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Serious Question
Booman Tribune — Do you think it is a good or bad idea to highlight Rush Limbaugh's role in and influence over the Republican Party? If yes, do you think it is appropriate for high profile members of the administration like press secretary Robert Gibbs and chief of staff Rahm Emanuel to be engaging in this strategy, or do you think it is better left to people like DNC Chairman Tim Kaine, DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen, and DSCC Chairman Bob Menendez? As food for thought, consider Peter Daou's argument against highlighting Limbaugh's role (at least, if done by high level administration ...

What Peter Said
The Democratic Daily — ... Limbaugh and his cohorts (Coulter, Hannity, Beck, Savage, and so on), are largely responsible for our toxic political environment. Given major media platforms to launch crude and brutal political and cultural attacks, to demonize liberals, and to use rage as a means of lining their own pockets, these ‘entertainers’ have poisoned our national discourse. ...

Creating a Good Villain
Open Left - Front Page — Laughing Liberally To Keep From Crying by Justin Krebs Every battle needs a good villain.  Not sure if that's a line out of a comic book, or the advice Matt Stoller has often offered on these pages, but it's true.   There's some healthy debate about whether Rush is the right villain or the wrong target.  Brave New Films has done a great job their War on Greed to make the likes of Henry Kravis into a known nemesis. And in New York, the proponents for Fair Share Tax Reform just realized: why create a villain, if ...

White House v. Limbaugh: Grand Theatre for an Audience of Three (or Four)
FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right — ... Not everyone agrees. Today, veteran Democratic messaging strategist Peter Daou panned the Limbaugh strategy, arguing that while it may seem like a good idea today due to irrational Democratic exuberance in the afterglow of the election, in the long term elevating Limbaugh is a mistake because his toxic effect on political debate will ultimately hurt Democrats. Daou, who worked for Hillary Clinton, also mocks the idea of Obama’s powerful campaign as pure myth, instead suggesting that Obama beat Clinton because Limbaugh tore her down for 15 years. ...

Two spotlights are better than one
The Reaction — ... I believe Peter Daou is trying to get to Arianna's point here, but I don't see why spotlighting Rush and/or Rove has to be mutually exclusive.

The Crap Man Speaketh
pandagon.net - we are the public option — ... So, when Peter Daou writes an insanely high-minded pooh-poohing of the tactic, it really rubs me the wrong way.  The idea that governing is nothing more than principled leadership with an eschewing of political considerations until such point as our greater angels must sully their robes with the filth of the political earth upon which they are forced to trod every few years is ridiculous.  It was the great lie of the Bush years - every time he’d make a political move, it would be with the tacit admonition of Democrats for daring to be political in the face of ...

do not feed the concern troll!
skippy the bush kangaroo — we agree w/peter daou: it's not a great idea to make rush limbaugh into the "voice" of the gop: it's a truism that victory makes every decision seem genius, defeat, the reverse. democrats, now in power, have a sense of triumph that makes every decision feel smart, every ...

Truth, Justice And The American Smear
Jules Crittenden — ... Uh oh. They’re starting to figure it out. HuffPo scribbler Peter Daou to Dems : Stop doing the right favors by elevating Rush. Fun read.  Focus relentlessly on the disastrous Bush presidency to tarnish Republicans, yes. Overturn every single illegal and unconstitutional Bush-era policy and show the country and the world that we’re reclaiming the moral high ground, yes. Implement bold strategies and use soaring rhetoric to inspire Americans, yes. Hew fiercely to Democratic principles, reassert the greatness of our American identity, demonstrate the true meaning of liberalism, ...

BUT OF COURSE: Limbaugh Basks In Obama’s Spotlight. Plus, Peter Daou: Why on Earth Are Democrat…
Instapundit — BUT OF COURSE: Limbaugh Basks In Obama’s Spotlight. Plus, Peter Daou: Why on Earth Are Democrats Legitimizing and Empowering Rush Limbaugh? ...

Susan Estrich Warns Democrats About Dangers of Attacking Rush Limbaugh
NewsBusters.org - Exposing Liberal Media Bias — ... Echoing Estrich's views is Peter Daou, a Democrat political strategist who worked on the campaigns of John Kerry and Hillary Clinton. Daou posted his worries about the attack Rush strategy on his Huffington Post blog nervously titled, "Why on Earth Are Democrats Legitimizing and Empowering Rush Limbaugh?" ...

Hope and Change: The Operation Rushbo Distraction
Hot Air » Top Picks — ... albeit promotion for their own ends. In fact, if there’s anyone who benefits unambiguously from all this, it’s Rush himself. The Democrats might miscalculate in overestimating his supposed unpopularity, and the GOP leadership will go on squirming at having to defend or reject the idea of wanting Obama to fail, but all Limbaugh has to worry about is an expanding audience. His show has never seemed so vital as it does right now, which is precisely why lefties like Peter Daou are starting to worry . Update (Ed) : We’re going to agree to disagree.  I think this article makes the ...

The Party of Rush vs. the Party of No Rush at All
Weekly Standard Blog — ... With left-leaning critics like Hillary Clinton adviser Peter Daou also taking on the all-Rush-all-the-time strategy, one wonders if the gleeful partisan trio of Emanuel, Begala, and Carville overreached in their yearning for the war room of yore. ...

A Prime Example of The Left Lying to Itself and Everyone Else
RedState: Conservative News and Community — ... Another Huffington Poster, Peter Daou, scolded the White House for taking on Limbaugh. Daou said that Democrats are “legitimizing and empowering” Limbaugh by engaging him. ...

A Prime Example of The Left Lying to Itself and Everyone Else
Stop The ACLU — ... let it go. And that insured that the Limbaugh as Democrat’s foil ploy would continue to have shelf life. Limbaugh in a phony self-deprecating moment mockingly minimized his importance as a radio talk show host, feigning puzzlement at why the Democrats were so obsessed with him. He was right. Who cannot see that this is a direct refutation of the engagement-is-good spin that the left offered Obama to excuse his foreign policy gaffe during the late campaign? Another Huffington Poster, Peter Daou , scolded the White House for taking on Limbaugh. Daou said that Democrats are ...

Still Think It Was a Bad Idea?
Balloon Juice — ... I’m sitting here listening to Rush continue to call Sotomayor a racist, while Newt Gingrich had to walk back his remarks because the Republicans didn’t even want him at a fundraiser after his remarks, and while it looks like Sotomayor will probably get 70+ votes in the Senate and has higher poll numbers than Alito, Roberts, and Meiers, and I’m wondering where all the pearl-clutchers are who thought it was a bad idea to elevate Rush. ...