Video: GOP Leaders Taking Cues From Rush Limbaugh [UPDATED]

The progressive group Americans United For Change is certainly not the first to attempt to paint GOP opposition to the Obama administration as a set of directives that come straight from the mouth of Rush Limbaugh. But they're certainly making one of the more direct attempts, in a video released yesterday.

[WATCH]

According to Brad Woodhouse, the President for AUFC, the ad will be appearing "on national cable and in the Washington, DC market -- including some Sunday shows - thru the early part of next week."

Woodhouse lays out the thinking behind the ad thusly:

Rush Limbaugh is the leader of the Republican Party. He says jump and Eric Cantor and other Republican leaders say how high. Limbaugh is better known among Republicans than any of the Republicans Leaders in Congress and when he speaks they listen and follow just as they did in opposing en masse President Obama's recovery package.

If you look at the polls which came out earlier this week - Rush Limbaugh led Republicans off a political cliff on the recovery package - and now they are - at his instruction - lining up to oppose the Obama budget and the rest of his agenda hoping - as Limbaugh does - that Obama fails. Of course - the vast majority of Americans want Obama to succeed and they know if he fails America fails. Republicans have adopted this strategy and this ad and a bunch of other stuff our side in planning is gonna make them own it and Limbaugh.

That overall point of view has the potential to gain traction as a core part of the Democratic Party message, as Woodhouse will be leaving his post at Americans United For Change to take over as Communications and Research Director of the Democratic National Committee.

[UPDATE:]

And just like that, comes this news from Greg Sargent:

Top Democratic operatives are planning a stepped up campaign to promote Rush Limbaugh as the public face of the GOP -- an effort that will include recruiting Dem governors to make this case on talk shows, getting elected officials to pen Op eds arguing it, and running more ads pushing it, a senior Democratic operative says.

Key leadership staff in the House and Senate, and in all the political committees, have been encouraged by senior Dem operatives to push this message wherever possible, the operative says.

"I'm encouraging everybody to go out and say this," Paul Begala, the well-known Dem strategist, just told me by phone. "I'm hot for this. Let's get this out every way we can."

Comments

[indy girl]

10:18 AM on 03/05/2009

For ideas about how to get Racist Rush off the airwaves, read this:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/casey-ganemccalla/operation-chaos-ii-get-ru_b_171565.html

[Kevins]

08:06 PM on 03/01/2009

Make the phrase "Pro-failure Republicans".

[redstaterick]

05:27 PM on 03/01/2009

Rush, Sean Hannit;y, and Ann Coulter are the voice of the Republican Party. And that is fine with me. I think that is a reflection of the intellect of the far right. Their attempt to play like a modern day McCarthy and paint every Democratic leader as a Socialist, Terrorist, Communist, Fabianist, will ring hollow with most people with IQ's above 100. Therefore, they are talking to the "base".

[tbone99]

11:00 AM on 03/01/2009

Unfortunately this organization is just giving free advertising to the Repugs and their followers who are not at all ashamed of saying NO to the stimulus.

And talk about playing to Rush's ego! We can only hope it will tempt him into saying something so truly repellent ir will disgust even his followers. Tho I can't imagine what that would be , considering his record.

[Eoin45]

12:03 PM on 03/01/2009

Repugs and their followers aren't the only ones who'll be watching.

[isisdawnra]

12:52 AM on 03/01/2009

Wanting Obama to fail is equal to

Wanting the country to fail

I say this Jerk is a TRATIOR

Note to little rushie:

Look up the word " reality"

clearly you have not grasped the meaning

[CaptainVideo]

12:27 AM on 03/01/2009

Rush is simply stating openly what the strategy of the Republican leadership is.

They are followining the same strategy they used against Clinton during his first 2 years. They obstructed, sabotaged, and defeated his policies. As a result, by the next election Clinton was largely discredited, permitting the Republicans to gain control of Congress, which they retained for the rest of his term.

Since this strategy worked so well against Clinton, they are now using it against Obama. The problem is that if they succeed, they will turn this serious recession into another Great Depression.

All Americans need to work very actively to support Obama and make sure that, in spite of the best efforts of the Republican leadership, Obama succeeds and the Republicans fail.

[lynettema]

12:14 AM on 03/01/2009

"Top Democratic operatives are planning a stepped up campaign to promote Rush Limbaugh as the public face of the GOP -"

With what Rush had to say today, this shouldn't be a hard sell.

[TheModerateVoice]

09:40 PM on 02/28/2009

I hope sensible Democrats will realize how unfair this ad is. Limbaugh does not speak for all conservatives. He certainly does not speak for me.

[uncleT]

09:51 PM on 02/28/2009

I'm sorry but that's how politics works. For how long did the GOP use an element of the lefty fringe to paint all Democrats as out of touch?

[mckinley]

10:00 PM on 02/28/2009

Nor does Barak Obama's once sitting on a board that also included Bill Ayers make Ayers his "associate", much less his mentor...

[CaptainVideo]

12:30 AM on 03/01/2009

Ayers was not the closing speaker at the Democratic convention nor was he given rousing cheers by the people attending.

[armadillious2002]

08:38 PM on 02/28/2009

Rush is the GOP man. I think he should run in 2012. We could bring up all those bites of him praising Bush and the Iraq war and on and on and on. Yep - Rush in 012!

[Pupadup4oBama]

04:59 PM on 03/01/2009

He could NEVER run for POTUS - he's got too much baggage...and he knows it.

[marthlois]

08:36 PM on 02/28/2009

Thankfully, he has truly become the face of the GOP. And this man, with his treasonous language today? Please GOP - let him run for President would ya? Please? The man is fortunate to be living in the US. In a lot of other countries, his head would be off by now. He's either not taking any drugs, or taking way too much. Can't figure it out.

[red-or-green]

08:07 PM on 02/28/2009

I could not believe CNN stopping an inteligient conversation with several
well-informed people on an important topic to cut to RL trash. I overheard
someone say he was to speak for 20 minutes, and it ran to over 90. Yet
CNN followed this triade like it was "news". Is the hate and evil that this
man spews newsworthy? He is a freakin' ENTERTAINER. Maybe CNN
should cover some of Castro's famous windbag presentations, at least
he is/was a real "leader". CNN, you can now join the ranks of FOX, and
I'll get my news elsewhere.

[lynettema]

12:17 AM on 03/01/2009

It is important for people to see the supposed "leader" of the Republican party and what he has to say. This should be like watching a train wreck. Rush's approval rating is in the 20's and will go down after this speech except to hate filled Republicans.

[llstudent]

08:01 PM on 02/28/2009

Well, after just watching Limbaugh at CPAC on CNN, he is the face of the repug party. And the memo about calling it the "democrat" party is in full swing, I heard him use that term many times. Also, there is this new movement afoot by the repugs to have so-called "tea parties" in response to government spending in Washington. Oh and they don't say one thing about the fact that the repug party was in full control for the last 8 years. And then after seeing a piece about the tea parties, I heard Limbaugh mention it in is narcissistic speech. What a gasbag he is, fomenting class warfare and I didnt see one face of color in the audience in that room either. We on the progressive side have got to keep up the heat against these hypocrites and American haters in the neo-con party. And Bolton with his "cute" nuke joke about Chicago, these people don't care about this country, they just care about money and power, period.

[VMA]

08:35 AM on 03/01/2009

They are one sick group!!

[greatlardini]

07:01 PM on 02/28/2009

The conservative movement only cares first about getting power. Good public policy is a distant last. One of Limbaugh's fe.eble attempts at humor today consisted of him saying the base word of community is commune, as if to imply communism. Well, my rotund friend, the base word of conservative is "con", as in against or scam. Take your pick, as they both apply here.

[sposton]

06:45 PM on 02/28/2009

Given a chance Limbaugh's hot air could refloat this economy in no time.

[greatlardini]

06:44 PM on 02/28/2009

I just finished watching that 300 pound sweat soaked megalom.aniac spew 90 solid minutes of lie.s to the adoring faithful at the CPAC. If any sa.ne American (and I'm questioning my own sa.nity after sitting through the whole thing) has any doubts that the conservative movement is a menace to America, well that performance ought to erase them.

[sposton]

07:11 PM on 02/28/2009

Which normal person would be a part of this crowd even one honestly believes in conservative principles? Rush is toxic, don't they realize this? Perhaps dittoheads fall for this kind stuff but it is outright repulsive to millions of people, even those who might agree politically with conservative principles. Fill an arena with a representative section of Americans and let Obama and Rush talk to them. Which one do you think will win over the majority? The polite and amicable one or the rude one?

[learntofly]

07:13 PM on 02/28/2009

Exactly. Couldn't have said it better.

Limbaugh's premise that the GOP's rightful place was stolen by the liberals (which is one dirty bunch of people in their eyes), and they have to be kicked out now REGARDLESS OF THE COST to the American people should be a huge red flag the American people. In his eyes, you're either a 'Libral" or you're the rightful owner of power in America.