (Rush is a bigot, tax cuts failed, big government works etc. etc. etc.) then the door opens on a conversation we shouldn't have to have but apparently must: why is this man the chairman of the RNC?"
• Power Line's John Hinderaker: "One wonders: even if Steele himself doesn't listen to Rush's show, he must understand that millions of Republicans do. So how could he have thought that insulting Rush could possibly be a good idea? By demonizing Rush, he insulted the party that he purports to lead. [...] If Michael Steele thinks that the way to respond to the White House's attack on Rush Limbaugh is to throw Rush under the bus, his understanding of the party's base and of the current political landscape -- not to mention his understanding of Limbaugh -- is too weak for him to continue as RNC Chairman."
• RedState's Erickson: "This sort of thing with Rush Limbaugh plays right into concerns many of us had about Steele. He called Rush's CPAC speech, which was very well received, 'incendiary' and 'ugly.' What was so ugly about it? What was so incendiary? Rush lit into Steele today on the radio. And he's absolutely right on this. First, Steele made a novice mistake. Of course the media is going to try to start a fight. Look at what they tried to do between Rush and [House GOP Whip Eric] Cantor. Steele took the bait. He should not have. Second, if Steele actually wants to support Obama, as Rush rightly pointed out, why the hell is he Chairman of the RNC instead of the DNC? And why should people give money to the RNC if they are going to be apologists?"
• Power Line's Paul Mirengoff: "Shortly after Michael Steele was named head of the RNC, I wrote a post called 'How Steely is Steele'. The post questioned how resolutely conservative Steele is. It noted that Steele is a creature of Washington, DC and, as such, seems occasionally to absorb the conventional wisdom of that town, which is never conservative. Steele's recent remarks about Rush Limbaugh confirm that Steele has again internalized the 'inside Washington' conventional wisdom. [...] The answer to the question, how steely [is] Steele, would seem to be 'not very.' That also appears to be the answer to question, how savvy is Steele..."
• Michelle Malkin: "There's nothing wrong with criticizing Rush Limbaugh. But if you are going to go on Obamedia outlets like CNN and throw around words like 'incendiary' and 'ugly,' you better back them up. You should also think more broadly about how this distraction feeds the White House/[Saul] Alinsky agenda -- and how better to avoid their traps."

Meanwhile, Erickson blasts Limbaugh's conservative critics (who include David Frum and Ross Douthat): "A question about Rush's 'conservative' critics: Are any of Rush's critics actual solid conservatives with a record of accomplishment? David Frum worked in the White House for about five minutes and is pro-abortion. Rod Dreher's writing bursts with contempt for middle America conservatives, Michael Steele is a Christine Todd Whitman Republican, Ross Douthat is busy redefining conservatism, etc. Rush has been fighting for us on the front lines for two decades and he has proven he can make a difference in elections and policy for the better. I love the guy just for making me smile on a daily basis. These other turds who want us to sideline our most proven warrior do nothing but tear down others to elevate themselves, and none of them have proven any lasting success that we can trust. They preach about big tents, inclusion and broad appeal, but they can't stop condescending to the majority of the Republican Party that consider themselves Rush Limbaugh conservatives. I'm so sick of these leeches. Oh, and have any of these critics ever actually won an election?"

Other righty bloggers are criticizing Frum's post in particular, in which Frum argued that Limbaugh "cannot be allowed to be the public face of the [GOP coalition]."

LIMBAUGH-STEELE II: Stop Falling For The Dems' Trap!

Other conservative bloggers are accusing Dems of creating this distraction in order to distract the public from their poor performance in office:

• The Next Right's Conn Carroll: "This should be the only talking point when conservative surrogates are brought on TV to talk about this completely fake controversy: The only reason the Obama White House is attacking Rush Limbaugh is because Obama already has been a complete failure in office. Since his election in November the market has lost 25% of its value and every singel one of his policy announcements has only been followed by hundreds of thousands of more lost jobs. Obama, the Democrats, and the left desperately want to change the subject from Obama's performance."
• Townhall's John Hanlon: "Democrats have a reason to be attacking Rush Limbaugh. They are in charge of the White House, the Senate and the House and yet the economy does not seem to be getting better. [...] Democrats do not want to talk about these economic worries or the concerns of the American people because they are accountable for what happens to the economy. Dems want to focus on who is in charge of the Republican Party instead. Republicans should stay focused on the major isssues facing this country and the major changes in government that President Obama is advocating."
• Ace of Spades: "This is simply not important enough for the Republican Party to go to war with itself over. Paper it over, let it pass, move on to important stuff. [...] If everyone wants to bang on Steele for dealing inartfully with Limbaugh's own inartful remarks, and play right into the media's and the Obama Administration's (but I repeat myself) game of stoking a full-on civil war in the party rather than kissing and making up, fine."

LIMBAUGH-STEELE III: Steele's Re-Education Is Complete

Lefty bloggers are mocking Steele for backing down so quickly:

• Daily Kos' Lewison: "Well that was quick."
• Oliver Willis: "Steele apologizes to Rush. Oh my, talk about castrated."
• Firedoglake's watertiger: "How long would it take for Steele, like Governor Mark Sanford (R-Coward) and Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Yellow) before him, to prostrate himself before the Adipose Ego, begging forgiveness? Under half a day, it appears. The prospect of Limbaugh pounding his doughy chest in fury reduced the chair of the Republican National Committee to a quivering lump of gelatin."
• TPM's David Kurtz: "Steele's re-education [is] complete! The RNC chair issues groveling apology to...Rush Limbaugh. This is pathetic."
• digby: "[Limbaugh] is, as some of us have been pointing for years, the true leader of the Republican Party. [...] He can literally do no wrong. Sure enough, like clockwork, the head of the RNC just went crawling on his belly and begged for forgiveness for suggesting otherwise."
• The Reality-Based Community's Mark Kleiman: "It took Stalin months to re-educate Kamenev, and it took Mao years to re-educate Deng Xiaoping. But they were Communists, and we all now how inefficient Communism is. The patriotic, 100% American, free-enterprise GOP is not subject to such bureaucratic slow-downs; Rush Limbaugh re-educated Michael Steele in less than 24 hours, without ever laying a hand on him. Delicious irony: This all started with Steele on TV denying that Limbaugh is 'the de facto leader of the Republican Party.'"

The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan: "Comrade Steele dutifully apologizes to the Great Leader and offers his regrets to his fellow comrades in the movement. Re-education camp will follow shortly. This climb-down marks the end of establishment Republican resistance to the Poujadist pontificator. It's Rush's party now. So why shouldn't he run for president in 2012? Make [Sarah] Palin his veep -- and be done with it."

LIMBAUGH-STEELE IV: This Is Limbaugh's Party, B*tches

Liberal bloggers are portraying this episode as the latest evidence that Limbaugh is the de facto leader of the GOP, regardless of what Steele says:

• Lewison: "What this episode proves beyond any shadow of a doubt is that the GOP belongs to Rush Limbaugh and the dittoheads, and anybody who dares cross them had better get in line."
• Willis: "Well, we know who is top dog on the right. I's like we've been saying: Rush Limbaugh. [...] A bigoted pill-popping knuckle dragging blow hard is running a major political party, and nobody over there has even half a ball to stand up to him."
• AMERICAblog's Joe Sudbay: "[Limbaugh] has shown the nation that yes, in fact, he does control the GOP. And, the Republican Party's operating principle is Rush's mantra: 'I want Obama to fail,' which really means 'I want the U.S. to fail.' At least we all know now."
• Firedoglake's Attaturk: "Forget policies, now all the GOP has left is insanity. Worshiping a thrice-married, Orson Welles-Estate-wearing, drug addicted, Dominican prostitute patronizing, butt-pimple service-avoiding, jackass and preemptively and indiscriminately apologizing to him without any reason at all."

Several liberal bloggers are arguing that Steele is a poor RNC chair:

• TPM's Josh Marshall: "[Steele] has to be about the worst, most embarrassing party chair we've seen in recent memory. It's embarrassing enough that Steele is like, what?...the third Republican to criticize Rush and then make it less than 36 hours before being forced to undergo the 21st century Republican version of a Maoist self-criticism session. It's sad for the Republican party that no one can criticize Rush without having to be hauled out for this sort of humiliation a day or so later. But for Steele not to have realized that or not to have been sufficiently in control of his mouth to avoid saying this just shows once again that this dude is really, really not ready for prime time."
• Moulitsas: "[T]he GOP's supposed leader, Steele, alternates between ridiculous hip hop fantasies and actual nuggets of wisdom (such as pointing out that 'unity' isn't the GOP's salvation, it's actually its biggest problem) -- yet it's all irrelevant because no one cares what he thinks or says. Well, they didn't until Steele called out Rush for what he is -- 'incendiary' and 'ugly'. Now, the backlash has begun, and Steele doesn't stand a chance in hell of surviving that battle with any shred of credibility intact. Not only has he lost the GOP's base, but he never had the establishment with him for support. He's gone out on a limb, and there's no one around willing to give him a hand."

NEW DEMOCRAT COALITION: Shilling For The Banks?

Liberal bloggers are criticizing Rep. Tauscher and other members of the New Democrat Coalition for trying to "limit the scope of the bankruptcy bill as much as possible." Jane Hamsher calls the New Democrats "tools of the banking lobby" while Moulitsas asks, "Does Rep. Ellen Tauscher really want a primary challenge this bad?"

• Firedoglake's Hamsher: "Lobbyist money is flowing into the coffers of Tauscher's New Democrat Coalition, and it's time to stop pretending that they are doing anything but representing corporate interests over those of their constituents. Kagro has a post on the congressional districts hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis, and included are New Democrats Bill Foster [D-IL], Gabby Giffords [D-AZ], Shelly Berkley [D-NV], Brian Baird [D-WA], Melissa Bean [D-IL], Patrick Murphy [D-PA], John Larson [D-CT], Dennis Moore [D-KS] and Jim Moran [D-VA]. [...] These same people killed efforts in 2007 to allow bankruptcy judges to write down mortgages at that time, which could have helped us from ever getting to this place. It's time they stop pretending that they care about their constituents when they're only being tools of the banking lobby."
• Daily Kos' David Waldman: "So the genius of Ellen Tauscher's (D-CA-10) position? Democrats need to side with the banks who converted their 2005 gift into the complete meltdown of the world financial order, then siphoned off trillions of public dollars to 'stabilize' themselves, and now want still more blood from the homeowners they killed in creating this mess. Really, Congresswoman? You're really hearing calls for Democrats to step in on behalf of the banking industry in this country? Seriously? Please, someone stop the populism! The 'moderates' are going to be crushed in a tidal wave of Thank You notes!"
• Open Left's Chris Bowers: "There seem to be only three instances where the New Democrats have made a public splash over the last six months: passing the $700 billion bailout, vowing to prevent too much regulation of the financial industry, and taking the industry's side in the current housing bankruptcy fight. The Wall Street connection between these three areas of policy is pretty obvious, and leads one to ask: do the New Democrats do anything, as a caucus, except funnel money to Wall Street and limit financial regulations? It is just a Wall Street protection racket?"
• AMERICAblog's Joe Sudbay: "When we find out who is blocking the agenda, we have to name names whether they are members, staffers or lobbyists. [...] Tauscher is one of those painful centrist Democrats (who is quite wealthy herself.) She has taken the lead on undoing the legislation to allow judges to reduce mortgage payments, which Chris Bowers explains in more detail here. This is vintage Tauscher..."
• Atrios: "Our discourse is so absurd when such people are termed 'moderates.' In 2010 if the economy hasn't turned around, savvy Republicans will easily be able to run with faux [Lou] Dobbs/[Rick] Santelli 'populism' against such 'moderates.'"
• Moulitsas: "Does Rep. Ellen Tauscher really want a primary challenge this bad?"

KIRK: More Tax Problems?

Conservative bloggers are mocking Obama after it was revealed that U.S. Trade Rep.-designate Ron Kirk owes $9,975 in taxes:

• Malkin: "Wouldn't be Monday without news of another Obama nominee who owes back taxes, huh? All he has to do is say 'sorry' for his little goof and he'll be on his way to joining the White House Team of Tax Cheats. [...] Screw up, move up!"
• RedState's Dan McLaughlin: "Is Obama vetting to ensure he picks people who do not pay taxes? This many cannot be an accident, can it? [...] The only alternative explanation, after all, is that there is something about the kinds of people Obama chooses to associate with and give power to that makes them think they don't need to make sure they pay their taxes. I leave it to you to judge."
• Hinderaker: "The Democratic Party has a culture of entitlement, greed and corruption. It is remarkable that, even though Obama's vetting team must be excruciatingly sensitive to the issue, it is evidently hard to find prominent, high-income Democrats who pay their taxes in full."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: A Disaster For The GOP?

The American Conservative's Daniel Larison:

"It is fairly disastrous for all involved when the chairman of the RNC and CPAC's keynote speaker can create a controversy that understandably inspires multiple comparisons to re-education camps. I am guessing that Steele's faux pas in challenging the Man with the Golden Microphone (comparisons to Blofeld are too easy and obvious) will more or less smother the chances for any reform ideas he may have had, and now that he has been denounced as little better than a RINO his tenure as chairman will continue to be rocky and not very effective. Fundraising must already be difficult because of the recession, and now it is going to get even more so.

Despite his best efforts to toe the line, and usually saying absurd things in the process, Steele is succumbing to the structural pressures that have brought the GOP and movement conservatism to their present states. Incredibly, the man who was floating the idea of withholding RNC funds from moderate Republicans who voted for the stimulus is now regarded as some sort of Obama collaborator! Meanwhile, Obama is not just having a good laugh at the expense of his imploding enemies, but he has to be feeling very pleased with himself. It seems as if all he had to do was say, 'Don't listen to Rush Limbaugh,' and in classic knee-jerk fashion activists and pols have gone running into Limbaugh's embrace, which is probably exactly what Obama wanted them to do. Now, thanks to the bizarre Limbaugh litmus test that everyone on the right is supposed to pass, conservative blogs are agog with their newfound contempt for the RNC chairman, which helps ensure that cooperation between the national party and online activists will continue to be poor. You might call this a triple bank-shot by Obama, except that all of it is self-inflicted by the Republicans."

LEST WE FORGET: Responsibilities Track Man Down Inside Dream

From The Onion:

"NATE WHITMAN'S SUBCONSCIOUS -- After an extensive search of local resident Nate Whitman's euphoric sleeping fantasy, a crack team of his most pressing responsibilities was finally able to locate the 29-year-old claims adjuster at 5:30 a.m., one hour before his alarm clock was set to go off. 'It looks like we arrived just in time,' said Whitman's two-month-old outstanding car payment, speaking on behalf of itself and several other responsibilities -- including his mother's upcoming birthday and next week's jury duty selection. 'He was being fellated by Scarlett Johansson while piloting a Jet Ski at high speeds. We're lucky we caught up to him before he started flying.' After leading him through a vivid fantasy of taking his work shirts into the dry cleaners, Whitman's responsibilities turned him over to several embarrassing moments from high school for his remaining 45 minutes of fitful slumber."

Posted by Ian Faerstein at March 3, 2009 01:03 PM