NDT, here’s the core of the problem with your political suicide approach: “Social conservatives would rather deal with Obama than support Obama Lite. It’s called not rewarding bad behavior by RINOs.”

And, there in lays the dilemma for all those disloyal soc-cons, NDXXX. They can take the Party toward political suicide and there’s no consequence for their action. They can take the Party to the extreme outer edge of silly symbolic issues (English Only, ie) and alienate large segments of the voters the Party needs to win elections. They can, as you so aptly note, drive out of the tent those who aren’t pure enuff, true enuff and the soc-cons don’t have to suffer any consequence.

Crap to all that nonsense; the Party had all that extreme politics under TommieDelay and we didn’t profit from it. A Dem majority in the House heading into a census period? An increasing Dem majority in the Senate if the soc-con purists get to toss Specter and others out? The election of the most liberal president in the modern era?

You know what, the only RINO’s out there are the disloyal soc-cons who couldn’t contain their spiteful self-interest for a second and pull the lever for McCain.

At the end of the day, elections are about winning. They’re are NOT about making angry white guys full of piss in their boots “feel good” about their embitterment and validating their pettiness toward others. It isn’t about those guys isolating an entire Party from securing political office. It isn’t about truth tests, limtus tests, purity tests on issues and debating stupid items like whether or not the Gold Standard should be brought back or militia units should have automatic weapons.

It’s about winning elections and when, as is the case with the 2008 election, a segment of the Party’s voting coalition acts in a disloyal, adverse, untoward fashion –with RushBlow at the front of the line egging on many of those soc-cons with his brand of ego-strumpet chest pounding and bitching– the answer isn’t to embrace those disloyal dittoheads tighter… the answer is to put them under bus and let the wheels do what evolution failed to do… end it for them and help us all out.

The Party needs to move away from the emotional-reassuring bitching that people like RushBlow and others offer on social conservative issues… and return to bedrock GOP issues like fiscal restraint, local decisions, less govt, smaller govt, strong natl defense and military, strict constructionist judges, etc.

That doesn’t mean the Party embraces Sodom and Gomorrah on social issues… but allowing some GOPers to support Choice without burning them at the stake? Yeah. Allowing some GOPers to support federal funding of stem cell research and new lines without gouging out their eyes and making them wear sack cloths? Yeah. Allowing some GOPers to even say that extending federal benefits to gay couples is ok? Yeah.

I don’t have the luxury of saying at the end of the day “Well, we lost but in our loss we proven we were right on the issues.”

Screw that. Losing is not what political parties are about. Reagan knew that –it’s why he structured a message that would reach out to coalitions the GOP didn’t have access to… like blue-collar, anti-tax Democrats. And he would be ashamed of so-called social conservatives today who speak ill so often, so much of fellow GOPers… if those soc-cons are even inside the Party and not just bitching from the sidelines.

If you and your echo-chamber pals can rail, vent and badger the gayLeft with faux-outrage over Folsom St or Dorr Alley antics and not find exception to RushBlow’s use of the above language to sissify his opponents and do the ol’ locker room –hey, they ain’t one of us normal guys line– I have to think you’re more hot air than the Great One, RushBlow.

I’m glad I crack you up, ILC. But there’s nothing thick or spinning about taking exception to RushBlow’s language used on air where kids can hear it… anymore than the farRight whackjobs getting incensed over some rap lyrics.

Oh, I forget. When it’s one of your team (yeah, I know you’ve contended you don’t like RushBlow… right, get that swamp land parcel for sale, too) it’s just colorful language. When it’s the opposition, damn the double standard, condemnation at full speed Capitain-o.

Take a break and leave the ol’ baggage full of spite from other threads on someone else’s doorstep next time, ok? It’s tedious without the beenficial use of any enlightenment.

RushBlow (hot air, remember?) increasingly using homophobic slurs…
13+m cars with kids riding alongside parents. “Mom, what’s a butt boy”?

Man, can MM lay it on thick. Thick! Such marvelous spin. Cracks me up.

Which is exactly the same thing Obama was claiming HE would do.

Nobody on the conservative side believed Obama, and they weren’t about to believe McCain, who experience had taught them was more than willing to throw Republicans under the bus to get media attention for himself and his amnesty/campaign finance/Gang of 14 activities.

Social conservatives would rather deal with Obama than support Obama Lite. It’s called not rewarding bad behavior by RINOs.

As for this “MM, you’re throwing insults around, then complaining when someone uses an insult that you take personal umbrage to. It underminds your arguement.”

I’m not complaining about “someone” using a derogatory term here… I was speaking about RushBlow (hot air, remember?) increasingly using homophobic slurs like butt boy to sissify and demonize his opponents. And his seemingly loyal conservative gay dittoheads who see nothing wrong with that. “Someone”? RushBlow’s using that kind of language on a natl broadcast going into, potentially, 13+m cars with kids riding alongside parents. “Mom, what’s a butt boy”?

Just like I took exception to Michael Phelps when he was outed for smoking a bong pipe and caused parents across the land to explain to their kids why a world-class athlete would use a bong pipe and what it is used for… sorry, it’s a little more than just “someone”.

MM, you’re throwing insults around, then complaining when someone uses an insult that you take personal umbrage to. It underminds your arguement.

(Personally, I thought you were confusing Rush’s battle with Oxycotin with President Obama’s battle with Cocaine, not all of us thing about sex)

Nope, in fact I’ve not had the pleasure of hearing RushBlow use that line. I know he detests moderate GOPers for not being true conservatives in his acerbic mold and he wants the GOP brand to be only-conservative, farRight 24×7 and push anyone else outside the tent.

But, no, my dislike of RushBlow comes from the way he conducts business, for the impact that his show has on the coarsening of public discourse and the political harm he brings the GOP, for his scattered overt homophobic remarks and his cunning manipulation of the listeners to advance his own ego and self-interest.

I just don’t get your statement of “And instead of acknowledging that your strategy of trying to be more Obama than the Obama Party is doesn’t work, you blame “social conservatives”.” We tried to be more like Obama than Obama?? WTF is that? Lunacy on your part.

The simple truth is that soc-cons and RushBlow (ps, Livewire, the “blow” on RushBlow is about his hot air, not his capacity to fellate) hyped a series of issues that turned independent voters away from the GOP, turned even behaviorial-GOP voters away from the GOP, energized large segments of hardcore anti-GOP voters and motivated the opposition to get out and expand their own voting bases in 08 and 06. But it didn’t start in 08 or 06; the roots of the rotten tree go back to 98 and 00 and 02 and 04.

And for that, the soc-cons want RushBlow to be knighted, glorified, defended against the barbarians at the gate and rally ’round him like he was Old Glory on the battlefield. Sorry, he’s a radio show entertainer who created an environment of intolerance and corrosion and division that helped elect Obama. And he sure as Hell isn’t the voice or leader of the GOP –or God help us all ’cause we will be the perpetual minority party of angry, embittered white men pissing in their boots.

You say the McCain candidacy didn’t attract a single independent voter? Wrong. McCain took 45% of the independent vote but only 40% of the moderate vote… less of the Hispanic vote, far less of the Asian vote, tied the male vote with Obama but lost the female vote.

On your query of how many Obama voters did McCain get? About 11% or just slightly less than Obama got of GOP voters… my guess is those 11% of Obama voters for McCain were mostly PUMAs and some old ScoopJacksonHawks. However, if you add to Obama’s GOP share the portion of soc-cons who voted by default for Obama by staying home, then Obama got something closer to 15-16% of the GOP “vote”.

Nancy Regan said it correctly: “John McCain is a conservative”. Hell, Ronald Reagan could have come back from the crypt and said that and it wouldn’t have had an impact on soc-cons. Because when you’ve been pissing in your boots for months, you’re a bitter little angry white guy with a streak for revenge that would make “Deliverance” look tame.

McCain spoke singularly about getting Congress under control, ending earmarks, reforming the corrosive partisan culture in DC, bringing fiscal restraint to the budget, cutting taxes, keeping the fed cts safe for the strict constructionists who won’t legislate from the bench, et cetera. He even went as far as to admit at CPAC in Feb 08 that he got the earlier soc-cons message about immigration reform loud and clear –no reform until the border is secure and he said he’d adopt that premise and make it happen.

It didn’t matter to soc-cons. If you believe Karl Rove’s and Michael Barone’s independent analyses, the soc-cons stayed home on Election Day and forfeited the federal govt to the farLeft. Disgruntled and disloyal and boots full of piss.

For that, they ought to frickin’ put themselves under the bus. It’s why I don’t get concerned when the WH, CNN, Democrat politicos and others take aim at RushBlow. And I smile at RushBlow’s sweet manipulation of his adoring fan base without their apparent knowledge… time to rally around the flag and defend his honor? I don’t think so.

Michael Steele gets demerit points for not apologizing strongly enough and making his point clear: Rush is not the GOP, although he might be the loudest voice for social conservatives –and that would be THEIR problem.

Um, no. I don’t buy “the Republicans are worse” rationalization from leftist gays about voting for Obama Party members, so why would I buy “the Democrats are worse” rationalization from McCain and the Obama Lite folks?

Furthermore, Matt, you and the Obama Lite folks tried throwing the social conservatives and Rush under the bus in 2008. How many “independent” and Obama Party votes did it get you? NONE. How many votes did it cost you? 4 MILLION. What a surprise; when given the choice between Obama Party members and Obama Lite GOP members, Obama Party voters and “independents” went with the Obama Party, every time. And instead of acknowledging that your strategy of trying to be more Obama than the Obama Party is doesn’t work, you blame “social conservatives”.

Good job; attention diverted.

I call bullsh*t. Here’s the bottom line, MM:

1) I said Rush doesn’t abuse his callers. Repeatedly. Pointedly. And later, when challenged, documented that.

2) You know perfectly well that I had said Rush doesn’t abuse his callers. Know how I know you know? Because, in citing the ‘butt-boy’ comment, *****you***** specifically tied it to “RushBlow turning a phrase nicely on a **caller**”. [emphasis added]

3) Now, in typical MM fashion, *****you***** want obfuscate and pretend I said something else, the issue is something else, blah blah blah blah blah.

And you’re doing a piss-poor job of it! LOL Good night.

http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/2007/10/talkers-magazine-top-talk-radio.html

You’ll forgive me for not getting excited over an old Rasmussen poll which ranks Katie Couric higher in popularity.

You’d have a lot of credibility when taking umbrage at ‘butt boy’ if you didn’t consistantly use the name Rushblow.

And as a gay, I take exception to his use of the phrase “butt boy” to demean opponents in some derogatory fashion… there’s always been a touch of homo-bashing in Rush’s more “colorful and robust” name-calling.

Now I know you’re full of shit. Climb down from your cross and get over yourself.

Even with that lame correction, I suppose I should not assume beyond “some” of the principles of Michigan Matt.

Wrong-o, helio. I share many opinions with Rush on items like bloated federal budgets, the benefits of capitalist democracies over any other form of govt, earmarks, the victimization industry of the farLeft, support of our troops and their mission, the wisdom of the Founding Fathers, the important role of religion in moderating base impulses in our society, the importance of non-profit charities vs govt handout programs, the value of smaller, less invasive govt, local decision making and lots of others.

Thanks for the opportunity to correct your overstatement.

Let’s see, I called that move here: “ILC, I see you’re up to your usual “debate” games again… sigh. What a pity. Let’s see, we’ll take this to a point where you debate a minor point in the hope that your constant chatter will divert attention away…”

Good job; attention diverted.

Rush is just trying to help liberal callers come to his version of conservative enlightenment. Yep, that’s all it is.

Your spots are in perfect position once again. Baggage in tow. You’re a superstar.

I myself don’t have a problem with Rush calling the subservient Drive-By Media (which I like to refer to as the “propaganda wing of the DNC”) as butt-boys. The syncophantic ramblings of Chris “Tingle-Up-My-Leg” Matthews and Jack “I-Want-to-Bang-Michelle-Obama” Cafferty provide enough justification for the moniker.

Also, I am not as thin-skinned as some of our commenters here (including one in particular for whom I had a measure of respect up until recently) who decry the use of the term “butt-boy” as being sexually insensitive. Being a Texan and a Southerner, I call ‘em like I see ‘em, and if the brown-nose fits on the MSM, they should dang well wear it.

I had to get that off my chest. Thanks for your attention.

Regards,
Peter H.