Fineman: 'Chief jeerleader' will be Limbaugh, not Palin
By David Neiwert Sunday Nov 16, 2008 4:31pm
On Saturday's Chris Matthews Show, a panel featuring NPR's Michele Norris, Time's Michael Duffy and CNBC's Erin Burnett ponders who's going to be leading the GOP charge against the Obama administration in the coming months. Matthews wonders initially if it will be Sarah Palin, and the guests chew on that briefly, until Howard Fineman sets them all straight:
Matthews: There's a role open right now. It's the Chief Jeerleader. When the new administration takes office, no matter how historically wondrous it is, like Barack Obama's, there's gonna be someone on the other side who leaps to the chance be the person who dumps on the parade every day. Is it gonna be Sarah Palin?
Michele Norris: It's going to be a bit hard for her to do that from Alaska. I mean, some of that depends on -- frankly, it depends on you, you know ... whether you give her the kind of airtime that she needs to do that.
But she's also got to make sure she keeps the people back in Alaska happy. And she's got to improve her favorability ratings there and make sure that she takes care of business. I think perhaps that's a role she sees for herself. But I think that more likely the 'chief jeerleader,' ot use your term, may come out of the Senate, because that's where the real squabbles are going to be as they try to push forward this bailout package.
Matthews: You know, when you look at her, she seems so confident. You wonder whether we keep forgetting that we don't pick the president, they pick themselves, and we choose among them. And as long as she's willing to keep picking herself as a possible candidate for president, she's gonna be in this running.
Michael Duffy: Oh, I think she's done a very smart thing here. She knew that if she was ever gonna come back, she had to put this clothes thing to rest now, this week.
Matthews: Erin, did she put that to bed?
Erin Burnett: Ah, I think that's unclear. I'd like to pause for a second there. I think this speaks to her strengths and her weaknesses. She's incredibly strong in motivating people. She can say quick one-liners, she energizes. But sometimes you say, where's the depth there, where's the substance? There's not really much there behind it. There's not a whole lot of thoughtfulness in her delivery. And sometimes a great politician doesn't really need those things necessarily. So I don't really know the answer to your question, but I don't know that I need to know the answer. Just say that she can be a great politician.
Matthews: You don't need to be that complicated to be a great politician, this is probably true. But that leaves open the big question: Who will be the voice of the opposition for the next couple of months, first year of this administration? Will it be a Pawlenty, a Palin, a Bobby Jindal, Mitt Romney? Will it be John McCain?
Norris: Again -- I don't think it's going to be John McCain. I think we learned a lot about McCain after he ran for election last time, he went back and really rolled up his sleeves and worked. I don't think it's gonna be him. I still think it's going to come out of the Senate. I think it's going to be one of the senators.
Howard Fineman: It won't be out of the Hill at all. It's going to be Rush Limbaugh, and what's left of the conservative commentariat. They are going to be in charge of this party until the Republicans begin to get their act together.
Matthews: So the ticked-off voices.
Fineman: The ticked-off voices, and Rush will be the guy.
If he's right that Limbaugh and the Venom Brigade are going to be in charge of the GOP (and he probably is), the main question remains: Will they just drive the Republican bus deeper into their muddy ditch, or careen it off into a bottomless chasm?
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Oh, please, please, please follow Limballs over the cliff into the swamps!
I trust he has enough oxy for the task ahead.
What would most drive Rush And Sean to hysterics?
Attorney General Hillary Clinton! Set her after the real evildoers and when there is an opening.... Supreme Court Justice Hillary Clinton!
Can't you just hear Rush blustering on air till his head explodes?
Well, I can dream...
Limbaugh and Hannity are dangerous people IMO. They both should be watched by the FBI. When is someone going to look into that Freedom Concert Charity and see where the money really goes?
Cheerleader is the one job he did well.
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Rush would make a great WhhhaaaaPublican Jeerleader.
p.s.
Anyone else having difficulties logging in and staying logged in?
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you'll get an "Access denied" message on subsequent threads (or the homepage)opened in separate tabs. I have to remember to login at the homepage first.
Not sure if that's what you're getting?
and his pederast flings in the Dominican Republic.
I think it's important to remember that Limpblob doesn't just voice the anger of the idiot right, he also distributes the talking points created out of (filthy) whole cloth by the myriad fascist think-tanks that, in essence, prop up the bullshit point of view of the wingnut mob.
For instance, look at how successfully the right has absorbed and accepted the idea that the mortgage crisis is the fault of the Community Reinvestment Act, Fannie Mae, Jimmy Carter, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd et al. It doesn't matter that it's a lie, it serves it's purpose; to keep the morons angry at everyone except those who are really ripping the "angry white male" demographic off, the rich ass*oles who fund the reich-wing think-tanks that create those very talking points.
Sad, sick, pathetic, true.
country
watch for the following guy to start making the rounds of all the right wing talk holes
burton fulsom, jr....a prof from hillsdale college, who has written a book called "new deal or raw deal"
he theorizes that roosevelt extended the depression through his new deal policies, and like joe the plumber, believes that higher taxes halt entrepeneurs from creating jobs
heard him today, and he has already started the rallying cry to stop the new, new deal
thing i dont get, is how is it, if the coolidge and reagan policies were so damn good...why did they fail?
that's exactly the point. fineman was correct for that very reason, even if he did not explicitly state that.
the media distribute the talking points, starting with limpballs and brit hume.
"And now the liberals want to stop President Reagan from selling chemical warfare agents
and military equipment to Saddam Hussein, and why? Because Saddam allegedly gassed a
few Kurds in his own country. Mark my words. All of this talk of Saddam Hussein being a
war criminal or commiting crimes against humanity is the same old thing - liberal hate speech.
And speaking of poision gas, I say we round up all the drug addicts and gas them."
-- Rush Limbaugh, November 3, 1988
This quote sounded a little too good to be true, so I checked it out on snopes, it isn't real:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/limbaug...
Yes, as much as I hate Rush, that quote seemed phony to me the second I read it. He's said enough real absurd things over the years that we don't need to make anything up.
have Rush & Sean and all the other birdbrains to parrot their talking points, we are going to be subjected to all that hot air.
More and more, it's "Them vs. Us" but thank the good earth that there are more of Us than Them.
Now, if the true Repubs can come up with honest rebuttle, we may have worthy adversaries but I won't hold my breath.
With the exception of Fineman, who does seem to have a realistic perspective, the rest of this panel is out to lunch. Do they not understand the message sent by the voters on November 4? And Tweety---what the hell is with you? Are you a Neocon/Republican enabler? Do you not get the fact that the Neocon philosophy and MO are DOA? Denial is not a river in Africa, buster. It looks like the MSM/Corporate media has learned nothing from the results of the election, continuing to softpedal the major problems of the Repubs and acting as if the election results were irrelevant.
Sarah Palin's 15 minutes of fame were up a week ago. The Repubs got an ass kicking in the election, making it obvious that they need an extreme makeover. Why don't you media hacks get a clue and connect yourself with reality instead of shilling for losers?
The corporate media is hard up for eyeballs. Matthews above all is a corporate tool used to round up political junkies, create controversy out of nothing, and fatten the pockets of his bosses. The media may at times lean left or right but at all times leans green.
'nuff said!
but I watched the usually insipid Howie Kurtz show on CNN this morning and it was surprisingly entertaining. Sarah Palin got dissed big-time.
ps, Embittered, I've also had the log-out problem and major trouble loading videos. You are not alone with the glitches.
i run firefox. i have terrible problems running videos on this site. no problems anywhere else.
He has a double, I swear I saw him and the double. Wha? That was just Rush? Wow, that is double.
A divisive mean-spirited pill popping cripple mocking loudmouthed limp dicked fat ass wingnut blowhard is going to lead the opposition against Obama? That's the best the Rethuglicans can come up with? Oh goodie! That's exactly what America wants now! That'll go over like a lead ballon! Maybe Rush will cost the Rethugs a few more house seats than they would have already lost 2010! I can hardly wait!
limpballs will keep the fires stoked until a "legit" repub figurehead will take over.
how long will that last?
criticizing Obama and the ineffectual Dims.
I think that's why Rupert Murdoch SUPPORTED Obama: to have sufficient fodder for the fire for the near future.
bingo!!!!!!!!!!!
or the douchebag gov of Fla (I forgot his name)
Charlie Crist?
Ditto!
Ruck Fush!
Buck Fush, too!!!!!
I'm thinking of other religious and political movements led by angry, sadistic, drug addled, impotent, hate mongering, delusional gasbags with messianic complexes.
Sounds like the goods are already available. All that is needed is someone to report them.
I'd like to pause for a second there. I think this speaks to her strengths and her weaknesses. She's incredibly strong in motivating people. She can say quick one-liners, she energizes. But sometimes you say, where's the depth there, where's the substance? There's not really much there behind it. There's not a whole lot of thoughtfulness in her delivery.
For the past few days I've been trying to put my finger on the perfect description of Palin's style. This is it.
AND THAT IS WHY THE RISE IN THE POLLS ONLY LASTED THREE DAYS.
Yet Matthews just glosses over it and completely misses the point. Who the fuck cares if somebody is an energizing politician if they don't know enough to lead the country? I don't care how much experience that bimbo gets under her belt, she does not have the smarts or the demeanor to keep our country on the right track. She still scares the hell out of me.
This is a right-wing talking point that I am so, so sick of hearing: the liberals are all quaking in terror over Palin. You are the first person I have heard actually *say* "she scares me." Does she really? You are genuinely afraid?
The only way I would be scared of Sarah is if she were flying over me in a helicopter.
man, everyone just watch and see, Fineman's head is like a crystal ball, he's going to be 100% correct that it'll be Limpbaugh, Shamity and Bill'O-job doing the dirty work so the republicans can do their best to obstruct progress while keeping the illusion of cooporation.
of delay and gingrich
and fux's hume
maybe. But you don't have to be Nostradamus to look back to 1993-1994.
There has been a purging, in the GOP, of anyone with a modicum of intellect. About all that is left are those that take Limbaugh and Hannity seriously. Limbaugh only cares about his contract so hell yes he'll lead them off a cliff.
This is absolutely AWESOME. The only thing better would be Palin in charge.
"Michele Norris: I mean, some of that depends on -- frankly, it depends on you, you know ..."
There is a certain irony in the corporate jeerleaders sitting around and debating who their new jeerleader in chief will be as though we are all too stupid to know that they are the ones who elect and anoint.
it's the Party of Limbaugh!
no single human represents the morals and principles of the republican party better than Limbaugh and no one has done more, as the point man for rove's most important media weapon, to get the GOP to this point in history.
Fineman has a point. Although, Rush has been the GOP. But hannity and Beck are battling him for the top. We know Drug use, multiple marraiges are pre-requisites for GOP famedom. That doesn't leave hannity much time to get convicted of something and or divorced and remarried. Maybe Hannity could be caught on a date with Mark Foley?
Beware, Palin can smell the GOP outhouse from her home in Alaska.
And she has an army of Joe the Plumbers, Newt the Noodler, Rush the ralpher, Rupert the News guy, Bill Kristol the mistake and Gorgon the Witch doctor..
That is GREAT NEWS...
RL can take his rightful place as the voice of IRRELEVANCY
With Rush and his pundits of hatred they will have the same audience that sees the Worldwide Wrestling Federation as a legitimate sporting event. . . yeah right. One circus act will morph into another circus act.
Please flush on the way out!
I'm a believer that Limbaugh and Hannity are wrestlers, but i think most pundits are essentially Pro-wrestlers in their use of archetypes and theatrics.
http://punditfight.blogspot.com/search/label/...
I've devoted an entire blog on that fact, complete with Limbaugh wrestling figures.
http://punditfight.blogspot.com/search/label/...
I think Rush has and always will be the leader for the GOP. Rush, as a man of influence and a pundit will never be held accountable for his actions as his influence is based entirely on rhetoric. It's like basing a politicians reputation on Election Campaigns alone.
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