Radio host Rush Limbaugh told his listeners on Wednesday not to ignore a revelation that took place after President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress: Democrats “have no bench.”
National feedback to Mr. Trump’s speech on Tuesday night included 57 percent of CNN viewers citing a “very positive reaction” to his delivery. Regardless, Mr. Limbaugh drew attention to the Democratic Party’s decision to have former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear issue a rebuttal. The conservative said that such a choice was a sign that Democrats did not have “up-and-coming” stars to showcase.
“The Democrats went and got a former governor of Kentucky who, at one time, was also a Republican — but he is defeated,” Mr. Limbaugh said. “They stuck him at ten o’clock at night in a diner with a bunch of people behind him that looked like the walking dead. I’m watching this, ’Okay, what are they trying to do here?’ This guy does not represent the future. I mean he looks like Captain Kangaroo. He’s had his political day. He’s not somebody up-and-coming that you’re gonna vote for.”
Mr. Beshear, who governed from 2007 to 2015, said that he was simultaneously “a proud Republican and Democrat and mostly American before claiming Mr. Trump “all but declared war on refugees and immigrants.” He also said that Republicans seemingly want to “rip affordable health insurance away from millions of Americans.”
Mr. Limbaugh said that particular message, coupled with the decision to have it disseminated by a 72-year-old man, did not sync with Democrats’ stated sense of urgency about the 2020 presidential election.
“Okay, so why is he there? Is he there to respond to Trump in a way that’s going to be satisfactory to the Democrat Party base? It didn’t make any sense,” the radio host said. “The only thing I could conclude is something that I thought before this even happened, and that is the Democrats don’t have a bench. If you go back to after the election, the immediate aftermath of the election, and you watch the media and the Democrats talking about the 2020 election, since they lost this one, the only thing that matters next is 2020. […] That was the number one choice. […] They don’t have a bench. There is no young, up-and-coming star.”
The radio’s host analysis was shared Wednesday morning by Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver during an appearance on MSNBC. The Democrat said that choosing Mr. Beshear to issue a rebuttal was a “mistake,” while host Craig Melvin said the former governor’s company “looked like they were in a hostage video.”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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