In recent days, conservatives have renewed a long-running campaign to convince the American people that they live in a conservative nation and support conservative policies. Conservative talker Rush Limbaugh is leading the charge, but he’s been joined by a chorus of right-wingers as well.
Quoting the American Thinker, Limbaugh used a cherry-picked poll to falsely argue on his radio show yesterday that a “conservative majority” exists in America. He focused on a single question from a recent Battleground Poll in which respondents were asked to place themselves on a conservative-to-liberal ideological spectrum. Sixty percent of respondents labeled themselves “very conservative or somewhat conservative“:
LIMBAUGH: When 60% of the American people since 2002 in the same poll have identified themselves as very conservative or somewhat conservative, it makes no sense for the Republican Party to abandon conservatives. … There’s a reason Ronald Reagan won two landslides. It wasn’t marketing and packaging. It was that the overall conservative majority of the American people found in a candidate, one who was them.
Listen Here:
The truth is, however, that the so-called “conservative majority” does not exist. While many American’s may call themselves conservative, the overwhelming majority of Americans support progressive policies. Indeed, a majority of Americans…
– Want universal health care.
– Want to expand environmental protections.
– Support increasing the minimum wage.
– Want abortion to remain safe and legal.
– Want federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
– Want to raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for national priorities.
– Want same-sex couples to be legally recognized.
– Oppose the Iraq war.
Further, the Drum Major Institute found in their recent survey of the American middle class that a majority of both Democrats and Republicans favor similar policies. And after 8 years of conservative rule, a record 81 percent of Americans believe the country is on the “wrong track.”
As Media Matters explained last summer, “the movement of public opinion, particularly on social issues, seems to be in one direction: to the left.”
.
The funny thing is that 29% believe him.
.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:46 pmWhere does he get his "facts?"
August 26th, 2008 at 1:50 pmOh, I know -- he eats a couple of burritos and an hour later his fart-facts just come flying out his a$$.
NEWS FLASH... and what a flash it is!
RANDI RHODES is on ED SCHUTLZ...
sounds like the hatchet is trying to get buried...
if SHE can do it, if THEY can do it, anybody can do it...
we can ALL get together... smile on your brother...
everybody get together...
...
oh, fook rush.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:51 pmMarie Says:
Where does he get his “facts?”
Of course, from his rectal database.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:51 pmWhat the hell is this "Drum Major Institute"?
Why is TP citing its findings all of a sudden?
August 26th, 2008 at 1:52 pmExcept Rush isnt a conservative, he said so himself, 'Drug addicts are not conservative.'
August 26th, 2008 at 1:53 pmI think Rush should be heeded by the Republican Party.
By all means, move further to the right. Please.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:53 pm.
R E M E M B E R:
"R" is for:
Rush Limpballs
Racist
Republican
Regressive
Radical
Rx addiction
Raping little children in far off lands
Oh, and don't forget... liaR
.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:58 pmWhy is this news? It is not the first factual error from the lard ass, oxycontin chewing, curling, steaming, heaping pile of ______
August 26th, 2008 at 1:58 pmLimpballs fails to make the distinction between "conservative" and "reactionary". The vast number of poll respondents probably equated the term "conservative" with expecting that (1) the federal government should adequately fund its commitments rather than just borrowing or printing more money; (2) it is definitely "conservative" to preserve and protect the environment; (3) the middle class is the backbone of our society and needs to be encouraged and preserved; and (4) it is reasonable to expect accountability, truthfulness and effectiveness from our government and its agencies.
I happen to be a "conservative" according to the above definition. Limpballs and his braindead dittoheads are, on the other hand, reactionaries hell-bent on proving government doesn't and can't work; borrowing our way to the poor house; and destroying anyone and anything that stands in their way.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:58 pmIs the right so desperate for lies they pay this guy 400 miillion?
August 26th, 2008 at 1:59 pmIdealogues like Rush don't need facts... in fact, they hate facts... it muddies the water.
It's much easier to just make stuff up, find some random survey, cherry pick the data, and then proclaim your flights of fancy as 'proof'.
Some call it lying....
August 26th, 2008 at 1:59 pmLimbaugh can always find a poll to take out of context. Let's see him 'splain away Obama's victory in November. It would appear that lots of 'conservatives' wound up voting for the family man instead of the philanderer.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:59 pmThe stuff he smokes in that rollup must be some rotten shit.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:59 pmJust more lining for my shredder..you can't fix stupid - purveyor or audience.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:59 pmLimbaugh must be smoking ganja in that big seegar and doing oxycodone again!
August 26th, 2008 at 2:00 pmIf there is a more gay sexual image than that of the rusher I don't want to see it.
This pervert is off the reality charts, for sure.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:01 pmYa know, when one lives in an Oxycodone induced haze, one's perception of reality can be distorted.
Methinks it's time for Oxybreath to take another well deserved "one blue pill" vacation to an island where underage prostitutes are common.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:03 pmNow whether the "blue pill" is for Oxybreath or his "trick" is anyone's guess.
Not another definition problem! I don't want any blowhard speaking on my behalf, thank you very much...
August 26th, 2008 at 2:03 pmSomehow the word conservative should be exposed for what it is. I'm not saying we have to demonize the word, but associate elitism and warmongering and Bush's failed policies with it. I'm sure Lakoff has something to say about framing conservatism and I would agree with him.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:04 pmralph the wonder llama Says:
What the hell is this “Drum Major Institute”?
i dunno, but if it has anything to do with MARCHING BANDS
August 26th, 2008 at 2:05 pmit's ok by me... (it's been 3 years...)
80% of Americans say that the country is on the wrong track(conservative policies), yet the majority of America is 'conservative'.
Bizarro world on Earth.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:06 pmI'm not sure which disgusts me more.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:08 pmThe baseless facts Oxybreath is using?
Or his apparent fellating and somewhat enjoyment of the cigar in the above picture?
Tell bush limpballs why is the srubs rating at a generous 30 percent?......Typical Reich Wing bull$hit, they just can`t handle the truth even when it`s stareing them in the face.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:09 pmRush isn't working a $400MM contract to spread the truth. Telling the truth is cheap. You make that kind of money if you can artfully lie and convince 20-30MM people to vote against their best interests.
But Rush's new contract probably also has incentive clauses. I'd bet that the #1 clause is that he has to get McCain elected. He's probably going to collapse under the strain of carrying that much water for the Republican Organized Crime Party.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:11 pmLimbaugh Falsely Claims America Is A ‘Conservative Majority’ Nation
Someone should ask the stupid fat bastard if the US was indeed a "cancervative majority" , why even GOP registered voters rejected Mike Huckleberry and chose the 4th or 5th loser on the cancervative totem pole .............
August 26th, 2008 at 2:13 pmGingrich and Limbaugh have managed to daemonise the "liberal" appellation these last couple decades. They have successfully managed to mischaracterise (and caricature) "liberal" so as to destroy the 'brand name'.
That hasn't changed people's opinions on the underlying issues, though. Social Security is still popular, pretty much as popular as ever, and support for abortion rights has remained consistent (and "liberal").
Moreso, the fiascos of neocon foreign policy have produced a sharp backlash towards the RW authoritarian fondness for "American exceptionalism" and the present economic crises have soured the public on the benevolence and the benificience of Big Bidness floating everyone else's boats....
I think that, once we bury the Rethuglicans and put a concrete mausoleum over their tomb so they can never again plague us, "liberal" -- as a word -- will rehabilitate itself as well.
Cheers,
August 26th, 2008 at 2:16 pmBehind the giant flame throwing head is a little man behind a curtain. Recall he's being paid to intimidate Dorothy and her band of voters.
They search for America, their lost home for the last eight years. Not only can Rush not help, he's being paid to preserve the Bush status quo.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:17 pmLimbaugh Falsely Claims America Is A ‘Conservative Majority’ Nation
Don't let the fact that GOP registration is at an all-time low get in the way of your argument, RushBush.
PEACE
August 26th, 2008 at 2:18 pmWhy do these reich-wing propaganda pushers all look like they got beat up a lot in school as a kid? Limbaugh, Rove, O'Hanlon, Kristol, Beck, O'Reilly, Ralph Reed and that homophobic Gibson twerp with the Liberace hairdo- every one of them looks like that. Maybe that's the underlying score they're settling by helping to destroy the America most all of us know and love. That America must have been very cruel to these social degenerates.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:18 pmQuoting the American Thinker, Limbaugh used a cherry-picked poll to falsely argue on his radio show yesterday that a “conservative majority” exists in America.
Only in his own fevered imagination. Was it the "conservative majority" that voted the Republican majority out of Congress? Or maybe it was the "conservative majority" that was behind Think Progress' citation that 80% of Americans support progressive policies.
Limbaugh has a comparitively small but loyal following that the corporate media panders to making it seem like he's a bigger voice than he really is.
http://progressiveworldreview.com
August 26th, 2008 at 2:25 pmHe sure looks like he's enjoying that cigar doesn't he?
As far as what he has to say, phbbbt!!!! He's a moron and I simply can't waste my beautiful mind on morons.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:26 pmI not only question authority, I CHALLENGE the status quo.
I have a problem with the establishment.
PROUD TO BE EVERYTHING THE RIGHT-WING HATES!
August 26th, 2008 at 2:26 pmHow do elections that occurred twenty-five to thirty years ago prove what rebublicans should do now? The largest voting block in American history couldn't vote in either sited election. Saying Reagan won because the overall white male majority found a candidate that was them is equally valid.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:31 pmSo where's Tracy_5 to speculate about how Rush Limbaugh's claims are playing in the hip-hop community?
August 26th, 2008 at 2:38 pmThe only reason Limbaugh would get a contract that fat is not because it matches his head. It has to be loaded up with incentive/performance clauses as well as morality/decency clauses which mean that he is a this close to losing it all at any minute. What else did they have to negotiate that much money other than to hedge the fact he could lose it easily. The next time he pulls a Savage Weiner, and I don't mean gumming that cigar, we really need to organize a serious boycott.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:38 pmHT, isn't this what you meant?
August 26th, 2008 at 2:39 pmRight on Uncle Ho!
August 26th, 2008 at 2:39 pmBut the poll didn't ask if you were at least as conservative as Limbaugh. But who is to quibble ?
Like so many polls in the past, you can ask folks if they are conservative or liberal (ridiculously oversimplified to begin with) and get an answer and then ask them where they stand on issues X,Y,Z and there is no correlation.
Same things with asking if you are repub or demo and then ask where they stand.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:39 pmHe sure looks like he’s enjoying that cigar doesn’t he?
The guy who gave it to him convinced him that that very cigar had been completely stuck up RoverBoy's arse the night before so, of course, he enjoyed it!
August 26th, 2008 at 2:41 pmBS - Has anyone here EVER been polled?
I have never met a conservative that was not an idiot.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:49 pmDoes anyone else see the juicy irony in Rush's former Oxy habit and Glenn Beck swearing off drugs and booze for the "clean & wholesome life with the family" aka 12 Steps? I guess the GOP finds that it's just fine...possibly the gold standard to be an ex-junkie/alcoholic, as long as you give yourself to the party and/or God. Then in the process, come off as a complete and total hypocrite.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:50 pmIs this a plea to all his liberal listeners to 'join 'em since you can't beat 'em'? Has the rnc abandoned 'conservatives' somehow, even though they never stop pandering to them? Does that mean the anti-science, anti-reality (bush) conservative type or the cautious, careful, and patient conservative type?
August 26th, 2008 at 2:57 pmHow come the majority of registered voters are Democratic, drugbaugh?
August 26th, 2008 at 2:58 pmThere is something decidedly odd about that survey. They asked at Question 1 and then again at Question 28 who you were going to vote for as President and they got two entirely different answers. Plus, much of the rest of the survey does not bode well for Conservatives.
I read a paper on polls once that said you could influence how people would answer a certain question by the order in which you asked questions and the questions you asked leading up to one particular question.
On the other hand, if a majority of us call ourselves conservative why are 45% of the people in this country Registered Democrats and only 35% registered Republicans?
August 26th, 2008 at 2:58 pmMapleStreet Says:
Like so many polls in the past, you can ask folks if they are conservative or liberal (ridiculously oversimplified to begin with) and get an answer and then ask them where they stand on issues X,Y,Z and there is no correlation.
That's exactly what happened with this survey. Click on the PDF and read it. It makes no sense at all.
August 26th, 2008 at 3:00 pmAgain with the Drum Major survey? Did they post their sampling or methodology yet? If not, this survey is highly suspect.
August 26th, 2008 at 3:04 pmThe Tarrance Group is an opinion polling and "strategic research" that works for Republican candidates, corporations and some non-profit groups.[1] On its website it states that it has "helped elect more than 80 Republican governors, U.S. Senators and Members of Congress, as well as scores of state legislative candidates. All of these clients would say one thing about The Tarrance Group: We hate to lose."[2]
Well, that just about says it all. Just what I thought.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=The_Tarrance_Group
August 26th, 2008 at 3:06 pmTP, quit posting this Drum Major survey. Just because it's questionable findings echoes your political worldview, doesn't mean they should get a pass on sloppy work. Show some integrity, and yank it.
August 26th, 2008 at 3:08 pmRighties are all desparate to believe they're not inhumane freaks - poor s.o.b.'s
August 26th, 2008 at 3:09 pmSo apparently a person can only have opinions that point in one of two directions, right or left. Thanks, Hegel.
August 26th, 2008 at 3:14 pmOh goody! We should all stop everything we're doing immediately and listen to Rush Limbaugh! Listen to Rush Limbaugh!! Rush Limbaugh knows all!! Rush Limbaugh loves you!!
The Ten Minute Hate starts right now!!
/snark
August 26th, 2008 at 3:23 pmNo one can find anything to report on other than a drug addict and his rants? Surely there's a few other kinds of felons or sex offenders out there that could be quoted than just Rush! Common now! Where's a quote from our very own war criminal, Carl?
August 26th, 2008 at 3:55 pmLet’s see my choice is John McCain or that smart black man Barack Obama?
McCain who does not know how to use a computer but is willing to learn if we elect him – I’ll just vote for that smart black man.
My Choices are: John McCain who says the economic downturn is psychological? - Na! I'll vote for the smart black man.
McCain who says you are better off under George Bush? - Nope I'll vote for the smart black man.
Mc Cain who wants to continue killing more people looking for weapons of mass destruction that do not exist? - Gee! I'll vote for the smart black man.
McCain who believes that we should stay the course but is not willing to support the people he puts in harms way. - I'll take a chance on the smart black man.
Should I vote for a man that does not know that 9-11 was caused by Osama Bin Laden not Sedam Hussein? - Easy! I'll vote for the smart black man.
Vote for the man who does not know if the Sunnis or Sheits are our enemies? - No way I'll vote for the smart black man.
Vote for the man who helped put our government on the China, Saudi Arabia credit card? - Not a chance I'll vote for the smart black man.
Vote for the man with the worst temper in the Senate to have his finger on the nuclear button? - No way - I'll vote for the smart black man.
August 26th, 2008 at 3:58 pm52 Leftside Annie-
I would, but I can't find any Dr. to write a prescription for stupid pills.
August 26th, 2008 at 3:58 pmAnd what a riot for the rusher to claim to be a conservative. He is a Corporatist and an entertainer, nothing more. Plus he makes as much money as many of the Corporate CEO's so he fits right in.
August 26th, 2008 at 3:58 pmYa'll seem to take it as gospel that Rush is actually, really getting that $400MM for his, uh, "servicing" of the public. Remember, Rush is basically brought to you by the same crowd who were willing to buy Corsi's POS book in bulk so they could claim it was ***breathlessly*** "the nation's No 1 Best Seller"...
When you add it up, these *sshats keep trying to tell us that Rush, Heil Hannity, and Glen "the Pillsbury Blowboy" Beck are worth what, $550MM. collectively???
Does this make sense??? Do these folks EVER tell the truth about anything?
August 26th, 2008 at 4:25 pmA typical Rush Limbaugh rant....
Snark snark snark snark liberal media bias, snark snark snark conservatives are being screwed nationwide, by our own designs and policies. Snarkity snark snark snarkful women in bare feet and pregnant are great snarkhahahaha, snark me White House talking point here. Snarky snark, etc. Five minutes later, snark-blah, snark-blah, snark-blah...I hate Barack Obama because he's black and intelligent and John McCain since he is old and dumb. Snark, snark, snark I burn tires in my back yard for the fun of it. Snarkful cheer, snark radio break.
August 26th, 2008 at 4:30 pmZed Lefflin:
August 26th, 2008 at 4:33 pmThat firsat sentence cracks me up. What tripe. Damn and your too lazy to raise your own chickens...
Zed Lefflin Says:
This country was a Conservative nation built by strong rugged individualists who worked hard built stuff and ran things…..but no more. Politicians have figured out a way and passed laws that enable them to take from those who have (the rich) and give it to those whom they choose. (lobbyists) The “nanny nation” is here! The growing masses that choose to suckle at the teet of government for their every need is rising daily. As history tells us the “strong” with guns, knives and swords will soon take up arms and defeat those who have stolen from them in the name of humanity and for all that is good and fair, who have chosen to allow themselves to become vulnerable, week by not exercising, making meals out of Twinkies, Coke and Frito’s, in this cruel world. Such is life.
Hey, I remember an event along these lines...when one group labeled another group for societies ills. Hmmmm....
WAIT A MINUTE! You're describing Kristallnacht! When the Nazi's went out and killed a lot of Jews. Oh kiddo, did you ever read a history book or are you just flat out ignorant?
August 26th, 2008 at 4:48 pmHey Zed,
I thought all of 'your type' liked Cheetos? Was the yellow dust getting to be too much to still read your keyboards, so you switched to Fritos?
August 26th, 2008 at 4:48 pmwrong again? When was the other time I was wrong? Still thanks for the hilarious post at 59. Absurdism is my favorite genre...
August 26th, 2008 at 4:51 pmRush Limbaugh runs the boiler room for hell.
August 26th, 2008 at 5:00 pmAnd here I thought Rush's boiler was a gift from hell.
August 26th, 2008 at 5:10 pmThe lard assed, drug addled, gas bag, lies again.
August 26th, 2008 at 5:16 pmhttp://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/27/national/main1753947.shtml
http://www.gvnet.com/childprostitution/DominicanRepublic.htm
'Nuff said.
August 26th, 2008 at 5:28 pmZed-
Actually, the founding fathers had a liberal bent.
Main Entry:
lib·er·al·ism Listen to the pronunciation of liberalism
Pronunciation:
\?li-b(?-)r?-?li-z?m\
Function:
noun
Date:
1819
1: the quality or state of being liberal2 aoften capitalized : a movement in modern Protestantism emphasizing intellectual liberty and the spiritual and ethical content of Christianity b: a theory in economics emphasizing individual freedom from restraint and usually based on free competition, the self-regulating market, and the gold standard c: a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties decapitalized : the principles and policies of a Liberal party
So conservative positions on issues could only be held within a framework of social liberalism. That the idea we are free men* to choose the temporal government that we exist under is the over-riding organizing principle here.
*
Main Entry:
1lib·er·al Listen to the pronunciation of 1liberal
Pronunciation:
\?li-b(?-)r?l\
Function:
adjective
Etymology:
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin liberalis suitable for a freeman, generous, from liber free; perhaps akin to Old English l?odan to grow, Greek eleutheros free
Date:
14th century
1 a: of, relating to, or based on the liberal arts barchaic : of or befitting a man of free birth2 a: marked by generosity : openhanded b: given or provided in a generous and openhanded way c: ample, full3obsolete : lacking moral restraint : licentious4: not literal or strict : loose 5: broad-minded; especially : not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or traditional forms6 a: of, favoring, or based upon the principles of liberalism bcapitalized : of or constituting a political party advocating or associated with the principles of political liberalism; especially : of or constituting a political party in the United Kingdom associated with ideals of individual especially economic freedom, greater individual participation in government, and constitutional, political, and administrative reforms designed to secure these objectives
So next time Rush tries to tell you liberals/liberalism is evil, remember that he is working to create a political reality when we all become sheeple for another King George.
August 26th, 2008 at 5:35 pmif Ryan is correct then liberal politicians wouldn't be so afraid to be identified as liberals. Meanwhile conservatives proudly identify themselves as such.
August 26th, 2008 at 7:00 pmJohn Kerry:
August 26th, 2008 at 7:13 pmDid you remember to wipe your ass before you ran off like a little pussy?
Meanwhile conservatives proudly identify themselves as such.
There are many who have chosen the libertarian tag, since Bush, so you point isn't universal.
August 26th, 2008 at 7:30 pmI will, at this time, make an announcement that “The Reverend Zed Lefflin” does not exist so I can be of no help in your struggles to understand life in all of its forms through faith. Sorry.
Don't drink all the Sterno Led, you'll need some for those cold winter nights in the political wasteland.
August 26th, 2008 at 7:33 pmMyexperience seems to suggest that there are only 2 types of libertarians: Whiny ass pricks too cheap to pay their taxes and those who just wanna smoke their pot in peace...
August 26th, 2008 at 7:37 pmZed Lefflin Says:
This country was a Conservative nation built by strong rugged individualists who worked hard built stuff and ran things…..
Things like plantations...
It was also built by speculators, monopolists, and king-lovin' Tories - like you.
What's your twisted point?
August 26th, 2008 at 7:37 pmToday's "conservatives" prove to be RNC quotebots. I'm shocked.
August 26th, 2008 at 9:19 pmThe USA is also a pretty obese country helped by people like Rush getting fat off of doing nothing.
August 26th, 2008 at 9:58 pmUh, in the movie "They Live" the glasses you refer to Lefflin, allowed Roddy Piper's character to see aliens who were posing as humans and attempting to take over the world through infiltration and subversion. So are you saying that everyone at current is a conservative and that the liberals can only be seen through a detection system, because liberals are trying to take over your "conservative" nation?
Because if this is your logic, you're not only Bizarro Spock but you just joined the illustrious TP Pinata Club with Daryll and his All-Stars!
August 26th, 2008 at 10:27 pmSeveral years ago, the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, founder of the so-called Moral Majority in 1979, admitted that the Moral Majority was never a majority.
The name was just a PR ploy.
The so-called Moral Majority was never more than a small segment of the U.S. population, comprised of the most hateful, intolerant, racist conservative elements of our country.
The Moral Majority later morphed into the so-called Christian Coalition, which once again was a minority, comprised of some of the most hateful, intolerant, racist conservative elements...and hardly anything approaching True Christian, those who are forgiving, loving, accepting, embracing of all their "neighbors," those who are not hell-bent on "cleaning up" our nation...you know, like those Unitarian Church members in Knoxville who were murdered by some conservative with an anti-Christ "kill all the liberals" attitude.
So, Limbaugh is just a BIG FAT LIAR, as always.
August 27th, 2008 at 12:03 amJohn Kerry Says:
You are a liar and a fool.
August 27th, 2008 at 8:59 amZed as usual shows his idiocy. There isnt any QUESTION the founding fathers were the liberals of their day. This cannot be reasonably disputed. Cons like Zed really are braindead morons.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:00 amZed Lefflin Says:
Yes I agree, the founding fathers were actually Neo-cons
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
That is possibly the stupidest thing I have ever seen typed. You really are an idiot. I could get a more cogent discussion from my CAT and he is dead.
August 27th, 2008 at 2:53 pmCenter right my ass. And even if the country were "center right", which it clearly isn't, they would still reject the far right in which the republican party has aligned itself.
November 6th, 2008 at 9:03 am