Republican Congressman John Barrasso of Wyoming repeatedly refused to even come close to criticizing Rush Limbaugh even though the lawmaker disagrees with the conservative commentator's statement that he'd like to see President Obama fail.
Pressed by "1600 Pennsylvania Ave" host David Schuster, "When Rush Limbaugh says that Republicans want President Obama to fail, Rush Limbaugh is wrong...," Barrasso responds with a non-answer: "What I'm telling you is that I want this president to succeed because when he succeeds the entire nation succeeds..."
Schuster presses Barrasso:
"Why do Republicans in general, yourself included, have such a difficult time saying the simple words, 'Rush is wrong?'
Barrasso's response is to praise Limbaugh: "Because I believe Rush is right on so many things - on limited government, on lower taxes, on giving us more individual freedoms, on opportunities for America, on accountability in government... those are very important core conservative principles and I believe in those."
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When Schuster makes one last attempt to see if Barrasso will criticise Limbaugh on that one narrow issue, Barrasso sticks to his talking points:
"I'm happy to say that I want the president to succeed because I want America to succeed."
Schuster's response is to laugh.