Conservatives back Limbaugh over Steele

Original Link: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=36555

By Joe Garofoli

Newly minted GOP chair Michael Steele may have apologized for calling Rush Limbaugh an "entertainer" (What? He's not entertaining?) and "incendiary," but he's still getting pounded. Not only from the left, but from his fellow conservatives.

The early verdict: Conservatives are backing Rush over Mike. The National Journal's Blogometer says "the most common complaint in the conservative blogosphere is that Steele's 'biggest asset' was supposed to be his communication skills, yet his TV appearances are precisely what have gotten him in trouble."

And the left is making it easier for conservatives to apologize to Rush with a new site that offers a "Dear Rush" apology form letter. Even Rush thought it was funny. "It is funny," El Rushbo said on Wednesday's show. "I had to laugh when I saw it last night."

But GOPers should be concerned that their hardcores are turning on Steele. From Erick Erickson at Redstate.com: "This sort of thing with Rush Limbaugh plays right into concerns many of us had about Steele. He called Rush's CPAC speech, which was very well received, 'incendiary' and 'ugly.' What was so ugly about it? What was so incendiary?"

NRO's Mark Steyn said: "In two brief soundbites, Mr. Steele has managed to suggest to his own party base that he has a lazy disposition that reflexively shares the liberal biases, and to allow the wider world to portray him as a craven squish. This is not encouraging. At the very minimum, he does not appear ready for primetime."

Power Line's John Hinderaker: "One wonders: even if Steele himself doesn't listen to Rush's show, he must understand that millions of Republicans do. So how could he have thought that insulting Rush could possibly be a good idea? By demonizing Rush, he insulted the party that he purports to lead.

And the Dems continue to try to milk this little in-house GOP spat for all its worth. (All the better to make us forget about the economy, the two wars, the skyrocketing unemployment rate, you know the rest.) And, as Politico.com reported Wednesday, it's also an official strategy for liberals: Attack Rush. Apparently dude's poll numbers are lower than Rev. Wright in some demos.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched a site Wednesday that makes it easier than ever for a conservative to apologize to Rush with its own online apology form letter.

"Dear Rush, I'm sorry I called you (your choices are: "an opportunistic brick thrower," "ugly" or "an idiot.") "You and I both know that in reality we both want President Obama to fail in this time of economic collapse. How can I disagree with that? Please accept my sincere apologies, oh great leader of the Republican Party."

Taking a one-day story and stretching into three? That's positively O'Reillian in its attempt to shape the media narrative.