Limbaugh: Romney is a Zero Placeholder

From the Rush Limbaugh Radio Show, July 10, 2012
My transcript

Caller: Um, I do disagree with you on several things. One of them is . . . Mitt Romney. It's not just that he's dull and boring and awful, it's we can't stand him! We don't trust him! There's nothing there. I mean, it might be politically incorrect to say it, but he's Obama minus the tan. I mean, I don't see any difference and I don't . . .

Limbaugh: Now wait! You can't . . . you can't seriously believe that! I know there is a lot of distrust and lukewarm support for Mitt Romney politically on the Republican side. He's a placeholder, for people, uh . . . He's not . . . the one thing we know for sure is that he's not going to continue what Obama has done. . . .

*snip*

Caller: . . . I live in Oklahoma so it doesn't matter who I vote for. I mean, it's a slam-dunk that Romney's going to win.

Limbaugh: No, no, no, I'm not going to let you off the hook that way! No, no, no, no, no. . . . the nomination is over. It's all official except for the convention. Romney's the nominee and NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!!!

Caller: I know (whispers)

Limbaugh: So everything that you're saying to me is what we heard about during the primary fight, okay? Fine and dandy - that's cool. But he ended up winning. I'm not arguing. I'm just . . . what are we supposed to do now? If Romney's no different than Obama, if the Republican establishment's going to do exactly what Obama's done, 'cause they're all the same. What do we do?

Caller: I don't know! That's what's so frustrating!

Complete Transcript of Lengthy Phone Call Here



Personally I love the inadvertent campaign slogan Limbaugh stumbles upon towards the end.
"Romney's the Nominee -- There's Nothing You Can Do About It!"
Oh yeah, that's just the thing to spark the fires of enthusiasm.
~ comment by The MidnightWriter on Media Matters

"A placeholder for people?" No, more like a placeholder for President Grover Norquist..
~ comment by Conjuring Cat on Media Matters

More like a placemat.....
~ comment by louis-t on Democratic Underground

The only strategically significant point of having a placeholder is so that the people themselves can regroup. Romney cannot be a savior, and in policy terms, he is not the answer to our problems. In the foreseeable future, we have to do the heavy lifting.
. . . In 2012, the governing dynamic is the American people talking to ourselves, deciding who we really are and what we really believe. Romney isn’t, at any point, going to intrude on that dialogue. In an important sense, Obama is irrelevant to it, except as an example of the extremes to which our century-long practice of seeking saviors can take us.
The dialogue will continue for years after November 2012. The dialogue is what matters, and if a sleeping giant is awakening, it will take some time for it to educate itself.
~ Hot Air

The GOP would be wise to convince its base that Romney would make a great placeholder instead of a great President.

— Zack O. (@ZackO66) July 10, 2012