Rush Limbaugh is definitely not happy with former McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt, who said that a Palin campaign for president would be "catastrophic."
Limbaugh, who has been a long-time Palin fan, gave this comment to Greg Sargent:
I think it's time for the McCain crowd to acknowledge they are losers and pack it in. They've done enough damage to the Republican Party. Move aside and let a brighter, more principled, and more competent generation of people clean up the mess they helped create.

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dswx
October 2, 2009 12:02 PM
"I think it's time for the McCain crowd to acknowledge they are losers and pack it in."
Now if someone would just tell David Gregory and George Stephanopalous the same thing since McCain is on their Sunday talk show every other week. How ironic that wacko Rush says it and they don't get it.
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Jaycal
October 2, 2009 12:03 PM
Yah! You tell em' Rushbo! Palin for President in 2012!!! A candidacy all Democrats can support!
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mans_best_friend
October 2, 2009 12:09 PM in reply to Jaycal
You betcha. I might even cross over to vote in the Republican primary to vote for her, also.
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Schmed
October 2, 2009 12:23 PM in reply to mans_best_friend
Now, that's a great idea!
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Michael A
October 2, 2009 1:13 PM in reply to Schmed
Me three. Palin for prez in 2012.
Problem is I'll bet the farm that she doesn't run. Too much work. She couldn't handle the heat in Alaska for a full term, she sure won't run for president.
She'll tease and wink and do the pagent walk until 2011 and then she will take over the jerry springer show and make a mint. Pathetic.
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mans_best_friend
October 2, 2009 1:39 PM in reply to Michael A
Precisely. She's making too much money on the wingnut lecture circuit, which is the real reason she quit as governor. But by 2012 she'll be ancient history. There's just no there there, and the complete vacuousness that is Sarah Palin will cause the R's to look elsewhere. Maybe Michele Bachmann. :-)))
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RocketEngineer
October 3, 2009 11:45 AM in reply to Schmed
Heck, I'll chair the Palin 2012 campaign in my precinct.
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plan69
October 2, 2009 12:11 PM
Brighter, competent, principled. Not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Palin....or Steele, Sanford, Ensign, Jindal, Limbaugh, Hannity etal (and there are alot of "etals" that I can't think of right now). The problem is that the mess was made by Limbaugh and there aren't any competent, bright or principled politicians in the Republican party to clean it up.
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jenzinoh
October 2, 2009 5:14 PM in reply to plan69
"They've done enough damage to the Republican Party. Move aside and let a brighter, more principled, and more competent generation of people clean up the mess they helped create."
Honestly, if you look at just this quote, you would think the person WAS talking about Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, Norquist, et. al.!
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shooter242
October 2, 2009 12:18 PM
McCain is why I voted for Obama.
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Schmed
October 2, 2009 12:26 PM in reply to shooter242
You voted for Obama? Yeah, right. I bet you sat it out like most disgusted GOOPers.
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plan69
October 2, 2009 12:28 PM in reply to shooter242
So Palin's your gal if she runs?
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shooter242
October 2, 2009 12:33 PM in reply to plan69
Only if nobody better steps up. Too many negatives.
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pv2k
October 2, 2009 2:04 PM in reply to shooter242
A Bachmann/Palin ticket is perfect for you shooter. Bachmann doesn't carry all those negatives Sarah has. Michele can't be any farther "right" than she is. Word has it that when Michele is sober she can actually see Wisconsin!
The perfect choice for shooter! You betcha!
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Minne sconsin
October 2, 2009 4:29 PM in reply to pv2k
Sh*t, Wisconsin is only 100 yards from her district. We'd like to move further away, but the Army Corps of Engineers won't widen the St. Croix river.
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Jeppy
October 2, 2009 12:28 PM
Wow, this is getting good. Where's my popcorn?
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johnmccsf
October 2, 2009 12:34 PM
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CT Voter
October 2, 2009 12:41 PM
"They've done enough damage to the Republican Party?"
ROTFLMAO!
Sarah "I read all of them, Katie" Palin is who did in the party. Had McCain chosen a half way credible VP, Independents might have given him a longer look.
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Indie Tarheel
October 2, 2009 12:43 PM
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macsurf
October 2, 2009 12:47 PM
You should all read David Brooks' op-ed piece in today's New York Times. He, as a genuine conservative, puts the Rush/Beck/Hannity phenomemon in its proper context.
Brooks acurately asserts in the column that despite all the volume and blather, Rush, Sean, and Glenn have had little impact at the polls. They, as Brooks points out, mistake viewers and lsiteners for voters.
They all swooned over Fred Thompson, many of their listeners and viewers followed their lead. Voters didn't. Then it was Mitt Romney, but many of the Bible thumping listeners couldn't get beyond Romney's Mormonism so, whether they vote or not, the Three Stooges' on air endorsements fell on deaf ears.
Rush backed two bible thumping, far right, immigrant hating GOP congressional candidates in AZ to the hilt on the air, they both went down to defeat at the hands of Democrats.
Brooks describes the Rush, Glenn, Sean, et al, story this way; "It is a story of remarkable volume, and utter weakness. It is a story as old as the Wizard of OZ, of grand illusions and small men behind the curtain."
We progressives should all keep hoping the Three Stooges' keep it up and that whack jobs like Palin, Bachmann, Wilson, and DeMint continue to believe the media mythology that the Three Stooges' are the generals of some vast angry right wing army ready to storm the gates, and people like Palin will ride that wave of glory to power in the name of Christ, apple pie, mom, dad, flag, country, and of, course, "abstinence only" sex education because we know how well that strategy worked for her family.
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The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve
October 2, 2009 12:48 PM
"Brighter." "More principled." "More competent." Yeah, 'cause those are exactly the phrases that come to the top of my mind when someone says "Sarah Palin." You go, Rush!
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hawaiian
October 2, 2009 12:54 PM
Let David Letterman be a good example of what kind of person is attacking the family values of the American voter.
I wonder why Mr. Letterman kisses Sen. McCane ass?
Well don't wonder just wait for the group sex video that Mr. Letterman made his crew preform.
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Stroszek
October 2, 2009 1:07 PM in reply to hawaiian
Oh dear...
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Schmed
October 2, 2009 1:14 PM in reply to hawaiian
Well, we all know what a paragon of moral virtue that El Rushbo is, what with his prescription drug abuse and his serial matrimony. So, God forbid that we tune into Letterman for a laugh when we can get great moral and political example from El Gordito.
Right on target as usual, my pineapple loving troll.
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ttarleton
October 2, 2009 1:18 PM in reply to hawaiian
Cane, ass? Your flogging fantasy is showing!
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CT Voter
October 2, 2009 2:05 PM in reply to hawaiian
You need to see someone about the strength of your prescriptions. . .
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Schmed
October 2, 2009 2:24 PM in reply to CT Voter
Rush could probably recommend someone.
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The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve
October 2, 2009 2:50 PM in reply to Schmed
Rush don't need no stinkin' prescriptions.
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Schmed
October 2, 2009 3:33 PM in reply to The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve
Ditto!
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lousgirl84
October 2, 2009 2:49 PM in reply to hawaiian
Wow. you have a seriously problem don't you. You should see someone and get some help.
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DButcher
October 2, 2009 7:17 PM in reply to hawaiian
From family values to ass kissing and group sex in a single, albeit mangled, paragraph. Hypocrisy meet thy ambassador.
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ttarleton
October 2, 2009 1:16 PM
I love the smell of Republican desperation in the morning. Smells like - victory! (For the other party!)
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TaraV
October 2, 2009 1:42 PM in reply to ttarleton
While what you are saying is indeed true; it remains to be seen what the Dems are actually able to accomplish with their current power. Voters will not be inclined to support a party that can't get their agenda through.
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TaraV
October 2, 2009 3:29 PM in reply to ttarleton
While what you are saying is indeed true; it remains to be seen what the Dems are actually able to accomplish with their current power. Voters will not be inclined to support a party that can't get their agenda through.
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Mateo123
October 2, 2009 2:47 PM
Rush is right on. No one -- in my lifetime -- ran a more incompetent campaign than John McCain. And, I guess that means that his architect, Steve Schmidt, is the one to blame.
The thing is, Schmidt is only partially to blame because Schmidt played by Rove's book. That is, their entire goal was to make the campaign about character. Obama didn't have the background needed to be president. He would ruin the nation. He's not a military guy, but a hippie wacko socialist. Rove played the same game with Kerry in 2004. It's just that in 2004, there was no Hurricane Katrina yet. There was no failure of Lehman. Bush's first term was hardly one of genuine competency. But, his second was ridiculous. The public disregarded the Rove playbook in 2008 -- because they followed it in 2004 and saw where it went.
Palin, with Rush's support, will run the same way that Schmidt and Rush and Rove ran.
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Schmed
October 2, 2009 3:41 PM in reply to Mateo123
....except for those he beat. Rudi (9/11) Giuliani was criminally incompetent ("I'll wait for FL to come around before I flex my awesome charm muscle!") while Fred Thompson needed electro-cardiac resussitation to get on the campaign trail. McCain was the Flash on speed compared to those two.
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The Old Grouch
October 2, 2009 4:11 PM in reply to Schmed
You left out Willard, who thought money and dyed hair were all he needed.
Oops - forgot the "magic underwear" part!
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Xantar
October 2, 2009 4:48 PM in reply to The Old Grouch
I was a big fan of the "who let the dogs out?" photo-op, myself.
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Schmed
October 2, 2009 4:49 PM in reply to Xantar
Bleech! I still cringe when I think about that!
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Larry Linn
October 2, 2009 6:55 PM
How many Republicans that the Drug Addict Limpball supported have been elected?
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Marcellus
October 3, 2009 12:45 AM
Is this as dreadful as it looks and sounds? Is the republican party committing public suicide?
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Verified
October 3, 2009 1:13 AM
Rush is just waiting out the Sarah-Todd breakup.
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Official A
October 3, 2009 10:49 AM
I'd prefer a viable Republican party strong (and reasonable) enough to make the Dems perform better. Right now, it's a less-than-zero sum game. A veritable race for the bottom.
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Richardxx
October 3, 2009 11:26 AM
McCain may actually have some good points if Limbaugh is attacking him. Who knew?
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JEP07
October 3, 2009 12:00 PM
"the McCain crowd" represents every Republican to the left of The Lump. As I have said before, the Republican Party isn't just about to split, it is about to splinter into 4 different, opposing parties.
1. The traditional fiscal conservatives; (The local banker)
2. the Cheney military/industrial/ wall street no-bidders (Daddy Warbucks)
3. the McCain moderates (everyone left of Limbaugh)
4.the Palin wingnuts, which is something of a weird multi-chimera that includes crazies of every stripe.
Each has (had) a well-defined power base within the party, and as long as they owned a brainless puppet like Bush, whom they all considered their personal plaything, (all the while arrogantly ignorant of one another's imagined monopoly on W,) they could agree at least on WHO to vote for, if not WHAT to vote for.
Now that four-pillared house of cards has collapsed, and those pillars will be looking for somewhere to concentrate their power bases.
The Republicans are very close to finalizing that collapse, The Lumpo is, in calling for the ouster of McCain's "pillar" from the house foundation, admitting it is too late for their disparate pillars to hold up the same house of cards, and now the house must fall, so each pillar can retain their delusion of monopoly.
So when they are finished, Rove's temp-permanent Republican majority has splintered into four very dysfunctional family members, and the dissolution of that family is at hand.
And as their unlimited hypocrisy will have it, the Limbaugh wingnuts, who so arrogantly assume their small minority represents some silent, missing majority, will be the first to call the McCain branch traitors, after they have separated.
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Q Jordon
October 3, 2009 10:37 PM
I think Rush should run for president. I truly would like to see where his numbers would be, if he did run for a political position.
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fitsol
October 3, 2009 11:41 PM
If he ran for office his number would probably be low unless he fed them Oxycontin.
http://hubpages.com/hub/GOP-Jihad
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