CALIFORNIA CONGRESSMEMBERS LEAN HEAVILY TOWARDS HILLARY-- BUT... SO WHAT?

A plurality of GOP voters agree. I wonder why... such nice pygmies they have to choose from...

A few months ago we looked at the value-- and lack thereof-- of celebrity endorsements. Even the single most valuable celebrity endorsement-- Oprah's-- is of limited value. But what about political endorsements from politicians? Is that worth a warm bucket of spit?

More than half the members of the Senate and scores of House members on both sides of the aisle have already endorsed presidential contenders. I doubt it matters one way or the other. I mean are you not going to vote for Obama just because he was endorsed by the most reactionary/Republican-voting Democrat in the whole Senate (Ben Nelson)? Or will the fact that whore monger David Vitter is a big Giuliani supporter make you look for another candidate? In you're an anti-environmental slob who thinks the earth is flat you may being having a hard time picking between Republicans but will James Inhofe's endorsement of Frederick of Hollywood make you lean in that direction? You're a gay Republican? Well Lindsey Graham's on the McCain team? Is that trumped by Giuliani having recruited David Dreier and Phil English? You admire the Culture of Corruption? Well, Giuliani's got Jerry Lewis (maybe the biggest fish of all since the departure of Tom DeLay) but Duncan Hunter is a corruption icon himself and he's got Don Young on his small team. And along those same lines, Obama boasts an endorsement from Al Wynn.

Here in California, on the Democratic side Hillary has the most congressional endorsements by far:
Senator DiFi, enough to turn off any progressive who isn't already sick to their stoimach of the candidate, plus  baker's dozen congressmembers, from some outstanding progressive women (Hilda Solis, Doris Matsui, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Lynn Woolsey, Grace Napolitano, Laura Richardson, and Diane Watson) to a motley crew of the kind of conservative/Establishmentarian Democrats one would expect to rally to the Insider candidate (Jane Harman, Dennis Cardoza, Tom Lantos, Ellen Tauscher, Mike Thompson, and Brad Sherman).

Meanwhile 3 true blue progressives (Barbara Lee, Zoe Lofgren and George Miller) and one war-supporting Blue Dog, Adam Schiff, have endorsed Obama.

On the Republican side, Willard has right wing extremists John Campbell and Buck McKeon; McCain has even further right extremist Dan Lungren; Giuliani has an inept pack of losers (Mary Bono-Mack, David Dreier, Jerry Lewis, Devin Nunes, George Radanovich, and Ed Royce); and Duncan Hunter managed to appeal to the furthest right member of the California delegation, Gary Miller.

I can't imagine any of this will sway anyone and even if someone sees a name they really respect-- like a Barbara Lee, Keith Ellison or Jan Schakowsky for Obama or a Raul Grijalva or Bruce Braley for Edwards... well, Obama's also got reactionaries Melissa Bean and Ben Nelson and Edwards is saddled with Stephanie Herseth and Mike McIntyre. Same with Hillary. Who wouldn't be impressed-- if not bowled over to see endorsements from Tammy Baldwin, Barney Frank, Sheila Jackson Lee, John Lewis, Jerry Nadler and Lynn Woolsey? But how quickly is that mooted when you see Bush collaborators Evan Bayh, Mark Pryor, Shelley Berkley, Leonard Boswell, Mike Ross, David Scott and Vic Snyder on the same list?

On the other hand... if you're a dittohead, you postively want, even desperately need, someone to tell you exactly what you're supposed to think. And Limbaugh is just doing just that with his flock. Today's Boston Golbe makes it clear that although he claims he isn't endorsing anyone, the extreme right-wing, drug addicted pervert (who hasn't hid his disdain-- even hatred-- for McCain and The Huckster) Limbaugh is pushing the sheeple towards Willard.

Limbaugh, who makes a point of saying he does not officially endorse in the primaries, has nonetheless praised Romney effusively, repeated Romney's policy talking points, defended him against attacks from fellow conservatives, and after Romney's win in Michigan this week, declared him the front-runner.

Just as tellingly, Limbaugh has been crusading against Huckabee and McCain, whom he does not consider real conservatives or suitable heirs to the Reagan legacy.

If either wins the nomination, "it's going to destroy the Republican Party," he told listeners Tuesday.
McCain is "someone who supported amnesty for illegal aliens, who supported limiting free political speech, who embraced the ACLU's brief for terrorist detainees getting US constitutional rights," Limbaugh said. Huckabee "might be a fine man, and is a great Christian - [he] is not a conservative."
Limbaugh also derides the independents and moderates supporting McCain and Huckabee as "quivering masses of Jell-Os" and not real Republican conservatives...

Limbaugh's fans are noticing as well.

Go, Mitt, go! First he had Larry Craig and now Rush Limbaugh.