Majority of Voters View Limbaugh Negatively, 45 Percent "Very, Very Negatively": Study

The Democracy Corps released results of a public survey on Wednesday that underscores just how astute a political strategy it is for Democrats to tie the Republican Party to Rush Limbaugh.

According to the Democratic polling firm, voters view the conservative talk show host "negatively by a two-to-one ratio (53 to 26 percent), with nearly half the country, 45 percent, viewing him very, very negatively. Among independents, the ratio rises to three-to-one."

In short, Limbaugh is toxic for the GOP brand. But the findings only get worse from there. "By a nearly two-to-one ratio (57 to 32 percent) a majority of voters -- and independents -- say Limbaugh does not "share their values," but Republicans are in a different world where, by two-to-one, they believe he shares them."

The study's authors summarize their findings as such:

"On virtually every question the great majority of the mainstream rejects Limbaugh's ideas and vision of the Republican Party, which severely constrains Republican elected leaders. It does not help that some of the key voters in the 2006 and 2008 elections, like younger voters, are particularly uncomfortable with Limbaugh's politics. Conservative Republican voters, however, embrace Limbaugh, giving him a very high favorability rating; they say he shares their values and urge Republican leaders to defend him when he is criticizing President Obama."

Democrats at large and the White House in particular have begun receiving a bit of blowback for keeping Limbaugh in the news. But those working on the issue insist the focus developed organically, not through a closed-door strategy session among the high-ranks of Democratic leadership. That said, the party realizes it has been handed a political goldmine with the brash talk show host, and they seem more than willing to milk it as long as possible.

Here are some other interesting data points:

* 49 percent of respondents said Limbaugh has too much influence over Republican ideas and direction.
* 15 percent said he has too little influence.
* 62 percent of voters said the GOP was embracing the "same old ideas and leaders it has relied on for the past 20 years" rather than seeking out new leaders and fresh ideas.

Comments

[mjeffn]

Rush who?

[whosyourdaddy]

The guy that has the top radio program in the country.
No wonder so many here appear ill informed.
They are!

[dhinds]

"The guy that has the top radio program in the country."

The RADIO Program (Limbo's level) at the top of the heap of foul smelling conceptual trash, spewing the kind of ignorance, hate and intolerance that let GWB come close to permanently destroying our country.

Did people like you (those that actually listen to this verbal contamination) really think that the rest of us were really going to sit back and allow you to drive America into the ground based on the worst leadership qualities the USA has even seen?

Had the results not been so tragic it would have been a joke, a joke that made America the laughing stock of the world.

Well, those days have ended. It no longer matters what people like him and you say or think, because the rest of the world has seen the true nature of the short comings and falacies your pretexts rely on.

Your days are over and the RP will never occupy the White House again.

So suck out. Stew in your own rage, like Rush. You deserve no more than my middle finger in your ludicrous, ignorant , racist face. You lose! We win. Go back to Faux News.

To end on a positive note:

"Among Nations as Among Individuals, Respect for the Rights of Others Brings Peace"
Benito Juarez, Revered President of Mexico, ex-Supreme Court Justice and Full Blooded Zapotec Indian from Oaxaca

The Tide has Turned
Viva Obama - The Man that Could!

[whosyourdaddy]

The Obama administration has already realized that attacking Rush was a mistake, makes them look petty attacking a private citizen and has, in fact, significantly increased his audience. Furthermore, Liberal leaning journalists have begun criticizing the administration for it's amateurish and thin skinned behavior.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/05/feeding-the-beast-on-rush-attacks/

[Richter]

Citing a Moonie Times' article on Limbaugh is a little like asking Leopold what he thinks of Loeb.

[Jazzman323]

"EIB Q1 Revenue and Listenership Through the Roof Thanks to You."

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_031109/content/01125110.guest.html

[Lex10]

I always say, "There USED to be a Soviet Union." Maybe it's time the party of hate disbanded.

[Fotios]

Democrats and the Obama Administration are loving this, but did nothing to start it. Rush was saying some pretty offensive stuff on the air (as usual) and Republican politicians were denouncing those statements and Rush himself. Then Rush would get upset and the Republicans would apologize. It was only at this point in time when Democrats would comment on the feud going on in the Republican party.

They are imploding and Democrats are milking it, but this was not started or is not continuing because of the Democrats. It is an internal Republican feud and can only be started and stopped by the Republicans. I, for one, hope it rips that party apart into three parties:

1) The fascist, business-crony party
2) The radical Christian extremists
3) The conservative, fiscally responsible party

[DebbieinPhx]

Well put. The man's a hater, plain and simple. I think Rahm was right, he's the face of the GOP, and boy is it an ugly one.

[timetraveler2039]

All you have to do is look at this poor man's face and know that he is about to "splode". He wonders why he can't get a date. No one wants to be in the same room when the "splosion" happens. All that negativity and anger will cover the walls and everyone within a 100 yards of him! Pobrecito! I actually feel sorry for him. What if a bunch of us "liberals" just got together and gave him a group hug! I got it -- get Rush, Coulter and that nutty Savage guy -- maybe a few other ranters and ravers into a big room together and just love all over them -- do you think that might work?

If not, maybe we should just ignore them and put our energies into making contributions toward our recovery -- the first three of the 12 steps might help -- I am powerless over Rush Limbaugh and my life has become unmanageable, a Power greater than myself will restore me to sanity.....

[PegeOne]

The last time I checked, Rush is not a politician and is not running for any office;so who cares what the majority of voters think. Besides, a better headline would read, "Rush's Approval Ratings Still Higher than the Democratic controlled Congress and Lawyers"

[Fotios]

However, the Democrats in Congress have a higher approval rating than Rush and the Republicans in Congress.

[latina27]

AMEN!!!!

[bellindaba]

I listen to "EL RUSHBO" to know FIRST HAND dispicable things he says & whenever he is caught saying something awful...he says he was misquoted. In all of his pontificating about 'PRODUCERS' and 'NON-PRODUCERS' he sits in his multi-million dollar home on the beach in Palm Beach & is traitorous to this nation. He does great damage among those of lower to middle class means that put their trust in him as he capitalizes on their lack of real information. He strokes them while putting down their very existence. From his well financed ivory tower, he and others like him use the backs of the lower to lower middle class working man to fund their agendas while saying that they are simply trumpeting CONSERVATIVE VALUES!!! Limbaugh like "W" and Cheney and others, reels in his supporters by telling them that he is against abortion & taking their guns away while they do their financial plundering throughout this society & the world. It's time to recognize these people for whom they are & expose their not caring that you and your family suffer from not being able to afford health insurance, gas, food, & your mortgage. Where has the middle class gone? Into the bank accounts of these men that slap you on the back, puff their cigar & say, "PULL YOURSELF UP BY YOUR BOOT STRAPS" while they steal your boots.

[DoTheMath]

Great post. You have a stronger stomach than I do. I know that listening to opposing points of view is a responsible, effective part of shaping and preparing to defend one's own views, but when it comes to Rush Limbaugh, I'm afraid I just can't hack it. The brief involuntary exposure I have endured (when visiting my parents), has convinced me that, as you so accurately point out, he's not really expressing his views but putting on a deceitful, manipulative show. Still, it's a deceitful, manipulative show that succeeds in deceiving and manipulating many people, so your efforts to evaluate this phenomenon first-hand are commendable. Your well-informed conclusions confirm my suspicions about the bait-and-switch swindle perpetrated by Limbaugh and his gang. Thanks for sacrificing so much to research this "ugly," "incendiary" source (Hey, they're Steele's words, not mine).

[fictioneer]

Well, at least now there's proof.

[GREYDOG]

Why does Rush Limbaugh and the GOP hate America?

[WorkingClass]

Ditto heads are genetically different from decent human beings. The later have fled the Republican party, not wanting to be associated with the evil Bush administration. Even the snake handlers have lost their enthusiasm for the party. Only the ditto heads remain and Limbaugh is their leader. He literally tells them what to think. Somebody has to do it.

So Rush really is the leader of (what remains of) the Republican party. And since his negatives are so high, it seems like good politics to keep a spot light on him. Yes, Rush is enriched in the process, but he was already a media phenomenon and a zillionair. Now that he is a giant wet blanket on GOP prospects for the future, I say to Rush, live long and prosper.

[concernvoter]

Rush Limbaugh is hurting himself. When you find a person who only have negative remarks about people, that means their life is in turmoil. Limbaugh day is coming when he will have to apologize. We never know where I help may have to come from. We need to learn to love one another as God love us. He died to set us free from sin, but we continue to disappoint the Lord for all our wrong doing.

[Troubledwawa]

Mr. Limbaugh asked for the attention, now he's got it, and his fans are whining.

Go figure.

[latina27]

Noooooo. Actually, we are listening to him a lot more.

[RedWhiteandBrooklyn]

Poor little fool.

[ChefLito]

I feel so sorry for you. perhaps soaps would be better for your level of intellect though

[realpolitic]

The Republican base is defined by a sense of paranoia and Limbaugh exploits their fear that they are under attack. Being that he speaks for their base and over half the public views him negatively, it shows how far the Republican base is from mainstream America. But Republicans, in their paranoia, always feel they must return to their conservative values to win elections. Thus, mainstream Americana and conservatism are parting ways, and loudmouths like Limbaugh are helping the process by steering the party to the far right. Limbaugh does not care. His listeners will always be there.

[silencer]

Your guy Rush pretty much is exactly what Canadians hate about Americans.
Solve that issue and the rest of the world may start liking you folks.

[Jamie Kowalski]

Understood. We are working on it. Some of us, anyway.