Posted on 11/09/2006 10:16:11 PM PST by goldstategop
The country is buzzing about Rush Limbaugh's post-election comments that he felt liberated now that he would no longer have to shill for those who had not earned his unequivocal support. Limbaugh said, "I feel liberated, ladies and gentlemen, because I feel like I don't have to carry the water for people that I think don't deserve to have their water carried."
Limbaugh's success as a talk-radio host comes from his incredible talent at analyzing the lay of the land, breaking down the issues of the day for his audience and seeing things that most people miss when sizing up a news story or political debate.
For the past few years, Rush has grown increasingly disenchanted with Republicans in Congress and inside the Bush administration who repeatedly put their own personal and political interests ahead of the interests of this nation.
Yet, Rush was delicate in his criticisms of Republican missteps, given that these were divisions within the Republican family. He preferred instead to cajole, prod and encourage GOP decision-makers to follow the path of conservatism so as to lead this nation to greener pastures. He tried to explain that by doing so they would ultimately also advance their own personal ambitions and be rewarded for such good work.
Unfortunately, many Republicans in the Bush administration and on Capitol Hill have had other ideas about the future for this nation, and too often Bush and his Republican colleagues in Congress rebuffed conservative solutions to the problems facing America.
You know the issues of betrayal that have angered conservative activists the most: amnesty plans for illegal aliens, massive federal spending, multiple corruption scandals, the prescription drug plan, Harriet Miers, etc.
Even when it came to the war against terrorism there were too many times when cut-and-run voices managed to neuter the Bush administration from taking the fight to the terrorists and aggressively selling the case for war to the public.
On occasion, I have been somewhat critical of the Bush administration for failing to articulate a clear, concise message about the Global War on Terror. I did it knowing that it would cause a backlash among people who support our troops and want nothing more than to see us win in Iraq and other fronts in the fight against terrorism.
I've felt it was necessary for the administration to hear from many of us who are working tirelessly to make sure that the anti-war left in this country didn't dominate the discussion. We've needed to explain why it is that we are engaged in a life and death struggle with radical Islamists who murder, rape and kidnap indiscriminately as a tactic to advance their forced Shariah law upon growing numbers of people.
I failed.
I think that this week Rush Limbaugh realizes that he failed, too. Both of us have tried to be loyal to the greater cause even when we felt that at times we were being taken down the wrong path.
In the end, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter, myself and many others recognized that as much as we felt betrayed on many fronts by Republicans in Congress and at times by the White House, the fact remained that our nation is at war and the Democrat Party has decided that we should surrender to the enemy.
Sorry, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Jack Murtha, but surrender is not an option. So Republican pundits and grass-roots leaders have tried in different ways to work from within the GOP to stop the drift from conservatism that was taking place. Like I said, we failed.
Sadly, the Bush White House has taken exactly the wrong message from this election. Mr. Bush has decided he will appease his critics by firing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, a true warrior who tried to fight the established bureaucracy at the Pentagon. I'm sure that Madame Speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-Islamic Republic of America), is thrilled with this decision, as are the editorial geniuses at the New York Times.
Bush has also said that he is seeking cooperation with Democrats in enacting a guest-worker program (read amnesty) for people pouring across our borders, some of whom are terrorists.
Our president is moving in a direction that, I fear, will result in more terrorist attacks on American soil, if he is left unchecked by political pressure.
And that's where you come in.
My philosophy in dealing with political enemies is that when they hit you, you hit back twice as hard. The anti-war left's election victory this Tuesday has hit this country with an attack more serious to our nation's future than was 9-11.
Now is not the time to allow Republicans in Congress or in the White House to sell out to Pelosi, Reid and the cut-and-run crowd.
It's time to take the gloves off and fight for the cause we believe in, even if that means fighting members from within our own family from time to time.
"Just think how happy you'll be, when you get to be REALLY mad about stuff. BTW, how's it feel to be rooting for the same thing as our enemy?"
I guess my point is that we have become our own enemy. I thought we were supposed to be against big government and for personal freedoms. We had total control of everything and popular support. And we turned out back on principles.
It makes me disgusted to think of the opportunity that we sqaundered since Newt took the House. I have lost faith that any party is going to address the problem of the size and scope of our government.
Check out David Walker sometime, we have a scary future ahead of us and our children. It isn't fair to saddle them with that debt. We were the party that was going to fix the problem. We need to admit that we failed.
I apologize for my insensitive comments. I was angry and emotional.
bump
I agree, but just what do you suggest that the common man and woman do! Tell me and I will be first in line!!!!
I listen to WBAP in the night as well. Alot of these truckers and other callers just do not have the facts straight and think that the only solution to homeland security is to cut and run!!!!
A good place to start would be for you to learn Farsi!
"...I was angry and emotional."
Tell me about it. Who's not, except the Rats? I've never been so disappointed in my own party, both the politicians in power, and the voters who chose to let the disloyal opposition take control, as punishment for drifting too far left. It's been an ugly scene on all sides, and now the Rats are feeding on the spoils. I'm going to be angry and emotional for some time to come. If you did your duty at the polls, I can hardly find reason to criticize your feelings on the way the Republicans have been such a disappointment, since they have lost their way on a lot of very, very important issues. It's the cut-and-run conservatives who gall me so much.
Bull crap. Bipartisanship means you sacrifice principle. The next time the pubbies want my vote, they will practice conservatism for two years at a clip, not speak about it for 2 weeks. Message sent. We'll see if the message was received.
Dewine lost. I don't blame either of them for the Republican collapse.
Dewine lost a lot of conservatives when he supported the Dems over using the nuclear option to end an unconstitutional practice. If I were in Ohio, I would have voted for him but he didn't support either the US Constitution or the party.
You'd better hope they did, because if conservatives voted and the Republicans still lost, they're going to write us off as being too few to matter.
On another matter: if Rush was shilling (his word) for the Republicans then, is he shilling for somebody else now? How can we tell, either way?
Too late for the apology Melanie. You wink at their misdeeds. You didn't defend your core beliefs. You are no better than they.
What's anyone here think about Steve Forbes running again in 08? I like him (from what I know--which isn't too much)...seems extremely conservative.
None of that wishy washy crap.
Thoughts?
Does anyone know what Cheney's personal views on amnesty are? If he is opposed, then I have joined the impeach Bush crowd.
Bush is going to switch from principle to pragmatism (Baker, Gates, Scrowcoft) on Iraq, so there is no need to support him on Iraq any more, because it is gone. I would only change my mind on this if Bush somehow wakes up and decides to take Mutadr al Sadr out and disarm the militias (the 2nd amendment is only good for sane societies) and fight to win. It is crazy to fight a PC war. The only war that should be fought is one where we can and will fight to win.
But even more important than Iraq is immigration. The only thing that saved us from immigration was the GOP House. With that gone we will have amnesty (by whatever name) and the Dems and the GOP in the Senate want it as does Bush. Maybe Cheney does not, so he may be our only hope. If so with Bush gone we would have a chance to preserve our freedom and way of life. The internal danger is far, far greater than the external one from the Islamofascists. Once the Dems can buy the votes of 20 million Hispanics, we're doomed.
Sorry, Melanie, we just could not get the job done. The Islamists have our number: we're a nation of pansies.
It's spit on a lefty day!!
"Mr. Bush has decided he will appease his critics by firing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, a true warrior who tried to fight the established bureaucracy at the Pentagon. I'm sure that Madame Speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-Islamic Republic of America), is thrilled with this decision, as are the editorial geniuses at the New York Times. "
Rummy was thrown under the bus and Bolton's nomination will never get out of committee. In exchange, there will be no impeachment proceedings, although it will be mentioned in the tabloids at least once a week.
That's how politics work.
"In other words, Limbaugh (and many other conservative radio talkshow hosts) didn't have as much influence with the voters as they thought they did."
Conservative voters voted their values. Abortion, Gay Marriage, eminent domain, illegal immigration. They voted for Conservative candidates.
Republicans are no longer Conservatives. They are Liberals with a political party attached to their name so they can get elected. That paradigm no longer applies.
Your tagline is truth.
Besides, when's the last time you ever saw Bush veto a damned thing that crossed his desk?
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