(CNN) – Americans overwhelmingly say talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh is currently the most influential conservative, according to a new poll.
In the new survey conducted by CBS' "60 Minutes" and Vanity Fair magazine, 26 percent of those sampled identified Limbaugh as the leading conservative, followed by fellow media personality Glenn Beck at 11 percent.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin followed close behind with 10 percent each.
The only Republican who currently holds office to make the list is House Minority Leader John Boehner, who registered 4 percent in the poll.
The poll of 855 Americans was conducted November 6-8 and carries a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
From CNN Politics
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Rush Limbaugh is indeed the truth to conservative lies.
WOW!!! What a wonderful list. I can just bet that Democrats everywhere will be laughing them selves silly. And this is the projected leadership of the Repub;ican Party...............HA
So let me see if I can understand this. Only "has beens" and folks who have never held office are considered the most influential conservatives. Well, as they believe in smaller government, not being a member of it definitely qualifies them. Of course, Cheney would have more credibility to me if he would forego his government pension and Secret Service protection!
How pathetic.
So the Republican party is Conservative.......so who does that make their leader........Limbaugh, Beck, Palin, Cheney and Boehner........that says it all........good bye GOP
This is great news for liberals.
Nothing thrills me more than to know the leaders of the now defunct Republican party are Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney, and Sarah Palin. Pass the Oxycotin, turn up the pacemaker, and let's watch the Wasilla Hillbillies on the tv box!
And since the cons are in charge of the republiklan party, ergo, Lush is the defacto leader of the party of NO which advocates failure for President Obama and therefore, this great country.
It is human nature to gravitate towards the negative and nasty, why I am not sure. Perhaps it is because they get more of a reaction from negativity than from something positive. Think about it, if one should ask themselves, which would I read first, a headline that is negative or a headline that is positive or neutral, most if they are honest will gravitate to the negative, and that is what RUSH is all about.
rush and glen-2012
what??? you mean conservatives are led by mouth piece celebrities and retired fearmongerers?? well, i for one, am shocked.
Speaking of Glenn Beck, what's up with these rumors I keep hearing that he raped and killed a young girl back in 1990? Is this true? I mean, I don't want to believe it but he doesn't deny it, and hasn't even addressed it. We want answers, CNN. Have a nice day!
I will personally will draft Limbaugh / Glen Beck to run for president and VP in 2012!....com'on right wing NUTS, com;on do it for the good of Americans; and save us all from this marxist socialist Chinese owned American constitution!!!!
No kidding, seriously. Lol!!!
Off topic but I thought missy's 432 page missive was supposed to rocket to the top of all the best sellers list.
Checked the NYT lists yesterday and found Boohoo Beck at number 9 but "Going Rogue, an American LIE" was nowhere to be found.
I even checked the fiction category.
This is no surprise we knew he was the head of the GOP party.
Heaven help the Repubs if those are their top four leaders! Better yet, heaven help us!!
In other news, the sun rises in the east, and a year has 12 months.
This just in: Each year has 4 seasons!
Well I guess that's settled.
We really need a third party because none of these people are good for America, especially Rush. They are evil, using tactics like fear, lies, temper tantrums, and hate to stir the pot of the feeble minded GOP followers. God help us if any of these contenders take top office or if the GOP gets their way.
What liberals THINK they want and what we are getting are two totally different things when it comes to health care.
If this bill was just about expanding Medicaid to cover an additional 30 million or so, it wouldn't be 2000 pages long, and it wouldn't cost $849 billion.
This is another spending bill, it has nothing to do with your health.
And all you liberals bashing industry, whether it’s insurance of banking or even pharmaceutical, where do you think jobs come from?
Hahahahahahahahahaha! They deserve him.
That proves that Rush is the head of GOP and all republican must answer to him.
I thought Rush was an entertainer ?
The ONLY person actually holding office comes in at 4% ? Wow.
I guess we really know where the folks that were sampled get thier info from. Rush & Glenn.
This is nonsense. Ron paul is the only conservative(real one) that has any credibility left in the republican party. I'm not sure why the media always promotes these half-conservative RINOs like Palin and Rush. Ron Paul has a voting record, anti-illegal war, individual liberty platform that hasn't wavered in the winds like some of these other so called conservatives.
No wonder the Republican party is such a mess...
If those two self-important blowhards Limbaugh and Beck are the most influential conservatives in the country, Democrats can rest easy knowing that Republicans are happily swallowing whatever pablum these two oafs are spoon-feeding the righties who don't want to actually think for themselves.
And Palin is 4th? Just who I want to listen to... a delusional, hypocritical, quitter who can't answer a straight question without stumbling over herself and her own "gosh darn it"s.
I think it says a lot about the Republicans that the only person named in the result of this poll who actually holds an office and can actually create and put laws into place gets 4%.
That pretty much tells you all you really need to know about them.
As a Democrat, that list makes me giggle!
Especially when you add Dumb and Dumber (Cheney and Palin)!
and that is exactly what is wrong with american politics. being a "newsmaker" will get you recognized as a "leader".
go ask obama, he got himself elected 'cause he did well on TV. Go ask Sarah, she did nos do so well on "TV".
That why we elect "movie" or "rock" stars. I'd betcha that if ophra ran for president she would win. and easily.
If Limbaugh is the most influential for the GOP, then the Democrats should not have a worry in the world. Then there is the second best GOP ranter running a close second. If those types are all the GOP can roll out for consideration, then the party is in worse shape than we even dared suspect! I hope they hang in there until 2012....the Democrats will win with a landslide!
And Limbaugh claims to be just an entertainer. What a crock! Everything he says is a lie. Even his so-called statistics are lies.
What a sad commentary on American life.
No wonder Republicans can not get it together! Their own base identifies ENTERTAINERS as the conservative influentials of the party! HELLO! They are not the people who can actually get things done! But keep it up...Democratic landslide in 2010 and 2012 will be welcome.
Don't speak for this American!! I totally disagree! I don't think this guy is worth the "cyber paper" you have written on!!!
To be a favorite among conseratives you must be a portly, drug addict who spouts un-American nonsense! Not to high a bar to acheive! Go for it, all you drugged out conservatives!
That shows how weak-minded the republican/conservative base is.
This article shows just how out of the mainstream the GOP is when a radio loud-mouth is their defacto leader. Add in the fact that Cheney & Palin are a close second and it becomes quite scary.
How sad that extremists such as this are given any creditibility.
That the American people actually listen to, believe these hate
filled, irresponsible talk show hosts whose goals are to say
and do anything to grab the headlines with no regard to truth
or the survival of our country or us. And, politicans so radical
and unAmerican, unethical and phony that they deserve no
recognition at all.
And, even sadder is the media constantly glamorizing, headlining, stirrrng up unrest, sensationalizing the gutters of our country,
I'd take Limbaugh and Beck ANY DAY over those blithering donkeys Pelosi and Reid! Obama and his blithering donkeys don't know that you can't spend your way out of bankruptcy.
Ya gotta love it! The arrogant, sacrosanct Repugs love an uneducated drug addict and a hypocritical woman who preaches family values while leaving her brood to cavort around the country pushing a book she doesn't have the language skills to write herself.
Why is Mark Levin not amongst the leaders? True conservatives know better and can attest who his credentials.
That speaks volumes of the Republican party.
I am sure that House Leader Boehner is quite pleased with his score. Being that his major area of interest is golf, that four is good for par on most holes.
This guy is the most influential Repulican, can you set the bar any lower?
What about the party crashers. Will they become the new Republican standard bearers?
UH, , , IS THIS A SURPRISE TO ANYONE?
Limbaugh took the GOP helm during the historic 2008 Democratic Primary race as he vehemently pressed registered Independents and conservative democrats to vote against Obama for Hillary in their state primaries. Party Boss Limbaugh also threatened candidate John McCain to choose an "ultra conservative" like Palin or Huckabee for VP mate, or he would demand conservatives stay home on election night. Boss Limbaugh has been leading the charge against President Obama and the Democrats even before Obama took office on January 20, 2009.
Even though I'm not surprised, this is great. I just hope somebody doesn't take what these clowns say literally and harm our President.
Democrat landslide 2010 and 2012!
Let's see... Instead of polticians or leaders by their own merit, the conservatives are backing bashers and smearers? Is that what the poll is saying? Apalling.
This is all sooooo sad!!
He is the most influencial.... and the most polarizing. His messages have overtones of hate and he love the almighty dollar. I wonder what He thinks of the man. "Love Thy neighbor as you would love yourself". That is a commandment he breaks daily.
So that's why the lead story on the Ticker isn't about Palin!
I guess CNN found out we don't really care enough about her to make her a headline for a 10th day in a row.
It's also interesting that conservatives feel an entertianer is the most powerful conservative in the country.
They've had Regan, Arnold and now Rush (and Joe the Plumber!) but STILL complain about the liberals in Hollywood- laughable.
Only sideline crap slingers like Limbaugh and Hannity and Beck CAN lead the republican party, because they have nothing at risk.
There is no accountability for them, nothing for the republican brown shirt party purity patrol to hang them with. They don't run for election, so there is nothing the democrats can really do except point out their extreme, lowest-common-denominator pandering, which only endears them to their ditto-head base.
Perfect leadership for a do nothing party of "No".
Both Rush and Glenn exploit politics for personal profit. It's kind of fitting that they are the leaders of the conservative voice now. I can tell you that the GOP is no longer the party of our founding fathers. It has turned into something unrecognizable from it's past nobility and intellectual depth. Thomas Jefferson understood the significance of higher
education and thought it should be made "public" like his bill for basic public education. Now the conservative party is anti higher education.. because the odds are that the more educated a person is the less likely they will be conservative (or conservative in the ignorant and manipulative fashion Rush and Beck sell for personal profit).
An influential "know-it-all." How American.
Have a nice day!
The two most influential conservatives are 'entertainers' who spread lies. How sad. I remember and respect true conservatives (Buckley, Reagan, Will, etc.) even if I didn't agree with their positions. At least they had reasons and rationale for their viewpoint. Can any one point out an actual rationale behind Glenn Beck's rants or Limbaugh's bloviations?
A sad day for conservatives when this loon is the most influential, anyone who thinks this guy has credability I have no respect for and pity them.
If Rush, Hannity, Cheney and Palin hate Americans who don't agree with them just think about the damage they can do around the World spreading hate. If there is a fear of attacks, we haven't seen anything yet with one of these as our leader, we can kiss our own you know what good bye.
How are Cheney and Palin equal with 10 percentage points each? Cheney served in the USG for 30+ years...Palin winks and waves her Alaska pageant bikini over her head every time someone asks her a 'books-smart' question that no one provided her with a flashcard answer to.
How did that happen?
I don't know what can be worst for the future of the USA, the Republican Party becoming a safe harbor for this kind of 'entertainer' that only offer bashing and smearing and no real alternative or the fact that these kind of people become the role model for future 'politicians'...
There are serious (as in non basher/smearer and thoughtful) conservatives out there. While I don't agree with most of what you guys believe in, I really would like to hear from you again...
I'm amazed at those who describe themselves as true conservativists. They are nothing but Republicans trying to rebrand their failed party. What a joke!
Hah! This is hilarious news, especially considering Limbaugh is a certified racist. Back to the Goldwater days!
Yeah, Rush is the Grand Pooba of the Republican party. This clown is smart, it's his followers who are fools. He doesn't even have to think about what he says because he's got so many dittoheads following him no matter what. What fools.
I know that this isn't a real surprise to me. I read that someone stated that he does research before he speaks on a topic. The real questions are: where does he do his research; how long does he do his research and what are the questions and assumptions that guide it. These are important questions. I think that he likes raising hell more than being someone who can raise the appropriate questions and raise the level of debate in this country. He is just in it for the money. Even if he changed his mind and became liberal, he'd still do the conservative thing just because he is out there to make money.
Wait a minute!!!! WHAT AMERICANS????? 855 Americans??!! Influential in WHAT and HOW???
Definition of Influential: powerful, important, significant, dominant, leading, prominent, high-ranking!
CNN: Next time, PLEASE state what type of AMERICANS were polled!! STOP using the word AMERICANS when it does not represent ALL Americans. So since you're leaving it up to ME to figure out what you mean – I will state the following:
Oh YES, they ARE influential. They are SIGNIFICANTly obnoxious, HIGH-RANKING when it comes to ignorance; DOMINANT – yes – in sarcasm and hate; LEADING in Stupidity; IMPORTANT when it comes to saying NO; POWERFUL within their own FAR-RIGHT noRIGHT jurisdiction and last but not least, PROMINENT in a way that shows just how much they are ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!
ROTFL – Limbauch, Cheney and Palin – WOW, that says a lot about the republican party!!!!
what about Michael Steele?
Most influential AMERICAN. He's a national treasure.
I never in my life listened to Rush Limbaugh. What got me to listen to Mr. Limbaugh was all the downright nasty things said about him. Now I'm happy to say all you folks with your insults of Rush Limbaugh have made me a fan of Mr. Limbaugh. Thank you all so much. I really do enjoy his show.
Limbaugh is the most audible and visible of what I've begun to call Republican mascots. It's Limbaugh's immaturity and insecurity that makes him blow so hard, and so sad that the arch-conservative base has enabled him to the extent that it has.
That alone should underscore the lack of character and intelligence in the modern American conservative movement.
Wow, the responses on this board are reflective of your limited knowledge. Sorry, you have NO credibility considering you elected the worst president in history.
In any just world Mr. Limbaugh would have been laughed out of public life many years ago.
Only in America can a person spread obvious lies (exercising freedom of speech rights) and make millions. It's sad to see fellow American's so brainwashed to believe GOP talking points. Just sitting here shaking my head............
And this is exactly why the Republican Party is very very quickly becoming the Republican Group! They will follow him right off the right wing cliff, then without a doubt, wonder what happened to them. IDIOTS!
We have been saying that he was head of the Republican Party and this just confirms it. Mr Steele may want to be sure his office sign is still on his door.
It is amazing that the neocon rightwing politicians have ceded authority to this pompous buffoon. The Republican party has lost its way and will never be relevant again unless they get a politician into the leadership position and that automatically excludes Palin and Cheney who are ex-gov and ex-vp respectively.
Obama/Biden 2012
Rush for President!!
This just shows how far the Republicans have fallen. Where is their integrity? Don't they realize that every time these Limbaughs and Becks talk they are only for making monies off their loyal supporters. I hope that only a few (vocal) Americans think like these guys. They are dangerous for our country, they are not simply entertainers as some are prone to say.
Freedom of speech is a wonderful liberty to have. The ability to separate what is real,from that that is imaginary is not a part of our constitution, but should be a high priority for all citizens. If the latter had a higher priority than it currently holds, the aformentioned radio personality would have lower ratings, and dimished popularity.
.
This is not a knock on Limbaugh, but it is telling that the most influential conservative in the country is, by his own admission, an entertainer. Conservatives who care about this country and about their own philosophy and ideology should balance Limbaugh's deliberately hyped-up rhetoric with other, more thoughtful positions. Until they do, we will not see the level of thoughtful discourse which the problems we face in this country deserve. Commentator/entertainers such as Limbaugh have a place, but so do real policymakers and analysts. Clearly we are out of balance between the two.
what a sad commentary on conservatives!
This is nonsense. Ron paul is the only real conservative that has any credibility left in the republican party. I'm not sure why the media always promotes these half-conservatives like Palin and Rush. Ron Paul has a voting record, anti-illegal war, individual liberty platform that hasn't wavered in the winds like some of these other so called conservatives.
Well I bet Steele won't open his mouth and dispute this for fear he may have to apologize to this big fat greasy ignorant bum. Why even poll this big stupid clown, this is only going to swell his fat head more, besides this does not help the GOP, it hurts them. To have this idiot be favored as the leader of the GOP, that's is insane.
The report forgets to add that poll came from state run media source AP , as always only half the story, false or not.
One day, he will be considered a legend... for his stupidity and for the stupidity of all who follow him!!!!!!!!!
Being a conservative, one who lives withing my means, uses credit only when necessary and believes in the country I served for over 27 years in some real armpits they have sent me to, I can say that I have not listened to Rush for about 3 years. I am no longer a republican or democrat, I vote my best choice and sadly those choices have been a choice between a hoover or a kirby for the past 18 years.
Yes, 100% of Democrats think that Rush Limbaugh is the most influential conservative...and maybe 2% of actual conservatives think that.
What a scary thought!
Thanks to Obama the democrats do not stand a chance in 2012.
GAGGGGGGGGG me!! I can NOT stand Rush Limbaugh.
Only a moron would even listen to the words of Limbarg and Beck. How much lower can the GOP go?
Anyone who is in the public eye is going to be the most influential. Why did GWB get blamed for the mortgaged crisis – he was the one in the public eye. No body cared that Chris Dodd and Barney Franck failed to act on Bush's warnings to their commitee (Democratic Controlled) to rein in Fannie and Freddie.
60 minutes and Vanity Fair? Seriously? Funny, most conervatives do not consider Beck nor Limbaugh as our voice.... if thats what vanity fair readers believe, then so be it. Silly.... and people say FOX isnt news...vanity fair!?!
Limbaugh, Palin, Cheney and Beck...now THATS a freakshow
he's better than blowhards pelosi and reid...
...If, I were a draft-dodger, with a low IQ, who believe's , that the Earth is flat. I'd guess I would be a (rush) republican too........
That is a sad commentary for the state of mind and the questionable values of Limbaugh's viewers!
Just show you can be dumber the dirt and still have a following.
But Jesus used the metaphor of the sheep for a reason...Jesus knew that most humans never raise above the intellectual level of a sheep.
Rush is coarse and crude and should not be a major spokesman for any group.
"conservative" and "Republican" are not the same thing...try the same poll with Libs and you may get George Soros or Susan Sarandon for your answer...does that make them the leader of the Dems?...just another example of hate-mongering and misrepresentation from the Left...
This guy, influential? I think he only influences the brainless base (as evidenced by some of the comments here), nobody with any capacity for critical thought considers his vitriolic, maniacal blather to be of the slightest interest. He's about as influential as Charles Manson, but considerably less intelligent. Hopefully one day he'll give himself a coronary and we'll be done with him.
Ya couldn't make this up if you tried!
...interesting note...they don't say specifically who answered the poll...so it includes many libs whose knee-jerk and uneducated answer is the trash often pontificated here...it is a self-serving poll therefore, flawed...big surprise..keep drinking the kool-aid and parroting each other...it's a good distraction from the destruction going on around us.
personally, i'm pleased he's the most influential conservative. his obviously skewed, thought processes and ultimate rediculous, conclusions demonstrate, without a doubt, that the conservative mind set is flawed, at best.
one look at rush, and i'm hoping people will see just how wrong they (the conservatives) are.
You know who voted on this? Liberals. Focus on your party Liberals as you try to pass a bill that seems to shift healthcare being run by lobbyists and politicians.
Conservatives are not "run" by the people mentioned in this ad. Conservatives stick together by beliefs.
They like liars, whoever feeds into their conspiracy theories becomes the leader. You go Rush!!!!!
WOW. What does that say about conservatives?
This is just too funny. A political party who now has an official voice in Rush Limbaugh. With him as their guiding light, they might as well just not even trying to keep their party relevant. Limbaugh makes the republican party a vessel to increase his ratings, and keep himself as the defacto leader of the party. He makes all of those potential intelligent candidates who actually have a message and could be on the national stage in 2012 cowtowing to his approval. How more in the dumper could the party get? LOL
Republicans are Doomed, with this kind of a person to represent them.
Any sane person will not want to be represented by an Idiot.
And people wonder why the republican party is in the dumper.
It amazes me how far the gop has sunk. They're nothing but the punchline to a bad joke at this point.
Well, he is not influential to me.
To me, he is a has-been that never was.
I could barely tollerate him when he was a comedian. Why anyone would consider an uneducated comedian a source of political opinion speaks loudly to the GoP.
If Rush continues his strangehold on the party, it will continue pushing out level-headed moderates in favor of party-purity, far-right-or-the-highway, whatever-it-takes, hate-fueled politics that is sending the party into decline. What does it say for the GOP when Republican leaders are afraid to defy this man?
I'm still hopeful. Maybe this clash will lead to a major party split, and the moderates (be they left, center, and right) will form a true big-tent coalition party and leave the GOP for the far-right to burn. We will someday be able to put this insane movement of ideological purity and shameless hatred behind us.
people like Liz Cheney and Newt Gingrich better reflect Conservative values and in an intelligent way.......
Newt Gingrich/Liz Cheney 2012'
That show just how sick the republican party is.
I weep for the future...
Indeed a great American, a man who has made a fortune standing up for the truth, defending people with morals, values, decency, and integrity against evil like those who have made negative comments here at the ticker.
The facts show that the average Limbaugh listener gives a far greater percentage of their wealth to charity than liberal Democrats like the ones dissing Limbaugh for having values they will never have nor understand.
Everyone here who is against hard working Americans like Rush have never listened to him, they are always told who to hate by their media masters. They cannot comprehend a show like Rush's anyway, they don't want to form their own views, they need the Jon Stewerts of the world to tell them what to regurgitate.
Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck , Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin best gift democrats have
Oops! I thought the title of the article called him the most "flatulent" conservative, which would probably be more accurate.
He will never run for political office, and would definitely never get elected. So I guess to be 'influential' in todays American conservative politics you just need a microphone and radiowaves to spew your hot air and lunacy.
He's got a great show, that's for sure. But God help him if he ever attempts anything that requires support outside his base. He says he's just a harmless fuzz ball, but his influence will impair the Republican's chances of finding national candidates that appeal to swing voters.
If these are the people that represent the Republican party, then 2010-2012 are going to be very interesting years. Interesting but not profitable for them because there isn't a winner or a true leader in the bunch .
I hope he fails...
Rush Limbaugh: the common sense conscience of America.
Keep up the good fight, Rush.