Senator Tom Daschle recently claimed that comments made by Rush Limbaugh and other talk show hosts may have inspired threats against Daschle and other public figures and their families. “What happens when Rush Limbaugh attacks those of us in public life is that people aren’t satisfied just to listen,” Daschle said (Associated Press, 11/20/02). “They want to act because they get emotionally invested. And so, you know, the threats to those of us in public life go up dramatically, on our families and on us, in a way that’s very disconcerting.”
Daschle’s comments have sparked a controversy about whether Limbaugh has in fact demonized Daschle. In an online column (11/21/02), Washington Post media writer Howard Kurtz accused the senator of over-reacting: “Sure, he aggressively pokes fun at Democrats and lionizes Republicans, but mainly about policy. He’s so mainstream that those right-wingers Tom Brokaw and Tim Russert had him on their Election Night coverage.” Kurtz concludes that it is actually Daschle who is “demonizing Limbaugh.”
The language used by Limbaugh to describe Daschle, however, goes far beyond criticizing his policies, accusing the Democratic leader of treason, and comparing him, quite literally, to a demon. Limbaugh has repeatedly referred to Daschle as “El Diablo,” meaning “The Devil” (American Prospect, 2/11/02).
Limbaugh has gone on at length about what he calls the “devil analogy” with Daschle (7/20/01): “How many different versions of Satan, the devil, have you seen in your life?… We’ve seen the comic devil of TV shows. We’ve even seen the smooth, tempting devil in Hollywood movies. Is Tom Daschle simply another way to portray a devil?” Later in his broadcast (as transcribed by the centrist Spinsanity.org—7/21/01), Limbaugh complained:
Just yesterday, as Bush winged his way to Europe on a crucial mission to lead our allies into the 21st century…up pops “El Diablo,” Tom Daschle, and his devilish deviltry, claiming that George Bush is incompetent, criticizing Bush at the very moment he is engaging in these efforts to improve our relationship with these world leaders.
Of late, Limbaugh has painted Daschle more as a traitor than as a demon: “Now he’s decided to roll the dice and align himself with Iran, North Korea and Hussein,” he told his listeners (2/11/02; quoted in Spinsanity, 2/15/02). “In essence, Daschle has chosen to align himself with the axis of evil.”
The Daily Howler (11/22/02), another online media critic, quoted at length Limbaugh’s remarks of November 15, which shortly preceded Daschle’s complaint:
Way to demoralize the troops, Senator! What more do you want to do to destroy this country than what you’ve already tried? It is unconscionable what this man has done! This stuff gets broadcast around the world, Senator. What do you want your nickname to be? Hanoi Tom? Tokyo Tom? You name it, you can have it apparently. You sit there and pontificate on the fact that we’re not winning the war on terrorism when you and your party have done nothing but try to sabotage it, which you are continuing to do. This little speech of yours yesterday, and this appearance of yours on television last night, let’s call it what it is. It’s nothing more than an attempt to sabotage the war on terrorism for your own personal and your party’s political gain. This is cheap. And it’s beneath even you. And that’s pretty low.
It’s clear that Republican political leaders and conservative media figures have made a point of portraying Daschle as a villain. Marshall Whitman of the conservative Hudson Institute acknowledged (Hotline, 7/27/01): “There is a concerted effort—from [Sen.] Trent Lott [R.-Miss] to [Sen.] Larry Craig [R.-Idaho], to [House Majority Whip] Tom DeLay to Rush Limbaugh—to try to demonize Daschle.”
“It is time for someone, everyone, to start using the phrase ‘Daschle Democrats’ and the word ‘obstructionist’ in the same sentence,” Republican pollster Frank Luntz wrote in a December 2001 memo (New York Times, 12/21/01). “It’s time for Congressional Republicans to personalize the individual that is standing directly in the way of economic security, energy security, and even national security.” By painting Daschle as a demon and a traitor, Rush Limbaugh has taken that strategy to an extreme.
