What did Rush Limbaugh talk about post-Gingrich, pre-Tea Party?

[darklordoftech]

I'm under the impression that movement conservatism was weak in 1999-2008. What was Limbaugh saying when Hastert and Clinton were working together, when Dubya was backing immigration reform and Medicare expansion, etc.?

[136or142]

He was a big backer of the second Iraq War.  On the day the U.S invasion of Iraq started he refused to take calls from anybody who opposed the war, I think saying something about 'patriotism' or something like that.

After Hurricane Katrina and Bush's popularity declined sharply in the lead-up to the 2006 midterms, he was leading the "George W Bush was never a real conservative anyway" charge.  This was based on Bush's support or proposing of the prescription drug plan and one other thing that I can't remember.

Of course, I never listened to Rush Limbaugh but I used to frequent right wing IRC political channels and I became aware that whatever Limbaugh mentioned that day the channel users would regurgitate for the entire day.

I remember at the time of the "George W Bush was never a real conservative anyway" stuff I asked one of them:
"Do you remember during the 2004 Presidential campaign when Republicans would say 'all Republicans are proudly voting to reelect George W Bush but Democrats are only supporting John Kerry because he is Bush's opponent?"

Reply
"Yes, even Democrats didn't like John Kerry."

Me
"So, if you proudly supported him in 2004, how can you now say that he was never a real conservative?"

I forget their reply, if there was any.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Somehow Bush collapsed in 2005 even among Republican voters and never even recovered, even with those votes.


Like uptil Mid 2005 Bush was more popular with Republican voters than Trump was and even more intense at times but  something changed after like April 2005 and Bush never really recovered

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Somehow Bush collapsed in 2005 even among Republican voters and never even recovered, even with those votes.


Like uptil Mid 2005 Bush was more popular with Republican voters than Trump was and even more intense at times but  something changed after like April 2005 and Bush never really recovered

1. Iraq went to hell
2. The attempt at privatizing Social Security
3. Immigration began to creep up the issue priority list.

Each of these would have caused problems with different sectors of the party.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The war dominated most discussion and foreign policy remained a dominant issue for the Republicans, even after most other groups were already labeling the economy as more important.

Beyond that, Rush and others pounded the populist drum to kill the 2007 immigration bill.

[136or142]

Hurricane Katrina ("you're doing a heck of a job, Brownie") was August 2005.

[HillGoose]

Somehow Bush collapsed in 2005 even among Republican voters and never even recovered, even with those votes.


Like uptil Mid 2005 Bush was more popular with Republican voters than Trump was and even more intense at times but  something changed after like April 2005 and Bush never really recovered

Katrina was sort of the straw that broke the camel's back so to speak when it came to the Bush admin. A lot of things contributed to the erosion in his popularity. Like you said, he was super popular among Republicans until 2005, one poll in 2004 I think had Republicans holding him in as high regard as they did Reagan. I believe by the fall of 03 Democrats were in full election mode so they were no longer willing to speak positively on Bush much, then after Bush got reelected the major support he had from Republicans also started to dip, but I think Katrina made him look like an ineffective leader and that stripped away a lot of the Republican support he had left.

It's strange though, polls indicate Bush wasn't even that popular among Republicans in 2005-2008, but all the Republicans I knew during that period thought he was great. Maybe because I lived in TN, but I'm not totally sure.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Somehow Bush collapsed in 2005 even among Republican voters and never even recovered, even with those votes.


Like uptil Mid 2005 Bush was more popular with Republican voters than Trump was and even more intense at times but  something changed after like April 2005 and Bush never really recovered

Katrina was sort of the straw that broke the camel's back so to speak when it came to the Bush admin. A lot of things contributed to the erosion in his popularity. Like you said, he was super popular among Republicans until 2005, one poll in 2004 I think had Republicans holding him in as high regard as they did Reagan. I believe by the fall of 03 Democrats were in full election mode so they were no longer willing to speak positively on Bush much, then after Bush got reelected the major support he had from Republicans also started to dip, but I think Katrina made him look like an ineffective leader and that stripped away a lot of the Republican support he had left.

It's strange though, polls indicate Bush wasn't even that popular among Republicans in 2005-2008, but all the Republicans I knew during that period thought he was great. Maybe because I lived in TN, but I'm not totally sure.

Bush's numbers were still good in TN during the 2006 midterms, which is why TN was one of the few states he campaigned in, along with GA and TX among others. This probably played a big role in Bob Corker winning the Senate against Harold Ford Jr.