In the midst of a segment bashing Rush Limbaugh Friday, PBS's Inside Washington panel nominated Charles Krauthammer over the talk radio host for voice of the Republican Party.
Playing along with the joke, Krauthammer replied, "If nominated, I will not run. But if elected, I’ll serve" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
NINA TOTENBERG, NPR: When you look actually at what the Republican Party analysis of itself was, the fear was that the electorate is a different electorate. And it isn’t just much more of a minority electorate. It is an electorate that wants some serious social and economic safety net that is different from what they are hearing from Republicans today.
COLBY KING, WASHINGTON POST: But that’s not the way they are analyzing it. For example, the guru of the Republican Party, the face of conservatism, is Rush Limbaugh. We all agree with that. There is another face too on this table, but let's stay with that. He puts down those results by saying Obama won with the low-information voters. Low-information voters. What’s he mean by that? They’re sort of stupid. They don’t understand the issues and they just fall for this stuff. That’s the same argument we just heard stated, much to a sophisticated way, from somebody else.
Not surprisingly, King was wrong in defining Limbaugh's "low-information voters."
It's not about intelligence. It's about what the average person's media choices are.
Those that are watching the Kardashians and TMZ as a couple of examples rather than real news reports are low-information voters and therefore make their polling booth decisions without the facts.
GORDON PETERSON, HOST: But isn’t that, Rush Limbaugh the face of the Republican Party, that’s a little…
MARK SHIELDS, PBS: That’s a little harsh. I mean, I really do. I mean, if you're going to choose somebody in the media to be the voice of the Republican Party, I would certainly nominate Dr. Krauthammer rather than Rush Limbaugh.
PETERSON: I second the nomination. All those in favor, say “Aye.”
SHIELDS: Turn it down. If nominated, you will not serve?
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: If nominated, I will not run. But if elected, I’ll serve. I’m just lazy. I’m just lazy.
