It’s getting crowded under Rush Limbaugh’s bus. The blowhard de facto Grand Pooh Bah of the tattered GOP is scrambling to blame other Republicans for the stunning loss in the special election in New York’s 23rd Congressional district Tuesday. And, oh by the way, they didn’t really lose.
By now you know the story of the ideological kerfuffle that allowed the Republican stronghold–which hadn’t had a Democrat representing it since the civil war–to slip into the Blue column. Just why the upstate GOP anointed moderate Dede Scozzafava–and then forced her to drop out– is something the backroom honchos can sort out for themselves. Guess no one in New York thought a candidate –even a Repub–who had the audacity to be pro-choice and for gay rights– was such a bad risk. That, of course, was before Limbaugh, Dick Armey and Sarah Palin decided to go RINO (Republican in name only) hunting. Add Newt Gingrich as the voice of reason and the race was a natural for the glare of the national off-year election spotlight.
So when the Palin-Limbaugh backed Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman lost by a few points to the Democrat Bill Owens, Limbaugh, Palin and their cohorts( including Fred Thomspon and Tim Pawlenty) started spinning the loss into a virtual victory.
But first on Wednesday’s show, Rush slammed Gingrich.”The big thinkers like Newt Gingrich screwed this up from the beginning,” Rush huffed. The talk star has been miffed since Gingrich– who actually endorsed Scozzafava–started urging the party to put up a bigger tent and stop slouching towards the fringe. Otherwise, Gingrich said, “Obama will easily win in 2012 and Nancy Pelosi will be Speaker of the House forever.”
Those were fighting words to Limbaugh, who’s been living on that fringe for decades. “By its very definition, a moderate Republican has no principles,” Limbaugh said, eschewing Gingrich ( who by most accounts is still a solid conservative) and anyone else who dares to wave common sense and practical electorate math in his path.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham ventured onto the bloviator’s bad side Wednesday when he warned fellow Republicans: “Those seeking purity, will find themselves in a club, not a party.”
Sarah Palin also got into the act, declaring from her powerful perch on facebook: “The race for NY’s 23rd is not over.It’s just postponed until 2010.” Sorry, Sarachuda, it’s over. They tallied the votes. Your guy lost. You remember losing. It’s different than winning. When you lose, you don’t get to go to Washington and play in that big white house. When you lose you go home, quit your day job, pay someone to write your memoir and watch the dust of your political fortunes float by on your back porch.
Glenn Beck, Mark Levin and the rest of the conservative echo chamber chimed in, too. Here’s their logic in a nutshell: okay maybe Hoffman didn’t exactly win, but he didn’t really lose either. Huh? Yeah, stay with them for a second. They claim that since Owens only won by less than five points and Scozzafava–whose name was still on the ballot –fetched 6%, their guy was practically the winner.
What can we expect from Limbaugh and his ditto heads? Remember, Rush was the guy who got punked by the parody site Jumping in Pools. He ran with their spoof of President Obama’s college thesis, using it as definitive evidence of Obama’s ingrained socialist agenda. Then when he learned it was a big fat joke, Rush unabashedly said, “We stand by the fabricated quote because we know he meant it anyway.” Just the sort of logic you’ll find basking in that crazy oxy refracted light.
Hey, Rush, Beck, Sarachuda, stop spinning already. You’re making everyone dizzy. And oh, yeah, you still lost New York’s 23rd. And if you keep plucking candidates from the lunatic fringe you’re gonna keep losing.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by abwrites: Losing is Almost Winning:Conservatives Spin NY 23 Loss into Victory http://bit.ly/cuR60 via @AddToAny…
Another great article that tells it like it is. When will these people stop changing things around to suit themselves. A win is a win not practically, not just about, not almost – it’s a WIN you fools!!!! It must be in the food chain – too many fools out there. Keep up the good work Amy Beth Arkawy.