Talk radio host Rush Limbaugh lumped Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., with members of the so-called anti-GOP “establishment” Wednesday, marking a possible victory for the GOP 2016 presidential candidate as he seeks to prove his conservative bone fides.
“The question is: What’s wrong with the ruling class establishment?” Limbaugh asked Wednesday. “They are the ones implementing policies that are causing this country to be at greater risk, less safe, our economy to crumble.”
The Washington, D.C., GOP “establishment,” which is supposedly made up of entrenched special interest groups unconcerned with the worries of its conservative base, is complicit in “dragging down this country,” he explained further. The question should not be why anti-establishment types like businessman Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, are doing well in the GOP presidential primary, he continued.
Limbaugh addressed the “establishment” issue after first giving his take on Tuesday’s GOP presidential primary debate, and fielding questions about especially noteworthy performances delivered by Rubio, Cruz and Trump.
“The question is what’s wrong with [the establishment], not what’s wrong with Trump or Rubio or Cruz or any of these other candidates,” Limbaugh said. “Why doesn’t the establishment see what the rest of us see?”
Limbaugh’s remarks, which were first flagged by Ellen Carmichael, a former senior congressional aide, signaled a possible shift in how right-leaning commentators approach Rubio’s candidacy.
“Limbaugh just classified Rubio as anti-establishment with Cruz and Trump,” she said on social media. “Huge.”
Thus far in the 2016 GOP primary, the loudest criticism for Rubio has come both from presidential hopefuls, including Trump and Cruz, as well as right-leaning pundits like radio hosts Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin, Fox News’ Sean Hannity and author Ann Coulter.
Together, Rubio’s critics have worked to characterize him as an ally of the ruling class “establishment.” They have also accused the senator of being a “pro-amnesty” flunky for special interest groups, citing often the senator’s past support for the infamous Gang of Eight immigration bill.
Limbaugh has, for his part, dedicated several hours of his radio program to praising both Trump and Cruz for their respective positions on illegal immigration. He has also questioned Rubio’s flirtations in the past with immigration legislation backed by Democrats.
However, Limbaugh has also heaped praise on the senator, going so far as to say this year that the young Florida lawmaker displayed “Reaganesque” qualities.
“Marco Rubio is a serious man, he has a serious message, and he has a very unmistakable joy in spreading that message, in informing people. He knows how to deliver it. He knows how to deliver it live,” Limbaugh said on April 14. “He doesn’t have to announce with a series of posts on social media. He can do it live in front of real people with a real camera. And he’s an emotional speaker.”
“Now, I know Rubio has lost a lot of luster with some people on the Tea Party side because of his flirtation with the Chuck-U Schumer gang on amnesty and immigration. You can maybe chalk it up to two things. Chalk it up to novice naiveté, trying to get his feet wet and establish himself within the power circles of the Senate,” he added.
Limbaugh continued, “Or another explanation for it could have been that, given his Hispanic heritage, he almost had to, in the sense of identity politics, if he had any chance at all of securing any votes from that sector, he had to come out in favor of it. But whatever, he’s walked it back now, and we’ll just see how this is all going to play out with Tea Party people.”
Limbaugh’s lumping of Rubio with other notable anti-establishment types Wednesday afternoon may signal that the more recent attempts to brand the senator as a friend of big government have perhaps not succeeded entirely.
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This post has been updated with additional comments from Limbaugh’s daily program.
