Limbaugh was inundated with criticism after calling Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown University student who testified before a House committee about contraception, after calling her a “slut” and a “prostitute.” But the GOP leaders were significantly at a loss for words.

George Will said GOP leaders steered clear of harshly denouncing Limbaugh’s comments because “Republican leaders are afraid of Rush Limbaugh.” “Using the salad fork for your entrée, that’s inappropriate, not this stuff,” Will said. “And it was depressing because what it indicates is that the Republican leaders are afraid of Rush Limbaugh.”

House Speaker John Boehner said Rush’s language was inappropriate. News political analyst Matthew Dowd said the Republicans’ apprehension to say anything negative about Limbaugh was based on the “myth” that Limbaugh influences a large number of Republican voters.

“I think the problem is the Republican leaders don’t have the courage to say in public what they say in quiet, which is they think Rush Limbaugh is a buffoon,” Dowd said. ”They think he is like a clown coming out of a small car at a circus. It’s great he is entertaining and all that. But nobody takes him seriously.”

While President Obama denounced Limbaugh’s comments as “reprehensible,” Republican leaders and GOP presidential candidates used far milder language.



Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele criticized Limbaugh for making racist remarks about Tom Perez, the Justice Department official who was President Obama's nominee for Secretary of Labor.News of Perez's nomination quickly came under fire with Limbaugh comparing him to the “grand kleagle of the Ku Klux Klan” and the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Steele doesn’t understand where Limbaugh is coming from.“I think we just need to be a little more tempered here,” Steele said. “I just don’t see a basis for, you know, Chavez? How did we jump to that? Oh, because he’s Hispanic? Oh, got it, got it, alright. Again, you can’t take that seriously, and that’s what the American people are tired of, quite frankly.” Steele had his own run in with Limbaugh in 2009 and learned the punishment for criticizing him. Steele called Limbaugh’s rhetoric "incendiary" and "ugly" and insisted that he is in charge of the GOP. It wasn’t long until Steele stepped down as the Committee Chairman of the Republican Party.After the 2012 presidential elections the tide began to change. The GOP began turn on El Rushbo. Republican political consultants, Mike Murphy and Steve Schmidt blamed Limbaugh for the GOP losing the election.Fellow conservative radio host Michael Savage attacked Limbaugh calling him a “front man for the mainstream checked-pants Republican establishment, which is how this talentless hack got where he is.”If you felt a chill last November 12th it could be because hell froze over. Limbaugh admitted his own interference caused the GOP lost election.“Just as I predicted, ladies and gentlemen -- wait 'til you hear the sound bites -- this election was lost because of your host, Rush Limbaugh. I am the primary reason.”

The most recent Republican to stand up against Limbaugh is consultant 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."

As more and more Republicans stand up to Limbaugh, he loses his relevance and therefore his audience. The last listener standing very well may be white, male and old. Considering all the erectile dysfunction products he's peddling on the show his listeners are probably suffering from impotence as well.

He is losing his sponsors in record numbers due to the extraordinary efforts by Stop Rush volunteers. These tireless volunteers contact his sponsors, many of which are unaware their advertisements have been moved to fill his dead air space. The combination of lower ratings and sponsor exodus is one that cannot sustain Limbaugh’s death grip on talk radio. Come join the winning team and help turn the EIB golden microphone off forever.

Join: The fight to flush Rush Limbaugh! We can use your help in the following ways: ThinkContext StopRush browser extension --notifies you as you browse which companies advertise on Rush