Always nice to see how things look from inside the coocoo cocoon.

Although I'm a non-movement American, when I do have a movement, I think of Rush and Hannity, then flush.

Bill Clinton did the same thing in the 1990s by tying the GOP to Newt Gingrich

Analogy FAIL.

This nonsense is the corollary to the "Obama is overreaching like Clinton did in 1993" nonsense. The GOP has to recall their victories to pretend they're having them, continuing to ignore how much things have changed, which is why they keep losing.

I don't know who said it, but someone once made the very insightful observation that "for every dittohead out there, there are 2 or 3 people who hate that dittohead."

In a two-party system, the danger is that the public face of your party will end up being the most popular fringe figure of your party, and then you're screwed. Because it's not enough to have the votes of the listener's of the nation's most popular right-wing radio host. You need a majority.

"Bill Clinton did the same thing in the 1990s by tying the GOP to Newt Gingrich..."

This is just silly. I'm pretty sure that Newt Gingrich chose to join the Republican Party, chose to run for Congress, chose to be nominated for Speaker of the House, and chose to behave like an a$$ when holding that position (and every day since). Clinton didn't have to tie anything to anybody.

One nice aspect of this past weekend is we won't see or hear Wanda Sykes trotting to the microphone to "clarify" what she meant when speaking of Limbaugh. Nor apologize. Unless it's to say "I'm sorry for not being clear enough, Limbaugh can kiss my ass!" Clarity indeed.

I can't think of Obama launching any kind of meaningful attacks against any of these guys, at least in public.

Except that he did call Limbaugh an unqualified toxic asset. National Review-types would undoubtedly consider that a major attack.

"These guys are thought to be relatively unpopular with non-movement Americans"? It's not as if the jury is still out on this one.

C'mon, Steve, haven't you heard? America is still a center-right nation! Therefore, most of us revere those guys!

I can't think of Obama launching any kind of meaningful attacks against any of these guys, at least in public.

I can't think of Obama launching an attack on ANYTHING, least of all Wall Street weasels or the criminals running the health insurance companies [or, for that matter, Blue Dog Democrats].

I voted for the guy [and donated to, and worked for him], but he's really disappointed me in how he's approached everything from a kumbaya angle rather than "I've got political capital; now I'm going to spend it" one.

The "assault" bunk is part of the effort to convince everyone that Obama is a mean guy with a "scorched earth" policy when it come to the media and his opponents. The MSM, according to the story, is shaping coverage pro-Obama out of fear that access will be completely cut off because Obama is such a vengeful leader.

It's typical GOP projection, as usual.

Actually DanP, he told Michael Steele that he couldn't count Limbaugh as a "troubled asset."

President Clinton didn't do anything to Gingrich, he just used the old Rope-a-Dope. He gave him enough Rope and Newt made himself look like a Dope.

The more the American RightWing rants, the lower they go in the polls.

Let Cheney be Cheney.

Let Gingrich be Gingrich.

Let Limbaugh be Limbaugh.

Ah....but you don't understand. These guys are all firmly convinced that Obama wrote Wanda's script for her...word for word....

It's OK up to a point.
At whatever point the public perceives that Obama or the Administration or the Dem party have as their major agenda, bad mouthing the opposition’s leadership and media mouthpieces, instead of acting to move the nation forward, the Dems will start losing support and losing favorable ratings extremely quickly.

They need to stay away from becoming just another party of attack politics.

Getting into a name calling contest with the nastier elements of the RepoTaliban gains them nothing.

marcie, you seem to be really offbase in acting as if Obama's agenda is based on marginalizing right wing mouthpieces. It's a tool to push the agnda, but it's not the agenda. Short version: "Here's my plan (describes plan to varying degrees of depth or nuance). Some people think my plan is (destined to fail/UnAmerican/pro-terrorist/etc.). These are the same people who screwed things up to the point where we are; trust them at your own peril." Not exactly a scorched-earth policy.

Wingers of course presume "the movement" to be much bigger than it actually is.

Progressives are not totally immune to these impulses.

They need to stay away from becoming just another party of attack politics.

Did Sunday School just let out?

I wonder now how much effort must it take to tie the Speaker of the freakin' House of Representatives to the party that ran him as a candidate for office?

That darn Bill Clinton was there no perfidy that he was not capable of?

I'm glad The Corner has such incisive analysts to point out the truth of the matter.

This is the new versions of "It's Clinton's fault."

I have to ask, why the obssession with a minor clown like Limbaugh? Ever since the election every word he utters is reported on, debated, discussed and dissected. He's a self-promoting clown. Can he just be ignored already?

why the obssession with a minor clown like Limbaugh?

Because every time a Republican says anything critical about Limbaugh, within 48 hours they do a 180 and apologize profusely. He is not a minor clown to the Republican rump.

[Trolling deleted by moderator. "Democrat Party" is a dead giveaway that you are a dittohead and a troll.]

Limbaugh is not a leader of the Republican party

Then why to actual officeholders in the Republican Party have to keep groveling in public every time they criticize him?

any more then Soros is a leader of the Democrat party.

Ah, there we go...this unthinking repetition ofa childish attempt at an insult marks you as a Rush listener, or at least an unthinking republican sympathizer (but I repeat myself).

as long as the false connection is msde (as Repubs did with Michael Moore in 2004) personal attacks by the White house will continue.

What false connection? What personal attacks? Obama and the White House point out that Rush is an unpopular figure among mainstream Americans but holds disproportionate power in the Republican Party. And then Rush and the Republicans keep going and proving them right.

Fail.