I have long believed that Rush Limbaugh is one of the most important figures in American politics, and easily the most significant person in American media for the last two decades. Yet, for most of this time, the left and its house organs have chosen to depict him as a figure of ridicule and demonization, trivializing him as an "entertainer" or a buffoon.Finally, there may be a serious treatment of Rush's political significance from a non-conservative. Zev Chafets, frequent contributor to the New York Times, has written a new book on Rush, and previews it on the op-ed pages of the New York Times today. Republican success in 2010 can be boiled down to two words: Rush Limbaugh. [snip]With Democrats controlling Congress, Mr. Limbaugh saw that there was no way to stop the president's agenda. He dismissed the moderates' notion that compromising with the president would make Republicans look good to independents. Instead he decreed that the Republicans must become the party of...(Read Full Post)