Republicans Afraid of The Big Bad Man that Sucks Cigars? Seems Like it

Are Republican leaders afraid of Rush Limbaugh? That's what conservative commentator George Will sure thinks. On This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Will mocked House Leader John Boehner for saying Limbaugh's language was "inappropriate." (Understatement much, John?) "Using the salad fork for your entrée, that’s inappropriate. Not this stuff. And it was depressing because what it indicates is that theRepublican leaders are afraid of Rush Limbaugh. They want to bomb Iran, but they’re afraid of Rush Limbaugh."

Ouch, Republican leaders! Are you going to take that one sitting down? Anyone out there willing to prove George wrong? Hello? (Sound of crickets chirping.)

Santorum kind of gave Limbaugh a pass, too, calling his language "absurd" and adding that "an entertainer can be absurd" -- which is exactly what he'd say if Limbaugh had called one of his own daughters a slut, I'm sure. Political analyst Matthew Dodd says no one takes Limbaugh seriously anyway. 

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 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.

It's like The Emperor's New Clothes, only with clowns! Or one really scary clown. CNN contributor David Frum says, "A word of criticism from Limbaugh, by contrast, will reduce almost any member of the Republican caucus to abject groveling." And by the way, he also points out that when Ed Schultz called Laura Ingraham a slut, he was suspended for a week without pay and then gave his apology on air, in person.

So which is it? Limbaugh is a clown no one takes seriously -- unless you're worried that he's going to attack you? Why would Republican leaders give a clown so much power, especially this close to Super Tuesday? Do they want their entire party to look like a circus?