Rush Vs Bush, New York Times, Illegal Alien Amnesty Bill

VIVA BUSH VS RUSH!

NYT Keeps Supposed Flap Alive







Are President Bush and talk titan Rush Limbaugh really at odds with one another?

Beyond the illegal immigration issue, the answer appears to be no. But disagreement over the amnesty bill has given the mainstream media an unprecedented opportunity to divide and conquer the right.

Now, the normally Bush- hating media can temporarily fall in love with him in order to damage the conservative wing of the GOP. When the press can show the right wing as too "extreme" even for a Republican president, it greatly serves their partisan agenda.

That's why "Bush Vs Rush" can't be expected to go away anytime soon. Today's New York Times provides a clear example of how the MSM is having a field day over this supposed schism.

First, some (quite self- serving) background:

Drive-Bys Love Bush vs. Rush

May 30, 2007

RUSH: Many people think that President Bush yesterday in his remarks about conservative critics of his immigration bill were actually aimed at me. They're actually aimed at you, but maybe me, too, but the Drive-By Media is rejoicing today that they are aimed at me. Brian Maloney who has a blog called The Radio Equalizer has got a little piece he just posted called "Bush vs. Rush" and this is all about how the media is excited.

Now, the media is excited because the president of the United States has taken me on, and there's a McClatchy story that's running in all the McClatchy newspapers and quite a few others around the country today as well. The media is just having a field day with this. The New York Times, I mean some of the reporting on President Bush today is some of the most laudatory and some of the friendliest that he has had in a while. It leads me to believe the Drive-Bys hate me more than they hate President Bush, and it seems that I may have been able to have done a service here in some regard, because if I can single-handedly turn around press coverage for President Bush, who knows how valuable that is to the people at the White House.

Next, Chris Matthews devoted an MSNBC Hardball segment to the controversy:

Bush vs. Rush on PMSNBC

June 1, 2007

RUSH: Let's go to the audio sound bites. This is funny. We have one, two, three, four, five of them here from Hardball last night. Chris Matthews, the topic, Rush vs. Bush. He had one of the executives from Dead Air America on there and a former Bush 41 advisor, Ed Rogers. This is how Matthews opened the program last night.

MATTHEWS: So why is a conservative president giving the popular Limbaugh the bum's rush? That's what Rush Limbaugh himself would like to know. But Bush's assault on his conservative base has ignited a firestorm on the right. The truth is they don't like this immigration bill that rewards crossing the border illegally and invites millions more illegal crossings by creating a wide new path to citizenship.

RUSH: Wait a second, I did just the opposite. People wanted me to get the dander up with Bush, but I was a gentleman about this. I didn't take the bait. In fact, I said yesterday I don't think it was meant to be personal at all. But I did mention that the Drive-Bys were going to go bonkers because they love this. They love the conservative movement falling apart because they hate conservatism and that's what they think this represents, and Bush vs. Rush, ooh, they hate me, too, so this would be an ideal vehicle for them. All of this I predicted. Last night on Hardball, here we go. This is a tease by Matthews.

MATTHEWS: Bush versus Rush. Boy, that's an interesting one because I love to see Rush Limbaugh get a little angry.

RUSH: And there's this one.

MATTHEWS: Bush vs. Rush Limbaugh. What an interesting fight that's going to be. You never fight with a guy who's got a microphone.

RUSH: They kept teasing it, kept promoting this upcoming segment. Bush vs. Rush. Then last night, this is Matthews and playing an audio sound bite from me.

MATTHEWS: Rush vs. Bush. Tuesday in Georgia this week, President Bush went on the attack to sell the immigration plan to his political right. I don't know. Some supporters, including Rush Limbaugh, didn't take kindly to the president's tone. Let's listen to him.

Then, just as the story appeared to be fading, along came today's New York Times with their own emphasis on the Bush / Limbaugh divide, with other talkers and bloggers thrown in for good measure:

June 3, 2007

President’s Push on Immigration Tests G.O.P. Base

By JIM RUTENBERG and CARL HULSE

WASHINGTON, June 2 — President Bush’s advocacy of an immigration overhaul and his attacks on critics of the plan are provoking an unusually intense backlash from conservatives who form the bulwark of his remaining support, splintering his base and laying bare divisions within a party whose unity has been the envy of Democrats.

It has pitted some of Mr. Bush’s most stalwart Congressional and grass-roots backers against him, inciting a vitriol that has at times exceeded anything seen yet between Mr. Bush and his supporters, who have generally stood with him through the toughest patches of his presidency. Those supporters now view him as pursuing amnesty for foreign lawbreakers when he should be focusing on border security.

Postings on conservative Web sites this week have gone so far as to call for Mr. Bush’s impeachment, and usually friendly radio hosts, commentators and Congressional allies are warning that he stands to lose supporters — a potentially damaging development, they say, when he needs all the backing he can get on other vital matters like the war in Iraq.

“I think President Bush hurts himself every time he says it is not amnesty,” said Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, referring to the bill’s legalization process for immigrants. “We are not all that stupid.”

This week, after Mr. Bush’s suggestion that those opposing the Congressional plan “don’t want to do what’s right for America” inflamed conservative passions, Rush Limbaugh told listeners, “I just wish he hadn’t done it because he’s not going to lose me on Iraq, and he’s not going to lose me on national security.” He added, “But he might lose some of you.”

Such sentiments have reverberated through talk radio, conservative publications like National Review and Fox News. They have also appeared on Web sites including RedState.com and FreeRepublic.com, where postings reflect a feeling that Mr. Bush is smiting his own coalition in pursuit of a badly needed domestic accomplishment, and working in league with the likes of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a co-author of the legislation.

White House officials said it had led them to engage the blogosphere in a concerted way for the first time, posting defenses on liberal and conservative sites.

The tensions, which have rippled through the Republican presidential field, are intensifying just as the Senate is preparing to renew debate on the measure next week. Opponents are seeking significant changes — or outright defeat of the legislation — and raising the specter of a filibuster. The battle has pitted the White House against a group that includes even Mr. Bush’s reliable supporters from his home state of Texas, Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, both Republicans.

White House officials said it was a debate they welcomed in pursuit of a long-sought presidential goal, but in interviews this week, they expressed frustration at what they described as ill-informed criticism that the bill provided amnesty for illegal immigrants when it in fact traded legal status for fines and fees — more than $6,000 for green card holders, officials said. They also noted that the most recent New York Times/CBS News poll showed 66 percent of Republicans supported its legalization provisions.

Sure, it's no secret that hosts and bloggers are up in arms over Bush's proposals, the point is that the media's motives simply can't be trusted. While conservatives try to reclaim their movement from a stubborn GOP, the New York Times and others are working overtime to exacerbate tensions between the two groups, ultimately leading to an implosion of the right.


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