Reactions to story from Politics, Political News, Campaign 2008 - Politico.com - Politico.com

• 

  Sunday reading: The lady in the pantsuit

  http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0508/Sunday_reading_T...
  148 days ago in Ben Smith's Blog - Politico.com · Authority: 3,637

  Obama's Kentucky coal ad, which makes "clean coal" seem rather immediate, YouTubed for your viewing pleasure. The campaign, atypically, still hasn't put it on the Web, as far as I can tell. Hillary: "It's not over until the lady in the
• 

  Rush On Elections

  http://www.deanesmay.com/2008/05/11/rush-on-elections/
  148 days ago in Defending the liberal tradition in history, science, and philosophy. — Dean’s World · Authority: 410

  Rush Limbaugh only sees his influence growing this election year. Hard to know how much of that is just self-serving hype and how much is real
• 

  Limbaugh Wins As Election’s Biggest Manipulator

  http://www.roryoconnor.org/blog/2008/05/13/rush-limbaugh-the...
  146 days ago in Media is a Plural · Authority: 30

  With Democratic enthusiasm waxing, Republican energy waning, and more than four out of five voters convinced the country is now on the wrong track, one would think hard-right wing talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh would be near-suicidal. But no! As it stands, Limbaugh – now in his twentieth year as the universally acknowledged “Grand Poobah” of talk radio, with an estimated weekly audience of about 13.5 million listeners — looks to be the biggest winner thus far in the ongoing Presidential primary sweepstakes. From attacking Republican frontrunner John McCain early in the process to ‘dreaming’ of – and some say illegally calling for — riots at August’s Democratic National Convention in Denver, all the way to more recent efforts such as “Operation Chaos,” aimed at inserting himself and his followers into the Democratic primaries in an attempt to weaken Barack Obama by supporting Hillary Clinton, the so-called “Limbaugh effect” has garnered excessive attention from the ‘drive-by’ mainstream media that Limbaugh purports to hate but actually depends on and manipulates adroitly. Although the real-world effect of “Operation Chaos” is doubtful – at least in terms of influencing the Democratic primaries – it has clearly been wildly successful in its real mission of promoting Limbaugh and his nationally syndicated radio program. Front page coverage in The Washington Post, cover treatment from Time magazine, prominent placement on ABC News, a glowing feature article on the influential Politico.com site—the examples of Limbaugh’s clever salesmanship are everywhere. As Politico’s Jonathan Martin put it, “Limbaugh’s skills as a political provocateur, as much P.T. Barnum as conservative ideologue, are such that he can fuel buzz in the political-media world like few others. In other words, Operation Chaos was good box office, and that may well have been the point.” Well of course it was the point! Limbaugh himself admitted it in an email exchange with Martin, wherein he wrote, “In my universe, there is no doubt it worked like a charm. My audience loved it, they participated in it, they had fun with it, as did I.” Limbaugh’s clever politico-media manipulation was aided and abetted by Democratic operatives and supporters of Obama for obviously partisan reasons – despite ample evidence that there was as much bluster as basis for the claims that right wingers had crossed over in droves to support Clinton in Texas and Ohio contests and more recently in Indiana. (For example, David Axelrod, Obama’s top strategist, repeatedly assured reporters that he attributed Clinton’s victory in Indiana to “Operation Chaos.”) Although it is unsurprising that Obama’s flacks spent a lot of time and effort noting and promoting the so-called “Limbaugh effect,” Obama supporter and onetime presidential wannabe John Kerry really should have known better than to claim Clinton only won Indiana as a result of Limbaugh’s intervention. Limbaugh’s play is so transparent as to be laughable – yet the increasingly pathetic mainstream media is either unwilling or unable to resist his efforts to re-inject himself into the ongoing ‘news narrative’ and ‘media conversation,’ in part because they covet his audience and hope to bask in the reflection of his prominence. Limbaugh himself is unabashed, asking, “How many of the MSM hope I will mention something they said or wrote? Many of these outlets are losing circulation, ad revenue and audience. I am not. So, they love me mentioning them so that people know they exist.” Limbaugh is right—and I have come with great reluctance (but also great evidence) to expect little more than pandering on the part of Big Media, particularly at its crucial intersection with Big Politics. And talk radio – a once-moribund format that in the past two decades has risen from the ashes to become, “literally, the talk of the nation — second only to country music in the number of stations that carry it” – is undeniably politically powerful. Its total audience is now nearly 50 million listeners, according to the Arbitron ratings service. Moreover, its actual influence vastly outweighs even those numbers. As Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers magazine, an industry trade journal recently noted, the bottom line is that “Talk radio is where the voters are.” But in their unending quest to reach those voters, leading Democrats such as Kerry, Axelrod (and, by extension, Barack Obama) who are playing along with Rush may soon find they are playing with fire — and as the late political pundit Bob Marley once eloquently phrased it, “Catch a fire—you’re gonna get burned.” For one thing, bolstering claims that the largely non-existent “Limbaugh effect” is actually playing a crucial role in the Democratic nominating process means that Limbaugh will continue to hold his fire against John McCain, as he tries the delicate dance of consolidating support from the Republican base while still striving to attract moderate and independent voters. For another, it means granting further legitimacy and power to El Rushbo, an out-and-out, avowed enemy who will then spend the next eight years doing everything he can to foil the Democrat’s—and democratic—process. Perhaps that is part of the ‘post-partisan’ political future the Obama camp envisions – or maybe it’s just politics as usual? (Editor’s note: Rory O’Connor’s new book, “Shock Jocks: Hate Speech and Talk Radio,” will be published later this month by Alternet.org.)
• 

  MAINdigest

  http://mainvoice.org/blog/2008/05/maindigest_5120.html
  147 days ago in MAIN*BLOG: the MAINvoice in the community · Authority: 1

  And a happy monday to you too! Slattery news alert dinged... Here is why the Blue Dog Democrats are blocking veterans benefits.... yeah.. seriously. Call Dennis Moore and ask if he's one of them... An aide to a Blue Dog said leadership made the mistake of taking them for granted. HRC's aides yesterday "continued to insist that she will remain in the race even while confirming" that she is $20M in debt (Washington Post). Meanwhile, she "has summoned her top fundraisers to a meeting" at her DC home on 5/14 "to talk about the road ahead" (New York Daily News). John Edwards said yesterday that Obama is the "likely" nominee and that HRC is "in a very tough place" ("Face the Nation"). Carly Fiorina, a McCain economic aide fired from Hewlett Packard for spying on board members, doesn't believe in economists. You see... in a certain season of the year a bearded man appears to give you stuff... (like an interest rate drop) The Obama camp launched a 50-state voter registration and mobilization drive this weekend, "with 101 kickoff events across the county" (release). McCain's convo mgr. Doug Goodyear resigned after Newsweek reported that his consulting firm was paid $348K in '02 to represent Burma's military junta ("Stumper"). Shortly after, McCain mid-Atlantic regional mgr. Doug Davenport, who oversaw the '02 contract, resigned as well ("Atlantic Online"). At the rehearsal dinner after-party on Friday, guests were "drinking Shiner Bock and Dos Equis from clear plastic cups on which 'Jenna and Henry' was written in gold," while Karl Rove did "bust a move a little bit" ("The Reliable Source"). Mitt Romney, who loaned his WH camp $35M, "has no plans either now or in the future" to retire his debt ("Washington Whispers"). Just because he's that rich. I have some student loans I'd like to talk to him about... Tonight!!!! Bill Moyers on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central, 11 pm). "If anything, my impact will increase with a McCain presidency" -- Rush Limbaugh, hoping (Politico). Swoosh! GONG!Subscribe to this feed.
• 

  Rush is having fun

  http://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2008/05/rush-is-having-fu...
  147 days ago in SocraticGadfly · Authority: 115

  Why? Because, as the Politico hints in an interview, he’s gotten inside Obama’s head with “Operation Chaos,” among other things. For Obama, this should fall under the rubric of “worry about your own side of the street.” Besides, Rush is doing this to prop up flagging ratings. That’s the same reason he bashed McCain, talked about supporting Clinton, etc. Beyond dispute is that many know Limbaugh exists. His weekly audience is estimated at about 13.5 million listeners, and his numbers spiked in the first three months of the year when campaign-related interest in politics was intense. And, “Dittoheads” who had fallen asleep at the switch suddenly woke up. And THAT is what was up Rush’s sleeve all along. There’s going to be no “Operation Chaos” for the general election, anyway – just the usual Rush stupidity and inanity.There is no god and I am his prophet.
• 

  Rush Limbaugh calls “Operation Chaos” a success, but only in Limbaugh’s chaotic mind that is

  http://politicalinquirer.com/2008/05/12/rush-limbaugh-calls-...
  147 days ago in The Political Inquirer · Authority: 276

  Rush Limbaugh is proving to be a delusional person. He said his “Operation Chaos” has been a success. “Operation Chaos” for those of you without a scorecard, is this plan that Limbaugh created in his own mind that he says will divide the Democratic Party. What? “One of my next objectives is to try and convince Republicans to cross over and vote for McCain down the road,” conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh jokingly tells The Politico’s Jonathan Martin a story this morning about the impact that Rush’s “Operation Chaos” effort has had on the Democratic presidential campaign. Rush tells Jonathan that his effort to prolong the battle between Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton by telling his supporters to voter for which ever of the two was the underdog at the time, “worked like a charm. … My audience loved it, they participated in it, they had fun with it, as did I.” The Democratic Party will come out of this process stronger and more united than ever in its history. The Presidential race is only a small part of it. Both houses of Congress will gain seats. Governorships will turn Democratic. And state legislatures will also turn Democratic or more Democratic. “Operation Chaos” is working like a charm. I think it refers to the state of Limbaugh’s mind, with “chaos” being the keyword. And “Operation Chaos” is working but only in Rush Limbaugh’s mind. Reading on Walden Bookstore.
• 

  Weekend in Review

  http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2008/05/12...
  147 days ago in Washington City Paper: City Desk · Authority: 351

  Weekend in Review Posted by Erik Wemple on May. 12, 2008, at 7:54 am *Here’s an unsurprising yet outrage-provoking story: WaPo goes deep on the health care received by detained immigrants. The story exhaustively documents subpar care given to these folks, and as I started reading through the examples cited by the story–that of one Yusif Osman, that of one Francisco Castaneda–I had an inkling of the sort of outrage this investigation would produce. And there it is, in the first entry in the comment space: Well if these people wouldn’t sneak across their borders this wouldn’t happen to them. I really can’t feel sorry for any of them. The problem is that we do not deport them fast enough — lawyers drag their cases on and on in hopes of finding an excuse to let their clients stay. We need to deport ALL of these people within 48-96 hours of detention instead of letting them stay for days, months and years as a result of lawyers contiually suing and demanding reconsideration of their cases. These lawyers do more harm than good. This is just another WAPO story about “poor” illegal immigrants — part of a move for asylum for these illegals. I am sorry I am not moved — except to anger that we can’t deport them faster. Asshole. *Washington Times goes social with this piece, including video, on the marriage of First daughter Jenna Bush and young establishmentarian Henry Hager down in Texas. *Fishbowl has a sweet letter from Jim Lehrer. *Politico captures this boast from Rush Limbaugh. Topics: Media
• 

  Rush Limbaugh Becomes The News

  http://bluegrassbulletin.typepad.com/bluegrass_bulletin/2008...
  147 days ago in BluegrassBulletin.com · Authority: 33

  P.T. Barnum would have been proud of Rush Limbaugh's newest show stopper, "Operation Chaos", as he calls it. Rush's plea is for republicans to vote Hillary in order to keep at least one candidate in the race who will "take it to" Obama. While the real impact, if any, of voters acting upon Rush's instructions would be hard to calculate, that doesn't stop the showman Limbaugh from delighting in the attention he is getting from the Main Stream Media. READ MORE

Advertise on Technorati

Advertise on Technorati