Rush Limbaugh has set the tone for GOP attacks on President Obama's credentials as an American, reported this Tuesday's PoliticsNation. On Monday, Limbaugh had said that Obama "hates this country."
The next day, former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu, a prominent Romney surrogate, said that he wishes the president would "learn how to be an American." On the same day, Romney himself argued that Obama's approach is "extraordinarily foreign." Limbaugh later took credit for Sununu's remarks, saying that Romney surrogates had been instructed to "perform the duties that I am suggesting need to happen."
"Romney is beholden to the Republican Party base," Steve Kornacki, co-host of msnbc's The Cycle, told PoliticsNation host Al Sharpton. "His credentials as a conservative have been suspect since the time he got into this race." Kornacki suggested Romney's problems with the right-wing prevent him from moving to the center or doing anything that would alienate the conservative base.
"There isn't a lot of enthusiasm for Mitt Romney—there is a lot of resentment towards President Obama," said Kornacki. "If you want to get those people out to the polls you aren't going to say, 'vote for Mitt Romney.' You're going to say, 'vote against this socialist president.'"
It isn't the first time Limbaugh has been recognized as a major influence within the Republican Party. In March, conservative icon George Will said that GOP leaders are actually afraid of Limbaugh. "They want to bomb Iran, but they’re afraid of Rush Limbaugh,” he said.