RSS Feed MenuThis weekend’s Newsweek carries a story by me about Rush Limbaugh and the GOP.
Related stories from the NewMajority Scroll:
Limbaugh at CPAC
The Cringe of Recognition
How the Dems Use Rush
A reader writes to criticize my Rush Limbaugh piece.
A discussion on Rush Limbaugh and the GOP from Hardball with Chris Matthews.
Cover image courtesy of Newsweek.
mjmiller18 // Mar 12, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Just finished your piece in Newsweek about Limbaugh. I’ve been waiting for a conservative to present their arguments in a clear and forthright manner. I have never liked Limbaugh and now I find it repugnant that representatives of the Republican party do not have the backbone to stand up to Limbaugh and actually apologize for criticizing him.
I consider myself an Independent leaning towards liberal. I’ve voted for Republican when their ideas made sense. Your article in Newsweek has gotten me to look at and bookmark this website. I probably will not agree with you most of the time. But, at least I will be willing to read and consider what you have to say.
gymeeks // Mar 12, 2009 at 7:27 pm
From the liberal left, these folks are tough. Mr. Frum I agree with your words 100%, but I guess my endorsement of your views do not help you with your conservative friends. With that said, let’s remove the labels, and let me just say thanks as a proud American that appreciate moderate thinking. I use to always say the Rush Limbaugh and Jesse Jackson types never have or had America in their best interest. The two of them are at their peak when the country is divided.
USA vs. Obama // Mar 13, 2009 at 6:49 am
Dear Mr. Frum,
Regarding your News Week opinion piece: you seem like an intelligent man with a pleasant demeanor from the times I have seen you on television however it is stunning how uninformed you are. First, Rush has stated many times that he is not, and does not want to be the leader of the Republican party. Second, you stoop to accepting many half-truths about Rush With his private plane and his cigars, his history of drug dependency and his personal bulk, not to mention his tangled marital history, Rush is a walking stereotype of self-indulgence. What is wrong with having a private plane? What is wrong with smoking cigars? Personal bulk is that a fat joke from an effete snob?
Whatever Rushs moral failings are Im sure you have just as many because every man that walks this earth does he always admits them. He also overcomes them and sets an example that we all can too. Further, you must have forgotten to mention the extraordinary generosity Rush has shown with his personal wealth. Do we want that kind of generosity to be the face of the Republicans?
Once I got past your childish insults and shallow thinking I realized that you must be jealous of Rush. You are an insignificant man who thinks his opinions are important. When the establishment-media comes looking for a stooge to use to criticize the most effective conservative communicator, you jump at the chance. You wish that you had as much influence as Rush and that you were as loved and admired as he is by so many.
I think the point of the piece that you wrote is that Rush and the people in the party like him(aka the base or conservatives) are the problem. That is the essence of the argument the Republican party is having. You say they should be treated with respect and then you go on to insult their most prominent voice. In reality you, and those like you are why this party is in such bad shape. You worked for a president that did some good like modest tax cuts, judicial appointments and the war but President Bush also presided over record spending while he had a Republican Congress. He was not a conservative but a moderate. He showed no leadership when it came to the philosophy of the Republican party and neither do you. This lack of conservative leadership is why we had the disastrous candidacy of the moderate John McCain.
The Republican party will start winning again when the conservatives, like Rush, take control of the party. If the moderates and the elitists get control, then they will continue to be a minority party. I believe that this is why people like you are taking shots at Rush. I think that the elitists in the party would rather be a minority party than be humiliated by sharing a party with regular(conservative) people.
coleman // Mar 13, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Paul Tillich could have been writing about Mr. Limbaugh:
“The weakness of the fanatic is that those whom he fights have a secret ld upon him; and to this weakness he and his group finally succumb.”
Limbaugh is in a match he can’t win. Thank you, David, for distancing yourself and other moderates from this unmitigated disaster of having Rush Limbaugh speak for for the GOP.
Badger Boy // Mar 15, 2009 at 2:21 pm
You hit the nail on the head in your article on Rush Limbaugh; and, thank goodness, there is someone within the Republican Party who has the courage to tell it like it is. Rush is a movement person with no loyalty to the party; he is, in fact, the ultimate “Republican in Name Only.” He is a divisive force who, if followed, will continue the Party in its current status as a regional, fringe, irrelevant voice in American politics. Only a Republican who will distance himself from Rush will have any chance of becoming a national figure with appeal to a majority of voters. Opinions, no matter how harshly stated, do not constitute ideas.
zachg2 // Mar 15, 2009 at 11:51 pm
Mr. Frum, Read the comments. More liberals agree with you than conservatives. Your supposed new “Majority” appears to me to want to divide the Republican Party more than grow the Republican Party. Camile Paglia has way more sense in her than you appear to, and I disagree with her politics. I find it laughable that you think you have the answer and that it to tear down those that should be your allies. You don’t see liberals trying to destroy each other like you seem to want to destroy Rush. I don’t always agree with Rush, but we need him. How can you actually try to suggest you have the answer to “building a conservatism that can win again” (by the way, I find it quite presumptuous that you think you are going to redefine conservatism – it’s doing fine without you, thanks) and your first public move, that anyone noticed, is to get rid of Rush and anyone else who “embarrasses us” at your D.C tail parties? Do you want to become a party of irrelevance? I don’t believe you have enough of a following to alienate a conservative with 20,000,000 plus listeners and come out on top. To paraphrase Rush – “I hope you fail”
You are no leader of consequence in the Republican Party. Quit pretending to be.
P.S. I saw one of your lap dogs was trying to destroy Bobby Jindal as well. Need I say more….
rightsusan // Mar 16, 2009 at 7:09 am
It is flatly astonishing that anyone can be a LimBaugh (or Oberman) supporter or fan. And how is it possible that a man (Frum) who repeatedly calls for civil discourse could come under fire from people who claim to be defenders of democracy (and believe me, anyone who could have ever supported the myopic PNAC or the Bush, Cheney, bin Laden triumvirate) could never be a liberal no matter what people wish to call him. When issues are debated with shouts only the loud are heard. Fortunately the vast majority have better sense, but LimBaugh and Oberman (and their unholy prodigy) are destroying democracy itself by being bombastic. Shame on the networks for broadcasting them, fie on those would would support their verbal diarrhea with advertising. Only when these pretenders are sidelined will America resume its place as a great nation. America is not a two-party democracy, it is a nation caught in a cold civil war and democracy cannot exist in a nation fighting with itself. To think otherwise is to fool oneself.
rightsusan // Mar 16, 2009 at 7:24 am
PS: It’s Frum and Crystal that the left fears — not Lim Baugh; oddly it might be a point of consensus upon which a new America could be forged since the right suffers night-sweats over the same people — remarkably, for the same reasons. Gawd, what a country!
rightsusan // Mar 16, 2009 at 2:31 pm
(my last word on this…)
I just watched the entire limBaugh speech again and boyz can that guy deliver! Anyone who knows his audience as well can stand justly proud (and he basically says that Obama is better at it than he is — rare humility?).
He talks about the “earners” at the top of the food chain having historically given about $11 Trillion to the placated poor and makes a compelling argument that they’ve been ‘taught to be poor’.
Where his logic entirely fails is that the economy is something humans have created but the Earth is something God created. It’s a fundamental difference of opinion; does anyone have the right to receive, from bail-out funds, a multi-million dollar bonus for having contributed their talents toward the greatest loss off asset value in history, while a fellow human who salutes the same flag (or any other for that matter — one Earth) goes without food and shelter?
It’s a matter of perspective — I can’t get beyond the evidence that limBaugh is looking at the world from ten feet off the ground [in sluggish bounces] when so many others (Frum included) soar at ten thousand feet.
Ouroboros // Mar 19, 2009 at 8:50 am
David, you really need to start mixing it up in the comments section. Nothing productive will come of this site until you get deeper into a dialogue. That said, what are your policy disagreements with Mr. Limbaugh?
coleman // Mar 19, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Limbaugh is the mouthpiece for Crony Capitalism. As true populism emerges in America as the public starts to grasp the dimensions of the problem (almost unfathomable) and who is guilty – Wall Street crooks and political hucksters from both parties – Limbaugh will be seen for what he is: a wider Cheney, another member of the kleptocracy.This piece from “Rolling Stone” says it all:http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/26793903/the_big_takeover?utm_source=daily-newsletter&utm_medium=email
wil13 // Mar 21, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Just read your article in Newsweek and disagree with you. I’m not one of Rush’s dittoheads, but I did hear him say that he hope Obama’s policies fail. Although he later repeated the media’s comments that he hope Pres Obama fails. However, he then went on to explain that like an opposing team, he wanted his team (Republicans) to win and not the other team (Democrats). I lean Republican but will vote for a Democrat who has principles. I believe you as a Conservative criticising another Conservative, only serves the other team and does damage to your side. Like our politicians, I cannot understand why they don’t trash out their differences behind closed doors and come out with solutions. Instead, they bash each other in public to the world.
Churl // Mar 23, 2009 at 1:38 am
Poor Frum. He reached the peak of his political influence with the Newsweek article and it’s all downhill for him now. The Obama campaign (Obama has yet to form an administration) has decided to drop the Limbaugh jihad and the national media therefore have no further need for “conservatives” carping at talk radio. Frum’s single biggest accomplishment: helping to increase Limbaugh’s audience.
ggusta // Mar 23, 2009 at 7:20 pm
this site peaked with your limbaugh cover, the rest of the content lacks anything to engage my interest. later.
coleman // Mar 24, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Today Rush referred to the President as “Barack Ogabe”:http://mediamatters.org/limbaughwire/2009/03/24#0023This idea that America is now governed by “an uppity black man and his angry wife”, well…does the GOP have a death wish?Obama is now vulnerable on a myriad of policy fronts, he can be challenged on substantive issues, yet Limbaugh is still furious that Obama is a black man with strong opinions. Yes, he’s black – get over it.
akienm // Mar 27, 2009 at 2:09 pm
You start off this article with your bona fides. I’ll do the same. I am not a conservative. I’ve never been a conservative. I by and large have not supported any conservative agenda. I only registered with this site in order to leave a comment on this article.That said, I want to thank you for one of the most well reasoned and thoughtful bits of writing I’ve read from the conservative party. If everything you folks had to say was this well thought out, this based on the needs of the country as a whole, my political outlook might well be very different. I walk away from this reading a little more hopeful than I was before about the prospects of reaching across the gap between the parties. Thank you once again.
VerityJones // May 12, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I was very encouraged by your article, Mr. Frum. I think Rush Limbaugh has greatly degraded political discourse in this country and generated a great deal of partisan hostility, which is unnecessary, unproductive and inappropriate. We are Americans. That is our team. It is not in our best interest as a nation to be divided into hostile camps, especially when our similarities are so much greater than our differences. When we have legitimate outside enemies, people who encourage us to be at each other’s throats work against the national interest. The two parties can balance each other through debate and proper political process. If handled respectfully and productively, it actually make us stronger by keeping us looking at information we might not immediately consider. This can strengthen us as a society. Rush Limbaugh doesn’t have the intellect or strength of character to lead the Republican party. His drive for power is not only at his party’s expense, but at his country’s expense. This is unacceptable. Because he is a nasty, but powerful man, I admire your courage in writing such an honest and strong critique of his role in the party.
tcostlow // May 19, 2009 at 1:01 pm
David, your article is brilliant. I was chased away from conservatism by people like Limbaugh, and one of the greatest things to come from the loss of the election is the necessity to rebuild the movement in the right way.This is a great start.
Shootist // May 31, 2009 at 8:36 am
“The neo-cons ceased to be realists in foreign policy in the mid nineties. Moreover, they continued to agitate for continued US subsidies to keep Israel socialist. Leave out the notion that it is Israel: keeping them socialist through subsidies is an ideological matter. Israel would be a lot better off without all the socialism. Conservatives know that. Neocons do not seem to. From the collapse of the Soviet Union on the neocon strategy diverged from traditional conservatism. Eventually the egregious Frum was permitted to read out of the Conservative movement all those who did not support the new neocon Imperialism. I gather National Review has begun to regret that, but not enough to apologize to Stephen Tonsor for allowing the egregious Frum to insult him in the pages of NR. It was easy to see that the neocons were Jacobins after about 1995.” – Jerry Pournelle Thursday, October 27, 2005For this reason alone I see no reason to support the neo-cons. Rush is right.
umuolo // Jun 10, 2009 at 3:59 am
Conservative were suppose to care about people, and not just the very rich and well to do. Mr. Frum, I enjoyed your article very much. These things needed to be said. Afetr listening to Hannity, Rush and Beck, you have to wonder whether these guys really believe this garbage they spew out every day, or are we just that stupid to believe them. I mean, Rush makes gazillion dollars to tell every one else they are wrong and only he has the answer. Yet, I don’t see him stepping to the plate to run for office, to put up or shut up. I mean, you have to be so hateful of Americans to see them suffering as he calls it and not want to offer your service, by jumping into the frail and get the government to work again for the people. Of course being Rush, Hannity and Beck can afford to tell every one else their problem because they are the smartest guys in America. Yet, the same bunch have managed to seat every play on the side line.I respect people who try even if they fail. I have respect for President Bush for trying to be part of the solution, even though he failed.
grackle // Jun 17, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Go to Limbaughs website and key McCain into the sites search engine. What youll get is almost a thousand hits. El Rushbo loved/loves talking about McCain always in a negative vein of course. Next ask yourself, if you are a Republican, why you lost the last election and now have Obama in the drivers seat along with a fawning MSM, a Democrat controlled Congress and a public growing more ignorant and compliant every day they are spoon fed pro-Obama propaganda. Of course Limbaugh didnt lose the election all by himself but given the size and extreme loyalty of his followers it has to be admitted that he certainly helped by verbally blackjacking the GOPs candidate every chance he got.
Jim Pier // Jun 25, 2009 at 9:20 pm
I would contend that Mr. Frum is to some extent pulling an Obama here — taking down straw men. I doubt there are a lot of conservatives and even less so Republicans who consider Rush the leader of the party or the movement. Now, Obama definitely wants to set it up that way, but doesn’t his engaging with Rush diminish Obama more than it hurts conservatism?Frum is right about a shift in focus to free-market health care reform. He could add to that school choice and other education reforms, and the big one, entitlement reform. All of these issues can be framed to appeal to a very broad spectrum of voters.Finally, I have become convinced that the only way we will get through to enough Americans on the idea of reducing the size of government is to make the cost of the Leviathan painfully real. Running huge deficits allows liberalism to be accepted with nary a whimper, as people get all that government without paying the true price. The GOP ought to begin now to champion a balanced budget amendment. It will take a long time to build support. It will require continuous education of voters about economics. I think one could aptly draw a parallel between that long-term campaign, and the one led by Buckley and Reagan from the 60s to 1980. It looked crazy impossible at first, but by sticking to the message and staying true to timeless principles, they finally ushered in the Reagan Revolution. Nobody believes that Rush is the new Reagan. There is currently a vacuum at the top of the GOP. New leaders surface all the time, and one will surface before too long for the New Majority.
joedee1969 // Aug 17, 2009 at 8:53 am
The far right is wrong:
http://americaspeaksink.com/2009/04/limbaugh-and-hannity-hurt-conservatism/
http://americaspeaksink.com/2009/05/fight-the-republican-purge/
mspacman // Aug 31, 2009 at 12:27 pm
If Frum was a conservative, he would have more authority on any topic involving conservative politics.
Frum is one of the leading problems with the GOP.
songspiritUSA // Oct 9, 2009 at 1:07 am
People who don’t like Limbaugh don’t listen to him. Nor do they think very clearly about their politics and the past/present/future of this country. I should know – I was once one of those people. (BTW, I have a college degree). But I’ve come home. And the more I listen, the more I “get it”. To read your article, I get why Mark Levin thinks you’re a jerk. You – and the Gingrich quote you use – talks about conservative viewpoints and positions as though they are something to be marketed to interest groups. You have been sold on the libs’ version of dividing the country into interest groups as though we have different interests and are a bunch of shallow targets to be “sold” something. If what you are “selling” is genuinely meritorious and timeless, you won’t have to bother. To “sell” conservatism is a load which contributes to the long-term problem – that we have become a divided nation full of people who have given up their God-given rights to the nanny state. It’s time to reclaim what we were, and what we could be, and to help our fellow Americans know those values. If you don’t like those conservative values, those our Founders fought and died for, then find another country – leave ours the hell alone! As to say, well people disagree on what America is, conservatives argue on the merits. The libs defraud – and we’re seeing that today. I agree that libs don’t like that, and they have been (thus far) more effective in their “marketing”. But after this year and no doubt the next, true conservatives won’t have a problem telling people the truth. And Limbaugh (and Mark Levin) are dead-on, amongst others – a group which doesn’t include you, from what I read.