RNC Chairman Michael Steele Attacks Rush Limbaugh

By JONATHAN MARTIN | Politico

On the same night he was offering the keynote address to the Conservative Political Action Conference, Rush Limbaugh drew criticism from an unlikely source: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.

In a little-noticed interview Saturday night, Steele dismissed Limbaugh as an “entertainer” whose show is “incendiary” and “ugly.”

Steele’s criticism makes him the highest-ranking Republican to pick a fight with the popular and polarizing conservative talk show host.

But the new RNC chairman’s extraordinary comments won’t sit well with the millions of conservative listeners Limbaugh draws each week, and Steele aides scrambled to limit the damage Monday morning by trying to change the subject.

“Rahm Emanuel and the Democrats know they lose an argument with the Republican Party on substance so they are building straw men to attack and distract,” said RNC spokesman Alex Conant.

“The feud between radio host Rush Limbaugh and Rahm Emanuel makes great political theater, but it is a sideshow to the important work going on in Washington. RNC Chairman Michael Steele and elected Republicans are focused on fighting for reform and winning elections. The Democrats’ problem is that the American people are growing skeptical of the massive government spending being pushed by Congressional leaders like Nancy Pelosi.”

Limbaugh, asked to respond, said he’d save his counter-attack for his listeners …

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Pelosi Butts Heads with Obama

By JOHN BRESNAHAN | Politico

Nancy Pelosi repeatedly stood to applaud Barack Obama when he addressed a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. But in the days since, the speaker of the House has been standing up for herself —distancing herself from the president on Iraq, on tax cuts and on the prosecution of former Bush administration officials.

Pelosi’s aides say the speaker was comfortable playing the role of Obama’s shield during the stimulus fight—Republicans teed off on her rather than on the immensely popular new president—and that she remains strongly supportive of the administration on health care, energy and education reform.

But on Iraq and other high-profile issues that matter to her, aides say Pelosi has no intention of holding her tongue when she thinks Obama is wrong.

And she’s not alone …

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Top Lawmakers Skeptical of Obama’s Plan to Leave up to 50,000 Troops in Iraq after 2010

By ANNE FLAHERTY | Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Congressional leaders were skeptical as they awaited details on President Barack Obama’s plan to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq while leaving tens of thousands behind. Senior administration officials were expected to outline a plan that would bring most of the 142,000 forces home by August 2010. As many as 50,000 troops could remain for cleanup and protection operations.

“I have been one for a long time that’s called for significant cutbacks in Iraq, and I am happy to listen to the secretary of defense and the president,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters Thursday before the briefing at the White House. “But when they talk about 50,000, that’s a little higher number than I had anticipated.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had said Wednesday that she too wanted to hear the president’s justification for keeping 50,000 troops in Iraq.

“I do think that there’s a need for some,” Pelosi said in an interview on MSNBC. “I don’t know that all of them have to be in country.”

Republican lawmakers were skeptical for a different reason. They were concerned that troops might be pulled out too fast and security gains sacrificed …

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