Nature (and the Republican Party) Abhors a Vacuum

White House Lets Limbaugh Be Voice Of GOP Opposition

By Howard Kurtz Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, March 3, 2009; A04

If White House officials were trying to elevate Rush Limbaugh to the leader of the opposition, they may have succeeded.

After the radio host delivered a raucous red-meat speech Saturday afternoon at the Conservative Political Action Conference, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said on CBS's "Face the Nation" the next day: "He is the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party, and he has been upfront about what he views, and hasn't stepped back from that, which is he hopes for failure."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs added his voice yesterday, saying reporters should ask Republicans "whether they agree with what Rush Limbaugh said . . . in wishing and hoping for economic failure in this country."

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