Noted & Quoted, sane conservative edition

George F. Will was underwhelmed by the GOP establishment’s muted reaction to the Rush Limbaugh imbroglio.

“Well, it would have been nice if [GOP leaders] shared that with the larger public,” Will said. “Instead, Mr. Boehner said that Rush’s language was inappropriate. Using a salad fork for your entree — that is inappropriate. Rick Santorum says, ‘Well, what he said was absurd and an entertainer is allowed to absurd.’ No, it is the responsibilities of conservatives to police the right excesses on their side just as the liberals unfailingly fail on their own side.”

Then …

“It was depressing because what it indicates is, the Republican leaders are afraid of Rush Limbaugh,” Will continued. “They want to bomb Iran, but they’re afraid of Rush Limbaugh.

Conservative conspiracy du jour

Rush Limbaugh says Rick Santorum is the victim of a liberal conspiracy merely because Democrats are using the fundamentalist Christian’s words against him.

“The whole point of this contraception stuff [that] started last week is to make sure that if Santorum get this Republican nomination, that’s what he’s going to be known for, and of course the theme of that is: Santorum hates women, Republicans hate women, Republicans have no respect for women,” the conservative radio host said on his show. “Republicans want women in the kitchen constantly pregnant, blah, blah, whatever it is.”

No one’s saying Santorum hates women, merely that he thinks they should be ruled by his own fundamentalist beliefs.

Face it, conservatives, you may well be nominating a candidate who wants to build a bridge to the 1950s. Deal with the consequences.