David Corn of Mother Jones is out with another anti-Republican secret recording, this one of prominent GOP consultant Frank Luntz dissing Rush Limbaugh and others on right-wing talk radio. In a talk at Penn, Luntz took a question on political polarization. After taking pains to try to make sure his comments weren't being recorded, Luntz said the hosts were "problematic" for the Republican party and used the example of Marco Rubio and immigration:
- "He's getting destroyed! By Mark Levin, by Rush Limbaugh, and a few others. He's trying to find a legitimate, long-term effective solution to immigration that isn't the traditional Republican approach, and talk radio is killing him. That's what's causing this thing underneath. And too many politicians in Washington are playing coy."
That Fox contributor Luntz is on the record criticizing the likes of Limbaugh and Levin is a decent scoop and worth reporting, but it's by no means a bombshell, writes Dave Weigel at Slate. The story is getting some buzz because the remarks were captured by a student on an iPhone. "I just wonder if the 'secrecy' sauce, like the over-use of anonymity in D.C. politics stories, leads people to overrate certain information," writes Weigel. Click for his full post. (Corn's biggest such video was, of course, Mitt Romney's 47% remarks.)