Rush Limbaugh speaks... the truth?

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Look, it wouldn't be the first time, however infrequent it may be.

Just last October, for example, he said that "Romney is not a conservative. He's not, folks. You can argue with me all day long on that, but he isn't."

Well, no, that's not true. Romney is a conservative... sort of... in a way. You could say he's a conservative vulture capitalist. And you can certainly say he's a conservative on tax policy (and on trying to make the rich as rich as possible). And he has certainly adopted solidly conservative positions on issues like abortion and immigration.

Okay, so he's not a conservative, just someone with some conservative positions. So maybe Dear Leader Rush was right? Sure, maybe.

Anyway, Rush was at it again yesterday, slamming the GOP "establishment" for its cluelessness:

Rush Limbaugh mocked the Republican establishment on his radio show Wednesday for being "shocked" by Rick Santorum's three-state win, saying, "I can't believe how insulated they are."

"They're literally shocked. The Republican establishment had no idea this was percolating out there. I can't believe how insulated they are," Limbaugh said. "To look at the reaction they're having today, to see how shocked they are that Rick Santorum has come out of what they thought was an impossible position equivalent to nowhere, is an incredible thing."

Well, yes. I'm not sure the establishment was quite as "shocked" as Rush suggested, but there's no doubt that the pro-Romney push by the establishment, with millions and millions spent to crush his far more conservative opponents, is basically a huge middle finger to the vast majority of the Republican Party, and particularly to its grassroots base.

Santorum may not be the guy -- because of who he is, because he lacks sufficient money and organization -- but he's far more in tune with the current Republican zeitgeist than the pathetically pandering Romney. As he added, sarcastically:

First it was Newt, now it's Santorum. It can't be the candidates. It can't be that Santorum's connecting with voters. It can't be that, no, no, it can't be that Santorum's resonating with Republican voters, the conservative base. It can't be that the conservative base just isn't happy with Romney. It can't be any of that. No, no, no.

Yes, yes, yes. But is the "establishment" getting the message?