- Posted by Christopher Estep on April 23, 2008
I've listened to Rush Limbaugh for about 15 years and enjoyed him immensely. I've never thought he could have gone too far. His biting satire is both thoughtful and hilarious. He tweaks liberals to the point of apoplexy and has become a conservative icon of the last quarter-century.
The question I'm forced to ask myself is, "is there a line?" Until this point, I thought Limbaugh never crossed it, nor came even close. Now that has all changed.
What exactly is the line and how did he cross it?
Limbaugh co-opted the otherwise democrat idea of crossing party lines in primary elections in order to influence the election in order to supposedly ease the general election for your own candidate. Rush called this idea "Operation Chaos". Its intent is clear from its name. It creates chaos for the democrats and drives them absolutely nuts. They go into fits thinking that the "eeeee-vil" Rush Limbaugh is influencing elections. Of course, such influence is dripping with both justice and irony when you consider that they do precisely that.
I don't believe that Limbaugh set out to influence the election directly. He's smarter than that. Indirectly, he could be said to have tried to extend the primary season which ostensibly will hurt the democrat candidate. But did he actually attempt to influence an election? I highly doubt it.
The fact is that Limbaugh has indeed affected the primary contests, though only by using his audience to take part in his practical joke, even though the impact is small. Texas is the most obvious example where exit-polling has demonstrated that effect.
So here we are in April and not only is Hillary not defeated, she's winning the states that are most crucial to democrats in November and raising millions of dollars as a result. Many superdelegates are lining up behind Obama but Hillary's supporters are unmoved. Poll after poll shows that many of both Obama's and Clinton's supporters won't accept the other candidate and will vote for the moderate John McCain. Regardless of whether that's actually true, that is what the threat is and that's what the democrats have to deal with.
So how is Rush Limbaugh to blame and why is this so bad?
Had his listeners simply stayed home, it's very likely that Texas would have been Hillary's last stand. As it is, she'll now go straight to the convention, and that's why it's so bad.
The democratic party has a split that is nearly even. Nobody thinks for a moment that Hillary will go down without a fight. Like all politics, especially Congress where they are both senators, politicians won't back down unless they get something that makes it worthwhile.
What would be worthwhile to Hillary Clinton that Obama could offer? Only one thing and that's her name on the ticket. It is also the only thing that her supporters could get excited about, too. Hillary's floated that trial balloon and Obama hasn't shot it down. Many liberals are now referring to Obama/Clinton as their "dream ticket" and I can't argue with them. It's the only way that democrats can win.
Neither senator is a viable general election candidate. Obama is too inexperienced in foreign policy and economics as well as his continued questionable associations. The historic novelty of "the first black president" is not enough to overcome the fact that Obama scares even many libs. Hillary also has that same historic novelty of "the first woman president" but she is personally unlikable and has no charisma whatsoever. Her negatives are both hot and strong. She also couldn't get elected in a general election.
But what about together? The historic novelty went up exponentially. You also have the young black man and the middle-aged woman versus the old white guy and whomever McCain picks. I think demographically, it's irresistible to too many people. It is also the only ticket at this point that can not only unite but completely energize the democratic party. It's the only ticket that can prevent a split in the democratic party. And it's the only ticket that can destroy John McCain, who will never be able to energize conservatives.
This brings us full-circle. I allege that Limbaugh sold America for ratings based on his own assessment of his ability to both know and understand democrats as well as his professed understanding of politics. If Limbaugh is as good as he claims, he could have seen this coming and stopped after Texas. For the rest of us, we're subject to the Law of Unintended Consequences
But whether he could see it coming or not, Rush Limbaugh may well be just what the democrats needed.
Thanks a lot, Rush. Thanks a lot.