Uh-oh. GOP consultant and Fox News pollster extraordinaire Frank Luntz has some 'splainin to do. The far left website Mother Jones has obtained a tape of Luntz, speaking off the record, in which he suggests that conservative talk radio is a "problem." Specifically, he targets Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh, but the phrase "and others" means he's pretty much lumping them all into his crosshairs.
According to Luntz, they're actively "destroying" Marco Rubio with opposition to the Senator's stance on immigration.
"They get great ratings, and they drive the message, and it’s really problematic. And this is not on the Democratic side. It’s only on the Republican side… [inaudible]. [Democrats have] got every other source of news on their side. And so that is a lot of what’s driving it. If you take—Marco Rubio’s getting his # kicked. Who’s my Rubio fan here? We talked about it. He’s getting destroyed! By Mark Levin, by Rush Limbaugh, and a few others. He’s trying to find a legitimate, long-term effective solution to immigration that isn’t the traditional Republican approach, and talk radio is killing him. That’s what’s causing this thing underneath. And too many politicians in Washington are playing coy."
First of all, no one on talk radio is trying to "destroy" Rubio. Plenty of conservative hosts disagree with his immigration reforms, but to a man they've bent over backwards to be respectful. Most have given Rubio airtime.
The problem with what Luntz is saying is that it seeks to remove Rubio's position from the equation.
If anyone is "destroying" Rubio, it's Rubio himself. He's fighting hard for a plan that is sure to be a problem for the base of his own party. Right wing radio hosts have done nothing but present the "Gang of Eight" plan and, yes, outline their opposition. Sorry, but when Rubio allied himself with the likes of John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Dick Durbin and Charles Schumer, what did he expect?
Rubio is certainly young and charismatic, but that doesn't mean he can't be wrong. Contrary to what Luntz is saying, the fact that conservatives aren't buying what he's selling doesn't mean they're trying to "destroy" him. It just means that, like Rubio's base, they're not on board.
Here's the Mother Jones clip.
