Of course he is afraid to denounce Limbaugh. Rush is the de facto head of the Republican party. Hoffman would have to apologize to Rush if he disagreed with Rush's hate speech.

Why waste his time? This way, Hoffman wouldn't have to apologize to Rush afterwards.

Um... actually I think that's pretty funny. And he's right -by backing down to the extremists on the right she's made it next to impossible for any moderates to wrestle the party back (even a stopped clock is right twice a day). Fine by me, and probably by Rush as well.

I think this might be a little mountain making from a molehill and I hope it's not coupled with sexism -would folks react the same way if he'd made the same comment about a male cendidate?

Since when is a bestiality joke of any kind reflective of conservative values, which Hoffman claims in the interview to represent? The very fact that he danced so delicately back from any criticism of Rush suggests that this is a politician in thrall to outsiders. Disagreement and dissent, between and within political parties, has always been a cornerstone of the American political process. Anybody, from any quarter, who wields the power to cut that off at the grass roots level is a danger.

The Republicans could win on this one, but they may have a very tough time coping with the result. I suspect that Rush represents a large group of conservatives with lots of money. They may believe they are pulling the strings and guiding the effects. Rush and many of his listeners may think otherwise. It will be interesting to see what chickens come home to roost as a result of this dynamic.

My guess is Hoffman didn't get the joke, not understanding what Rush meant by RINO or at least the (il)logic of his argument.

Jesus Christ, I'm getting sick of this dipshit.

The South believes in State's Rights unless that State is in the North, because then a Southerner needs to tell them who to elect.

This is Soviet-tyle politics. Their candidate is who is best for the Party, not who best represents the people of Upstate NY. Any chance whatsoever this guy will ever represent the people up Upstate NY in his dealing in Congress? He does not even know what they are, not even taken the time to study them before he met the press.