Opinion by AAABTonto:

The GOP is committing suicide. The go-along-to-get-along, beltway, elitist, moderate mentality is apparently in complete denial of their conservative base—indeed they have attacked Tea Party and even blamed them for Mitt Romney’s 2012 loss.

Frank Luntz, GOP message man and image consultant, recently spoke to University of Pennsylvania students and was asked about political polarization. His reply was to blame conservative talk radio:

“They get great ratings, and they drive the message, and it’s really problematic.”

Frank Luntz on Rush Limbaugh

Luntz had requested that his answer be “off the record”, and although the student who originally asked the question agreed to this,  Aakash Abbi, the student who recorded Luntz’ statement, did not. He subsequently forwarded it (a recording) to Mother Jones.

From the article:

In an op-ed for the Daily Pennsylvanian, Abbi outlined his reasoning for making and leaking the recording, explaining that “in a room filled with scores of independent students, ‘off the record’ is not a Patronus charm. Luntz may have felt that he was invited to speak candidly by acclimation, but I disagreed entirely.”

Frank Luntz has made a very successful career out of advising Republicans on the content of their message. He was asked one of the most important questions of the day in terms of American politics (“what is causing extreme polarization between the parties?”), and refused to speak freely. Why? Because doing so may harm his commercial interest. And this attitude is at the root of the problem. If influential GOP figures like Frank Luntz truly believe that the party’s media kingmakers harm the national interest but refuse to say so for fear of backlash, they knowingly work against the spirit of open and honest debate.

In other words, the people creating the “chilling effect” on discourse are not students like Abbi, but the very people Luntz was afraid to go on the record criticizing in the first place.

So Abbi , with the help of Mother Jones, is making the point that it is the fault of Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin for creating a “chilling effect” …  Voicing their opinion is their 1st Amendment right and Abbi, Mother Jones and Frank Luntz are going to have get over the “chilling effect.” I would venture to say that it is “chilling” to them because it is the truth.

And that is why the message that Limbaugh and Levin broadcast is “problematic.” It makes the GOP uncomfortable—it means they will have to get off their collective asses and do some work. I think the GOP is perfectly content being 2nd place in Washington, DC. To them, it’s all about perpetuating their corrupt, beltway, game-board strategy in which they continue to receive kickbacks and benefits, while pretending to be the foe of big government and the consolidation of federal power.

From Real Clear Politics:

FRANK LUNTZ: And 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 ass 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. (April 22, University of Pennsylvania College Republicans)

There is nothing about this latest attempt to legislate amnesty that Rubio has pledged allegiance to that is legitimate. It is sadly disappointing. I had a great deal of respect for Rubio, but he seems to have thrown his lot in with the go-along-to-get-alongers. This craptastic legislation was pasted together by Chuckie Schumer  and it is a “5 year plan” that says “if it doesn’t work at the end of 5 years then it gets turned over to a multi-border-state committee”; well, whoopity-doo! It isn’t going to work, and there will be 5 more years of untold millions of who-knows-whos scampering across the border and then ANOTHER COMMITTEE will try to solve it? How many years does THAT committee get to work on it?

Mark Levin grills Marco Rubio on immigration proposal

Build the damn fence and close the damn border already and be done with it!

This is what I am talking about. Any time someone speaks the truth or questions ANYTHING the Democrats want to do, then it is hate speech! Whoever said it is celebrating Hitler’s birthday in their basement and is a bigoted, homophobic, Islamohater! The truth is all too inconvenient to moderates and progressives.

Washington is den of thieves. Very few of them are truly vested in the best interests of America. They are perpetuating the “process” so they can continue to bilk us out of money and liberty to advance their own agendas. They’re in it for themselves.

I have to stop before my head explodes …