If he’s lost Limbaugh…

May 17, 2006

Yesterday, Dick [tag]Cheney[/tag] made his third appearance on Rush [tag]Limbaugh[/tag]’s radio show. On the surface, it’s disconcerting enough that the Vice President would voluntarily appear on this clown’s program three times, but in this instance, that’s not the interesting part.

Instead, it’s worth noting that Cheney was on for 13 minutes — and there wasn’t a single softball question during the entire interview. Consider some of Limbaugh’s queries:

* Is the President — are you and the President, the administration aware of the dissatisfaction on the whole issue of [tag]illegal[/tag] [tag]immigration[/tag] that exists not just within the [tag]Republican[/tag] base, but within the country at large?

* Why is it that so many people don’t think that the steps the [tag]President[/tag] is outlining and has outlined over the years will address the seriousness of the problem?

* Let me ask you this on behalf of my audience, simply because of the number of emails. People don’t think that this number of 6,000 [[tag]National Guard[/tag] troops] — which probably will add up to 2,000 or 3,000 on duty at any given time — is actually going to make much of an impact.

* The Dubai Ports deal, American people spoke out loudly against it, “we don’t want any part of it,” it got killed. The illegal immigration deal is generating just as much negative response, but the American people are not getting the reaction — the same reaction from government to that, that they got on the Dubai Ports deal — a little confused, asking questions, “what’s different here, we’re still talking security.”

At the end of what can fairly be characterized as a polite grilling, Cheney said, “[I]t’s good to talk to you, Rush. You render a great service out there by hosting these debates.”

But therein lies the point. When Cheney goes on Limbaugh’s show, it’s not supposed to be a “debate”; it’s supposed to be a chance to let two attack dogs fight over who hates [tag]Democrats[/tag] more.

Instead, Cheney was on the defensive throughout. I guess it’s safe to say [tag]Bush[/tag]’s prime-time address didn’t mollify Limbaugh much.

See what happens when you take a Republikanner’s drugs away from him? He starts asking sensible questions!

This, may be just another leaf in the teacup. The freakazoids in the GOP dirigible know that they need to lose some ballast, if for nothing else but to lessen the ferocity of their impending collision with the poltical equivalent of “ground zero.” Bush, Cheney, Rove, and their ilk no longer represent the cammand-crew; they’re not even the flight-crew; they’re now just “extra ballast.” I’m thinking about the old adage: “What goes around, comes around.”

And Kid George has tossed a lot of ballast overboard recently….

  • That is wierd. They usually just make out. I guess they better pass a law legalizing drugs for Rush only.

  • “The Dubai Ports deal, American people spoke out loudly against it, “we don’t want any part of it,” it got killed.” – Rush Limbaugh

    Maybe he ought to take another look at that. Has Dubai Ports World actually sold their interest yet?

    Nice that he’s the one to mention it, though. I’m surprised he does not bring up Harriet Miers 😉

  • It’s becoming evident, even to Republicans, that this duck is getting lamer all the time. Now, if only the congressional Democrats (particularly Nancy Pelosi) would notice.

  • I heard a couple minutes of it.

    It wasn’t so much that Rush was grilling him, but more like he was looking for some kind of clarification from the Veep, and giving Cheney a chance to dig out of Bush’s hole.

    Cheney was on the defensive and couldn’t do it.

    It was amazing.

  • “The illegal immigration deal is generating just as much negative response, but the American people are not getting the reaction — the same reaction from government to that, that they got on the Dubai Ports deal — a little confused, asking questions, ‘what’s different here, we’re still talking security.'” – Rush Limbaugh

    I’ll tell you the difference, chubby. This time, the American people, or at least the ones who call your radio program, have it wrong. Their solution (Tancredi’s) does not work. It just gets more people killed in the desert. Boy George II has actually THOUGHT about this (for years, in fact) and he has a better solution than you.

    Not really a good solution, but better than the Know-Nothings.

  • The lesson for BushCo.:

    If you stir-up the rubes enough eventually you lose control of them.

  • “…it’s supposed to be a chance to let two attack dogs fight over who hates Democrats more.”

    Yeah verily.

    But the problem for Rusty Limburger is that “La Famila Bush” doesn’t hate immigrants enough.

    Mind you… Cheney hates them plenty…
    But the Bush family has married into hispanic families.

    And so Cheney… is left having to grind his canines on this one…

    It must have been a miserable 13 minutes for him.

  • Notice how Rush kept referring to “other people”, and not himself? It’s not that he personally has a problem with the White House, it’s that “other people” have a problem.
    I’m with Mr. Furious, it seems that Limbaugh was simply giving Cheney a chance the “set the record straight” rather than offeirng any actual tough questions.
    Don ‘t want Dick to have a cardiac on the air, I guess

  • There was an interesting theory over at a libertarian site that Glenn Greenwald recommended the other day, to the effect that the xeonphobic propaganda “hate the Germans” campaign of WW1 was responsible for the xenophobia on immigration in the 1920s that resulted in the 1924 legislation – the war ended really fast, the propaganda machine was still spinning, people had all this hate built up and it got taken advantage of by the KKK and the others.

    It just might be that all the hate Rush and the rest of the Beer Belly Bozo Brigade has stirred up over the past 16 years is now coming home to roost for the Republicans – they can’t get at Arabs to go after them, but the Mexicans are out on the local street corner.

    Of course, the 78% who see that Bush is actually “more right” on this (boy, I never thought the day would come I would write those words on any topic!) aren’t going to be voting Piggie-Wiggie come November, so the bozos are going to have to either go back to getting drunk in the double-wide, or rolling in the sawdust, but either way they’ll publicly be back under the rocks, where they belong.

  • Hm. Maybe Limbaugh is turning over a new leaf- realizing he doesn’t really want to be remembered as a total hack, etc.

  • “Maybe Limbaugh is turning over a new leaf- realizing he doesn’t really want to be remembered as a total hack, etc”

    It is really late for that one. The problem with Rush is that he’s pulled so far right that any move into the middle will alienate the dittoheads while not getting him anywhere with the folks he slammed for the last 20 years.

    Or another explanation is that the Oxy has finally worn off.

  • it’s curious that bush hasn’t rolled out his “little brown brother,” as his father would put it, to deal with the immigration issue. he certainly was front and center when bush wanted the latino vote. now, i don’t think his hermano will be seen at the white house any time soon.

  • I think that Digby has this one covered. There is a Republican Party, a conservative media, a group of interests outside of Bush and Cheney. At some point, any of these people who want to have a career is going to have to move away from Mr 29% and Mr I Want to Eat Your Babies.

    So, part of the base isn’t happy about this immigration deal. Guess what that means to the rats who are desiring to leave Bush’s sinking ship? An excuse.

  • It isn’t easy to lose Rush…

    I was scanning through the radio the other day when I caught Rush Limbaugh
    going off about the
    > > new National Do Not Wiretap Registry – about how outraged he was that our congress would
    > > pass such legislation and so on. I checked out the site ( http://www.donotwiretap.com ) and saw
    > > immediately that it was a joke. Rush continued on, and then when he returned from a break
    never
    > > mentioned it again. I can only assume one of his people told him it wasn’t real. Is anyone that
    > > stupid??? Would it take you a five minute commercial break to figure out it was a joke??

  • Don’t buy it, it’s BS. It would be like fake outrage. When even the right hate GWB and Dick C they have to field those questions and I do not doubt it was contrived on some level!

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