WASHINGTON (CNN) – The chairman of the Democratic National Committee persisted Tuesday in calling attention to his Republican counterpart Michael Steele’s apology to Rush Limbaugh, describing the radio host as “the Wizard of Oz” and “the godfather” of the GOP.
DNC Chairman Tim Kaine told CNN that Steele’s backpedaling from earlier criticisms of the talk show host proves that Limbaugh is "the Wizard of Oz, you know, who kind of oversees everything" in the Republican Party.
Earlier in the day, Kaine told MSNBC that Limbaugh is “clearly the godfather, or the he-who-must-be-obeyed in Republican politics these days.”
“When Chairman Steele over the weekend pointed out that the kinds of comments that Rush Limbaugh has been making, hoping the president will fail, pointing out that those were ugly and incendiary, I thought that that took some guts to say that,” Kaine told CNN.
“But then the fact that he backtracked immediately leaves me wondering, okay, so is Rush Limbaugh the guy that's really in charge of the party?”
Democrats are eager to highlight the GOP skirmish: Kaine made several cable appearances Tuesday and released two statements criticizing Steele after the RNC chair called Limbaugh to apologize for calling him an “entertainer” and saying his comments can be “ugly.”
Story updated 12:36 p.m.
From CNN Politics
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Limbaugh doesn't say anything that members of his audience don't already believe. He is not nearly so troubling as the fact that there are 20,000,000 who think just like he does. That's not an insignificant number of people who are unreachable by logic or facts.
I'm seeing a whole lot of very juvenile name calling and personal insults, but no one is addressing any of the issues that make Rush so popular. What exactly does he say that infuriates these people so much? And if he draws millions of listeners, why on earth would anybody pull his show? Are we no longer allowed to have differing opinions in this country?
nclaw441 – plenty of people can and have argued successfully with the "points" that Mr. Oxycontin makes. The most recent argument took place on November 4, 2008, and Mr. Oxycontin and others of his same ilk lost that argument big time. There will always be in every society a certain percentage (fortunately in this case a tiny one) of people who choose self-centered, hypocritical, flawed ideology over common sense and pragmatic thinking. In this case, those who choose to follow this self-loathing hate-monger are fortunately a tiny fraction of our society. As P.T. Barnum once said, "There's a sucker born every minute."
The Republican Party just isn't what it used to be. It deserves a new name.
Seriously? I mean...really seriously??
If I was a Republican, I'd be ashamed of my party. Thank God I'm a Democrat.
I still have NO idea what the Republican party is all about. Sadly, I don't think they know either.
As a lifelong Republican, I have to say Tim Kaine is exactly right. Instead of a Republican officeholder as a party leader my party has an unelected radio personality to whom all must pay homage. The leadership vaccuum my party has now is a dream come true for Obama.
I'm going to paraphrase and update something written over a decade ago by, interestingly enough, Al Franken:
"In a way, I admire Rush Limbaugh. He's a man who stands by his principles. And the more hateful and divisive those principles, the smarter I'm going to look in 2012 when Limbaugh single-handedly scares the country into re-electing Barack Obama."
They should reopen Gitmo and install Rush Limbaugh as its only inmate. Here is all you need to know about this man.
If presented with a choice between two outcomes:
A) the country working its way out of the recession via Obama's economic policies, or B) the country moving into depression after enaction of obama's policies,
Rush, by his own admission, would choose the latter, i.e., to live and let die. He would allow people to suffer for the sake of being able to say 'i told you so.' Real humanitarian, that guy.
I'm very grateful to Rush, Sarah Palin and Joe the Plummer for becoming the new face of the republicans.
They are making sure that the party stays to the very, very far right.
These facts are to make sure that the Democrats win a bigger majority in both houses and keeping the republicans in the wilderness for a long, long, long time.
Again, thank you Rush and his listeners.
even a bad kid likes to get attention and that is exactly what the media and even the Dems are doing..giving Rush all the "love" that he wants. I bet his ratings go up now. If you stop feeding a stray dog it will eventually go away. Think about it.
@Charlie
Get over yourself. No one is buying your garbage any more. You and your precious Rushbo have nothing to offer this country except division and hate.
Your soon to be irrelevant party had your fun, now it's time for the adults to clean it up.
Here's what the Republican Party has been reduced to:
Southern Republicans are still fighting the Civil War.
Evangelical Republicans want to bring back the Salem Witch Trials.
Business type Republicans want to return to the robber baron days.
The rest of your party are still railing against the New Deal.
The Political Ticker has because a left wing blog. CNN doesn't even try to pretend any different. Limbaugh is not a Republican, he is a Conservative.
This is a Democratic ploy.
Let Rush keep going. All he is doing is hurting the GOP and they will never take office back!! And Michael Steele is another gift to the Democrats because Michael is a joke too!!
Seriously, who listens to the wisdom of Rush Limbaugh?
Who is he; next to King Solomon in knowledge and wisdom?
Rush is the Isamlic Cleric of the GOP....He wants the GOP to gain control again so he can become the Supreme Leader just like Ayatollah Khomeini was in 1979 in Iran.
America....be really afraid of you GOP neighbor....they may turn you in one day because you are different from them !!!!
The GOP has become the cancer of the USA that just won't go away.
This is a brilliant move. Limbaugh, Hannity, and the rest of the extremist right wing are the reason Republicans have gotten obliterated in recent elections. We can only hope that he really is leading the GOP. If he is, the GOP's days are over.
Uh, Limbaugh is nothing but a con artist. Everything he says is a lie to destroy our country. He is unpatriotic and a drug addict, if the conservs want to listen to him then once again the world will hate us just like they hated the W administration. The country is not safe under the GOP rulers.
2012 Republican DREAM TICKET,,,,Lush Limpdick and Mooseface LALIN...What a team that will be..
Do not cross der Fuhrer!
Remember the 'Night of the Long Knives'! (1933)
If Republicans are thinking Mr. “Getting Off Pills” Limbaugh or Mr. “Going On Pathetic" Steele are the ones they can depend on to help bring them back to power then they would be better off relying on “Grandma Overpriced Palin” because at least she knew how to dress.
@ heather, who suggested "The Republican Party just isn't what it used to be. It deserves a new name."
I'm partial to "The Apple Dumpling Gang"...neither of them can shoot straight. But that one's already taken, so I figure "The Fourth Reich" will have to do.
Steele is done!! Spineless move apologizing to the druggy conservative voice that is mount rush.
Limbaugh's heart is as dark as his outfit. Don't like to say that about anyone but I am sorry..if someone want's my president to fail.. he wants my country to fail..in these difficult times. He is a war mongo... just got a personal agenda with a following of limited shortsighted people. COME WITH SOLUTIONS NOT PROBLEMS!!
Why is the DNC chair telling Republicans who their leader is?
Steele is pathetic and spineless.