Rush Camp Annoyed with Norquist Remark

People close to Rush Limbaugh’s camp are furious at  Americans For Tax Reform’s (ATR) President Grover Norquist for saying the highly rated conservative talk radio host should not be considered as a moderator for the 2016 Republican presidential primary debates.

Norquist told The Hill that he opposed allowing conservative talk radio hosts Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin to moderate the 2016 Republican presidential primary debates, saying it would not be “useful.” 

Having conservative talk radio hosts Mark Levin or Rush Limbaugh host debates would be “not useful,” Norquist told The Hill. Talk radio hosts, he said, are primarily entertainers who would draw attention away from the candidates themselves.

He also said the radio hosts, despite their popularity, did not necessarily represent the Republican mainstream. He pointed toward immigration reform as an example, saying that while Levin opposes comprehensive immigration reform fiercely, polls show most Republicans are amenable to it.

Someone close to the Limbaugh camp spoke to Breitbart News said,  “It’s ironic that when everyone was jumping on the bash Grover bandwagon, Rush  never said a word. He has too much class.” The source also noted that in the past Norquist has used Rush’s quotes on the ATR website to fundraise and promote his cause of the moment.

“Some friend, huh.”

During the vote at the last Republican National Committee meeting when members decided to oust CNN and NBC as potential networks to moderate primary debates over the airing of a Hillary Clinton movie, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus  commented it would be a “very good idea” to have both Limbaugh and Levin as RNC debate moderators.  “I actually think that’s a very good idea,” He said, adding, “I mean, there’s a lot of good people out there that can actually understand the base of the Republican Party, the primary voters.”

 A GOP state party official agreed with Priebus telling Breitbart News, “[Limbaugh and Levin] should be moderators. Chris Matthews did the primary debate in 2008.” 

Immediately after Priebus’s comments, Limbaugh said on his radio show, “I don’t see how I can, I’m too famous.” However, Limbaugh noted the debate would certainly get high ratings.