Max Blumenthal thinks Republicans should think twice about taking advice from Rush Limbaugh.
An October 24, 2008, poll conducted by the Democratic research firm Greenberg-Quinlan-Rosner has Rush Limbaugh enjoying a public-approval rating of just 21 percent among likely voters, while 58 percent have “cold” feelings toward the right-wing radio-talk-show host. Limbaugh was the least popular of the all the political figures the firm polled. He polls seven points lower than Rev. Jeremiah “God Damn America” Wright and eight points below former Weather Underground domestic terrorist William Ayers.
Limbaugh is so unpopular that only 44 percent of Republican voters reported “warm” feelings toward him, ten points less than those who felt the same way about Limbaugh’s top competitor, Fox News’ Sean Hannity, and a full 20 points lower than Fox News itself. Yet in spite of rock-bottom favorable numbers, Limbaugh confidently declared one week after Obama’s inauguration that his power far exceeded that of the Republican Party’s top two leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives. Obama, Limbaugh roared, is “obviously more frightened of me than he is Mitch McConnell. He’s more frightened of me, than he is of, say, John Boehner, which doesn’t say much about our party.”
While amusing, the comparisons here are silly. Rush has been a controversial public figure for two decades; many people have no idea who Ayers and Wright are. And Obama probably does have more to fear from the most popular radio host in America than from the leader of a very weak opposition party, since he can more easily drum up phone calls and emails and controversy.
Beyond that, nobody’s seriously suggesting making Limbaugh the head of the GOP or its chief tactician. Nor would anyone advise adopting the persona of a bombastic talk show host who needs to keep an audience hooked three hours a day, five days a week, year after year in trying to regain majority status.
via memeorandum
