Conservative author and MSNBC cohost S.E. Cupp is taking some heat over comments she made to The New York Times Magazine. Here’s what she said in the article, entitled “Can the Republicans Be Saved From Obsolescence?”:
“And we can’t be afraid to call out Rush Limbaugh,” said [Cupp]. “If we can get three Republicans on three different networks saying, ‘What Rush Limbaugh said is crazy and stupid and dangerous,’ maybe that’ll give other Republicans cover” to denounce the talk-show host as well.
Cupp is insisting that her comments were “innocuous”:
I don't need permission to disagree with someone. Backlash from cons about my (fairly innocuous) Rush comments just proves my point.
— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) February 15, 2013
And believes that she’s doing conservatism a service:
We're fighting 4 our future. When party leaders are right, I'm their BIGGEST cheerleader. When they aren't, we should say so. #GrowAPair
— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) February 15, 2013
Grow a pair? Since when has anyone ever been afraid to call out Rush Limbaugh? Limbaugh has never been immune to questioning or condemnation — not from liberals, not from conservatives, not from anyone.
https://twitter.com/NathanWurtzel/status/302233166884769792
i have never questioned my ability to disagree w/ Rush under any circumstance whatsoever. "Calling him out" is something a liberal would do
— D.W.Robinson (@_DWRobinson) February 15, 2013
I disagree with Rush Limbaugh all the time. The difference is I don't go on MSNBC to tell you to as well.
— eric (@eriContrarian) February 15, 2013
https://twitter.com/BenHowe/status/302155654121005057
If you take issue with Limbaugh, go ahead and say so. Conservatives embrace the free marketplace of ideas and encourage more speech in response to speech we don’t like. It’s liberals who seek to silence dissent.
Wondering this myself RT @jen5309 @secupp what did u mean when u said we need to downplay rush limbaugh, hmm? U want his voice drowned out?
— ✟ Right Scoop ✟ (@trscoop) February 14, 2013
It’s also liberals who would encourage the sort of creepy messaging coordination that Cupp is proposing. Get Republicans to denounce Limbaugh on different networks? What would that accomplish, other than making George Soros proud? It’s a ridiculous notion, as is the notion that Limbaugh regularly says something “crazy and stupid and dangerous.”
https://twitter.com/realistic_view/status/302246801459777536
There’s an important distinction that needs to be made here: controversial does not equal dangerous. You know what is dangerous? Democratic politicians vowing that “there will be blood” or likening the GOP to hostage-takers who would shoot children. Union leaders threatening to “take these sons of bitches out.” Professors mooning over cop-killers or retweeting death threats and calling for NRA Chief Wayne LaPierre’s head on a stick. Rush is not the problem.
Yeah, that's Right. Rush — not Obama — is the problem, so let's all pile on.
— David Limbaugh (@DavidLimbaugh) February 14, 2013
@secupp Rush is definitely NOT part of the problem concerning the GOP. It's the tired, old leadership keeping a kung fu grip on power.
— Tom Anderson (@Tom_TJ_Anderson) February 14, 2013
And if Cupp truly feels like conservatives needed a boost, why on earth would she choose The New York Times as her bullhorn?
https://twitter.com/LilMissRightie/status/302163041309569025
p.s. This isn't an attack on SE, i just think she was wrong here. There are better ways of making your point than a NYT attack on Rush.
— (((AG))) (@AGHamilton29) February 15, 2013
https://twitter.com/BenHowe/status/302224321416421376
https://twitter.com/BenHowe/status/302228268592033792
https://twitter.com/BenHowe/status/302240358555860992
Forget about what SE said for a sec. The running to lib outlets stuff has to stop. SE to NYT, Armey to Mother Jones, Amah, to BuzzFeed, etc
— American Journalists Publish Chinese Propaganda (@JohnEkdahl) February 15, 2013
It certainly gives Media Matters something to celebrate, but that’s about it.
Her remarks have left a bad taste in the mouths of many conservatives, who feel that in issuing a sweeping indictment of Limbaugh as “dangerous,” Cupp is only hurting the conservative cause:
.@jeremyburns44 So what? No one is above reproach, but does that mean conservatives should attack them for sport?
— David Limbaugh (@DavidLimbaugh) February 14, 2013
@jeremyburns44 I have no idea why she did it — I just know it's open season on Rush all too often.
— David Limbaugh (@DavidLimbaugh) February 14, 2013
I mean I have always liked S.E. Cupp, but that was VERY STRONG language.
— David Limbaugh (@DavidLimbaugh) February 14, 2013
If we can get 3 GOPs on diff networks to say what Rush said is crazy stupid & dangerous others may denounce him as well. That's sweet.
— David Limbaugh (@DavidLimbaugh) February 14, 2013
Why would she even be thinking that way – to get 3 different GOPs on 3 diff networks to call Rush crazy, stupid and dangerous? Why?
— David Limbaugh (@DavidLimbaugh) February 14, 2013
@psorensen There's a difference between disagreeing with him and "calling him out" for saying something "crazy" "stupid" or "dangerous."
— David Limbaugh (@DavidLimbaugh) February 15, 2013
Exactly.
Alright. I'm gonna get myself into trouble, but SE was just wrong here. And I'm not exactly shy about criticizing talk radio personalities.
— (((AG))) (@AGHamilton29) February 15, 2013
1) You don't do it in the NYT. 2) NP with criticizing statement or action, but you don't just call for people to denounce some1 in general.
— (((AG))) (@AGHamilton29) February 15, 2013
I don't always like the talk radio dynamic and have been plenty critical of hosts when they are wrong, including Rush. But this was wrong.
— (((AG))) (@AGHamilton29) February 15, 2013
p.s. This isn't an attack on SE, i just think she was wrong here. There are better ways of making your point than a NYT attack on Rush.
— (((AG))) (@AGHamilton29) February 15, 2013
https://twitter.com/BenHowe/status/302149892611112960
https://twitter.com/BenHowe/status/302155654121005057
https://twitter.com/LilMissRightie/status/302163412442570753
https://twitter.com/LilMissRightie/status/302164370614546432
https://twitter.com/LevinsBaldHead/status/302406260035317760
https://twitter.com/SMJanicze2/status/302265991570808834
Sorry, S.E., if you ask me to choose I will choose Rush. And you've done what for Conservatives in this country? http://t.co/2j7mTHSj
— Belle Roberts (@BelleRobertsVA) February 14, 2013
https://twitter.com/jessicarights/status/302232992875700224
One last thing, I’ve never heard Rush say something crazy or dangerous. I have disagreed with him, though.
— RBe (@RBPundit) February 15, 2013
@baseballcrank The Limbaugh hate is boring to me. It' like people who criticize movement conservatives to make themselves look cool on MSNBC
— Benjamin Glaser (@WVPitt) February 15, 2013
https://twitter.com/BenHowe/status/302222046195232770
https://twitter.com/BenHowe/status/302224454556205056
https://twitter.com/BenHowe/status/302242151725662208
By setting her sights on Limbaugh and urging a coordinated attack against him, Cupp misses the point and is focusing on the wrong target.
I'm not throwing SE Cupp off the ship just because of one comment. But why is denouncing Rush Limbaugh a priority?
— Glen Asbury (@glenasbury) February 15, 2013
The part that bothers me is that SE used a blurb from Rush on her website to promote herself several years ago. Now this.
— Glen Asbury (@glenasbury) February 15, 2013
@BenHowe yeah for 20 yrs he was pretty much the only voice for conservatives. so now what float him out on an iceberg? for what, being Rush?
— Tony McMillan (@Slapuel) February 15, 2013
https://twitter.com/BenHowe/status/302223508732268544
https://twitter.com/BenHowe/status/302231342089924608
I guess you have not arrived unless you can earn your initiation rights by demonizing Rush. Wow.
— David Limbaugh (@DavidLimbaugh) February 14, 2013
@BenHowe The truth of the matter is Rush has been fighting battles for conservatism that GOP leaders SHOULD have been fighting. They use him
— Bob ن (@BobHicks_) February 15, 2013
https://twitter.com/danielbreid/status/302234545825144833
Our goal here is not to slam Cupp. Indeed, several Twitter users are defending her:
https://twitter.com/NathanWurtzel/status/302228596343328768
Ok, now that I'm up to speed, much like the last NYTimes article conservatives went ape shit over, this is much ado about nothing.
— Socially DistantAF (@brodigan) February 15, 2013
I appreciate @secupp and her contributions to our movement. She's earned room to make a few comments without being attacked for them.
— Brandon Darby (@brandondarby) February 15, 2013
@secupp I got what you were saying. Just because it was seized on by the left doesn't mean it's not a valid point.
— China is lying (@jtLOL) February 15, 2013
https://twitter.com/FigDrewton/status/302226750941835265
https://twitter.com/FigDrewton/status/302226190331170816
This is also not a knee-jerk defense of Limbaugh — he’s more than capable of defending himself. But Cupp is offering only vague attacks with no substance by focusing on calling out Rush Limbaugh as a priority. She’s not only undermining conservativism; she’s flat-out wrong.
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