Rush Limbaugh Versus His Own Party
March 02, 2009 6:07 PM
Who is the 'de facto' leader of the Republican Party? Is it the chairman of the party, the newly instated Michael Steele? Is it one of the party's leader in Congress, John Boehner or Eric Cantor? Is it John McCain? Or is it Rush?
There was some inner party friction today. ABC News' Steve Portnoy summed it up in The Note: "The nation’s most listened-to conservative talk radio host, Rush Limbaugh, practically declared war on the newly-elected leader of the Republican National Committee today, following a television interview in which the RNC chair called Limbaugh’s show “incendiary” and “ugly.” In the interview that aired Saturday, Michael Steele, who became the Republican chairman last month, took umbrage when CNN’s D.L. Hughley suggested that Limbaugh is the “de facto leader of the Republican party.” “No, he’s not,” Steele said. “I’m the de facto leader of the Republican party.” Referring to Limbaugh’s statements that the talk show host wants President Obama “to fail,” Steele said, “Let’s put it into context here. Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. Yes, it’s incendiary. Yes, it’s ugly.” Limbaugh responded today with an on-air diatribe against the new party chairman that ran nearly 20 minutes, alleging that Steele is more interested in being a “talking head” on television than leading the party to electoral success. “I hope the RNC chairman realizes he’s not a talking head pundit,” Limbaugh said. “It’s time, Mr. Steele, for you to go behind the scenes and start doing the work that you were elected to do, instead of trying to be some talking head media star, which you’re having a tough time pulling off.”"
