ROACH: DESTRUCTIVE TO GOP AND NOT ALL THAT INFLUENTIAL

On Sunday’s ABC This Week With George Stephanopoulos, Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan and ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd commented on Roach Limburger's intemperate rant against Sandra Fluke. I think the two conservatives, Noonan and Dowd, hit the nail right on the head. While Roach has his legion of dodoheads salivating over everything the windbag says, the overwhelming majority of Americans, including Republicans, are not that gullible.

Peggy Noonan said:

“Look, what Rush Limbaugh said was crude, rude, even piggish, it was just unacceptable, he ought to be called on it. I'm glad he has apologized. I guess there will be a debate now about the nature of the apology. But what he said was also destructive. It confused the issue. It played into this trope that the Republicans have a war on women. No, they don't, but he made it look they that way. It confused the larger issue which is the real issue, which is "Obama-care," and its incursions against religious freedoms, which is a serious issue. It was not about this young lady at Georgetown. So what he said was deeply destructive and unhelpful and he ought to be called on it.”

Matthew Dowd said:

“Well, the first thing is I think he [Mitt Romney] -- anybody should have come out with some courage of their convictions and told Rush Limbaugh he was totally wrong to do this. I think the myth -- there's a myth around Rush Limbaugh. This idea that he influences a large number of Republican voters is a complete myth. Keep in mind, Rush Limbaugh attacked Newt Gingrich before the South Carolina Primary, and Newt Gingrich won South Carolina. And then Rush Limbaugh attacked Mitt Romney before the Florida Primary, and Mitt Romney wins Florida. I think the problem is the Republican leaders, Mitt Romney and the other candidates, don't have the courage to say what they say in quiet, which, they think Rush Limbaugh is a buffoon. They think Rush Limbaugh is a buffoon. They don't think he's helpful in this marketplace. They think he is like a clown coming out of a small car at a circus. It's great he is entertaining and all that. But nobody takes him seriously.”

Noonan and Dowd are not the only conservatives pooh-poohing Roach’s ability to influence voters. Republican strategist Mike Murphy says, “Rush can’t deliver a pizza let alone a nomination.”