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Rush Limbaugh Tells Pro-Choice Republicans To F*** Off

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By Paul Hsieh from NoodleFood,cross-posted by MetaBlog

In his October 24, 2008 radio show, Rush Limbaugh essentially told Republicans who believe in abortion rights that they should leave the Republican Party:

Good Riddance, GOP Moderates

...We flushed 'em out. We found out they're not really Republicans and they're by no means conservatives, and now they're gone. Now the trick is to keep 'em out.

...The minute you say that conservatism includes people who are pro-choice, you've destroyed conservatism because conservatism stands for "life, liberty, pursuit of happiness." Without life, there is nothing else here, and if we're going to sit around indiscriminately deciding who lives and who dies based on our own convenience, that's not conservative. Individual liberty. The essence of innocence is a child in the womb who has no choice over what happens to it. Sorry. If we don't stand up for that person, if the government doesn't, then nobody will. And if we allow ourselves to get watered down by a bunch of people who are embarrassed over that position, they're not conservatives.

No problem, Rush. I've already sent the following message to numerous Republicans at the local, state, and national level:

I used to support the Republican Party because I believe in individual rights, free markets, a strong national defense, and the right to keep and bear arms.

However, the Republican Party alliance with the religious right on "social issues" like stem cell research, abortion and gay marriage has turned off many former supporters such as myself.

Americans have a right to practice their religion as a purely private matter, and I defend everyone's right to do so.

But the government should not force one group's religious views on everyone. Hence, I no longer have a home in any political party. To paraphrase a quote from Ronald Reagan, "I didn't leave the Republican Party, the Republican Party left me."

Given that Rush Limbaugh has just confirmed that they don't want members like me, I'm happy to oblige him.

If the Republican Party wants to become the party of the Religious Right, then they will lose big in 2008. And they will deserve to do so.

Update:An Objectivist friend has also contacted us privately to point out that in another show, Limbaugh spoke out to defend individual rights, but as part of a pro-McCain plea. As our friend notes (quoted with his permission):

And let's not forget that his impassioned defense of individual freedom (which I heard part of, and which by itself was quite good) was made in defense of voting for JOHN MCCAIN... you know, the guy who blames the financial crisis on greedy Wall Street, who dismisses those who pursue profit instead of "service," who thinks the First Amendment deserves scare quotes, who supports cap and trade, who opposes drilling for oil in Alaska, whose hero is Teddy Roosevelt, who chose religious nut-job and anti-intellectual populist Sarah Palin as his running mate, etc., etc., etc. What a sin it would be to elect
that
kind of nightmare in the name of *capitalism*!

If McCain and Limbaugh were the only "defenders" of individual rights against the likes of Obama, then our country would be in sorry shape. Fortunately, there are better defenders out there...436926664

Cross-posted from Metablog

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On the pro-choice argument you are right.

Regarding the last point about defending individual rights, this is wrong. Rush is not a fan of McCain's at all. He just believes McCain is better than Obama, whom he considers to be an out right socialist. So, keep that context in mind. Rush would much rather have someone like Rudy Giuliani. McCain at least has some respect for the idea that businesses have to be able to make a profit, whereas it's not even on Obama's radar. His whole idea is to punish the successful.

Also, he believes Obama anti-American and would be a thug, witness his attacks on Joe the Plumber, for example.

Rush has always been a mixed bag. He is truly a lover of free enterprise and has even defended self-interest. Religion is his weakness.

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I think Rush is articulating the views of those who take their anti-abortion seriously. He's telling the more secular, free-market GOP guys that his side is not going to give up. If those secularists vote for Obama or some other Democrat as a protest, don't expect Rush to consider compromising on abortion to get them back. That seems to be his message, and I think most free-market types will blink.

It is an odd situation, because the free-market theme (if done right) still has traction with the independents. I think the Joe Plumber episode is a small example that highlighted how badly the GOP has lost the free-market theme, that it took a complete accident to bring it back on the stage.

Edited by softwareNerd
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If this is Rush trying to help McCain, he must be going senile. There is no way a pro-choice person will take this kind of moralizing from someone who spent years judging drug-addicts while on the phone with his dealer, ordering up painkillers.

This has to be pissing off moderates, and they'll just stay at home.

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While not quite on the topic of abortion, this news story shows just how much putting God into the campaign is a real issue to Conservatives.

North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole and her Democratic rival, Kay Hagan, are trading blows over an ad that accuses Hagan of accepting money from Godless Americans Political Action Committee, a New Jersey-based group that promotes rights for atheists and the separation of church and state.

After Dole refused to take down the ad -- which began running statewide in North Carolina Tuesday -- Hagan angrily filed a lawsuit on Thursday, saying the subject was defamatory. She also aired her own ad saying that Dole is breaking the Bible's Ninth Commandment by bearing false witness.

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Fact is I'm fine with Rush. Most of the moderates I know in the GOP are anti-free trade not pro free trade so the hell with them. The lose of Colin Powell and others that he is describing doesn't bother me a bit. Powell is a extreme disappointment and changes his mind do to fear that he won't be invited to Georgetown cocktail parties anymore. Any man who can look at Obama and support him isn't worth a damn to me.

The fact is Obama hates the Constitution, hates Capitalism, wants to make a larger slave class by making even more people dependent upon the government, and the only chance to stop him is if McCain wins. I hate McCain I think the man is a moron, but reality shows that he isn't going to hurt us worse then Obama will. I'm supporting McCain, after the election I'll fight against him. Fact is though Obama is a million times worse.

All the GOP "moderates" who are voting for Obama, and is supporting him doesn't belong in the GOP. The hell with you leave! Support the biggest socialist quais Marxist that has been up fort he Presidency since FDR. I'll take the guy who acts like Eisenhower instead of the guy further to the left then FDR. So for all of those moderates supporting Obama please leave the GOP never come back, and don't cry to me when your life becomes harder because of the policies Obama brings to the nation.

Edited by thepipesmoker
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...We flushed 'em out. We found out they're not really Republicans and they're by no means conservatives, and now they're gone. Now the trick is to keep 'em out.

I think Limbaugh's reaction is a window into how Republicans will likely respond to a McCain defeat. McCain was never a darling of the religious right, nor conservatives in general. His claim to fame was his image as a maverick and his ability to draw moderates into the party. A defeat next week by McCain will back up Limbaugh's long held contention that moderates are worthless and that the way for republicans to win elections is to appeal to the base and stick to conservative principles. By contrast, a McCain victory will vindicate his moderate image and show that a path to victory for republicans can be achieved without bowing before the religious right.

It also helps clarify what is at stake in this election, and what goals, both short and long term, can be achieved. Those like me who feel that socialism is the greater threat are likely to cast their vote for McCain. He represents the political status quo except that it will be the Christians that will be on the outside looking in. They will likely have little influence on him and whatever influence they might have will be erased by a congress controlled by democrats. Others who feel that religion is the greater threat should not automatically assume that an Obama victory is the right approach. Nothing is more likely to unify the republicans around their religious base than an Obama victory. Christian Fundamentalism will gain in political strength with an Obama victory, not be weakened. With the idea of appealing to moderates discredited, future republican candidates will bow before the religious right and fully embrace their agenda. So, in a sense, an Obama victory is a victory for both socialism and Christian Fundamentalism

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