The Left Misreads Popularity Of Limbaugh, Tea PartyConservatism:
The White House sicced its meanest attack dogs, Media Matters and MSNBC, on Rush Limbaugh. But they couldn't knock him off the air. Their advertising boycott has failed.Even the Washington Post admits the conservative talk-show giant has survived a monthlong crusade to cow sponsors and stations into dropping Limbaugh over intemperate remarks he made about a coed fan of ObamaCare.
"Stations are standing by him," the Post reported, and
"advertisers are trickling back to his program."Turns out the
ad losses were far fewer than liberal Media Matters claimed in a running tally on its website.
In fact, virtually all of Limbaugh's long-term sponsors stuck with the show, in spite of relentless brow-beating by both Media Matters and MSNBC, which also works closely with the White House.
Of the 180 stations that carry Limbaugh, only two dropped him. And both are based in deep blue states, Massachusetts and Hawaii. Even the Beltway's top AM station wasn't cowed by the left-wing assault.
Just weeks ago, Media Matters was gloating that its campaign would "alter," if not end, Limbaugh's career. Proclaimed founder David Brock: "We are confident that sponsors will take their dollars elsewhere."
On March 5, MSNBC host Ed Schultz declared of Limbaugh: "He's done."
In fact, there is evidence
the left's campaign backfired, as Limbaugh's ratings soared and attracted new sponsors. His 20 million listeners stuck by him. Many are members of the Tea Party, fed up with Obama's government overreach. So, indirectly, Limbaugh's survival also reflects the strength of the Tea Party movement.
Yet the left has also been writing the conservative group's obituary. Michael Moore just months ago proudly predicted that Occupy Wall Street would dwarf the Tea Party in size and influence.
"This is going to be much larger than the Tea Party," he assured CNN host Piers Morgan in an Oct. 25 interview. "No one is going to remember the Tea Party."
Today,
Occupy Wall Street is broken. Its promised "spring offensive" never materialized. In a delicious irony, the few rabble left in Manhattan have taken to booing and heckling Moore as a "1%-er" and "$50-millionaire" whenever he drops by for a photo op.
The two stories show how out of touch the left is, especially about the conservative movement's popularity.
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