Speaker John Boehner's fiscal cliff offer was 'weak,' the talk-radio host said. Limbaugh: GOP has surrendered

Rush Limbaugh lashed out at GOP leadership Wednesday, saying they issued a “surrender” to Democrats on the fiscal cliff and have adopted a “liberal premise” since Election Day.

“The Republicans have just given in. They have compromised, what have you, on the premise that raising taxes on the rich will fix the problem. They have conceded that the problem exists in part because the rich aren’t paying their fair share,” Limbaugh said on his radio program, according to a show transcript.


He continued: “They must feel so squished, so defeated, so universally disliked. I think we all had a sense of this. The first few days after the election, you start listening to Republicans from the consultant class to the elected class, all talk about what they had to do to start winning elections.”

Limbaugh said that after suffering defeats on election day, GOP leaders have adopted a “liberal premise.”

“It basically was, ‘Well, we have to adopt the liberal premise on things without actually saying so. We gotta be open to amnesty, relax our views on abortion. We gotta concede that many of the Tea Party’s a bunch of kooks,’ all that,” he said.

The fuel for Limbaugh’s rage? Earlier today Republican lawmakers held a press conference in Washington about the fiscal cliff. During the press conference, House Speaker John Boehner said GOPers made “a good-faith offer” that was a “balanced approach that [President Barack Obama’s] been asking for.”

Too soft, says Limbaugh.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this morning there was a joint press conference that featured the so-called Republican leadership of Boehner and [Majority Leader] Eric Cantor and about 15 other people that were standing there. I don’t know why, but they were smiling,” Limbaugh said.

He added: “And what we got today was a seminar on how to surrender. It was weak. The Republicans have conceded the language.”

Boehner has been criticized recently from several among the farthest right in his party, including Limbaugh and former GOP presidential nominee Rick Santorum.