From Political Animal at Washington Monthly:
AND THEN THERE WERE FIVE…. Last week, Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R) of Kansas was asked whether Rush Limbaugh was the “de facto leader of the GOP.” Tiahrt rejected the idea out of hand, telling the Kansas City Star, “No, no, he’s just an entertainer.”
This is, of course, the one line elected Republican officials are not supposed to cross. Limbaugh is to be revered, not dismissed.
Original DVD cover.
left (left?) to right: Mark Sanford, Todd Tiahrt, Ex-Rep. Jim Tedisco, Rush Limpdick
It took a couple of days, but as Amanda Terkel noted, Tiahrt’s office is now anxious to let everyone know how much the congressman loves the right-wing blowhard.
Asked about the episode and resulting Web buzz, Tiahrt spokesman Sam Sackett said Tiahrt was not speaking negatively about Limbaugh but was trying to defend him against the suggestion that Limbaugh could be blamed for the GOP’s woes.
“The congressman believes Rush is a great leader of the conservative movement in America — not a party leader responsible for election losses,” Sackett told The Eagle editorial board. “Nothing the congressman said diminished the role Rush has played and continues to play in the conservative movement.”
For those keeping score at home, this is reversal #5 for Republicans who’ve been critical of Limbaugh recently. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) groveled for Rush’s forgiveness in late January, and Gov. Mark Sanford’s (R-S.C.) office quickly backpedaled after the governor said, “Anyone who wants [President Obama] to fail is an idiot.” RNC Chairman Michael Steele, of course, humiliated himself in early March, and a couple of weeks later, Jim Tedisco, the Republican candidate in the special election in New York’s 20th, felt compelled to backpedal after saying Limbaugh is “meaningless” to him.
…snip…
[It’s] a reminder that arguably the three most prominent voices in Republican politics today are Limbaugh, Cheney, and Gingrich.
HYSTERICAL RAISINS 
why do liz cheney and megan mccain get microphones? and darth cheney: “redefining the ex-vice-presidency” just like he re-defined the vice presidency. blah blah blahity blah.
stoopid republican’ts.
i have no idea, jenn. if not for their last names, nobody would give a crap what either of them has to say.
Lots of good backpedaling did for Tedisco. He lost.
Speaking of Jimmy Disco, he has the most ridiculous expression on his face. Where did you get that from?
neon vincent,
i was shocked and thrilled to find out that he lost. now it’s just a matter of getting him to admit it. i wonder how much more money the rnc is going to pay lawyers to fight the results.
i saw the pic and immediately knew it was the one i wanted to use. every once in a while, i get lucky like that. the pic was from the albany times-union.
And we should do quite well in the next election if they three mosquito’s keep opening their pieholes. 😉
tedisco threw in the towel today, so i don’t think we’ll be hearing much from him in the near future! 😀 i wonder how much the other rethugs will think about how kissing up to limpdick didn’t help tedisco very much in a very rethug-leaning district. will they ever wake up and realize that they are repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot whenever they open their mouths?
What does it say for your party that if you speak ill of a drug-addled, failed disc jockey who didn’t vote until his late 30s that you now have to run for cover? I’m guessing, nothing good.
and what does it say when you kiss said failed disc jockey’s ass and it still doesn’t get a rethug elected in a conservative district? i think it says that the rethuglican party couldn’t find its own ass with a flashlight and a map.
This is becoming a recurring joke.
GOP politician: “Rush Limbaugh is only an entertainner.”
(next day)
Same GOP Politician: “Rush Limbaugh is a superior American patriot whom I adore and respect with every fiber of my being.”
Limbaugh is THE de fatso leader of the GOP. If you do not love and respect him, you have no future in the Republican party.
heh heh heh
de fatso leader!! i love it! 😆
i love how the rethugs love to posture themselves as though they are macho. meanwhile, they cower to that steaming pile of flabby self-serving stupidity. let them keep worshiping at the altar of rushbo all the way out of office.
Hey, watch what you say, Nonnie.
Add up all the macho Republicans in office and combined they have more than six months of military service.*
*if you count the National Guard
the rethug congressional caucus isn’t half as macho as it used to be now that heather wilson is gone. 😉