Rush Limbaugh on Monday blasted newsman Tom Brokaw for complaining about the Mitt Romney campaign’s use of an anti-Newt Gingrich clip from Brokaw — while disregarding the fact that the clip’s charges against Gingrich were false.
Limbaugh also suggested that, although Romney is outspending Gingrich by a 5-1 margin in Florida, Gingrich’s core conservatism can overcome Romney’s well-funded attack ads.
And he asserted that Romneycare is “identical” to the Obamacare Romney now derides.
Limbaugh started his radio show by saying: “Unlike Tom Brokaw, I don’t care if a campaign wants to use any of me in their spots.
“On Saturday, the Romney campaign released a new ad featuring a clip from 1997, with Tom Brokaw, which opened with Brokaw crowing that Newt Gingrich’s congressional peers had found him guilty of ethics violations.
“NBC and Brokaw are now demanding that Romney take the ad down because Brokaw doesn’t want to have his objectivity as a journalist tarnished. I guess what Brokaw is saying is, ‘I’ll destroy Gingrich on my own — Mitt, don’t use me.’
“The funny thing is NBC and Brokaw don’t seem to mind that in the clip he was wrong. He was factually wrong about Gingrich.
“Gingrich was only found guilty of one ethics violation out of 84 that Democrats brought. It was a technicality. But apparently, NBC and Brokaw aren’t embarrassed that their reporting was misleading. They’re just upset that Romney’s using it.”
Rush said Gingrich is too focused on Romney’s negative attack ads.
“One of the problems Newt has is he doesn’t think he can combat it. Romney is outspending Gingrich in Florida $15 million to $3 million. I’m sure Newt feels he’s unable to combat it and repel it.”
But Gingrich needn’t be so concerned about the negative ads, according to Rush.
“In that Juan Williams episode [during one of the GOP debates], what was it that had people standing up and cheering? It was conservatism. I’ve long maintained that whoever can articulate conservatism most consistently is going to win this thing. And that could pretty much overcome any of the negatives.
“Newt said he was off his game in the last debate because Romney was telling such outrageous lies about him, that he was shell-shocked. I don’t care who’s telling lies in the Republican campaign, they are pikers compared to what is going to happen when the Democrat campaign begins.
Rush also predicted that Romney’s “toughness” will disappear in the general election and that he will never attack Obama like he’s attacking Gingrich.
“Something else I’m confident about saying: As hard-hitting and go-for-the-throat and take-no-prisoners as Romney’s going after Newt, he will not do this going after Obama. If you like Romney’s toughness in the way he’s taken out Newt, I’ve got a thing for you: He isn’t going to do that against Obama.”
Limbaugh continues: “You think the Republican Party’s got the guts to do that against Obama? Have you seen any evidence of any Republican going after Obama the way the Republican are going after each other? You haven’t.”
Referring to an assertion that Gingrich supported the individual mandate to buy healthcare insurance as recently as 2009, Limbaugh states: “The fact is Newt and Romney and the Heritage Foundation are all on record at some point in their career as supporting the individual mandate, but of the three only Romney has actually enacted it into law.
“The problem Romney has with Obamacare and Romneycare is that they’re identical, and if nobody else is going to bring it up Obama is going to bring it up.”
Regarding the GOP presidential race, Limbaugh adds: “Newt’s promised to stay in until the convention if Romney wins in Florida. They’re assuming it’s over if [Romney] wins Florida. That’s the word that is going around out there.
“So people say, Rush, what do you want? I want the campaign to go on. I want this thing to do on and on and on. I hope it goes on till June.”
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