Obama team take gloves off for fight with radio host Rush Limbaugh

[babsbunny]

Obama team take gloves off for fight with radio host Rush Limbaugh

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_amer...

Tim Reid in Washington

A ploy by the Obama White House to depict the inflammatory conservative talkshow host Rush Limbaugh as head of the Republican Party has triggered a furious partisan battle – just the style of bareknuckle politics the new President promised to end.

The increasingly bitter feud between the Obama team and the bombastic Mr Limbaugh, who enjoys the largest talk-radio audience in America, has delighted Democrats and dismayed many Republicans. Yet it has also brought accusations that the White House has cynically created a bête noire to distract attention from the debate over its economic policies.

The thrice-married Mr Limbaugh is a hero to the Republican base but a deeply partisan figure. The effort to portray him as the driving force behind the postBush Republican Party reflects the power void and identity crisis inside it, but it also risks dragging Mr Obama into a political street brawl with one of America’s most powerful and outspoken antiliberal forces.

[geckosfeet]

1. He is a hate mongering drug addict. Tying him the republican party

is not so far from the truth and can only hurt them with the majority of Americans.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

2. Obama would be wise to ignore Rush, as I do. Give him no power.

[jenmito]

8. Obama's doing nothing to engage Rush. Rush is a loudmouth and once or twice

Rahm and Gibbs pointed out that he's obviously the head of the Repub. party.

[TheCowsCameHome]

16. Rush is the aggressor here. He needs his fat ass whipped.

He's made this a thing into a spectacle on his own.

Like any cowardly bully, he needs a thrashing now and then.

[Cha]

19. Obama and the Dems are doing

the right thing..thank you very much.

[butterfly77]

22. If he is or he isn't ..

what is the big deal. I didn't hear a damn thing when Bush and Cheney were doing that and more. THe media needs to shut the hell up..

[Cha]

24. Corporatemediawhoredom always

lookin' for a hook to show how stupid they are on Obama.

There's no way to even contact this jerk who's the Washington Reporter for the timesonline in London.

[Pharlo]

3. "...one of America's most powerful and outspoken antiliberal forces."

While I realize R. Limbaugh's primary form of exercises is flapping his jaw, I truly think he should consider some restraint. If Oprah Winfrey ever decides to enter the fray in a circumspect 'support my president' way, Limbaugh is going to find out just how inconsequential he is in the greater American landscape.

Probably be the height of trauma for the old curmudgeon - going head to head with a woman who can make him look like the proverbial gnat on a flea's ass he is.

[The River]

4. Like Most Nasty Diseases

drag OxyRush out into the disinfecting
light of day, show everyone who and what
he is and his brand mental infection
will shrivel up and die.

Those who choose to stay infected will be shunned by
decent Americans.

[jenmito]

5. That's bull. Rush has been attacking Obama since before he was sworn in. Obama is NOT

"taking the gloves off" and neither is his admin. ALL they're doing is pointing out that Rush is obviously the head of the Repub. party. They never insulted Rush ONCE. It takes TWO to fight. Rush is throwing bombs at Obama, and the only people who are fighting him are REPUBS. who dare speak out against him and then are forced to apologize.

[WCGreen]

6. I thought it was Rush who said he was the voice of the republican party..

The de facto leaders...

It wasn't Obama.

[jenmito]

10. It was Rush who did all the "fighting" and insulting. Dems. just point it out-he's obviously the

head of the Repub. party.

[dkf]

7. This worries me.

I'm thinking its a diversionary tactic because things are getting worse.

Damn.

[jenmito]

9. How is "Team Obama" taking the gloves off? n/t

[dkf]

11. Sounds like there was a coordinated strategy to talk about Limbaugh.

I wish they'd get off it and ignore the guy.

I always thought Obama would be too high minded to spend any time on this idiot.

[jenmito]

12. All they did was poll his popularity. They didn't say a word about Limbaugh

until after he said he hoped Obama failed, after he said people have to grab their ankles and bend over because he's the first Black president, etc. They didn't force Rush to say the things he said. And after all the Repubs. who criticized him had to go back and apologize to him, ALL they said was Limbaugh's obviously the head of the Repub. party. That is HARDLY "taking the gloves off." That's the Repub. spin to try to make it LOOK like they're in a fight with him.

[dkf]

14. You don't think they've designed talking points around Pigboy?

I hope you are right.

You can't talk logic to people like Limbaugh. They live in a weird universe where inconvenient facts are ignored.

[jenmito]

15. No. ALL they're doing is pointing out the obvious-that every Repub. who spoke out against him

had to apologize. Can you name ONE talking point that they "designed" other than using his own words-that he wants Obama to fail? They must be mind-readers if they designed that talking point before he even said it.

[dkf]

21. Take or leave it...but this is from Politico.

The seeds were planted in October after Democracy Corps, the Democratic polling company run by Carville and Greenberg, included Limbaugh’s name in a survey and found that many Americans just don’t like him.

“His positives for voters under 40 was 11 percent,” Carville recalled with a degree of amazement, alluding to a question about whether voters had a positive or negative view of the talk show host.

Paul Begala, a close friend of Carville, Greenberg and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, said they found Limbaugh’s overall ratings were even lower than the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s controversial former pastor, and William Ayers, the domestic terrorist and Chicago resident who Republicans sought to tie to Obama during the campaign.

Then came what Begala called “the tripwire.”

“I hope he fails,” Limbaugh said of Obama on his show four days before the president was sworn in. It was a time when Obama’s approval ratings were soaring, but more than that, polls showed even people who didn’t vote for him badly wanted him to succeed, coming to office at a time of economic meltdown.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was the first to jump on the statement, sending the video to its membership to raise cash and stir a petition drive.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/19596.html

[Teaser]

28. politico = "leave it"

e.o.m.

[jenmito]

30. Nothing in that article says or suggests the admin. is "taking the gloves off for fight". The

author of the article, Jonathan Martin, puts his own spin on it to make it seem as if this was the plan, "Operation Rushbo," all along. Martin is a VERY anti-Obama reporter. I remember him on tv during the GE lying about Obama. I started a few threads about it. All Carville and Begalla did was add Rush in their polling. They did NOTHING to start a "fight" or even to keep the fight that Rush kept trying to start going. The ONLY thing they did was happily point out the FACT that Rush said he wanted Obama to fail and that he's obviously the head of the Repub. party since every Repub. who spoke out against him begged for his forgiveness. You can't point to anything that would show Obama's admin. "took the gloves off" or anything close.

[wellst0nev0ter]

13. Typical Murdochian BS From A Murdochian Paper

Ignored.

[Cha]

17. Oh, bullshit, Tim Reid..

Some jerkoff asshole who brainwashes millions says he wants our President to fail and we're suppost to apologize to his assness like Michael Steele did.

Nah, quit being such a scaredy

[chrisa]

18. Why are they even acknowledging him?

It just legitimizes him.

[jenmito]

20. They're doing nothing more than pointing out that he's obviously the face of the Repub. party.

They couldn't say that if Rush hadn't been attacking Obama since BEFORE he was sworn in and if every Repub. who criticized him had to go back and apologize to him. Making him the face of the Repub. party is GREAT for us since he's so unpopular. But we HARDLY took the gloves off. We're not fighting at ALL.

[uponit7771]

23. Rainsing Limbaughs status increases the notion that he's the face of the GOP, its politically shrewd

...and risky seeing that Rush can talk all day but it seems like he's stupid and doesn't realize his words are hurtful

[HooptieWagon]

25. If Limpdick speaks for the republicans

then kudos to Obama's team for making sure people (especially moderates) know exactly who Limpdick is, and what he represents. Defining the remaining elements of the rep party as loonies marginalizes them. Divide and conquer - glad to see Dems finally using a strategy to deal with the whack-jobs.

[Arkana]

26. We're not "fighting" Rush Limbaugh.

Rush is just being his usual douchenozzle self.

[jenmito]

31. Exactly. It takes two to tango. NOBODY forced Rush to say any of the things he said...

and Obama did not retaliate by attacking HIM.

[AllentownJake]

27. So let me get this straight

President Obama tells the GOP you can work with me to help this country and I will negotiate and sit at the table with you or you can listen to Rush Limbaugh who is wanting my Presidency to fail for idealogical purposes. The GOP out of fear of their rabid ignorant base decides to listen to Limbaugh and become obstructionist because doing nothing and trying to weaken Obama is good for them politically in their belief. President Obama calls them out on it that it appears Rush Limbaugh, who has a lower approval rating nationally than the last President, is running the show at the GOP and President Obama is the bad guy?

Its called fucking politics. The GOP are big boys, if they want to stop being associated with Rush throw him and his ignorant listeners under the bus and be done with it.

[Skittles]

29. AWESOME!!!

TAKE THAT LYING BASTARD ON ALREADY

[Peace Patriot]

32. LOL! Bring. It. On.

a furious partisan battle
bareknuckle politics
increasingly bitter feud
cynically creating a bête noire to distract attention from the debate over its economic policies
a political street brawl (with one of America's biggest assholes).

Oh, yes! Please! Please! Do unto others as they have done to you. FIGHT BACK!

[jenmito]

33. WOW! Juan Williams just set Fred Barnes STRAIGHT on this issue!

Kondracke picked the wrong day to be off. After Barnes went through all the RushWing talking points on this issue, claiming the whole thing was a plot hatched from the Obama admin., Juan destroyed his argument reminding him of how RUSH started talking about how he wanted Obama to win before he was even sworn in, how the Repubs. who spoke out against him had to go groveling to him, and how of COURSE they're thrilled to have Rush be the voice of the Repub. party.

[firedupdem]

34. That article sounds like we should be afraid of that drug addicted

racist fuck. We're not.