McCain's Mom Not a Limbaugh Fan

House Republican whip makes rare criticism of mighty Rush

(NEWSER) - Eric Cantor ventured into unusual territory for a Republican lawmaker: criticism of Rush Limbaugh. Asked by a Bloomberg interviewer about Limbaugh's comparison of President Obama's governing style to Hitler's, the House Republican whip responded: “Do I condone the mention of Hitler in any discussion about politics? No, I don’t, because obviously that is something that conjures up images that frankly are not, I think, very helpful.” More»

Top Republicans complain talkers are pushing party to fringe

(NEWSER) - Top Republicans are fed up with Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh—off the record at least. Without naming names, Politico says that “congressional leaders” privately complain that the conservative commentariat is hurting their chances in 2010 by pushing the party too far to the fringe. Operatives close to top 2012 presidential contenders say they’d like to harness the grass-roots anger against Barack Obama, but worry about seeming too extreme. More»

Glenn Beck needs something really great to upstage this

(NEWSER) - The perennially publicity-hungry Miss America Pageant will shake up the judges' panel for the January event by adding a lightning rod: Rush Limbaugh. The right-wing titan isn't the first political blowhard to serve as a judge—MSNBC's Chris Matthews did a stint in 2007—but the pageant "has never been so overtly Republican as to invite one of the party’s largest mouthpieces to serve as a judge," writes John Katsilometes of the Las Vegas Sun. Circle Jan. 30 on your calendar now. More»

(NEWSER) - Once again the right-wing radio guys have managed to convince everyone that they are a great and powerful force to be reckoned with. David Brooks revisits the 2007 Republican primaries, when Rush, Hannity, Beck and company were all weak-kneed over Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney, but bashed “unreliable deviationists” John McCain and Mike Huckabee. What happened? Huckabee emerged as a star and McCain won. More»

Shock jock hits the track—and a picture of the ex-VP

(NEWSER) - A thinner Rush Limbaugh—he's dropped 82 pounds—showed up on Jay Leno's show last night to talk politics ("I'm not polarizing," Obama is) and flatten Al Gore. While taking Leno's "green car" challenge, Limbaugh ran over a cardboard cutout of Gore, then drew big laughs by backing over it. He and Leno sparred a bit on the growing gap between rich and poor, with Limbaugh saying it's not Leno's—or anyone's—business what other people make, writes Rachel Kolb at the Celebrity Cafe. More»