Schwarzenegger Calls Rush Limbaugh Irrelevant

"All irrelevant. Rush Limbaugh is irrelevant. I am not his servant." - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this morning on the "Today Show," speaking to Campbell Brown.

During the one-on-one interview, the Republican-registered California governor was asked about criticism from Limbaugh and other conservatives that he has become a Democrat in disguise for supporting stem-cell research, mandatory curbs on carbon dioxide emissions and universal health care. Schwarzenegger said he is "the people's servant of California. What they call me - Democrat or Republican or in the center, this and that - that is not my bottom line. This is for them to talk about."

In recent weeks, Limbaugh has complained that Schwarzenegger's views on global warming are "no different than what Greenpeace would say." When the governor called a proposed $12 billion levy on hospitals, doctors and health plans a "loan, because it ... goes back to health care," Limbaugh couldn't stop laughing on the air. He said Schwarzenegger's rhetorical spin was no different than former President Bill Clinton calling tax increases "investments."

Limbaugh, it should be noted, has always been cautious about Schwarzenegger. In August 2003, during the recall election, Limbaugh told his listeners: "Hear me now and believe me later, my friends. All these conservative orgasms over Arnold Schwarzenegger are ... fake." Limbaugh said Schwarzenegger was a closet liberal who supported abortion, gay adoption and gun control, and recoiled at comparisons to former President Ronald Reagan.

"This guy may be the next actor elected governor of California," Limbaugh said, "but that's where the similarity between him and Reagan ends."

Schwarzenegger's landslide victory against Democrat Phil Angelides last year is almost always viewed as a calculated strategy to win re-election in a heavily Democratic state. His policy moves therefore look like political manipulations rather than evolving from core beliefs. Indeed, the governor rarely mentions his own political philosophy - it's usually what "the people" want. This year, his core belief is compromise and cooperation, which he calls post-partisanship.

UPDATE: Limbaugh responds, calls the governor a nice guy and a sellout.

(Photo: Joseph Kaczmarek / AP; Clifford Otto / The Record via AP)

Comments

[Linda]

Rush is right. Arnold is no conservative and his health care plan is scary.There is a reason people and businesses are leaving California.

[Scott]

Rush is right. However, to Arnold's defense, he lives in the Peoples Republic of California and he is married to a socialist.

[AMB]

Rush is an idiot. The only people who listen to him are morons, so who cares what they think?

[Lee McGrath]

Once again Rush is right. Can you really believe anything that a liberal? Not if you are a thinking person.

[RockyCreek]

Schwarzenegger not a conservative??!! Say it ain't so! Gosh, what will we discover next, that he breathes air?

[Steve]

For the Gov and much of California, Rush may be irrelevant. But he is very relevant for the rest of the country. By virtue of his ratings alone, he is clearly relevant. That means the Gov and California perhaps are out of touch with the rest of the country just a tad. We have come to expect California to cave on conservative issues and morality, so it should come as no surprise that no matter who is in the governor's mansion, they'd find Rush irrelevant. It's a shame really.

[Ron Mexico]

Hey L.A. Times, spell check is not the same thing as proof reading.

[Craith]

*Yawn*

The fact that this story made the news is laughable. Limbaugh is a puerile dolt, whose perception of reality is as skewed as that of the Hollywood elitists he so often criticizes. Why anybody cares what he thinks or says is beyond me.

[Dee]

Just like a liberal to cmment with derogatory name calling - "moron" - when you have nothing constructive to say or offer, that is what you resort too.
Rush is 100% accurate in his assessment.

[dave]

Who cares what Rush says about Arnold. Rush is nothing but a big fat ass druggy, draft doddger coward. He is an idiot, who spouts hatred ,warmongering,and propaganda of the firright fascists neonazizioinsts.

[Bruce Davidson]

As always, Rush is right and makes more sense than every leftist in california combined.

[Your's Truly - San Diego, CA]

Rush calls'm like he sees'm...

Your Governorship looks to be irrelevant... The liberals got to you. Liberalism, like cancer, when it starts to spread does a lot of damage and costs us a lot of money.

Your campaign sounded good, we just got the “bate and switch” routine.

You sold us short... Arnold...

[Jason]

It boils down to the fact that Rush Limbaugh is a sock-sniffer! He has been known to contradict himself, too, mind you. His word is not gospel, friends.

[Doug]

Arnold only speaks for the liberals in this state ,and as always Rush is right.

[Mike]

Arnold is a phony.

[Jake]

Rush is relevant, but only to a certain demographic that already agreed with him in the first place. He doesn't sway anyone, and those people that listen to and agree with him already dislike Arnold. Fact is that Rush and his cronies are losing ground in this country and in their own party fast. Arnold is a strong symbol of the new Republican that is taking over, so it's of course only logical that Rush would attack him.

[Justin]

Wow Lee, what a substantive argument. You must be a genius.

[Jeff]

I welcome Arnold's independence from the doctrinaire, far right ideologues who are doing to the Republican party exactly what the Howard Dean, nut-case, loony left have done to the Democrats. I applaud Republicans who think for themselves rather than blindly obeying the marching orders of Rush and Ann Coulter.

[Your's Truly - San Diego, CA]

Hey Dave...

I would suggest taking a spelling and grammar lesson.

[Pete]

Hey AMB, great comment from a typical lib. No ideas, simply say just he's an idiot. Rush plays comments actually made by people and analyzes them. No misquoting or anything else that the news libs put out there. Great stuff, you should join the Al Franken campaign so that you can work with a real idiot.

[Mark]

I am sorry- when did Rush start becoming relevant in the first place? If Limbaugh had to be elected to his job he would never win. Limbaugh is one more member of the ignorant right trying to make outrageous comments so the press will notice him again.

[Kory]

Wow...somebody owns a dictionary! I bet they have a Thesaurus too! Nice to see you lefties actually did something more than protest in college.

*Yawn*

The fact that this story made the news is laughable. Limbaugh is a puerile dolt, whose perception of reality is as skewed as that of the Hollywood elitists he so often criticizes. Why anybody cares what he thinks or says is beyond me.

Posted by: Craith | Mar 20, 2007 at 08:47 AM

[ose]

Of coarse RUSH was right, Arnold is married to a kennedy he needs to keep maria by his side. Besides he still wants to use kennebunk port estate when teddy's there.

[Brian]

It's so pathetic that people believe whatever garbage comes out of Rush's mouth as if baby Jesus said it himself. Learn to think for youselves!

[Mike]

What's truely remarkable about this article is that Rush is actually quoted accurately. Kudo's to Robert Sallaway.