Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Politics / Woods Zach Wamp Refuses to Apologize to El Rushbo
Posted by Jeff Woods on Tue, Apr 7, 2009 at 1:08 PM
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Zach Wamp refused to apologize today for referring to Rush Limbaugh as a mere entertainer, denouncing the whole fuss as just another Democratic plot to make Republicans look stupid. "This is a James Carville trap for Republicans," Wamp told reporters. "This is a planned political agenda by James Carville and I'm not about to get involved."
Wamp referred to a CNN column in which Carville accused the congressman of dissing Limbaugh and called it a sign of President Obama's growing popularity. Carville wrote:
However, the real measure of how well the president is doing is indicated by two stunning events in the Republican Party just Thursday. First, on Rick Sanchez's program on CNN, Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tennessee, completely dissed the de-facto leader of the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh, by referring to him as an "entertainer," which is the more common description only the left-wing blogosphere would dare to use. Wamp went on to say that he didn't pay attention to Limbaugh. I'll bet that the Zachster did a little polling in Tennessee and discovered that El Rushbo would be a pretty heavy load to carry around the Volunteer State in his run for governor.Here's our Q&A with the Zachster on this and other topics: Q: You need to apologize to Rush Limbaugh, right? Wamp: That clip is on my website. You can go and see it and know that I didn't fall into the trap that was set. This is a James Carville trap for Republicans. This is a planned political agenda by James Carville and I'm not about to get involved. I didn't get involved in the Sanchez interview even though Carville said that I did. And you know, this is an old political ploy. You know, try to divide and conquer strategy kind of a thing and I'm not going to fall into it. I didn't fall into it when Sanchez asked me. I'm flattered that I'm somehow on their radar now that they've got to try to draw me into the conflict but this is a James Carville strategy and I'm not going there. Q: Well, you said Rush is merely an entertainer and solving our problems ought to be left to serious public policy type people like yourself, right? Wamp: No, that's not what I said. You can go and see what I said. I was just asked about this, and I'm not going to get involved in it is what I said. I said there are people that say things in the entertainment business and I wasn't going to comment on that. That's what I said and I'm saying it again. But I did say that it's very important for the challenges that we face in this country for the people who are in the arena solving the problems to speak for what we're doing. ... But I'm not getting drug into commentary or a Democrat made-up conflict between people in government and people in the radio. They're doing that on purpose and I'm not falling for it. Q: So you refuse to apologize to Rush? Wamp: I refuse to apologize to James Carville ever. How's that? Q: What sets you apart from the pack running for governor? Wamp: Raw leadership, results. Getting it done. Not just talk. Been doling this a long time. Gotta solid record with a lot of fire. I tell people I got Ed Bryant's record with more giddyup. I'm connecting with the people. This is about who can take Tennessee from here to there. Who can launch an agenda for the future and has the results to prove it? Q: What about Ramsey's idea to lift this fund-raising ban for the legislature? Wamp: That's something they're going to have to decide. I don't want to intervene in the legislature's business. They're the ones who passed this law. They can change this law is they want to. He'll have to answer to y'all why. Q: Is there a question about that? Would there be some ethical cloud hanging over him if he changed the law? Wamp: Why would you change the law if you passed it to begin with? You'll have to ask that question and he'll have to answer it. Not me. ... I'm out raising money though. Doing good. Enjoying it. Q: Haslam has raised $2.5 million. What about that? Wamp: Aw, he's got a gazillion dollars. He's got a bottomless pit. A lot of this is obligatory money to his family. OK, good. But who's going to be the best governor? This shouldn't be about who's got the biggest bank account. It ought to be who's the strongest leader. This is question about the heart and soul of the Republican Party. Is our country going to get more and more in the back pocket of the wealthy elite in this country? Or are we going to reach back out to the middle-class working families? That's me. They can have big business. I'll take small business. Q: But you know, Haslam pulled himself up by his bootstraps. He worked at truck stops as a boy. Wamp: Which Haslam? Q: Bill, the one you're running against. Have you seen his video on his website? Wamp: I saw that. Q: What do you think of that? Wamp: He's a good man. Q: Oh c'mon. Wamp: He's a good man. Q: This is no fun. Wamp: He's a good man.
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