The impact of Limbaugh’s "Operation Chaos" emerged as an intriguing point of debate, particularly in Indiana, where registered voters could participate in either party’s primary, and where Clinton won by a mere 14,000 votes. As he had before several recent primaries, Limbaugh encouraged listeners to vote for Clinton to "bloody up Obama politically" and prolong the Democratic fight.
Limbaugh crowed about the success of his ploy all day Tuesday, featuring on-air testimonials from voters in Indiana and North Carolina who recounted their illicit pleasure in casting a vote for Clinton. "Some of the people show up and they ask for a Democrat ballot, and the poll worker says, ‘Why, what are you going to do?’ He says, ‘Operation Chaos,’ and they just laugh," Limbaugh said Tuesday.
But Limbaugh called off the operation yesterday, saying he wants Obama to be the party’s pick, because "I now believe he would be the weakest of the Democrat nominees."
He added: "He can get effete snobs, he can get wealthy academics, he can get the young, and he can get the black vote, but Democrats do not win with that"…
Limbaugh, on his site, claims not to be a Republican and occasionally throws a little criticism towards McCain. Pretty transparent, really. He disavows being for McCain or being a Republican Operative while viciously attacking both Democratic Candidates. He’s posing as a non-Republican anti-Democrat dirty trickster – actually a new category kind of like Cheney. Very special…
The Obama campaign and many of its supporters condemned Limbaugh’s intervention tactic yesterday, calling it a major factor in Clinton’s narrow Hoosier State win. "Rush Limbaugh was tampering with the primary, and the GOP has clearly declared that it wants Hillary Clinton as the candidate," Sen. John F. Kerry, an Obama supporter, told reporters on a conference call. On the same call, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said Limbaugh "had a clear factor in the outcome." Whether that is true remains in question. Even if Limbaugh’s exhortations brought as many of his listeners to the polls as he says, his operation did not cripple Obama, who emerged stronger from the day’s primaries after better-than-expected showings with some key groups of voters.
Whether his mean-spirited campaign had some impact on the primaries is immaterial. What matters is that he got a bite from John Kerry and Barak Obama’s campaign staff and he got his name on the front page of the Washington Post. Kerry should know better, having been chased by the Swift Boaters in 2004. Limbaugh operates by putting people in double binds. A double bind is a situation where one is offered two choices, both bad. No matter what you do is wrong. There are actually four parts to a double bind:
- wrong choice number one
- wrong choice number two
- the feeling that you have to do something
- an injunction [implied] that you can’t point out the impossibility of the choice
In everyday parlance, it’s a "damned if you do, damned if you don’t" situation. And if you take a look at Rush Limbaugh’s
web site, he’s already delighting that people are responding. By this afternoon, he’ll be crowing about Kerry:
So, given that Limbaugh’s "Operation Chaos" is an impossible situation [a synonym for a double bind], what’s the proper response? Neither 1. or 2. above. Neither choose to argue with his sheenanigans nor choose to try to prove he has had no impact – two wrong choices. Either choice acknowledges him and makes you look crazy, which is his actual point. So, what does one do? Break numbers 3. and 4. Breaking 3. means taking none of his bait [John Kerry has already bitten]. Breaking 4. means talking about Rush Limbaugh’s method in detail, explaining the double bind itself – how Limbaugh is masquarading as a non-Republican, how he’s trying to get into the limelight, and about his goal of making the Obama Campaign crazy – mention Muskie, Watergate, Max Cleland, and even McCain [in SC]. Avoid all questions about Limbaugh’s impact as immaterial. Do not attack Limbaugh. Use his campaign to talk about the history of dirty tricks and election tampering. When asked what you’re going to do about it, say "Nothing. It’s just another attempt to make this a campaign of distractions." The reason to say that is simple. It’s the truth…
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