Is Rush Limbaugh Still A GOP Kingmaker?

08:09

March 07, 2012

Some conservatives are questioning whether talk show host Rush Limbaugh (seen at a Jan. 1 press conference) is still driving the Republican Party agenda. (AP)

The defection of more than 30 advertisers from Rush Limbaugh's talk radio program isn't stopping the conservative firebrand, who's faced criticism for calling Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke a slut and prostitute after she testified about access to birth control on campus.

But El Rushbo (as he calls himself) is receiving support from one unexpected media host: liberal Bill Maher.

Maher tweeted yesterday "hate to defend @RushLimbaugh but he apologized, liberals looking bad not accepting. Also hate intimidation by sponsor pullout."

Maher has been the target of conservatives who point to his unapologetic name-calling of Sarah Palin.

All of this has touched off the latest debate over how much power Limbaugh has in the Republican party. Is he still "the voice and intellectual force of the Republican Party,” as President Obama's former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel once called him?

Or is Limbaugh's stock now plummeting in the wake of the Fluke controversy, as Politico ponders in "Who's Afraid of Rush?"

Guest:

Michael Harrison, editor and publisher of Talkers, the talk radio industry magazine

This segment aired on March 7, 2012.