Surprise: Most Americans View Rush Limbaugh Negatively

Posted by Isaac Fitzgerald, AlterNet at 11:54 AM on March 11, 2009.

Well it seems that old Rush ain't as popular as he'd like folks to believe according to a new study by Democracy Corps and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, even when it comes to moderate Republicans:

With a national debate raging over the place of radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh in the Republican Party, a new national survey from Democracy Corps and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner finds that Limbaugh weighs down heavily on an already weakened Republican Party -- putting Republican leaders and their party’s conservative base voters out of sync with not only Democrats and independents, but even the bloc of moderate Republicans. On virtually every question the great majority of the mainstream rejects Limbaugh’s ideas and vision of the Republican Party, which severely constrains Republican elected leaders. It does not help that some of the key voters in the 2006 and 2008 elections, like younger voters, are particularly uncomfortable with Limbaugh’s politics. Conservative Republican voters, however, embrace Limbaugh, giving him a very high favorability rating; they say he shares their values and urge Republican leaders to defend him when he is criticizing President Obama.

Remarkably, voters view Limbaugh negatively by a two-to-one ratio (53 to 26 percent), with nearly half the country, 45 percent, viewing him very, very negatively. Among independents, the ratio rises to three-to-one. More important are the values that Limbaugh espouses. By a nearly two-to-one ratio (57 to 32 percent) a majority of voters -- and independents -- say Limbaugh does not "share their values," but Republicans are in a different world where, by two-to-one, they believe he shares them.

To sum it up: most people don't think too much of Rush, or his views, save conservative Republicans. Which is just what the GOP should be looking for in a leader: one who alienates them from most voters, including moderates within their own party. Truly, Rush is a foolproof bet for Republicans who want to expand their base, and I for one hope they stick with him.

To read the rest of the overview click here.

To see the numbers, charts, and graphs read the whole memo here.

Tagged as: america, rush limbaugh, popular?, conservative republicans